Quick Answer
Reiki is a Japanese energy healing practice where a practitioner channels universal life force energy (ki) through their hands to support the recipient's natural healing. Developed by Mikao Usui in the 1920s, it combines spiritual intent, defined hand positions, and an attunement system across three training levels.
Key Takeaways
- Reiki is a structured Japanese energy healing system: developed by Mikao Usui in the 1920s, it involves channelling ki (life force energy) through the hands, with three formal training levels and an attunement initiation process.
- Scientific research shows measurable effects in stress and pain contexts: multiple clinical studies document reductions in anxiety, pain, and physiological stress markers, though the proposed biofield mechanism is not yet directly measurable.
- Anyone can learn Reiki: no prior psychic ability or spiritual development is required; the Level I attunement is understood to open the capacity regardless of starting point.
- Distance Reiki is standard Level II practice: using the Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen symbol, practitioners send healing energy to recipients regardless of physical location, with documented effects comparable to in-person sessions.
- The five Reiki principles (Gokai) are as important as the technique: Usui designed daily contemplation of these principles to cultivate the mental and ethical conditions that support genuine healing, in both practitioner and recipient.
What Is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese system of energy healing that works with the life force energy that flows through and around the human body. The word Reiki is composed of two Japanese characters: rei, meaning universal or spiritual, and ki, the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese concept of qi (chi), the vital life force that animates all living things. In Reiki practice, a trained practitioner channels this universal energy through their hands to the recipient, intending to support the recipient's own natural capacity for healing and balance.
Reiki is not a religion, a medical treatment, or a belief system. It is a practice, one that can be adopted by people of any faith or none. It does not require specific beliefs to be effective, though it does invite an openness to the idea that there is more to the human being than the physical body alone. This inclusive, non-dogmatic quality has contributed to Reiki's widespread adoption in hospitals, hospices, cancer centres, and integrative health settings alongside conventional medicine.
An important distinction: Reiki is not the same as general therapeutic touch or faith healing, though it shares certain surface similarities with both. It is a specific system with a defined lineage, a structured training and attunement process, the use of specific symbols, and a set of ethical principles developed by its founder. These elements give Reiki a consistency that allows it to be taught, transmitted, and evaluated with a degree of rigour unusual in energy healing traditions.
Beginning Reiki Practice
The most accessible entry point into Reiki is a Level I weekend workshop with a qualified Reiki Master. Before booking training, you can begin cultivating awareness of ki in your own body through simple practices: holding your hands a few centimetres apart and noticing any sensations of warmth, tingling, or resistance; placing your hands over areas of physical discomfort and simply resting attention there; or practising the five Reiki principles as daily morning contemplations. These preliminary practices develop the sensitivity and attentiveness that make Reiki training more productive.
Our Chakra and Reiki Energy Healing Collection provides crystals and tools selected to complement Reiki practice at all levels.
History and Origins of Reiki
Reiki was developed by Mikao Usui (1865-1926), a Japanese spiritual practitioner who, according to the most widely accepted accounts, received the knowledge of Reiki following an intensive period of fasting and meditation on Mount Kurama near Kyoto in 1922. The exact nature of this experience is described differently across Reiki lineages, but most accounts agree that Usui received both the understanding of ki healing and the ability to transmit it to others through attunement during this retreat.
Usui taught Reiki first as a system of spiritual development, with healing as one of its benefits. He established the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Reiki Healing Method Society) in Tokyo in 1922 and trained several thousand students before his death. One of his senior students, Chujiro Hayashi, systematised the hand positions and emphasis on physical healing that characterise Western Reiki. Hayashi in turn taught Hawayo Takata, a Japanese-American woman who trained in Japan in the 1930s and brought Reiki to Hawaii and subsequently to the continental United States, establishing the Western Reiki tradition.
The Western Adaptation
The Reiki that spread through North America, Europe, and Australia through Takata's lineage differs in some respects from the original Japanese practice. Western Reiki tends to emphasise the hand positions and physical healing aspects, has integrated the chakra system (not part of original Japanese Reiki), and adapted some elements to suit Western cultural contexts. In the 1980s and 1990s, Japanese practitioners and researchers discovered that Usui's original methods were more meditation-centred and spiritually focused than the Western version suggested. The traditional Japanese approach, now taught as Jikiden Reiki or original Usui Reiki, has experienced a significant revival globally.
