How Reiki Energy Can Help You

Eugene Chow
Aug 11
4 min read

What if healing didn’t always come in pills or procedures, but invisibly through a pair of hands?

Reiki might sound mysterious, maybe even implausible, until you hear how one woman’s search for relief led her to a quiet clinic in Japan, where warmth from a stranger’s palms changed her life.

Reiki Grandmaster Mrs Takata’s first reiki experience

Years before WW2, Mrs Takata became part of reiki history when she studied the technique in Japan. After returning to Hawaii, she practised it there for decades and later across mainland America.

Prior to that, she had travelled to Japan seeking treatment for severe ailments that developed after her husband’s passing. At a local hospital, the doctor referred her to Dr Hayashi.

At Dr Hayashi’s clinic, she was treated by resident therapists. Her first reiki session left a lasting impression.

I am a very curious woman. I said to myself, ‘I am going to investigate how they are doing this [Reiki]. What makes me feel first the warmth then actual heat emanating from their hands?’ I looked under the table, at the ceiling, everywhere. I could find no cords or instruments. Then I thought, ‘Aha, sleeves.’ Dr. Hayashi’s assistants wore the Japanese kimono with the long sleeves, which hold pockets. They worked so silently. There was no talking.My moment came. When I was being treated I suddenly grabbed the practitioner by the pocket.He was startled, but thinking I needed some Kleenex thoughtfully handed me some. I said ‘No, I want to see the machine in your pocket.’ He burst into uncontrolled laughter.

Dr. Hayashi came on to see what the commotion was about and was told. He smiled and shook his head,” Mrs. Takata recalls. “He proceeded to give her the explanation of a Universal Life Force. He said, ‘Whenever you feel the contact, all I know is that I have reached this great Universal Life Force, and it comes through me to you. These – he held up his hands, are the electrodes… That force begins to revitalize and restore the balance of your entire system.

What does reiki energy feel like?

My students often ask how to recognise reiki energy from the palms.

Warmth is the most common sensation just like what Mrs Takata experienced. Some people may experience tingling and a flowing sensation in the body.

Since I began practicing reiki, I’ve seen that everyone experiences it differently. There’s no single “correct sensation.

One client told me she felt waves of anger and sadness surface as she received reiki.

These feelings simply indicate that reiki is flowing into your body. What matters is that you receive the healing you need.

Where does reiki energy come from?

Theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler once said, “No point is more central than this, that empty space is not empty. It is the seat of the most violent physics.”

Not too long ago, the idea that information could travel through the air sounded absurd. Today, WiFi, 5G and wireless charging are everywhere.

So why can’t humans do the same? We’ve shown we can transmit energy, and it’s been demonstrated often.

Qigong is the Chinese art of energy manipulation. One Qigong master can start a fire with his bare hands while another calms the swelling in a fighter’s hands.

Researchers at the HeartMath Institute have shown that the human heart emits biomagnetic radiation, which sensitive instruments can pick up.

Qi in Chinese, Ki in Japanese, and Prana in Sanskrit – all point to the same unseen energy that flows within and around us.

Reiki is the practice of working with this energy. Mrs Takata called it universal energy, or cosmic energy.

Yet, how it works remains a complete mystery. Mikao Usui, the founder of Usui Reiki, once confessed that “although I am the founder of this method, even I cannot clearly explain [its workings]”.

After his spiritual awakening on Mt Kurama, reiki flowed through his hands until his final days. Before passing, he attuned others to do the same.

Reiki: The art of channelling cosmic energy

Reiki healing is about channelling cosmic or universal energy. 

Rei 靈 breaks down into 雨 (rain), 口口口 (containers), and 巫 (shaman/priestess).

Ki 氣 contains 气 (energy) and 米 (rice), the latter symbolising energy dispersal.

In short: energy enters the practitioner, who becomes a vessel and channels it to the recipient.

The essence of reiki is channeling cosmic energy to someone or something.

Check out What Does the Reiki Kanji Mean? for a scholarly review of the kanji words.

How reiki can help you, your loved ones and pets

A reiki practitioner is someone attuned to channel reiki energy. Anyone can receive an attunement and learn to help themselves and others.

Attunements are usually done on the hands, so that energy flows through them. But other parts of the body can also be attuned. For example, those with arm disabilities may attune their feet.

During a session, the practitioner places their hands on the recipient to direct the energy where it’s needed. They may move intuitively or in intervals across the body.

Not only can reiki be given to people, pets and animals can also benefit from it!

How does reiki work?

Nobody really knows how reiki helps the mind and body recover but we can make an intelligent guess.

Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto discovered that thoughts and words can alter the structure of water and affect plant growth.

This isn’t surprising given Einstein’s theory E=mc² that energy and matter are inseparable. Emoto’s water crystallisation experiments support Einstein’s equation.

The effect of words on water crystallisation

Independent reiki practitioners have run similar tests on plants and found similar results.

These findings tell us that the energy of reiki positively impacts our body, of which 70% is water. If reiki can energise water this way, it can likely energise the matter in our body too. Thus, enabling the body to function better.

But don’t take my word for it. Scientific studies like Reiki Is Better Than Placebo also suggest that reiki positively affects people.

We may not know precisely how reiki works, but we can definitely start using it for our own good.