Scientific Research and Reiki

When it comes to energy healing work, many people are skeptical.  Reiki and other natural modalities are often not accepted as legitimate healing methods.  While there are some people who are willing to take a leap of faith and give Reiki a chance to see for themselves what it can do, others want to know if science can get behind Reiki.  Can Reiki be proven, with scientific experiments, to work?  While the benefits of Reiki have still not been definitively proven by research due to a lack of large scale and long-term studies, there have several small studies that do indicate that there are scientifically measurable benefits. 

In 2017 Professor Maria Kuman, Ph.D. published the study MEASURING REIKI HEALING - MYSTERY, PLACEBO, OR REAL ENERGY HEALING?  Dr. Kuman used a patented High Sensitivity Energy Meter to measure the biofields of both Reiki practitioners and recipients before and after Reiki sessions.  The results showed that only was energy transferred from the hands of the practitioner to the recipients, but that the energy level of both the practitioner and the recipient was raised during the sessions (Kuman, 2017).  This not only gives evidence of Reiki’s ability to raise our vibrations, but also gives the indication that the energy does not come directly from the practitioner but is being channeled from another source. 

Mark S. Rosenbaum, PhD, and Jane Van de Velde, DNP, RN published a study of 150 patients in June of 2016 entitled The Effects of Yoga, Massage, and Reiki on Patient Well-Being at a Cancer Resource Center.  The patients were  asked to rate their personally perceived well-being in the areas of stress, pain, anxiety, mood, overall health, and quality of life before and after receiving services (Mark Rosenbaum, 2016).  Their study found yoga, massage, and Reiki all helped to lower stress and anxiety, improve the mood, and increase the health and quality of life of the patients.  Reiki was found to decrease the pain levels to a greater extent than yoga or massage.   

Most recently, a small study was done by Ann Baldwin PhD, Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, and Reiki Medic-Care to test the effectiveness of Reiki to treat burn-out in healthcare workers during the Covid 19 Pandemic.  The study included 20 female healthcare workers with an 85% retention rate. Distance Reiki was sent to the healthcare workers by licensed and insured Reiki practitioners for 20 minutes a day for four consecutive days.  The research showed that Reiki appeared to be helpful in reducing stress, anxiety, and pain, and in increasing wellbeing of healthcare professionals.

Although these studies were small, the results were promising.  I believe that with the growing acceptance of alternative and complementary healthcare modalities that we will see larger studies confirming these findings in the future. 

Gratitude Creates More for Which to be Grateful

Just for today, be grateful.  For there is so much to be grateful for!  Gratitude is the easiest way for me to raise my vibrations.  As one of the Reiki principles, it is a cornerstone to my healing practice.  A grateful heart heals so much easier and faster than a resentful one.  It is so much more resilient against dis-ease.

Gratitude is easy for me at this point in my life.  I am doing well.  I feel financially secure.  I’ve finished paying off a reliable vehicle.  I love my home.  I am in a loving relationship with my best friend.  Our kids are all healthy.  Life is good and gratitude comes easy. 

I feel like my resting point has become a place of gratitude, interrupted by small moments of stress, anger, or worry from time to time.  It used to be very much the opposite.  Stress was my natural state, interrupted by small moments of joy and gratitude.  I think that to look at my life now, one might think that I am grateful because all this good has come into my life.  And they would be right, except I believe that it is a wonderful cycle that began when gratitude helped me bring this good about in the first place. 

I used to be miserable.  I was always in pain from Fibromyalgia.  Paying bills was a juggling act.  My relationships with men were toxic.  I was always saying things like, “if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all” and “if it’s not one thing going wrong, it’s another.”  Life sucked and that is all I expected of it.  I was unhappy and resentful, and life just kept giving me more to be unhappy and resentful about.

Things began to turn around for me when I found Reiki and started practicing the principles.  In trying to practice gratitude each day in accordance with the principles, I started actively looking for things to be grateful for.  It hurt to walk when I first started practicing, but I COULD walk.  I was in sick and in pain, but my kids were healthy.  Financially, I had always struggled, but I always found a way to keep bills paid.  I stopped focusing so much on all that was wrong and turned my focus to the small, less obvious things that were good. 

The more I focused on those little things I had to be grateful for, the more they began to grow.  It was magical.  It is still magical, as my blessings continue to grow with my gratitude.  The little things became big things.  The stuff I stressed about began to fade away.  Personal disasters happened less and less.  Life is good, it is wonderful, and that is what I expect of it.  And every day I am in awe of it’s wonder and filled with gratitude.