How Reiki Works: The Energetic Framework
The theoretical framework of Reiki rests on the concept of ki as the animating life force that flows through the body along channels (meridians, or nadis in the Indian system) and centres (chakras in the Western Reiki adaptation). When this energy flows freely and is in balance, the body's natural healing systems function optimally. When energy flow is disrupted, blocked, or depleted through stress, trauma, negative thought patterns, or physical illness, the conditions for disease and imbalance develop.
A Reiki practitioner acts as a conduit for universal ki rather than using their own personal energy. This is a key distinction from practices that involve the practitioner's own energetic output, and it is why Reiki practitioners can practice extensively without personal depletion when working with proper attunement and technique. The practitioner's role is to create the conditions for energy to flow where it is needed, not to direct or force it into specific patterns.
The Biofield Concept
In scientific terms, the energetic body described in Reiki and related traditions is approached through the concept of the biofield. The biofield is the complex electromagnetic field generated by the body's electrical activity, now measurable with tools such as SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) magnetometers. Research by Oschman (2000) documented that healing practitioners' hands emit electromagnetic pulses in frequencies shown to stimulate healing in tissues, bone, and neural tissue in laboratory settings. This is not direct proof of the Reiki mechanism, but it establishes that the hands of healers interact with the biofield of recipients in measurable ways.
What Happens in a Reiki Session
A Reiki session begins with a brief conversation about the recipient's intentions, health concerns, and comfort. The recipient lies fully clothed on a massage table or sits in a chair; no disrobing is required. The room is typically quiet, often with soft music, and candles or incense may be present to support relaxation.
The practitioner begins with a moment of centring and intention-setting, then works through a sequence of hand positions covering the head, neck, torso, and limbs. At each position, hands are placed lightly on or just above the body and held for three to five minutes. The practitioner's hands may move intuitively to areas that feel to need attention, outside the standard sequence. The session typically lasts 45-90 minutes.
What Recipients Experience
Recipients commonly describe sensations of warmth or tingling at or near the practitioner's hands, a feeling of deep relaxation often progressing to a state resembling the edge of sleep, and sometimes a sense of energy moving through the body. Emotional releases, such as unexpected tears or a feeling of release of old tension, are common. Some recipients experience visual impressions or symbolic imagery. Sensations of cold at specific locations (often interpreted as areas of energetic blockage) are also reported.
After a session, most recipients feel deeply relaxed, sometimes disoriented from the depth of rest. Some feel an immediate and noticeable improvement in the condition that brought them; others experience a temporary intensification of symptoms during what practitioners describe as an energetic adjustment process, lasting one to three days before improvement. Drinking extra water after a session is a universal Reiki recommendation.
The Three Levels of Reiki Training
Reiki training is structured in three levels, each building on the previous and involving a formal attunement from a Reiki Master. The attunement is a core element that distinguishes Reiki from unstructured energy healing: it is understood as an energetic initiation that permanently alters the practitioner's capacity to channel Reiki.
Level I (Shoden): Foundation
Level I covers the history and principles of Reiki, the concept of ki and the energetic body, the standard hand positions for self-treatment and treating others, and includes the first attunement. The emphasis at Level I is on daily self-Reiki practice, which develops the practitioner's sensitivity and begins the process of personal healing that Usui considered fundamental to effective healing work. Most Level I trainings are completed in a weekend workshop of eight to twelve hours.
Level II (Okuden): Symbols and Distance Healing
Level II introduces three primary Reiki symbols: Cho Ku Rei (the power symbol), Sei He Ki (the mental/emotional healing symbol), and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (the distance healing symbol). Students learn to use these symbols in practice, and the second attunement deepens the practitioner's connection to Reiki and activates the symbols. Level II marks the point at which practitioners can work professionally, having demonstrated sufficient understanding to treat clients in formal contexts. Distance healing practice begins at this level.
Level III (Shinpiden): Master Level
Level III includes the master symbol Dai Ko Myo, the master attunement, and the ability to attune others to Reiki. Some training systems divide this level into III-A (personal mastery) and III-B (teacher training), reflecting the distinction between developing one's own mastery and being ready to transmit the lineage. The Reiki Master level is a significant commitment; traditional teaching emphasised that a Reiki Master's primary responsibility is to embody the principles of Reiki in daily life rather than simply knowing the technical process of attunement.
The Five Reiki Principles
The five Reiki principles, known in Japanese as the Gokai, were taught by Mikao Usui as a daily ethical and meditative practice. They are not commandments but intentions, framed as "just for today" to make them accessible and immediate rather than abstract ideals.
