How Do You Explain What Reiki Is?

One of the questions I was asked by a Reiki student today was:

“How do you explain to someone else what Reiki is?”

It sounds like a simple question but when I stopped to think about it, I realised that my answer isn’t always the same.

It depends on who I’m talking to.

If I’m talking to someone who is comfortable with spiritual or energetic ideas, I might explain Reiki in one way. If I’m talking to someone who is more scientifically minded, or perhaps a little sceptical, I might use very different language. And if someone has never come across Reiki before, I might simply start with what it feels like to experience it. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. In fact, I think trying to find one perfect definition of Reiki can sometimes make it harder to explain.

I’ve been asked this question myself…

I was reminded of an experience I had a little while ago.

I’ve had the special privilege of hosting Johannes Reindl, the current Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki Grandmaster, at the yoga studio where I teach on a couple of occasions. On one particular visit I was due to meet Johannes at his hotel, and while I was waiting the receptionist asked me what Reiki was. I was just about to start explaining when Johannes appeared, clearly interested to hear my answer! You can imagine the pressure I suddenly felt to give a good one 😄

I assumed the receptionist had never experienced Reiki before, so I tried to keep my explanation simple. I said something along the lines of:

“Reiki is a Japanese practice that involves quiet, gentle touch, or hands-off practice, and focused attention. People often use it as a way of slowing down, and many people find it very relaxing. We don’t often give ourselves much time to simply stop and do nothing, so having this time to pause and rest can be a valuable way to support our wellbeing.”

I then turned to Johannes and said: “This gentleman would explain it far better than me!”

He told me that he thought I’d given a good response. But then he said something that has stayed with me. Really, the best thing the receptionist could do was try it.

And afterwards, Johannes said something along the lines of: “Let someone experience the practice rather than trying to describe what it is like and what it does.”

And I think there is something very true in that.

So, what is Reiki?

At its simplest, Reiki is a Japanese practice involving the use of gentle touch, or hands held just above the body, as a way of supporting relaxation, awareness and wellbeing.

The word Reiki is generally translated as “universal life force energy”, although the meaning and interpretation of the word can vary depending on the tradition.

In the traditional system that I teach, Reiki is much more than a treatment. It is a practice and a way of life. Reiki begins with ourselves. We learn to become more aware of what is happening within us, to slow down, to listen, and to develop a regular practice of self-treatment and reflection. The ability to offer Reiki to another person develops from that personal practice.

So if someone asks me, “What does Reiki actually do?”, I don’t necessarily start by talking about energy flowing from one person to another. I might simply say:

“It’s a practice that gives you an opportunity to slow down, become more aware of yourself and spend some time quietly connecting with what is happening within you, making space for rest, reflection and a greater sense of wellbeing.”

For some people, that is enough. For others, they want to know more.

If someone is comfortable with the energetic side of Reiki

If I’m talking to someone who already has an understanding of energy, spirituality or subtle practices, I might describe Reiki as working with the body’s energy system or life force. In this understanding, Reiki is not something I am doing to someone. And I wouldn’t describe Reiki as something that heals or cures another person. For me, Reiki isn’t about trying to fix something or achieve a particular outcome for someone else. It’s about creating the space for them to have their own experience and to notice what happens for them.

They may feel warmth, tingling, movement, emotion or stillness. They may feel deeply relaxed, become more aware of something within themselves, or they may not notice anything particularly unusual at all.

There is no right or wrong experience.

The important thing is not what we think someone should experience, but allowing them the space to discover their own experience of Reiki.

But what if they’re more scientifically minded?

This is where I become a little more careful with my language.

There is research into Reiki and other touch-based or relaxation practices, but the evidence is not sufficient to establish the existence of a Reiki-specific energy mechanism in the way that the traditional spiritual explanation describes it. So I wouldn’t tell someone that science has proved that Reiki energy exists. It hasn’t.

What we can talk about is the experience of receiving Reiki and the things that may accompany a quiet, restful practice. Someone lying down in a calm environment, being gently touched or having hands placed above the body, slowing their breathing and having time away from everyday demands may experience deep relaxation. And sometimes, simply having time to relax and rest can be invaluable in supporting our wellbeing.

For someone who doesn’t connect with the idea of energy, I might therefore say:

“Reiki is a Japanese practice that involves quiet, gentle touch or a hands-off approach, together with focused attention. People often use it as a way of slowing down, relaxing and becoming more aware of themselves, creating space to pause and support their overall sense of wellbeing.”

There is nothing wrong with starting there.

You don’t have to convince anyone

I think this is one of the most important things to remember when talking about Reiki.

You don’t have to convince someone that Reiki is real.

You don’t have to find the perfect words that will suddenly make a sceptical person understand it. And you certainly don’t need to make claims that you aren’t comfortable making. Sometimes we can become so enthusiastic about something that has become meaningful in our own lives that we want everyone else to understand it in exactly the same way. But Reiki doesn’t need a sales pitch.

Perhaps the simplest explanation is your own

When someone asks you, “What is Reiki?”, you don’t necessarily need to reach for a textbook definition. You can simply talk about what Reiki means to you and how it has become part of your own life.

You might say:

“For me, Reiki has become a way of slowing down and paying attention to myself. I practice it regularly and have found it really helpful in supporting my own wellbeing. It has also become something I can turn to during life’s challenges, a practice that gives me space to pause, listen and notice what is going on for me.”

That may be a much more meaningful answer than trying to explain Reiki in a way that covers everything it could possibly mean to someone else. And if the person wants to know more, let their questions guide the conversation. If they’re curious about energy, you can talk about energy. If they want to know about the Japanese origins and traditional practice, you can talk about that. If they’re interested in what happens during a Reiki treatment, you can explain that too.

You don’t need to say everything at once.

Sometimes a simple, honest answer is enough to open the door to a conversation, and perhaps, eventually, to an experience of Reiki for themselves.

Reiki can be experienced before it is explained

Perhaps that’s the difficulty with trying to explain Reiki in the first place.

Reiki is something you experience.

You can read about it, talk about it and try to describe it, but none of those things are quite the same as spending time in a Reiki practice for yourself. And that brings me back to what Johannes said to me that day.

Let someone experience the practice rather than trying to describe what it is like and what it does.

I think that is something worth remembering. We don’t have to have all the answers. We don’t have to persuade anyone. We can explain what Reiki means within our tradition, share our own experience honestly, answer questions as best we can and then, if someone is curious, perhaps simply invite them to experience it for themselves.

Because sometimes a practice is much easier to understand once you’ve experienced it than it is through words alone.

And perhaps that’s the best explanation of Reiki we can offer 💫