A typical Reiki treatment session lasts between 60 and 90 minutes. The Reiki practitioner places his/her hands gently and passively on different locations on the body, usually beginning from the head. Each position is held for at least 3 minutes. Reiki is different from traditional massage because the person may remain fully clothed. Unlike massage, Reiki does not require any form of manipulation of tissue or muscles so the hands remain still and can be given without actually touching the recipient. Reiki will even flow through a plaster cast.

It is common for the person being treated to experience sensations such as warmth or tingling flowing from the Reiki practitioner’s hands. Most people report entering a very deep state of relaxation. Those familiar with meditation say they enter a deep meditative state. The mind calms, the breathing slows down, and a feeling of well–being and a better sense of perspective is attained. By receiving a one–hour session of Reiki, one physiologically attains many of the benefits equivalent to three to four hours sleep such as increased oxygen supply to the blood and cells. This clinical observation, combined with the meditative state, makes Reiki a most effective natural stress reliever.

Regular use of Reiki leads to an increase in general vitality and well–being and a sense of inner peace. It greatly accelerates and promotes the healing process and regeneration of tissue, and is capable of improving the quality of one’s life to an amazing degree.

An important difference between Reiki and other effective energy therapies is that, once it has been activated in your hands, you have it for life and you are able to treat yourself. Most other energy healing systems do not extend beyond the ability to treat others. In many other natural energy healing systems the practitioner is limited by his/her own physical and spiritual development and is often in danger of depleting his/her own energy in the process of treating others. This difference is one of Reiki’s primary benefits as the practitioner is just a channel and just passes on the cosmic energy to the patients.

Reiki can be explained in many ways. It can be considered an energy science which makes sense from the perspective of some theories within the field of quantum physics. It can also be seen as a state of manifesting consciousness. Whatever the explanation, it is an ancient healing/harmonizing therapy rapidly becoming recognized among health practitioners as a safe and highly effective complementary therapy to all other forms of health care.