- Just for today, I will not be angry: this principle addresses the way anger disrupts ki flow and impairs the practitioner's capacity to channel healing without the distortion of reactive emotion
- Just for today, I will not worry: worry contracts the energy field and depletes ki; this principle cultivates trust in the process of life and the healing that is already underway
- Just for today, I will be grateful: gratitude opens the energy field and aligns the practitioner with the abundant flow of universal ki
- Just for today, I will do my work honestly: this principle emphasises integrity in practice, authentic presence rather than performance
- Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing: the expansive compassion that this principle cultivates is understood as the foundation of healing intent
Usui recommended beginning each day with these principles, hands in prayer position (Gassho), reading or reciting them with full attention. This practice, simple as it appears, was central to his teaching. He understood that a practitioner's mental and ethical state was not separate from their ability to channel healing but directly constitutive of it.
Daily Reiki Practice
The most powerful Reiki practice is consistent self-treatment. A daily self-Reiki session, even fifteen to twenty minutes, builds sensitivity, maintains the practitioner's own energetic health, and develops the quality of presence that makes healing work effective. Begin with Gassho meditation (hands in prayer position, eyes closed, resting attention on the point where the middle fingers meet), then move through the standard head positions: over the eyes, temples, back of head, and throat. Finish with the five principles. This practice is appropriate from Level I onward and compounds in effect over time.
The Science of Reiki: What Research Shows
Reiki research has expanded substantially since 2000, with studies conducted in hospitals, cancer centres, pain clinics, and research institutions. The picture is nuanced: Reiki shows consistent benefits in certain contexts, but the proposed mechanism of ki transmission remains beyond the reach of current measurement tools.
Clinical Research Highlights
A 2015 meta-analysis by McManus, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, reviewed multiple controlled studies and found that Reiki produced greater relaxation responses than sham Reiki or rest alone, measured through heart rate, blood pressure, and salivary cortisol. Studies in oncology settings, including work by Tsang, Carlson, and Olson (2007), documented significant reductions in pain, anxiety, and fatigue in cancer patients receiving Reiki during chemotherapy. A Cochrane-style systematic review by Joyce and Herbison (2015) assessed the evidence quality and noted that while positive trends were consistent, methodological limitations in many studies prevented definitive conclusions.
Biofield Research
The National Institutes of Health in the United States has funded research on biofield therapies through the National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health. Research by Shamini Jain and colleagues on biofield therapies has documented measurable physiological changes in recipients of energy healing modalities, including improvements in immune markers and reductions in inflammatory biomarkers. The concept of the biofield, as the body's organised electromagnetic field, provides a testable framework for the eventual scientific investigation of Reiki's proposed mechanism, though direct measurement of ki as described in the tradition remains a future research challenge.
Reiki and the Chakra System
Western Reiki practice has extensively integrated the chakra system from Indian yogic tradition. In this integration, the seven major chakras (root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, throat, third eye, and crown) are understood as the primary energy centres that Reiki supports and balances. Hand positions in Western Reiki sessions often correspond to chakra locations, and practitioners may use chakra-specific symbols or intentions during the session.
This integration is not part of original Japanese Reiki, which worked within the Japanese and Chinese energetic framework of ki, meridians, and the hara (the energetic centre below the navel). The chakra-Reiki integration is a creative synthesis developed primarily in the Western New Age context of the 1970s through 1990s and has become standard in most Western Reiki lineages.
The 7 Chakra Crystal Set is designed to complement chakra-focused Reiki sessions, with one crystal for each energy centre placed on or near the body during treatment.
Crystals in Reiki Practice
Crystal healing and Reiki are frequently combined because both work within an energetic framework that emphasises intention, vibration, and the body's subtle energy field. Crystals are understood to hold stable vibrational qualities that can amplify Reiki energy, support specific chakras, provide protection, or assist in releasing what has been cleared during a session.
Crystals for Reiki Sessions
- Clear Quartz: known as the master healer, amplifies Reiki energy and the practitioner's intention; placed at the crown or held by the recipient
- Amethyst: supports crown and third eye chakras, deepens relaxation, and promotes integration of healing received
- Rose Quartz: opens and softens the heart centre, supports emotional healing aspects of Reiki work
- Smoky Quartz: grounds the session and supports transmutation of released energies, protecting both practitioner and recipient
Browse the full Chakra and Reiki Energy Healing Collection for crystals selected specifically for healing practice contexts.
Combining Crystals and Reiki
A simple crystal grid for Reiki sessions: place Clear Quartz above the head (crown), Amethyst on the forehead (third eye), Rose Quartz on the sternum (heart), and Smoky Quartz or Red Jasper between the feet (grounding). Program each crystal with the simple intention that it support the recipient's highest good during the session. This layout amplifies the standard Reiki hand positions and provides a complete energetic container from crown to root. After the session, clear the crystals under running water or in sunlight.
