The 5 benefits of Reiki Healing

If you’ve heard of Reiki before but only have a vague idea of what it is, you’ve come to the right place! The benefits of Reiki are numerous, and adding Reiki into your life can be an excellent way of boosting your self-care. 

We’d love to discuss the advantages of Reiki and how you can incorporate it in a way that helps you live the best life possible. With that in mind, here are our top five Reiki benefits. 

What Is Reiki?

The roots of Reiki are entrenched in ancient Japanese spiritual healing, but it started to gain popularity in the early 1920s. The term for both the concept and the practice originates from combining two Japanese words, rei (universal life) and ki (energy). 

Those words accurately describe the basic concept, too—connecting with and channeling the life energy that flows through everyone. It’s that energy that Reiki practitioners work with and direct, and where all of the Reiki benefits are born.

Most importantly, Reiki isn’t associated with any specific religion, so anyone can learn to utilize it. 

A typical Reiki session usually lasts about an hour, but there are no specific protocols or required length of time. Time is up when your practitioner feels that your goals have been achieved, no sooner and no later. 

Most Reiki sessions begin with a brief discussion about any specific problems or issues you would like to address. While it may be difficult, especially your first few sessions, being as open as possible can only help your practitioner better assist you.

It often surprises people that Reiki doesn’t usually involve any massage or physical touching, although some practitioners may lightly touch certain areas to help the energy flow. You’ll be lying on your back on a massage table and asked to take off your shoes. If you’re unable to lay flat comfortably, Reiki can be performed in a chair. 

Other than removing your shoes, you’ll stay clothed. Practitioners are taught a variety of different hand positions that they use during your session. Each hand position is meant to balance that area’s energy while also helping to remove energy blocks. Reiki practitioners will start at your head or feet and move up or down the body in a specific pattern. Once that is done, they scan your body checking for any other “stuck” energy areas. 

Are Crystals Associated With Reiki?

Although you may see crystals in tandem with Reiki, traditional Reiki doesn’t involve their use. However, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t beneficial. Many Reiki practitioners have started utilizing their benefits as a way to amplify their ability to channel energy. 

Crystals have the unique ability to resonate on a specific level. Because of that, each of them can work for particular purposes—love, energy, wealth, success, etc. If you choose to add crystals to your Reiki practice, we recommend the Peace + Positive Vibes crystal set. 

Each of the four stones (fluorite, angelite, amethyst, and crystal quartz) helps attract more calmness and positivity to your life. Having them in the room or placing them on specific chakras or energy centers that need unblocking may boost the practice. 

Let’s take a look at the five main benefits of Reiki. 

1. It Helps You Practice Mindfulness

There aren’t enough good things to say about purposefully living with more mindfulness. 

Mindfulness is the ultimate goal of any meditation practice. It is the ability, earned through hard work and training, to maintain an awareness of your thoughts and feelings (both physical and emotional). Sounds easy, right? 

Unfortunately, it’s called a practice for a reason. The brain is always focusing on things outside of our control. It can be challenging to learn how to acknowledge those thoughts and move on. It’s even more challenging to accept your feelings without judgment. 

That’s one of the most important of the Reiki benefits. When you’re constantly worried about something that’s happened in the past or stressed out about something that may potentially occur in the future, you’re not living your life. Practicing mindfulness can help both your body and your mind, and Reiki can clear out the energy that may be holding you back from utilizing it to its fullest. 

During a Reiki session, you exist entirely in your own body in a way that you likely aren’t at any other time. Focus on how that feels so that you can recreate that when you’re not on the table. It may be hard work, but it’s worth it.

2. Boosts Your Mood

While the science supporting Reiki isn’t as large as Western medicine, what is out there is promising. One of the most exciting things is that utilizing Reiki can help to boost your mood.

That benefit comes down to the way that Reiki helps to unblock your energy passageways. More regular treatments can keep these benefits going more long-term instead of just providing a temporary boost. 

With consistently unblocked channels throughout the body, positive energy can flow throughout the body. It can lead to feeling less stressed, having more mental clarity, and having fewer mood swings. 

When you walk out of a Reiki session, you’ll walk out with all of your energy flowing. The positive vibes that the feeling creates are unparalleled. 

3. Assists With Emotional Growth

Unlike many other forms of healing, both Western and alternative, Reiki addresses the entire person—mind, body, and spirit. None of us are separate pieces of a whole. Each part of us impacts another, and it takes all of them to make up the unique, beautiful creatures we are. 

When you’re able to channel positive energy throughout the entire body, it not only boosts your mood but blasts away a lot of roadblocks. Emotional growth and healing must start from within, and it can’t be done by anyone else but you. If you’re ready to face down anything that may be holding you back, using Reiki can help support you on your journey.

Be aware that confronting those emotions can be difficult. At times, you may feel like giving up and slipping back into your old patterns of behavior. Repression and denial are easy! 

Being honest with yourself is much harder, but you’ll find yourself in a calmer, more genuine place if you stick with it. Working with a Reiki practitioner means that you’re not alone on your path. 

4. Helps You Sleep Better

If you’ve ever had a terrible night’s sleep, you know how much it can impact your mood the next day. Although it’s easy (and often expected) that we burn the candle at both ends and disregard our own physical needs, that isn’t sustainable. When you ignore your body, it naturally impacts your mind (and vice versa).

After a session of Reiki, you’ll probably feel incredibly relaxed. It’s a deep relaxation that can affect both your body and your spirit, even long after you’ve left. With a clearer mind, less worry, and more positive energy flowing through your body, you won’t be as likely to stay up at night overthinking your life. 

Some people even fall asleep during the actual Reiki session. If you do, don’t feel embarrassed. It’s very typical, and many practitioners even take it as a compliment. It’s exhausting to think so much all of the time! When you can have a moment to let go of the garbage that we all tend to cling to, you'll realize how draining it is.

5. Reminds You That You’re in Control

When bad things happen, it can make you feel like you’re just a victim of circumstances and random chance. While that can sometimes be the case, you have a lot more control over your life than you think. 

Reiki can remind you that, good or bad, you’re the one in charge of how you react. Even though you may not control what happens, the way you react is more important. Seeing a situation as a tragedy is a lot different than viewing it as an opportunity for growth and change. Combined with the sense of mindfulness that Reiki and meditation can help you achieve, you’ll be able to see everything in life for what it is—temporary. 

That’s not to say you shouldn’t enjoy the good things in life. When you understand that even the good things fade and change, you can appreciate them even more. The same goes for the bad. While they may feel terrible when they happen, you won’t feel that way forever.  

In Conclusion

When you know the Reiki benefits available, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try it before! Although it often gets confused with massage, Reiki doesn’t involve much (if any) physical touch. The practice focuses on helping unblock and re-channel your life force, clearing out any hurdles you may have to live in the moment. 

While crystals aren’t necessarily a part of Reiki, using them can amplify the practice even further. Chiji is here for you as you walk the path toward becoming the person you were always meant to be. 

Sources:

What is Reiki? Read about the Origin and History of Reiki | International Association of Reiki Professionals 

What Is Mindfulness | Berkeley 

A Randomised Controlled Single-Blind Trial of the Efficacy of Reiki at Benefitting Mood and Well-Being | Hindawi Journal