Will Reiki ever become mainstream?
- Becci Godfrey
- 6 minutes ago
- 5 min read
The longer I practice Reiki I both can and can't understand why it it doesn't have a more prominent place in our national healthcare system.
Why it doesn't: whilst it's been around in the UK since the 80's, Reiki is still relatively new to the UK. In the 15 years I have been practising. I have seen its awareness and popularity grow significantly. This is to the point where almost everybody knows that Reiki is some kind of energy healing approach. However, in the early years it was considered pseudoscience and heavily criticised by sceptics. This, along with a lack of scientific data, has delayed its embrace by mainstream and government-funded healthcare services that need to see evidence based results.
The very nature of Reiki, that it is a energy practise, makes it quite tricky to measure and as yet there is no satisfactory scientific explanation of how it works. Whilst the research of it's efficacy is growing, it cannot compete with the likes of large-scale drug trials or medical equipment trials, which seem to dominate our current medical model.
A Reiki Treatment is also quite a slow process compared to popping a pill. Treatments usually last an hour and may require several for the required outcome. Time is considered costly in healthcare settings, machines and modern medicine in many ways are quicker and easier to administer.
There is also a wide variance in the abilities of Reiki practitioners. The foundation of Reiki is an ability to be centred, grounded and rest in a state of enlightenment. It is from the space that a practitioner has the greatest potential influence on another to create an outcome. The more centred, grounded and pure-minded the practitioner, the greater the potential healing outcome, in the same vein that you would expect an experienced consultant to do a better job than a junior doctor. Reiki training in the UK is frequently a fairly speedy affair, with some people receiving their qualifications all the way to master level within a year, many of which would be done on a part-time basis. I took 4 years, but then soon learnt you are an eternal student and have continued to learn ever since. Contrast this with the 7 years of hard study to become a doctor. In many instances, the two cannot be compared, as I know of no institution in the UK that offers 7 years of Reiki training as a primary occupation - but oh, I dream of it!
Furthermore, the recipient also needs to play their part in the treatment and allow the process to happen. It is not the practitioner that is doing the healing, the practitioner is merely a facilitator to the person receiving the healing. The person receiving the healing is doing all the work, and not everyone wants to be healed. It sounds crazy, but sometimes there are just too many perceived advantages to having a health condition or life situation. Not having to change, accept responsibility or experience difficult emotions being the three I most commonly see keeping people stuck. They're not insurmountable, but it adds a layer of delay to the process.
Why Reiki is useful
Enough with the pessimism however, here's why I think it does have a place in mainstream medicine: Firstly, Reiki is the most natural thing going. A Reiki treatment creates the environment for our naturally vitality to be restored. If you go with the idea that all illness is a suppression of natural vitality, health would be the abundance of vitality (vital = essential). Seeing as our bodies have a built in balance and repair mechanism, if that mechanism isn't working there'll be a reason for that and that I believe is worth paying attention to. Taking medication to suppress the symptoms of imbalance isn't going to address that mechanism dysfunction, it's going hide/mitigate it. Healing is about getting to the cause of the issue and resolving that. Which leads me to my next point...
You have to open to/have experience of our body's ability to repair itself and heal to know it is possible. We seem to have lost that knowledge of late, so people's expectations are low to non-existent. The truth is, you don't know what is possible till you try. If we lived in a culture where healing from things was the norm, we'd all behave and value health and healing very differently. I'm lucky, I'm surrounded by people that are open to these ideas, but that isn't the how our healthcare systems predominantly operate - yet!
Another reason I think Reiki has a place in mainstream medicine is the holistic wellbeing aspect. One of the reasons healing takes so long sometimes is because, metaphorically speaking, the cause of the illness may be buried under a lot of more recent "rubbish". Imagine a cupboard stuffed to the gills with rubbish you didn't want to deal with at the time. At the bottom of the cupboard is the cause of your current health condition, but because there is so much recent junk on top, it takes a while to get to the relevant issue.
Whilst this might seem like an inconvenience, imagine the benefit of clearing the entire cupboard, driven by the desire to resolve the presenting health condition. Not only this, if you teach someone Reiki and they practise it, they will now know how to keep that cupboard clear and deal with any issues that arise. We all know a clean and clear life space makes for a much more healthy existence, so not only have we addressed a health issue, we have taught life skills in the process.
Then there's the issue of cost. Sadly, no data exists on the cost comparison between treating an issue with medicine and treating the same issue with Reiki. I've been a pretty cheap customer to the NHS for the last 23 years, a couple of x-rays, 1 prescription and about 5 doctors appointments. I've also helped people resolve chronic conditions that meant they no longer needed so much medical input - so Reiki being cost effective definitely has scope.
Prevention is also better than cure on these things too, catching a health issue early or being of robust health meaning we're less likely to get injured or ill. However, as I said Reiki requires a time investment too - and it seems we are all very time poor these days.
Conclusion
Which leads me to conclude that Reiki has got it's work cut out if it wants to enjoy the same kind of status as other mainstream medical practices. Not that Reiki needs to change at all, Reiki is Reiki, it is us and our perceptions that need to change to better appreciate and understand what Reiki is so we can benefit from it. I'm 15 years into being a professional practitioner and I'm still learning and improving so much. The more I learn the more I think it's crazy we don't appreciate the potential that lies with us more, but then maybe that's just me?
And of course, it isn't all as black and white as a post like this makes out. There are plenty of Reiki trained medics out there that blend traditional and modern knowledge to get outcomes for their patients, and there's no right way over another to do anything. What I am passionate about is making sure people know the potential that lies within them. No-one can have that journey for you, but I'd be willing to help you explore if you'd like to know more.
Autumn is the perfect time to indulge in cosy self-care practices. Book before the end of October and you can enjoy a £5 discount and see for yourself what potential for healing exists within!