How Does Reiki Make You Feel?

I wrote this article from the heart and not with AI.

My reiki students and clients often ask, “What do you feel during reiki?” In other words, what is the “reiki feeling” or the “reiki sensation”.

Despite practicing reiki for 5 years, I still find it tough to give a clear answer.

The best answer is: It depends.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not conveniently deflecting the question. I’ll explain why.

Warmth: The most common reiki feeling

Based on feedback from my students and clients, the most common sensation is warmth.

The person receiving the reiki energy feels the warmth where the practitioner’s palms are placed. The practitioner feels the warmth in their palms.

Usui Reiki Grandmaster Mrs Takata also felt the warmth during her healing sessions in Japan. She said, “What makes me feel first the warmth then actual heat emanating from their hands? I looked under the table, at the ceiling, everywhere. I could find no cords or instruments.”

Comically, she imagined the warmth coming from a heater in the practitioner’s sleeves. The resident doctor Dr Hayashi explained to her, “Whenever you feel the contact (the warmth), all I know is that I have reached this great Universal Life Force, and it comes through me to you. These – he held up his hands, are the electrodes… That force begins to revitalize and restore the balance of your entire system.”

Not surprisingly, a number of my students are amazed that after the reiki attunements, their palms feel very warm. This warmth continued throughout the week and in the case of my teacher, for years before it subsided to a comfortable level.

Hence, if you feel the heat (pun intended) during a reiki session, you’re actually feeling reiki energy.

What does it mean when you feel heat during reiki?

It means you’re receiving reiki. That’s it.

Pardon the curt response but that’s the real deal.

For some rhyme or reason, people expect to feel reiki as heat or a tingling sensation or even colours. It’s a misunderstanding but I know where you’re coming from.

I too started my reiki journey with such wild expectations, but I’ve learned that the energy only creates sensations occasionally. The reiki feelings that people talk about over-sensationalises the modality.

I understand that you want to know if it’s working its magic and we can only rely on our five senses. However, reiki works in subtle ways beyond the scope of our sensory organs. Instead, it’s perceived by your astral senses which remain undeveloped in many people.

Would you take a Vitamin C pill and then wait for a warm feeling in the tummy? No, you won’t and you probably will never feel its direct effects.

Rather, you’d wait for a couple of weeks before evaluating if it helps you. Reiki is just like that. Instead of looking out for warmth or any other sensation, look back at how your health has transformed since you started reiki therapy.

In sum, if you feel heat, that’s great! It’s an indication that reiki is doing its work. Avoid attempting to interpret what it means.

What are some other reiki healing feelings?

Apart from warmth, tingling is another common sensation.

Seeing colours when their eyes are closed is the next most reported phenomenon. Some of the common colours my students have seen during the reiki workshops are purple, green, blue, red and yellow.

They know that these are colours created by reiki because they show up only during the reiki practice. As the practitioner shifted her hands, the colours changed and shifted dramatically.

Less common reiki feelings are a flowing sensation, tugging or pulling sensation.

Sometimes, you get no feeling at all. And that is perfectly fine!

One unusual sensation from at least two of my reiki students is the feeling of the hands being magnetised to a spot on the body. It’s as if their hands knew where the receiving person most needed reiki.

Interesting, isn’t it?

What is the feeling after reiki attunement?

A reiki attunement is given from teacher to student during a reiki class to get the flow of reiki started. You may feel something during the attunement too.

The reiki attunement feelings are very similar to those in a reiki healing session. They are typically warmth, tingling, colours, a flowing sensation, and possibly no sensation.

Among the lot, the next one takes the cake. When I was giving the Reiki 2 attunement for the reiki symbols, my student said in surprise, “I know where you are because whenever you walk in front of me, it’s like you’re shining an LED torch at my eyes.”

Now, I certainly did not prank her and I’m no angel with a halo. I admit that I have no idea what that was but this phenomenon is the most unusual one by far.

Parting words

So what do you feel during reiki?

Now you know why the real answer is: It depends.

My advice, especially to reiki practitioners, is to pay little attention to it. In the early stages, these sensations change a lot.

It’s only worthwhile interpreting the sensations when you have practiced regularly for a while, and when the sensations have stabilised. Then and only then, should you compile a dictionary of the meaning of each sensation.

This dictionary may only be useful to you who compiled it, because it’s your unique individualised perception of the energy.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Mikao Usui, the founder of Usui Reiki, admitted that, “although I am the founder of this method, even I cannot clearly explain [its workings].”