Is distance Reiki energy healing really a thing or is it just woo-woo nonsense?
Stating up front that I am certified and practicing Usui Ryoho Reiki Master Teacher so perhaps you already know my answer to this question...come stroll with me and let's explore together!
As a Reiki practitioner for five years, I have often been asked to explain Reiki: what it is, how it works, and especially to weigh in on distance Reiki. If you have ever wondered about Reiki, today’s stroll is for you. If you haven’t wondered about Reiki or have had a negative experience with Reiki, this stroll is also for you. It is my wish to shine my personal and professional light on this topic to perhaps open a new door to Reiki for those who are called to enter.
I offer you a kind and open hand as we gently stroll down this path together today.
I feel compelled to begin by saying that it is absolutely not my intention to try and convince you that Reiki energy healing works. It’s not my place to try and sell you on the wonders of Reiki, distant energy healing, or anything else. If you are curious about Reiki, I encourage you to experience it for yourself both in-person and at a distance so you can draw your own conclusions. I also encourage you to try different practitioners as we each bring our uniqueness to the practice and you might resonate with one practitioner more than another…and that’s ok!
What is Reiki?
To keep it simple (my publication is, after all, about simplicity), Reiki is a spiritual healing practice that originated in Japan that uses the universal life force energy that is available to all of us for healing. Reiki sits on the foundation that everything is energy, including us, and that we can learn to work with this energy to support healing and wellbeing for ourselves and others.
A Reiki practitioner receives an attunement to this energy from a Reiki Master Teacher and depending on the type of Reiki practice, there are different degrees or levels of attunement.
I am trained in the Western form of Usui Ryoho Reiki created by Dr. Miko Usui in the early 1900’s that was brought and adapted to the west in 1939 by one of Dr. Usui’s students, Madam Takata. In the Usui Ryoho Reiki tradition, there are the following degrees (or levels): 1st degree (self-healing), 2nd degree (distance healing), Master/Teacher.
Today, there are more than thirty different variations of Reiki and you can check out an article from the International Center for Reiki training here if you’d like to read more about the different types of Reiki (enjoy the rabbit 🐰 hole!).
How does Reiki work?
No one really knows exactly how Reiki works, but an analogy that helped me to cultivate more understanding was to think of my cell phone, wifi, or an old fashioned radio. The waves from a cell phone and a radio cannot be seen or felt, but we know they exist because when we pick up our phones, we are able to connect to people all around the world with no cord or physical “line” to that person (if you’re old enough to remember the days of playing telephone with paper cups and strings, high five!). I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t tell you exactly how this magic happens with my cell phone but it’s clear that it works (and if it weren’t for the invisible and magical wifi, this article wouldn’t have made it to you so quickly)!
Working with Reiki energy is similar. We can’t see it with our eyes, but with practice and intention, we can learn to feel it and work with it (this is where the attunement, training, and most importantly, practice comes in).
It also helps me to think of all energy as vibration and that all energies have their own unique vibrations and/or frequencies, including us, including Reiki. A Reiki practitioner partners with the client either in-person or at a distance, to channel Reiki energy (a very high vibrational energy) to the client to support with clearing and balancing the client’s energy (who is vibrating at a lower vibration than Reiki…as we all are).
Without getting too science-y and honoring the value of simplicity, a principle of physics called entrainment helped me to understand Reiki even more. Entrainment is the principle that when two objects are placed near each other vibrating at two different frequencies, the objects will begin to vibrate at the same frequency. This is how crystal healing works, by the way. Crystals vibrate at a higher frequency than humans and when crystals are placed on or near the body, entrainment occurs, helping to shift our vibration (don’t take my word for it, give it a try yourself! Couldn’t hurt 😉).
The video above is shared with the permission of the client on the table and is one of my absolute favorite in-person energy healing sessions I have ever had the honor to participate in. The client is also an energy worker so the session was extremely powerful for both of us.
What’s the scoop on distance energy healing?
So if the principle of entrainment says that when two objects are near each other, how in the world can distance energy healing work you might ask?
