Just like cupping or healing crystals, Reiki is having a moment in the wellness world right now.
But even though the practice has infiltrated your Instagram feed and brunch circles, you might still be wondering what it is exactly (errrr, is it like acupuncture—or yoga, maybe?).
So yeah, what is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese spiritual healing technique in which practitioners can help your body heal itself through touch. “Rei” translates to “universe” or “life force,” and “ki” translates to the physical energy of the body (also known as qi); put together, Reiki translates to “universal life force energy.”
That means the job of a Reiki practitioner is to help your body work its own healing magic. "We don’t consider ourselves healers, because the body is its own healer,” explains Brian Brunius, a New York City-based Reiki master. “The process of giving Reiki to someone is the process of giving them even more of the life energy that they already have—so we just give the body the extra energy to do with it what it will.”
In the modern world, he explains, we’re all running around on empty, with just enough energy to get through what we have to do every day—meaning there’s not a lot of energy left over for your body to work on maintenance, repair, and deeper healing. “And so when you give your body extra energy, it takes that energy and uses it how it wants to, likely for deeper healing,” Brunius explains.
Wait, how it Reiki actually done?
During a Reiki session—which can last anywhere from half an hour to nearly two hours, depending on where you go—you sit on a massage table, fully clothed and covered with a sheet and/or blankets, and a practitioner lightly rests his or her hands on (or hovers them over) various parts of your body where energy is said to flow the most.
The hand positions are designed to cover three main areas: your major organs, your major chakras, and your major meridians (energy pathways). These areas can be found all over the body, so Reiki practitioners may touch or hover above your head, extremities, midsection, and feet. During a session, patients tend to fall into a trancelike state where they have incredibly lucid dreams (a.k.a., "Reiki sleep), says Brunius.
But even though the practice has infiltrated your Instagram feed and brunch circles, you might still be wondering what it is exactly (errrr, is it like acupuncture—or yoga, maybe?).
So yeah, what is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese spiritual healing technique in which practitioners can help your body heal itself through touch. “Rei” translates to “universe” or “life force,” and “ki” translates to the physical energy of the body (also known as qi); put together, Reiki translates to “universal life force energy.”
That means the job of a Reiki practitioner is to help your body work its own healing magic. "We don’t consider ourselves healers, because the body is its own healer,” explains Brian Brunius, a New York City-based Reiki master. “The process of giving Reiki to someone is the process of giving them even more of the life energy that they already have—so we just give the body the extra energy to do with it what it will.”
In the modern world, he explains, we’re all running around on empty, with just enough energy to get through what we have to do every day—meaning there’s not a lot of energy left over for your body to work on maintenance, repair, and deeper healing. “And so when you give your body extra energy, it takes that energy and uses it how it wants to, likely for deeper healing,” Brunius explains.
Wait, how it Reiki actually done?
During a Reiki session—which can last anywhere from half an hour to nearly two hours, depending on where you go—you sit on a massage table, fully clothed and covered with a sheet and/or blankets, and a practitioner lightly rests his or her hands on (or hovers them over) various parts of your body where energy is said to flow the most.
The hand positions are designed to cover three main areas: your major organs, your major chakras, and your major meridians (energy pathways). These areas can be found all over the body, so Reiki practitioners may touch or hover above your head, extremities, midsection, and feet. During a session, patients tend to fall into a trancelike state where they have incredibly lucid dreams (a.k.a., "Reiki sleep), says Brunius.
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