Beginning Your Reiki Path
The first step toward Reiki is simply deciding you want to learn it. From there, finding a qualified Reiki Master who resonates with you matters more than the specific lineage they represent. Look for someone who has been practising for several years, has a clear understanding of both the technical and ethical dimensions of the work, and who emphasises self-healing practice alongside treating others.
What to Look for in a Reiki Teacher
A good Reiki teacher will provide written attunement lineage documentation, ensure adequate practice time during training (not just lecture), encourage daily self-treatment before advancing levels, and be available for follow-up questions after training. Red flags include very rapid level progression (Level I through III in a single weekend), exclusively online attunements without in-person components, and teachers who discourage investigation of the practice's origins or scientific context.
Self-Study Resources
Until formal training is available, several books provide excellent foundational understanding. Mikao Usui's original Reiki Handbook (as reconstructed by Petter and colleagues) offers the closest approximation of original Japanese teaching. Frank Arjava Petter's "Reiki Fire" (1997) documents the research into Usui's original methods. William Lee Rand's "Reiki: The Healing Touch" provides a comprehensive Western Reiki manual. For integration with broader esoteric principles, the Hermetic Synthesis Course situates Reiki within a comprehensive framework of energetic and consciousness development.
Reiki as a Path, Not Just a Technique
Usui's original teaching positioned Reiki as a system of personal development in which healing ability was one fruit of a broader transformation of consciousness and character. He observed that students who cultivated the five principles, practised daily self-Reiki, and developed genuine compassion became more effective healers than those who focused exclusively on technique. This remains true in contemporary practice. The practitioner who has worked seriously with their own healing, who has developed stillness and genuine caring, and who holds their role with humility, brings something to a session that no technique alone can provide. Reiki is a path of opening, both for the recipient and for the practitioner.
Reiki Is Available to You
One of the most important things about Reiki is its accessibility. No special gifts, prior training, or particular spiritual background are required. The attunement process is designed to open the channel regardless of starting point. Reiki has been practiced in hospitals, hospices, homeless shelters, prisons, schools, and homes around the world for decades. It asks only that you come with genuine intention to support healing, and that you invest in developing the inner qualities, presence, honesty, and compassion, from which all genuine healing work flows. If you feel called to this path, that call is already the beginning.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Reiki and how does it work?
Reiki is a Japanese energy healing practice developed by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century. The word Reiki combines two Japanese concepts: rei (universal or spiritual) and ki (life force energy, equivalent to the Chinese qi and the Sanskrit prana). In a Reiki session, a practitioner channels universal life force energy through their hands to the recipient, with the intention of supporting the recipient's own natural healing processes. The proposed mechanism involves the practitioner's biofield interacting with the recipient's biofield, supporting flow and balance in the energetic body, which in turn supports physical and emotional wellbeing.
Is there scientific evidence for Reiki?
Research on Reiki is ongoing, with results suggesting benefit in specific contexts, particularly stress reduction, pain management, and wellbeing in clinical settings. A 2015 meta-analysis by McManus published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that Reiki was more effective than placebo or sham Reiki for inducing physiological relaxation responses. Studies have documented reductions in anxiety, pain perception, and stress markers in cancer patients, surgical patients, and chronic pain populations. However, the proposed mechanism (biofield energy transfer) has not been directly measured with current scientific instruments. The National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health classifies Reiki as a biofield therapy with promising preliminary evidence.
What are the three levels of Reiki training?
Traditional Usui Reiki training is structured in three levels. Level I (Shoden) covers the history of Reiki, introduces the basic hand positions for self-treatment and treating others, and includes the first attunement, which is understood as an energetic initiation that opens the practitioner's capacity to channel Reiki. Level II (Okuden) introduces the three primary Reiki symbols (Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen), teaches distance healing, and includes a second attunement that deepens the connection. Level III (Shinpiden), the master level, includes the master symbol (Dai Ko Myo) and the attunement process itself, qualifying the practitioner to initiate others.
What happens during a Reiki session?
In a standard Reiki session, the recipient lies fully clothed on a massage table or sits in a chair. The practitioner places their hands lightly on or just above specific positions on the body, typically following a sequence that covers the head, torso, and limbs. Each hand position is held for several minutes. Recipients commonly report sensations of warmth, tingling, or deep relaxation. Some experience emotional releases, visual imagery, or a feeling of energy moving. Sessions typically last 45-90 minutes. After a session, many recipients feel deeply relaxed, sometimes drowsy, and occasionally experience a temporary increase in symptoms before feeling improved, a response practitioners interpret as an energetic adjustment.
