What Is Reiki and How Does It Work? A Beginner's Guide

Reiki (pronounced "ray-key") is a Japanese energy-healing practice developed in the early 20th century. The word combines "rei" (universal) and "ki" (life energy) — the same life force called chi in Chinese traditions or prana in yogic ones. The idea is simple: when your energy flows freely, you feel balanced and well; when it's blocked or depleted, you feel stuck, drained, or unwell. Reiki gently supports that flow.

How does a Reiki session work?

You lie down comfortably, fully clothed, on a massage table. The practitioner places their hands lightly on or just above different areas of your body, following what your system needs. There's no manipulation and no pressure — Reiki is non-invasive. Most sessions last 45 to 90 minutes, and most people drift into a deeply relaxed, meditative state.

What does it feel like?

Experiences vary. Common sensations include warmth, gentle tingling, a feeling of heaviness or floating, emotional release, or simply profound calm. Some people see colors or images; others just enjoy the deepest rest they've had in a while. There's no "right" way to experience it.

What can Reiki help with?

People come to Reiki for stress and anxiety, burnout and chronic exhaustion, grief and loss, major life transitions, sleep difficulties, or simply feeling energetically stuck and disconnected. It can also offer gentle support during recovery, fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum. Reiki is complementary care — it works alongside, not instead of, medical and mental-health treatment.

Do I have to believe in it for it to work?

No. You don't need any particular belief, background, or experience. All you need to do is show up and allow yourself to rest. All backgrounds and beliefs are genuinely welcome.

Trying Reiki in Beverly Hills or online

White Light 26 offers Reiki in person in Beverly Hills, in-home across Los Angeles, and via distance sessions worldwide. If you're curious, start with a free 15-minute consultation — no pressure, just a conversation to see if it's right for you.

Where Reiki came from

Reiki as it is practised today was developed by Mikao Usui in Japan in the 1920s, following a period of fasting and meditation on Mount Kurama near Kyoto. Usui taught the practice to students in Tokyo, and it reached the West through Hawayo Takata, who trained in Japan in the 1930s and went on to teach in Hawaii and mainland America. Nearly every Reiki practitioner working in Los Angeles today can trace their training back through that line.

Reiki Usui and Reiki Tummo — what is the difference?

Usui Reiki is the traditional Japanese lineage described above: hands on or just above the body, working with the flow of life energy. Tummo is a Tibetan inner-heat practice, older than Reiki, that works with breath and visualisation to generate and direct warmth through the body. Practitioners trained in both often combine them, using Usui for the steady clearing work and Tummo where a session needs more intensity. If a practitioner's listing mentions both, it usually means their hands-on work runs warmer and more physically noticeable than Usui alone.

How many sessions do people usually need?

There is no fixed course. One session is often enough to shift something specific, and many people come once and feel no need to return. Where someone is working through a longer pattern — ongoing anxiety, grief, burnout that has built over years — three sessions spaced two to three weeks apart tends to do more than three sessions in one week, because the body needs the gap to integrate. A practitioner who insists on a long package before you have had a single session is worth questioning.

How to choose a Reiki practitioner

Reiki is unregulated, so training varies enormously. Ask what level they hold — Master Teacher is the level at which someone can train others — and how long they have been practising on real clients rather than in class. Ask whether you can speak to them before booking; most good practitioners offer a short call at no charge. Read reviews on the platform where they were posted rather than only on the practitioner's own website. And notice how you feel on that first call: this is close work, and the sessions that land are the ones where you were comfortable before anything started.