What is Reiki, Really?

What happens, what you might feel, and what you need to know before you do it

At the grocery store last week, I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in years. After a quick catch-up, he asked what I was doing that afternoon. I told him I was heading to a Reiki session with a client.

He looked at me quizzically and asked, “What the hell is Reiki?”

After living Reiki for so many years, the question startled me. Something that’s part of my day-to-day life was something he’d never even heard of.

Okay. Fair question.

After we talked, I wondered how other people explained Reiki. A quick search turned up descriptions that made it sound far more mysterious than it needed to be.

Universal life-force energy. Chakras. Hands hovering over people. Someone felt heat. Someone else saw colours. Another person felt energy moving through their body.

If I wasn’t familiar with Reiki, I’d probably be thinking, huh? What actually happens? What am I supposed to feel? And if I don’t feel anything, am I doing something wrong?

Those are exactly the questions I love.

First, you don’t need to know anything about Reiki

You don’t need to understand chakras. You don’t need to meditate. You don’t need to be particularly spiritual. And you definitely don’t need to walk into a Reiki session already knowing what you’re supposed to experience.

Curious is great.

Skeptical and curious is even better.

So what is Reiki?

Different Reiki Teachers and organizations describe Reiki in slightly different ways.

William Lee Rand, founder of the Centre for Reiki Research, describes Reiki as energy that is guided by a higher intelligence, possesses its own innate wisdom, can never cause harm, and automatically adjusts to meet the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual needs of the recipient.

Diane Stein, author of Essential Reiki, defines Reiki as an ancient, profoundly simple system of laying on of the hands healing. She views Reiki as a natural, loving life force energy that inherently belongs to all people.

The Reiki Association defines Reiki as a method that balances the body’s energy field to support overall well-being, relieve stress, and facilitate the body’s natural capacity to heal on the physical, mental and emotional levels.

Different words for the same practice of Reiki.

So, how did I describe Reiki to my friend?

I first asked him a couple of questions.

Had he ever been at a really big event with hundreds of people, noticed someone across the room and, for no obvious reason, felt compelled to go over and meet them?

He had.

In fact, he had experienced exactly that. He walked over, started talking to the person, and the two became fast friends.

Then I asked him the opposite.

Had he ever been standing in line at the grocery store, noticed someone a few people ahead of him and immediately felt uncomfortable around them? Maybe even physically repulsed, with a strong urge to move away?

He had experienced that too.

That’s the kind of experience I mean when I talk about energy. We all feel energy.

Sometimes we feel drawn toward someone. Sometimes we feel ourselves pulling away. We may not know why, but we notice it. This is energy.

At its simplest, Reiki is energy.

Reiki is actually a Japanese word meaning Universal Life-Force Energy.

In the Reiki tradition I practice and teach, Reiki is understood as energy that balances.

Energy that heals.

Energy that works to support a balanced energy flow throughout your body which could enhance or accelerate your body’s natural ability to heal itself.

That’s a much easier place for me to begin than making Reiki sound mysterious or complicated.

What actually happens during a Reiki session?

A Reiki session is usually 45 to 60 minutes long.

You stay fully clothed as you lie comfortably on a Reiki table. Some practitioners offer soft music, essential oils or other elements to help create a calming space.

The practitioner’s hands may rest lightly on you, with your permission, or hover just above you, depending on the area and what feels appropriate.

The practitioner is not the healer. In the Reiki tradition I teach, the practitioner is simply the conduit or channel through which Reiki flows.

During a session, you can close your eyes or leave them open. You can talk, or you can relax quietly. You can ask questions before, during or after the session.

You don’t need to concentrate hard or do anything to make Reiki work.

And your job?

Receive. That’s all.

What does Reiki feel like?

It’s different for each person.

One person notices warmth. Another notices coolness or tingling. Someone becomes very relaxed. Someone’s mind gets busy before it settles. Someone falls asleep. Someone notices an emotion, a memory, or simply that they are more aware of their body than they were ten minutes earlier.

And someone else may be lying there thinking, I don’t feel a damn thing.

That’s okay too.

I’ve been practicing Reiki for almost 20 years and teaching it since 2008. I encourage you to have your own experience. I won’t tell you what your experience is supposed to feel like.

If you are curious about what your own experience might be, I’ll invite you to explore receiving Reiki, and we can start with your questions.

What if you don’t feel anything?

Then you don’t feel anything obvious right now. You don’t need to pretend that you do.

This matters to me because Reiki can become unnecessarily intimidating when people start believing there is a correct experience they are supposed to produce.

There isn’t a prize for feeling heat in your hands.

Seeing colours does not make someone better at Reiki.

Having a dramatic emotional experience is not a requirement.

Start by noticing what is actually true for you.

Notice first. Decide what it means later.

We as humans are meaning-creating machines. Something happens and we immediately want to give it meaning.

My hand got hot over their shoulder. What does that mean?

I felt tingling. What does that mean?

That memory popped into my head. What does that mean?

Maybe it means something to you. Maybe it doesn’t.

Maybe you’ll understand it later. Maybe you won’t.

Start with the observation.

When I’m working with another person, the meaning of their experience belongs to them. I can share what I noticed. Share what I know. Share my experience. I can ask questions. I can create space for them to reflect.

I won’t say that I know exactly what their body or their experience means. That’s up to them.

Do you have to believe in Reiki?

Nope. I won’t be administering a belief test at the door.

You can be curious. You can be skeptical. You can wonder how much of what you notice is Reiki, relaxation, quiet, attention, human connection, expectation, or something else entirely.

Are you doing it right?

If you are receiving Reiki, there is very little for you to get right.

Show up. Get comfortable. Notice what you notice.

If you are learning Reiki, that question matters in a different way.

My job as a teacher is not to make you dependent on me to tell you whether every little thing is correct. My job is to help you understand what you’re doing, practice it, ask questions, and build enough confidence that you can trust yourself.

Understanding first. Confidence next. Self-trust grows from there.

Maybe you know absolutely nothing about Reiki today.

Good. Start there.

Maybe you’ve had Reiki before but still don’t really understand what happened. Start there.

Maybe you learned Reiki years ago and haven’t touched it since. Start there.

Maybe you’re curious but not convinced. Start there too.

There isn’t one correct starting point. There is simply where you are now.

And we can start there.

Start where you are.