Why Would I Want to Get a Reiki Session?

Practical Energy Work for Everyday Life

Reiki is becoming more widely known in this country, but it’s still often misunderstood. Is it spiritual? Is it scientific? Is it something you have to understand for it to work?

The truth is, Reiki is a gentle, effective form of energy healing that works with your body’s own natural ability to restore balance, reduce pain, stress and anxiety while increasing the flow of energy within you. Whether you’re carrying stress, emotional heaviness, physical tension, or just a sense that something feels off, Reiki offers a way to reconnect—with yourself, your body, and your inner calm.

If you’re exploring natural ways to support your well-being, or simply curious about how energy work can help, this blog will walk you through what Reiki is, how it works, and why it might be the support you didn’t know you needed.

What Is Reiki, Really?

Reiki is a gentle form of energy healing that works best when you are open to the process. It’s not a religion or anything like that. Reiki comes from the Japanese word Rei—which means “Universal Life”—and Ki—which means “Energy.” The practice was founded in Japan in 1922 by Mikao Usui, who developed it as a way to support healing by working with the body’s natural energy system. It's a practice grounded in the understanding that energy flows through all living things, and Reiki channels this life force energy (what some traditions call chi or prana) into the body to support relaxation, healing, and balance.

One of Reiki's benefits is that it helps shift the nervous system out of fight-or-flight and into rest-and-digest, the state governed by your parasympathetic nervous system—this is where the body does its best healing. In this relaxed state, your body can release tension, regulate stress and anxiety, digestion improves and begin to restore energetic flow, and support a feeling of calm, clarity, and connection. It helps your entire system recalibrate. 

Reiki is gentle, safe and non-invasive. A practitioner places their hands lightly on or just above your body, helping to identify and clear energetic blockages. These blockages—often caused by stress, illness, or emotional overload—can show up as fatigue, emotional heaviness, physical discomfort, or simply a sense of disconnection.

Reiki is also considered a form of quantum energy healing—meaning it works on the subtle energetic fields that surround and influence the physical body. Energy is felt, even when it isn’t seen because it carries vibration and frequency. When that energy becomes excessive, stuck, or disrupted—often due to stress, trauma, or emotional overwhelm—it impacts both your physical and emotional state. Reiki helps restore harmony by shifting your vibration—leaving you feeling more relaxed, lighter, calmer, and more centered.

At its core, Reiki supports your body’s ability to rest, relax, and reconnect with your natural, balanced state—the kind of peace you find in nature, or in the moments when everything inside you just settles.

Why Would You Want a Session? 

Reiki is for anyone feeling out of alignment. Whether you're emotionally overwhelmed, energetically depleted, or physically tense, Reiki can offer meaningful support.

It’s not a replacement for medical care, but Reiki is a powerful complementary therapy.

Many people report benefits such as:

• Reduced stress and anxiety

• Improved emotional clarity

• Relief from chronic tension or pain

• Feeling grounded and more present

• A sense of emotional release and calm

Reiki works holistically, supporting the parts of you that may not always get attention—your energy, your emotions, your subtle cues. It helps your body remember how to let go and reset.

What are the Benefits of Reiki Therapy? 

You may want to try Reiki if you’re feeling:

• Stressed, wired, or depleted

• Emotionally heavy, anxious, or stuck

• Disconnected from your body or intuition

• In chronic pain or recovering from illness or a health condition

• Like you're carrying more than just your own stuff

  (hello, Empaths—I see you)

…Reiki can help.

It’s not a cure-all, and it’s not magic. But it’s practical, supportive, and deeply restorative. It gives your system space to unwind—and space is often the first thing we lose in our busy lives.

But How Does Reiki Healing Actually Work?

As already mentioned, Reiki helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system, also known as your body’s “rest and digest(or restore)” mode. When this system is engaged, your heart rate slows, digestion improves, and your body shifts out of stress mode so that true healing can begin.

Through gentle touch and attunements to the Reiki energy, Reiki practitioners direct healing energy to areas that feel blocked or depleted. You may feel warmth, tingling, cold, waves of emotion, or simply a deep sense of peace.

