Reiki Energy Healing

After tapping, I moved into deeper energy work, including Reiki. If tapping helped me calm the storm, energy work helped me feel safe in my own body again.

What Reiki is

Reiki is a Japanese energy healing practice developed by Mikao Usui in the early 1900s. A practitioner places their hands lightly on or just above the body to support relaxation and the body's own healing. You stay fully clothed, and most people find it deeply calming. Many people also learn to practise Reiki on themselves.

Pranic Healing is a related, no-touch energy practice developed by Master Choa Kok Sui. It works with the energy field around the body and is also used for stress and emotional healing.

How it helped me

Years of stress had left my body tense and on guard. Energy work was the first time in a long time I felt truly relaxed and safe. It helped me release things I couldn't put into words, and it deepened my spiritual connection, which had been treated as a threat for years.

How to start

• Book a session with a certified Reiki practitioner, and notice how you feel afterward.
• If it helps, consider a Level 1 Reiki class so you can practise on yourself every day.
• Pair it with journaling: after a session, write down whatever came up.

Good to know

Reiki is a complementary practice. Research on how it works is limited, but many people find it relaxing and supportive. It's gentle and safe, and it works best alongside, not instead of, medical and psychological care.