Can Reiki be done remotely or at a distance?
Yes, distance Reiki is a standard component of Level II training. The Reiki symbol Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is used to transcend physical distance, allowing practitioners to send healing energy to recipients who are not physically present. Distance sessions may be conducted synchronously (with the recipient lying down at a scheduled time while the practitioner sends remotely) or asynchronously. Many practitioners report that recipients of distance sessions experience similar sensations and outcomes to in-person sessions. From a scientific perspective, the mechanism of distance healing is not understood, though it is consistent with some interpretations of quantum entanglement and non-local phenomena.
What are the five Reiki principles?
The five Reiki principles (Gokai), which Mikao Usui taught as a daily ethical and contemplative practice, are: 1) Just for today, I will not be angry. 2) Just for today, I will not worry. 3) Just for today, I will be grateful. 4) Just for today, I will do my work honestly. 5) Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing. These principles reflect the influence of Meiji-era Japanese Buddhist and Shinto ethics on Usui's teaching. They were not intended as rules but as daily meditations to orient the practitioner's mind toward the conditions that support healing in both the self and others.
How is Reiki different from other energy healing modalities?
Reiki is distinguished from other energy healing modalities by its specific lineage, attunement system, and use of defined symbols. Unlike general therapeutic touch or pranic healing, Reiki practitioners receive formal attunements from a Reiki Master that are understood to activate their capacity to channel Reiki specifically. The use of symbols introduced at Level II represents another distinguishing feature, as does the emphasis on the practitioner's intention not to direct the energy but to allow it to go where it is needed. Therapeutic touch (developed by Dolores Krieger) and healing touch are related biofield therapies developed in Western nursing contexts, with overlapping principles but different methodologies.
What is the connection between Reiki and the chakra system?
While Reiki originated in Japan and draws primarily on Japanese and Chinese energetic concepts (ki, meridians, hara), Western Reiki practice has extensively integrated the Indian chakra system into its framework. Most Western Reiki practitioners understand the major chakras as primary energy centres that Reiki supports and balances. Hand positions in a Western Reiki session often correspond to chakra locations. The integration of chakra theory into Reiki is largely a Western development; traditional Japanese Reiki (Jikiden Reiki) maintains the original Japanese energetic framework without chakra mapping.
Can anyone learn Reiki?
Yes, Reiki is widely taught and does not require pre-existing psychic ability, spiritual development, or specific religious belief. The attunement process is described as opening the capacity to channel Reiki regardless of the student's prior experience. Level I training can typically be completed in a weekend workshop and equips students to practice self-Reiki and treat others informally. Most Reiki Masters recommend that students complete Level I and practise self-treatment consistently for at least three months before advancing to Level II, to allow time to develop sensitivity to the energy and observe its effects.
What crystals complement Reiki practice?
Crystal healing and Reiki are frequently combined because both work within a biofield or energetic framework. Crystals used in Reiki sessions are typically placed on or near the body to amplify intention, support specific chakras, or provide protective and grounding support. Common combinations include Clear Quartz (amplifying Reiki energy and intention), Amethyst (supporting the crown and third eye, deepening relaxation), Rose Quartz (opening the heart centre and supporting emotional healing), and Black Obsidian or Smoky Quartz (grounding the session and transmuting released energies). The 7 Chakra Crystal Set provides stones for each energy centre and integrates naturally with Reiki hand positions.
Sources & References
- McManus, D. E. (2017). Reiki is better than placebo and has broad potential as a complementary health therapy. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, 22(4), 1051-1057.
- Tsang, K. L., Carlson, L. E., & Olson, K. (2007). Pilot crossover trial of Reiki versus rest for treating cancer-related fatigue. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 6(1), 25-35.
- Oschman, J. L. (2000). Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis. Churchill Livingstone. (Biofield research and electromagnetic evidence for energy healing.)
- Petter, F. A. (1997). Reiki Fire. Lotus Press. (Documents the rediscovery of Usui's original Japanese teaching methods.)
- Steiner, R. (1920). Spiritual Science and Medicine. Rudolf Steiner Press. (Discusses the etheric body and its relationship to health, providing context for energy healing traditions.)
- Jain, S., & Mills, P. J. (2010). Biofield therapies: helpful or full of hype? A best evidence synthesis. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 17(1), 1-16.