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Sceptical of Reiki Healing? Here’s the science that backs it up.

Writer's picture: Claire TaylorClaire Taylor

What is Reiki healing and how could it help you?


A man is laying down receiving reiki healing from a woman's hands
Man receiving Reiki Healing

Reiki healing is a form of energy healing whereby a practitioner channels healing energy through their hands and into the recipient.  Reiki doesn’t belong to any particular belief system or religion and it’s an extremely gentle form of therapy which makes it accessible to pretty much anyone. 


Reiki originated in Japan in the 1920’s. The word Reiki  comes from the combination of two words ‘Rei’ which means higher power and ‘Ki’ which means life force energy. So, Reiki is spiritually guided life force energy. The terminology can sound a bit woo to those who might not consider themselves to be ‘spiritual’ people. But essentially, this life force energy is that which gives us our spirit, zest, life energy, whatever you want to call it; it’s what causes us to be alive. 


Sparkling yellow light represents energy
A burst of energy
Life force energy

Reiki practitioners receive attunement, rather than training, which gives them access to an unlimited supply of life force energy which they can then channel to others.


Reiki healing can then be used by each individual in whatever way their body, mind and spirit need, whether that is emotional healing, physical pain or something more spiritual. The experience is different for each individual but many report increased relaxation, feelings of peace and well-being. 


Feeling skeptical? You're not alone. For many, the idea of an invisible healing energy only accessible to those who have been attuned, doesn't seem plausible. However, whilst they can't explain the reasons how and why Reiki works, there are actually scientific studies that back up the effectiveness of it, even compared with the placebo effect.


It can be difficult for scientists to conduct studies on therapies like Reiki because many of the effects of the therapies are subjective. However, there are some seriously compelling studies that have been conducted, measuring physical changes in the body, which show that Reiki really does provide healing. 


A scientist works on a tablet
Scientific testing
Scientific study

A 2017 review of experiments concluded that yes, Reiki really does work in terms of providing people with relaxation, reduction in anxiety and stress, reduced perception of pain and increased feelings of well-being. And not because of the placebo effect. Studies have shown that compared with control groups who received ‘fake’ reiki from practitioners who had not had an attunement, or those who received no healing and instead listened to calming music or meditation tapes, Reiki was more effective at providing participants with physical relaxation via activation of the para-sympathetic nervous system. This is the part of the nervous system that reduces heart rate and blood pressure amongst other things. 


Also included in this study was a review of an experiment carried out on rats where Reiki, ‘fake’ reiki and a control group who received no healing were used to counteract stress from noise which was measured via levels of microvascular damage to the rats. The study showed a significant difference in the level of damage to those rates that received genuine Reiki compared with the others. 


Because the same results were found in both humans and rats in terms of the levels of physical relaxation, the study concludes that it is an objective fact that reiki is better than a placebo for providing physical relaxation. 


This review which included 13 different peer reviewed studies from 1998 - 2016 concluded that Reiki healing can create a reduction in heart rate and blood pressure as well as reducing pain, levels of depression, anxiety and improving self-esteem and quality of life. 


A display of Reiki Healing tools
Healing crystals and sage smudge

What do you think? Ready to give Reiki a try? If you’re looking for a Reiki healing practitioner in Sheffield, Crystal is a reiki master who has been practicing reiki for over 8 years. Crystal offers sessions at our wonderfully relaxing well-being centre in Nether Edge, Sheffield. You can read more about Crystal and Reiki by clicking here. And if you’d like to read the full study mentioned above, you’ll find the link below. 



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