Top 4 Reiki Myths Debunked
What Every Practitioner Wants You to Know
Reiki is a powerful healing tool, yet many misconceptions persist. From religious associations to the belief that it’s just a placebo, there’s a lot of misinformation out there. In this post, we’ll break down the top myths about Reiki and explain how this holistic therapy can support your journey to better health.
1. Reiki Is Religious
Absolutely not. Reiki is about tapping into universal life force energy—no dogmas, no doctrines, and no conversion required. (No thanks!) I’ve worked with clients who identify as atheist, pagan, Muslim, Christian, Catholic, agnostic... The list goes on. At its core, Reiki is about you—realigning you with your highest, most healed, and thriving self. It doesn’t originate from, nor is it associated with, any religion whatsoever—and if it were, I wouldn’t practice it. 🚫
2. Reiki Is Just a Placebo
As we know from epigenetics, our thoughts and beliefs hold tremendous power—so maintaining a positive, open mindset can boost outcomes in almost any situation, including Reiki. Even so, research has shown that Reiki itself outperforms placebo. In 13 peer-reviewed, placebo-controlled studies, Reiki proved more effective than placebo in 8 of them. 👩🏻🔬 Among the measurable benefits were reductions in pain, anxiety, and depression, as well as improvements in self-esteem and overall quality of life—especially for chronic conditions. Objective data, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and heart rate variability, further illustrated Reiki’s ability to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which fosters relaxation and can aid broader healing processes.¹
In conclusion, these findings point to Reiki as a valuable, evidence-supported complementary therapy that can enhance healing and well-being, well beyond the power of positive thinking alone.
3. I Take On Your Energy or Trauma
Again, absolutely not! I’m always touched when clients worry about this, but I wouldn’t have gotten into this practice if that were true. (Life is hard enough, truly.) While there are definitely some energy healing modalities where this is true, channeling Reiki is not taxing, nor does it deplete my own energy. What it does require is an extraordinary amount of focus, mental discipline, and self-awareness to know how much space I can hold for others, along with a great deal of empathy and compassion for the human experience.
The bottom line is: I’m channeling universal life-force energy, not tapping into my personal reserves—and I’m not taking anything from your energy field either. 💫 I’m simply a visitor there while we work together, helping to balance, cleanse, and rejuvenate whatever I find during that particular session. That being said, energetic hygiene is crucial—much like how a doctor washes their hands between patients—and I’m very mindful and careful when performing energy work. When done correctly, channeling Reiki is actually very healing for me too. As the conduit for this universal energy, I receive residual benefits in the process. We love to see it.
4. You Have to Be Psychic to Practice Reiki
Reiki is a learned practice, not a mystical power or psychic ability. While you do go through an “attunement” process with a Reiki Master/s, it’s really more like tuning into a radio station—we all have the receiver; it’s just about dialing in to the right frequency. 🔮 From my own experience, I’ve noticed that intuitives often gravitate toward this type of energy work more than others, and abilities like clairsentience or clairvoyance can grow significantly stronger with regular Reiki practice. However, these abilities aren’t a requirement by any means. Anyone can learn and benefit from this modality!
Wrapping Up
We’re living in a time riddled with disinformation. My advice is, and always will be, to do your own research—and that goes for literally everything. Reiki is an agnostic, versatile, and accessible healing modality, whether you’re seeking physical, emotional, or spiritual balance. Personally, I’m extremely interested in the science behind everything, and I find that the more research I do, the more value and trust I find in Reiki—which is how it should be. Research and science should reinforce, not contradict, your beliefs. 🧠
Sources:
McManus, David E. "Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy." Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, vol. 22, no. 4, 2017, pp. 1051–1057. PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5871310/.