Reiki is often spoken about in quiet, almost whispered language: energy, stillness, warmth, presence. For many people, it is something they feel before they can explain. A softening in the body. A steadier breath. A sense of being held without needing to perform, explain, or fix anything.

In recent years, Reiki has also begun to appear more often in research under the term biofield therapy. This matters, because it gives Reiki a language that can sit more comfortably alongside integrative healthcare. Biofield therapies generally refer to gentle, non-invasive approaches that work with the body’s subtle energy field, often through light touch or hands placed just above the body. Reiki, Healing Touch, Therapeutic Touch, and external Qigong are commonly included within this wider category.

A recent study published in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health explored the effect of Reiki on wellbeing in low-income patients with mental health diagnoses. The study described Reiki as “a biofield therapy” and offered sessions within an outpatient behavioural health clinic. This is encouraging because Reiki was not being studied in isolation from real life, but within a setting where people were already experiencing significant emotional and psychological challenges.

The study included 91 patients, many of whom had diagnoses such as major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and generalised anxiety disorder. After a single Reiki session, patients reported significantly lower ratings of pain, fatigue, anxiety, stress, sadness, and agitation. They also reported higher levels of happiness, energy, relaxation, and calmness. The researchers concluded that Reiki appeared feasible to offer within a behavioural health clinic and may be worth further exploration as a complementary support for mental health and wellbeing.

It is important to be clear about what this study does and does not say. It does not claim that Reiki cures mental health conditions. It does not replace counselling, psychotherapy, medication, medical care, or crisis support. The study was a feasibility pilot with a pre-and-post design, meaning more rigorous research is still needed. But what it does offer is meaningful: after receiving Reiki, participants felt calmer, less distressed, and more emotionally settled. For a gentle complementary therapy, that is no small thing.

This is where Reiki can become especially relevant for nervous system support. When we are stressed, grieving, anxious, overwhelmed, or emotionally exhausted, the body can begin to live as if it is always bracing. The breath shortens. Muscles tighten. Sleep becomes lighter. Thoughts loop like tiny birds trapped in a room. Reiki offers a pause in that pattern. It invites the body into stillness, and stillness can become a doorway back to safety.

In my practice, I offer Reiki as a gentle complementary therapy for those who are seeking calm, grounding, and reconnection with themselves. Some people come to Reiki because they feel emotionally depleted. Others are navigating grief, stress, life changes, anxiety, spiritual questioning, or simply a sense that they have become disconnected from their own inner steadiness.

Reiki is not about forcing change. It is not about analysing the mind or digging through the past. It is more like creating a peaceful inner climate where the body can remember how to settle. Many clients describe feeling deeply relaxed, warm, lighter, clearer, or more present after a session. Some notice emotional release. Others simply feel rested, as if something in them has unclenched.

I offer different forms of Reiki depending on what feels most supportive. In-person Reiki allows for a quiet, held space with gentle hands-on or hands-near-the-body practice. Virtual Reiki offers the same intentional presence online, with grounding, meditation, Reiki, and a short debrief. Distant Reiki may suit those who cannot attend in person or online at a set time, but still wish to receive energetic support followed by a reflective email.

Reiki also links naturally with the wider services I offer. For those working with hypnotherapy, Reiki can support relaxation and nervous system regulation. For those drawn to soul midwifery or end-of-life companionship, Reiki can offer a tender, non-verbal form of presence when words feel too small. For those exploring emotional healing, Reiki can become part of a wider journey of safety, awareness, and integration.

The growing use of the term biofield therapy does not remove the mystery from Reiki. Instead, it gives us a bridge. On one side, we have lived experience: warmth, calm, emotional release, inner peace. On the other, we have emerging research exploring how practices like Reiki may support wellbeing. Between the two is a spacious middle ground where science and soul can speak gently to one another.

Reiki does not need to be exaggerated to be valuable. Its quietness is part of its strength. Reiki offers something beautifully different in this world that often ask us to push, fix, explain and hurry: a space to receive, loosen our edges, breathe, and return to ourselves.

Apply for a complimentary distant Reiki session here.

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