What is Reiki?

The word Reiki comes from two Japanese kanji: Rei (universal) and Ki (life energy). Together, they point to something cultures around the world have long recognized under different names — Qi, Prana, Ruach — the vital force that animates all living things.

In a session, the practitioner acts as a conduit for this universal energy, placing hands gently on or just above the body to invite energy to flow freely. When energy moves without obstruction, the body is given what modern life rarely allows it: the stillness in which rest and rebalancing become possible.

Sessions are quiet and fully clothed. Everyone experiences Reiki differently — some feel warmth or a gentle tingling, others a deep sense of calm. There is no single right response. You only need to arrive and rest.

Reiki and Qi — two traditions, one recognition

If you grew up with the concept of Qi (氣) — the vital life force at the heart of Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, and Tai Chi — Reiki may feel immediately familiar.

Both traditions begin from the same observation: the body is more than physical. It carries energy. And when that energy stagnates or falls out of balance, we feel it — as tension, fatigue, restlessness, or a quiet sense of disconnection from ourselves.

Where Qi describes the energy flowing within the body and the natural world, Reiki works by channeling universal energy through a practitioner to support the body's own movement toward balance. Two traditions, pointing toward the same recognition.

What Reiki can support

Reiki is a complementary practice — it works alongside medical care, never in place of it. It doesn't claim to cure. What it does, gently and consistently, is help the body settle into the state where its own healing can begin. Clients most often come to me carrying one of these: