Photo Credit: www.lifeofenergy.co.uk

Reiki is one of those modern alternative medicine principles that generates a lot of controversy. Some people think it’s a lot of nonsense, whereas others believe it’s one of the best ways to promote healing and peace in a person. Either way, Reiki is probably here to stay.

In a sense, the principle behind Reiki is that every person has their own energy, which can be negative or positive. A Reiki master helps a person channel that energy towards the positive so that person can experience peace or to help to relieve pain and stress. The way that master helps is where a portion of the controversy comes into play.

One way is what’s known as the “laying on of hands,” which reminds many of what some evangelists say they do with some of their parishioners. In this case, Reiki masters will lay their hands on different areas of a person’s body to try to draw energy to specific spots where there may be trouble going on in a person’s body. They don’t interpret where the problems lie; usually the person will tell the Reiki master where they’re experiencing discomfort. But the Reiki master won’t necessarily stay on one area of the body to affect this healing.

The second way is “hands above body,” and in this case, the practitioner never touches the person in any fashion. Instead, they keep their hands around 2 to 5 inches above the person, saying they’re helping to move and channel a person’s energy in a different way. For instance, if a person says they’re going through depression, a Reiki master will work on channeling the negative feelings of a person from their body. Some Reiki masters have claimed seeing negative energy in different colors leaving a person’s body. Most patient don’t see anything, as they’re asked to keep their eyes closed, but some have said that they noticed the moment when they started feeling better.

The problem with Reiki for scientists is that it’s hard to evaluate. Many Reiki practitioners don’t have degrees, and the training isn’t always formal. Therefore, it’s hard to set up a placebo trial because even those people who may not have any Reiki training whatsoever have to know what the principles are, and Reiki masters say that it’s not in the control of the person as to whether they can be true practitioners or not, but in the control of the energy. Every test that scientists have ever tried has failed because it’s not really measurable, so they’ve labeled this as a sham.

However, no one disputes that humans are based on energy, so there’s no one to say whether people will truly benefit from it or not. Some people swear by it, whereas others say they felt nothing. On my own, I’ve had it tried three times. The first two times I felt absolutely nothing. The third time, I fell asleep, and as someone who has never been able to fall asleep on my back, I found that interesting, as the person doing the session had her hands above my body. And, when I awoke, I felt pretty relaxed, but was that from the practitioner or being refreshed from the session?

Either way, it’s not harmful, and for those who might decide to give it a try, you’ll be able to make your own decision as to whether it was worth the time or not.

See more:
How Can Reiki Help Me?
Health: A house full of healthy options Should you try Reiki, or Shiatsu, or stick to antibiotics?
How Does Reiki Work?