Exploring the Key Benefits of Reiki Massage for Body & Wellness

Mikao Usui of Kyoto, Japan, formulated the spiritual practice of Reiki towards the end of the 19th century. As per an inscription written on his memorial stone, we learned that he taught Reiki to over 2000 students during his lifetime. Only 11 of these continued after his death and trained themselves to reach the “shinpiden” stage (or “master” level).

Reiki massage is a non-invasive treatment, meaning it doesn’t involve any instrument piercing through the skin or going inside a body opening. Instead, there are attuned practitioners who just use their hands, placing them on or close to the client’s body parts in a coherent sequence of positions. This is said to awaken/promote the body’s ability to “heal itself and restore balance.”

Wait, do Reiki sessions involve physical contact between the practitioners and clients? Not always! Besides, it depends on the clients’ preferences and comfort levels; some find the “light touch” comforting, whereas others don’t prefer to be touched.

Traditionally, Reiki massage has been practiced both ways—on-hand & without physical contact. In the former method, Reiki masters place their hands lightly on various parts of the client’s body, allowing the energy to flow through their hands to the client. They believe it induces healing and relaxation. Moreover, in the case of “no direct touch,” the masters hold their hands slightly above the client’s body and ensure that the energy gets channeled effectively.

According to the Social Baseline Theory, we humans have evolved to be “social creatures.” To be physically, mentally, and emotionally fit, we need social interactions. Biobehavioral synchrony is a term you need to become more familiar with if you’re interested in learning about the benefits of therapeutic touch. So let’s do it.

Biobehavioral synchrony is the coordination between an individual’s physiological (physical) and psychological (mental) processes during social engagements. This includes:

• Non-verbal behavior (body movement & control; thinking patterns)
• Autonomic regulation (control of bodily functions by the autonomic nervous system, such as heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, respiration, and temperature)
• Brain-to-brain synchrony (when two or more individuals interact in a social activity or have shared experiences, their brain activities become synchronized for the duration they participate)
• Release of oxytocin, a hormone and chemical messenger produced by the hypothalamus region of the brain (it is known as the “bonding hormone” and is associated with trust, empathy, and relationship-building).

Research says that “social & affective” therapeutic touch aids in strengthening biobehavioral synchrony, and it’s prominently observed in the case of infants, who always have to rely on caring adults for everything they need.

Quite an old study, conducted in 1998—a total of 125 participants who were “chronically ill” and had chronic pain were randomly assigned to 4 groups:
i) Reiki Healing and Massage
ii) Progressive Muscle Relaxation
iii) Mock Reiki
iv) Control Batch (who got no treatment but were asked to read any book/material of their choice).

45% of the participants suffered from chronic headaches, while the others got chronic pain from different morbid illnesses such as cancer, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and arthritis.

All participants were required to attend 30-minute sessions two times a week and receive unique treatments depending on their groups. This lasted for about 5 weeks. Some amazing results were discovered in the Reiki group post-treatment—better than a placebo could ever do. They were:

• Significant reduction in state anxiety (a type of anxiety that’s temporary & situation-specific; for example, you become nervous/anxious in response to a certain event—that can be giving a presentation or speech).
• Lessened trait anxiety (a type that’s long-term; in this case, a person can experience anxiety of varying frequency and intensity across different situations).
• Improvement in self-esteem; better management of loss of self-control.

A 2004 study looked at how healing Reiki massage had long-term impact on psychological depression and self-perceived stress.

[*The amount of stress an individual feels based on his/her own perceptions and emotions, rather than relying on objective measurements, is called self-perceived stress.]

In 2004, 46 people responded to an advertisement that promised treatment for symptoms of depression and stress. They were put into 3 groups at random:
i) Hands-on Reiki
ii) Distant Reiki
iii) Distant Reiki Placebo
An independent healer performed the Reiki master massage, and the participants were blind to their group assignments. Each of them received 1 to 1.5 hours of Reiki, one time a week, except the Placebo group (who were not provided any treatment). This went on for about 6 weeks.

Note: All the participants were given identical room settings for their Reiki sessions. Steps were taken to avoid bias and reduce the placebo effect. The results quite leaned in favor of Reiki, helping us understand that it can be a local, inexpensive solution for mental health issues.

Another 2015 study found out that Reiki could minimize burnout in 45 community mental health clinicians, who were arbitrarily divided into 2 groups:
i) Reiki
ii) Sham Reiki.
In both cases, they got 30-minute sessions, one time a week, carrying it over for about 6 weeks.

This study saw that clinicians who went in for Reiki sessions had progressed in controlling their burnout symptoms, including that of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (meaning, detachment from one’s own feelings, thoughts, surroundings, etc.)

According to a 2018 study, the Center for Reiki Research tells us that close to 60 hospitals and clinics offer Reiki treatment in the USA, whereas 8 different clinics provide treatment in other countries.

Now, we know that Reiki has been gaining popularity lately, but you must also remember that it is a biofield therapy (B.T), apparently positioned under the category of biofield science. According to a systematic review from 2022, the mainstream biomedical paradigm has "neither fully established nor accepted" Reiki as a biofield concept.

The definition of ‘biofield,’ in the context of Reiki, embraces a shift from the mechanical chemistry-based view of the current and dominant biomedical paradigm. It rather adopts an information-based view, which states:

• “The biofield is believed to be an organizing energy field of any living system—that’s self-accommodating, regulates, and helps maintain the biological system.”
• Plus, humans are multi-level organizational beings, and information flows between various levels inside them.

We’ve already heard about the EEGs (electroencephalograms) taken from the brain or the ECGs (electrocardiograms) taken from the heart—they are routine diagnoses of the electric fields perceived in the organs as part of Western biomedicine treatment. Science has given a nod (if not a full-fledged wave of a green flag) to energy-healing interventions and bio-electromagnetic device-based therapies. Studies suggest that sending low-level signals to the body can help it heal, repair, and develop its tissues, among other things.

[*Electromagnetic means the electrical and magnetic forces or effects produced by an electrical current].

Yet, biofield science faces much skepticism from science experts. A few of the reasons are listed below:

1. Some scientists believe that “biofield science is incongruent" and not very consistent with its theories and updates.
2. Yes, research is continuing over various causal factors to further explain the biofield, such as the relationship between electricity, magnetism, sound, and pH. But it doesn't offer much of a clear understanding yet.
3. “Subtle energies” are essential to learning the concept of biofield healing. But conventional science doesn’t accept the existence of “subtle energies” and labels them as “pseudoscience.”
4. According to historical data and influenced by cultural notions, the biofield is often associated with the idea of “a life force behind consciousness” or vitalism. This, too, is outright rejected by modern science.

So far, we know that Reiki healing massage has produced good results when compared with placebo in managing or abating the clinical symptoms of mental health disorders, such as anxiety, stress, depression, and burnout.

But it still falls under complementary & alternative medicine (CAM). So, if you feel your mental health conditions are worsening day by day, there’s no need to be ashamed about it. We recommend visiting a board-certified mental health professional to receive accurate and quality treatment.