Reiki healing is a hands-on (or hands-hovering) energy practice where a trained practitioner places their hands on or just above the body in a series of specific positions, with the intention of channeling healing energy to reduce stress and promote relaxation. The technique itself is simple to learn, but doing it properly requires formal training called an “attunement” from a qualified Reiki Master. Here’s what the practice actually involves and how to get started.
The Five Principles Behind Reiki
Reiki was developed by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan and is built around five guiding principles, known as the Gokai, that practitioners recite daily. They serve as both a mental framework and a meditative anchor before and during healing work:
- Just for today, don’t get angry
- Just for today, don’t worry
- Be grateful
- Work diligently
- Be kind to others
The “just for today” framing is intentional. Rather than committing to permanent emotional perfection, practitioners focus only on the present day. These principles aren’t just philosophical decoration. They’re meant to be actively practiced as a way of clearing your own mental and emotional state before working with someone else. A Reiki session that starts with a scattered, anxious practitioner is considered less effective than one where the practitioner has grounded themselves first.
How Training Works: Three Levels
You can’t simply watch a video and start doing Reiki. The practice requires a process called attunement, where a Reiki Master performs an energetic initiation that is believed to open your ability to channel healing energy. Training is divided into three levels, each building on the last.
Level 1 is where everyone begins. You receive four attunements focused on opening your subtle energy body and learning to sense healing energy. At this stage, you learn the basic hand positions and practice self-healing. Level 1 qualifies you to perform Reiki on yourself and on others through direct touch.
Level 2 introduces three attunements along with sacred symbols and mantras. These symbols are used to focus intention, increase the strength of the energy, and perform distance healing, meaning you can send Reiki to someone who isn’t physically present. Most people who practice Reiki casually on friends and family operate at Level 2.
Level 3, or Master level, involves a single attunement and teaches you how to attune others. This is the teaching level. Completing it means you can initiate new students into your lineage and train them through all three levels yourself. Many practitioners take months or years between levels, allowing time to deepen their personal practice before advancing.
What a Reiki Session Actually Looks Like
Whether you’re giving or receiving Reiki, sessions follow a fairly consistent structure. The recipient lies fully clothed on a massage table or sits in a chair. The practitioner places their hands gently on or slightly above the body in a sequence of positions, typically starting at the head and moving down to the feet. Each hand position is held for several minutes before moving to the next.
The practitioner’s job during this time is deceptively simple: hold the position, stay mentally present, and allow energy to flow without forcing it. There’s no massage, no manipulation of tissue, no pressure. The hands rest lightly or hover just above the surface. Many practitioners close their eyes and focus on their breathing or silently repeat the Reiki principles to maintain focus.
Recipients commonly report feeling heat radiating from the practitioner’s hands, though some feel a refreshing coolness instead. Subtle pulsations at the point of contact are also frequently described, sometimes as localized tingling and sometimes as cascading waves that move through the entire body. Some people fall asleep. Others feel emotionally stirred. Occasionally, someone will notice a brief flare of discomfort at the site of an old injury or surgical scar, which typically passes quickly.
How to Practice Reiki on Yourself
Self-Reiki is the foundation of the entire practice and the first thing you’ll learn in Level 1 training. The basic technique involves placing your hands in a series of positions on your own body, holding each for three to five minutes. A common sequence starts with your hands cupped gently over your eyes, then moves to the sides of the head, the back of the head, the throat, the heart, the solar plexus, the lower abdomen, and the knees or feet.
Before starting, sit or lie down somewhere quiet and take a few slow breaths. Silently recite the five principles or simply set an intention for the session. Then begin working through your hand positions. You’re not trying to “push” energy anywhere. The practice is about placing your hands with awareness and allowing sensations to arise naturally. A full self-session takes 20 to 45 minutes, though even five minutes on a single area can be useful when time is short.
Daily self-practice is considered essential, not optional. It’s how practitioners develop sensitivity to energy flow and keep their own system balanced. Think of it like a musician practicing scales: the work you do on yourself directly improves what you can offer others.
Giving Reiki to Another Person
Once you’ve received your Level 1 attunement and built a personal practice, you can begin working with others. Start by having the person lie down comfortably and explain what they can expect: light touch or hovering hands, possible sensations of warmth or tingling, and the freedom to speak up or adjust at any time.
The standard hand positions for a full session on another person follow the body’s major energy centers. You’ll typically begin with your hands framing the head (temples, crown, back of the skull), then move to the throat and shoulders, the chest and upper back, the stomach and lower back, the hips, the knees, and the feet. Spend three to five minutes at each position. Let your hands rest with just enough contact that the person feels your presence without any pressure.
Pay attention to what you sense in your palms. Some positions will feel noticeably warmer, cooler, or more “active” than others. Many practitioners interpret these sensations as areas that need more time, though interpretations vary. When a position feels complete (the sensation evens out or fades), move to the next one. A full session on another person typically runs 45 to 75 minutes.
What the Research Shows
Reiki’s mechanism isn’t well understood in conventional scientific terms, but a growing body of research has measured its physiological effects. A pilot clinical study found that heart rate and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly in a Reiki group compared to both placebo and control groups, suggesting activation of the body’s “rest and digest” nervous system. A separate study on laboratory rats found that just 15 minutes of Reiki per day for five days significantly reduced resting heart rate compared to sham Reiki.
An exploratory study published in Frontiers in Psychology measured stress and pain levels in over a thousand participants across diverse groups, including first responders, veterans, and academic communities. After a single ten-minute Reiki session, participants reported an average 72.6% reduction in perceived stress and a 63.3% reduction in pain. These reductions held across settings, even in highly disruptive environments like a police shooting range, where stress dropped by nearly 84%. The study’s design was exploratory rather than gold-standard clinical trial, but the consistency across such varied populations is notable.
Safety and Compatibility With Medical Care
Reiki has not been found to have any adverse effects. Because it involves no substances, no physical manipulation, and no ingestion of anything, it has no known contraindications and can be used alongside any medical treatment. It won’t interfere with medications or override the effects of medical interventions.
That said, Reiki is a complement to medical care, not a replacement. It’s not a diagnostic tool, and a Reiki practitioner (unless they’re also a licensed healthcare provider) is not qualified to diagnose conditions or recommend that you skip medical tests or treatments. The value of Reiki lies in stress reduction, pain management, and supporting your body’s recovery process while you pursue whatever conventional care you need.
Finding a Teacher and Getting Started
The single most important step in learning Reiki is finding a qualified teacher. Look for a Reiki Master who can trace their teaching lineage back through a clear chain of masters, ideally to Usui’s original tradition. Many teachers offer Level 1 training in a single weekend workshop, though some spread it over several weeks. Expect to pay anywhere from $100 to $300 for Level 1, with higher fees for Level 2 and Master training.
During your search, ask potential teachers about their lineage, how many attunements they give at each level, and how much hands-on practice is included in the course. A good training program includes supervised practice on other students, not just lecture. After your Level 1 attunement, commit to daily self-practice for at least 21 days (a traditional recommendation) before working on others. This integration period allows you to develop your sensitivity and build confidence in what you’re feeling before you extend the practice outward.