This isn’t magic—it’s energy in motion. Energy can’t be destroyed, only shifted. And your body, like everything else in nature, is made of that energy. When thoughts, emotions, and experiences aren’t fully processed, they can settle or get stuck in your system as energetic “static.” Reiki helps clear that static and restore clarity, bringing awareness and flow back into those stuck places. It doesn’t force or override—it simply reminds your system of what it already knows: how to come back into balance. Think of it like clearing static off a radio channel. The signal was always there—it just needed some help tuning back in.

What Does a Reiki Session Look Like? 

You’ll lie fully clothed on a massage table, or sit comfortably in a chair if preferred. Most people choose and hour long session but can be longer if you choose. The Reiki practitioner will place their hands gently on or just above your body—no manipulation, no pressure, just presence.

You don’t have to do anything. Most people drift into a deeply relaxed state; some fall asleep. The energy moves where it’s needed, whether that means creating calm, clearing emotional buildup, or simply giving your system the reset it’s been craving.

While you don’t need to believe in Reiki for it to work, but staying open and allowing yourself to soften helps a great deal. Imagine trying to get a massage while holding your whole body tense—Reiki is the same. The more relaxed and receptive you are, the deeper the session can go.

What You Might Experience After a Reiki Session

Reiki is incredibly gentle and supportive. It’s non-invasive, deeply relaxing, and designed to work in harmony with your body—not against it. While everyone’s experience is different, Reiki doesn’t force change or override your system. It simply offers the space and support your energy needs to shift in its own time.

That said, here are a few things to be aware of:

• It’s not a replacement for medical care. Reiki is a complementary therapy that supports your overall well-being, but it does not diagnose, treat, or cure medical conditions. If you’re under medical care or dealing with a serious condition, Reiki can be part of your support system—but not a substitute for professional healthcare.

• You may experience emotional release. Sometimes old feelings surface. This is normal and usually brief. A professional Reiki practitioner can help you to move through these experiences, so feel free to express what you are going through in the moment and they can help support you through any emotional discomfort.

• You might feel tired or spaced out. After deep relaxation, some people need time to re-ground. You may become very hungry and thirsty after a Reiki session - it's like when you've had a great workout and your body needs refueling. 

Isn’t That Just Woo-Woo Stuff?

It’s okay to be skeptical. The word “energy” can sound vague or abstract—but the truth is, we are energetic beings. Every thought, emotion, and experience creates a ripple in our nervous system. Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there. You can see it in the way we hold our bodies, the way that we hold onto outdated ways of thinking or a great deal of emotional instability. But none of these things look like a cast on a leg, or crutches.

Reiki is simply a tool to bring your energy back into balance—just like good nutrition, movement, and sleep help keep your body and mind in check. Reiki helps your system clear what no longer serves you—so you can come back into alignment with what does.

If you’re open to the idea that your body holds wisdom, and that rest is not a luxury but a necessity, Reiki becomes less “woo” and more essential and practical.

How Often Should You Have Reiki?

Just like other supportive therapies—whether it’s massage, chiropractic, physiotherapy or osteopathy—Reiki works best when it’s given some consistency at the beginning. One session can absolutely help you feel calmer and more centered, but deeper or longer-standing imbalances may need time to shift.

I often recommend starting with three sessions, spaced within a week or so, to allow your energy system to build momentum and integrate the energy shifts as they occur. Many people notice a significant shift in how they feel—physically, emotionally, and energetically—by the third session.

After that, follow-up sessions can be spaced out weekly, monthly, or simply as needed—especially during times of stress, change, or emotional overwhelm. Think of Reiki as ongoing support for your energy system, keeping it open, strong, and flowing so you can stay grounded and resilient in daily life.

Conclusion

At its core, Reiki isn’t about “fixing” you—it’s about helping you come back to yourself.

Life pulls us in a million directions. Our minds race, our bodies tense, and our energy gets scattered. Over time, that stress gets stored—physically, emotionally, energetically. Reiki gives your system the space to unwind. 

Whether you’re grieving, burned out, overwhelmed, or simply searching for a way to feel like yourself again, Reiki meets you where you are—with no pressure and no judgment.

It’s a pause. A reset. A reminder that your energy matters—and that healing doesn’t have to be loud to be life-changing.

In a world that moves fast, Reiki is an invitation to slow down, reconnect, and remember who you are beneath all the noise.