Reiki
Reiki is a form of spiritual healing originating from Japan that involves the practice of placing hands on or above a person's body to manipulate what practitioners believe to be energy fields. The term "Reiki" combines two Japanese words: "rei," meaning "universal," and "ki," meaning "life energy." Practitioners contend that the technique can enhance energy flow, potentially accelerating healing and increasing overall wellness. While Reiki is offered in various settings, including some hospitals, it lacks a scientific foundation to support its efficacy for medical purposes.
The method was developed by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century, with its practice evolving through different lineages and interpretations. While Reiki is often used in conjunction with conventional medical care, it is important to note that rigorous scientific studies have generally not demonstrated its effectiveness. Some research indicates potential benefits, such as reduced anxiety and improved relaxation, but these findings are not conclusive. Potential users are encouraged to approach Reiki with an understanding of these limitations and to select qualified practitioners, as there is no formal regulation in the field. Reiki is considered safe when used as a complementary therapy, but it should not replace conventional medical treatment.
Reiki
DEFINITION: Spiritual healing involves holding hands in certain positions over parts of the body to improve energy flow.
PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USES: None
OTHER PROPOSED USES: Increasing wellness, treating diseases of all types
Overview
The word reiki comes from the Japanese words rei, meaning “universal,” and ki, meaning “life energy.” The term refers to a form of spiritual healing that involves holding one’s hands on or above another’s body in order to supposedly manipulate energy fields. Many people have taken training in Reiki, and the service is provided in a variety of settings, including some hospitals. However, there is no scientific foundation in support of Reiki’s effectiveness for any purpose.
History of Reiki. There are two principal stories regarding the origin of Reiki. In both versions, the method was invented in Japan by Mikao Usui (1865-1926). Many Reiki practitioners in the United States believe that Usui was a Christian monk who invented the technique in the mid-nineteenth century. However, according to the more traditional Japanese schools of Reiki, Usui was a member of a Japanese spiritual organization called Rei Jyutsu Kai, and he developed the technique around 1915. (The story that he was a Christian may have been invented to facilitate the acceptance of Reiki in the West.) Both versions of Reiki’s history agree that Usui based his technique on methods and philosophies drawn from numerous Asian traditional healing methods. Many forms of Reiki exist, descending through different lineages of teachers.
After Usui’s death, his students continued to teach various forms of Reiki. One of these students, Chujiro Hayashi (1880-1940), systematized Reiki into three levels and added many hand movements to the technique. In turn, one of Hayashi’s students, Hawayo Takata (1900-1980), brought Reiki to the United States. In the early 1980s, Takata’s granddaughter, Phyllis Furumoto (1948-2019), took on the mantle of Hayashi and Takata’s line of Reiki and popularized it widely in the West. Furumoto named Reiki grandmaster Johannes Reindl (b. 1977) her successor and lineage bearer.
What is Reiki? Most types of Asian traditional medicine make use of the concept of qi (also spelled ch'i and other forms), a form of vital energy that flows through the body. Free-flowing, abundant qi is said to create health, while stagnant or deficient qi is thought to lead to illness. Reiki practitioners believe that they can improve this energy by holding their hands in certain positions over parts of a person’s body; advanced practitioners believe they can produce this effect from a distance. The net result, according to the theory, is accelerated healing and increased wellness.
In many ways, Reiki resembles therapeutic touch (TT), except that the instructions given to its practitioners are more specific. A certified practitioner of Reiki has spent time learning specified hand movements and positions and has also undergone an "attunement" to an already-certified Reiki practitioner. This chain of attunements goes back to Usui, the method’s founder.
In its most popular Western form, Reiki is learned in three stages. The first stage involves an attunement that allegedly permits physical healing. The second stage supposedly grants the ability to carry out healing over a distance. The third degree of training is said to allow the practitioner to perform healing on a spiritual level and to give attunements to students. Generally, each level is obtained by paying a fee and completing a weekend course.
Uses and Applications
Reiki is promoted as a treatment that can accelerate physical, emotional, or spiritual healing in every conceivable situation. It is used as a support for conventional medical care rather than as a replacement for it. Reiki has also been incorporated into some workplace wellness initiatives to combat stress, much like other complementary therapies such as massage and meditation.
Scientific Evidence
The only truly meaningful way to determine whether a medical therapy works is to perform a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. For hands-on therapies such as Reiki, however, a truly double-blind study is not possible; the Reiki practitioner will inevitably know whether they are administering real Reiki rather than fake Reiki. The best that can be hoped for is a single-blind study in which participants do not know whether they received real or fake Reiki and in which the medical outcome is evaluated by an observer who also does not know who is or is not receiving real Reiki and is, therefore, "blinded."
In a 2008 review of nine randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of Reiki for various purposes, researchers stated that no firm conclusions could be drawn from any of these studies. In a subsequent controlled trial, one hundred persons with fibromyalgia received Reiki or direct-touch therapy from either a true Reiki master or an actor posing as a Reiki master. There was no difference in symptom improvement between the two groups. In one review of three Reiki studies, researchers found that more experienced practitioners appeared to have a greater effect on pain reduction. This observation could not be explained.
A simpler study design compares Reiki to no treatment. However, studies of this type cannot provide reliable evidence about the efficacy of treatment: If a benefit is seen, there is no way to determine whether it was caused by Reiki specifically or just by attention generally. (Attention alone will almost always produce some reported benefit.)
There are many case reports in which people are given Reiki and then seem to improve. Such reports do not mean anything scientifically; numerous people receiving placebo in placebo-controlled studies also seem to improve. Thus, such reports cannot say whether Reiki offers any benefit.
In one study, female nursing students received either real Reiki or a placebo form of the treatment called mimic Reiki. Before-and-after tests failed to find any improvement in general well-being attributable to Reiki treatment.
In another study, researchers evaluated the effectiveness of Reiki (with a related technique called LeShan) in twenty-one people undergoing oral surgery for impacted wisdom teeth. Each participant received two surgeries, one with Reiki and the other without (in random order). People reported less pain when they received Reiki than when they received no treatment; however, because of the lack of a fake treatment group, the results mean little.
Other studies found that Reki lowered anxiety and had better effects than a placebo in parasympathetic nervous system activation. In three to eight Reiki sessions, study participants with chronic illnesses or anxiety had lower heart rates and blood pressure. The researchers of these studies emphasized that these positive findings indicate that Reiki may be a positive addition to medicine and therapy prescribed by doctors, but it is not a healing therapy itself. The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health continues to classify Reiki as an unproven treatment with a deficiency of high-quality research. However, some patients may find benefits in using Reiki.
Choosing a Practitioner
Several competing organizations issue certifications to Reiki practitioners. These include the Reiki Alliance, the International Center for Reiki Training, and the Awareness Institute. However, there is no official regulation of Reiki practice, so medical professionals often warn that patients should use due diligence in choosing a reputable practitioner. Some practitioners practice combining Reiki with massage, talk therapy, or physiotherapy, so finding a professional who meets individual needs and goals is important.
Safety Issues
There are no known or proposed safety risks with Reiki unless a person chooses to use Reiki instead of medical care rather than as a supportive, additional care method. Using any complementary or alternative medicine as the only treatment for a condition may cause the condition to persist or worsen.
Bibliography
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