Fair question! Guess what? Energy knows no bounds and travels freely across time and space (like those cell phone, wifi, and radio waves I talked about earlier).
The clincher here is the focused intention from the practitioner and the openness of the receiver. It’s important to mention that the receiver doesn’t need to believe in Reiki for it to work; the receiver does, however, need to give permission to receive Reiki because Reiki can only be used for the highest good and with the consent of the receiver (so no, Reiki isn’t black magic or Obeah as some people might think!).
Think about this: have you ever thought of someone and not long after they called you? Sure, you might say that’s coincidence but what if that is an example of how we are all connected energetically?
Or maybe this has happened to you: you meet someone for the first time and right away, you don’t really like the person. Maybe you’ve even said something like “their vibe was off” or “I don’t know why, but there’s just something about them that I don’t like.” What if this experience is an example of how we can all feel the energy of others naturally but we just don’t practice this (or maybe even “buy into it” because it’s been deemed “woo-woo” or “airy fairy” and we are too smart for that)?
A few thoughts on “woo-woo” and “airy fairy"…
Perhaps this is a longer post for another day, but I do want to share my personal opinion that the words “woo-woo” and “airy-fairy” feel like attempts to discredit any healing modality that someone feels doesn’t fit neatly into an acceptable scientific or medical box. There’s a lot of history (that I am no expert on) with how the world has evolved in the past few centuries in regards to science vs. religion vs. paganism vs. lots of other things that come into play that influenced the coining of terms like woo-woo and airy-fairy.
What if we have been led to believe that alternative healing modalities are less than because there’s a pharmaceutical agenda that is much more profitable when we have a lot of sick people instead of a lot of people who are well (food for thought…)?
I feel hopeful that we are evolving even further to the understanding that many things can exist at the same time that are helpful to us in the realm of wellbeing and healing and that the us vs. them kind of thinking is becoming outdated (crossing all of my fingers and toes!).
If you’d like to go further down this rabbit hole, I highly recommend the book “Why Woo-Woo Works” by Dr. David Hamilton. In my humble opinion, it’s an easy read with lots of research and case studies that give both food for thought and validity to alternative healing modalities, such as Reiki (the most validation for Reiki in my humble opinion is still your own experience over research).
As I get older, I have to admit that I’m less impressed by research and peer-reviewed studies than I used to be. There is so much wisdom to be had in this world that cannot only be captured by even well-thought out and designed research (my apologies as I digress…).
So how does a distance Reiki session work?
Every Reiki practitioner conducts distance sessions in their own unique way so there is not one simple answer to this question. I will give you a brief-ish description below of how I conduct a private session and my full moon session:
A private distance Reiki session with me
We start off with a 10-15 minute Zoom call as an intake before our session. We will chat about why the client is wanting a Reiki session and if there is anything in particular the client wants to focus on during the session. I’ve worked with many first-time Reiki clients who have no idea what they want to focus on and that’s perfectly fine! Reiki is an intelligent energy and as a practitioner, I am acting as a channel not a director of the energy so Reiki will naturally go where it is needed the most.
During the Zoom call, we figure out together what will work best for the client in terms of remaining live on Zoom or logging off and doing the remainder of the session without Zoom (I personally prefer to log off as I find that staying live on Zoom is often a distraction because we are both left wondering Is she still there? Is my wifi still working?).
After the intake, I create a unique altar for the client and use a photo of the client to look at and connect with their energy. The altar typically has crystals, greenery from the jungle in my backyard, a candle, and the photo of the client. I then channel Reiki to the client for about 45 minutes or so (varies depending on what feels right and needed for the client).
While I am channeling Reiki, the client can do whatever he/she/they likes. I have a client that will take a bath while I am channeling Reiki to her. She creates a relaxing and calm space in her bath with crystals and candles and just relaxes. Some clients choose to lie down while others may sit in meditation. I even have clients that don’t have time to do these things and are receiving the Reiki I am channeling while they are working! There is no right or wrong way to receive Reiki and we chat about this during the intake (or even via email before the session) so that I can support the client with figuring out what they do or don’t want to do during the session.
When the channeling of Reiki is complete, I let the client know via message that the session is finished. At that time, I do a detailed written follow-up that summarizes the intake, the session, and offers some suggestions for the client to try on their own to work with their energy. The client receives this written follow-up within a few hours of the session.
A private distance Reiki session includes a 15 minute follow-up Zoom call a few days after the session (or the client can decide that this happens in another form such as via email or messaging).
The monthly full moon group distance Reiki session
I began offering a monthly group distance Reiki session on the full moon in 2021. At that time, I was a level 2 practitioner and the idea for this session came to me while I was sitting in meditation. I’m humbled and amazed that three years later I am still offering this session every month and I usually have at least twenty names on the altar.
The full moon session is very different from the private session that I just described and is a very affordable, toe-in-the-water kind of way to experience Reiki.
There is no live component for this session. For $5 USD per person, I create a unique name card to place on a large altar that I create on the day of the full moon. Similar to the private altar, this altar contains crystals, offerings from the nature surrounding me, and candles. I then place each name card on the altar.
When the session is beginning, I personally message each participant (I used to announce it on social media but as of last May, I’m no longer participating in the social media debacle of the world) to let them know that the session is beginning.
I sit at the altar and channel Reiki to each of the names on the altar for about 45 minutes or so. While I am doing this, many participants are also in some form of mediation while receiving Reiki which makes this session feel quite powerful and like we are doing something positive for the world. Some participants are busy life-ing or maybe even sleeping if the time doesn’t work for their time zone (I have participants from all over the world!) and that’s ok. They will still receive Reiki no matter what they are doing.
When I am finished channeling Reiki, I take individual photos of each of the name cards and then I turn them all over (privacy rules, you know?) and take a picture and short video of the altar. I also pull an oracle card at the end of the session and take a photo of that as well. Each participant receives their respective photos.
The video above is from a full moon altar done in 2023. I love how the full moon rises in the window of the room where I do the session.
What does receiving Reiki feel like?
A lot of people will ask me what they are supposed to feel or experience when receiving Reiki, especially at a distance. This is a question I cannot answer because everyone will experience Reiki in their own unique way. Part of me wants to share what clients have said to me after receiving Reiki and part of me thinks this isn’t a great idea because it might plant seeds of expectation in your mind of what should or shouldn’t happen.
I’m going to err on the side of caution here and not share what I’ve heard from my clients over the years. It feels more aligned and more powerful for you to experience Reiki with a beginner’s mind so you can draw your own conclusions about your unique experience.
So, my dear readers and listeners, that is what I have to share about Reiki energy healing in this moment. I hope that something I have shared here lights up your curiosity or opens a new door to the world of energy healing that you haven’t encountered before.
If you have experienced Reiki or some other form of energy healing before, I’d love to hear about your experience!
If you have questions that I might be able to answer after reading this post, please do connect and I will do my best to shed some light.
If you’d like to experience Reiki with me, connect and let’s get started!
Lastly, if you are feeling called to attune to Reiki, I am offering virtual level 1 Usui Ryoho Reiki certification and in-person 1:1 bespoke wellbeing retreats here in Jamaica that can include Reiki certification. Reach out and let’s chat!
Thank you deeply and kindly for taking this stroll with me today. I appreciate every one of you here reading or listening on the other side of this post. You bring joy and light to my likkle world.
With a warm hug and good vibes for you,
Deanna 🙏🌈💕
Resources for my English students to accompany this article:
TOTALLY intrigued by the woo-woo! I have learnt SO much from this essay. Loved your analogy about feeeeeling the vibes and energy via frequency. Yes, I'm familiar with crystal healing and use so many in my life depending on the needs - but had no idea reiki works on frequency and vibration too!
Great article! I’ve had the pleasure of receiving in-person Reiki channeling from you and it provided me such clarity!! This post really hits on the nuances and unambiguous aspects of Reiki - distance Reiki at that. Thanks for sharing 💫