What Is Reiki? U.S.NEWS HEALTH

What Is Reiki?

It's not meditation, massage or prayer. But practitioners and clients say reiki heals in ways that are hard to explain.

Some believe that the energy reiki facilitates has the power to help keep clients healthy and heal.

                                                     By Anna Medaris MillerNov. 10, 2014 | 11:40 a.m. EST

Terri Reynolds, 56, knows the exchange well. She says, “Reiki.” They say, “Huh?” She says, “Energy healing.” They say, “Hocus-pocus.”

But for Reynolds, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2011, reiki is anything but. The practice – which usually involves a practitioner placing his or her hands on or above a client to facilitate that person's healing energy – taught her how to quiet her mind after surgery and six months of chemotherapy. 

"When you have a very stressful job and four children, and you get a diagnosis like that, it kind of really slaps you around,” says Reynolds, a certified medical assistant and managed care educator in Springfield, Illinois. “And when you’re grabbing everywhere for anything that makes the littlest bit of hope glisten, you’re apt to try anything.”

Reynolds is now cancer-free but continues to see a reiki practitioner weekly. “I’ll never stop,” she says.

According to the National Institutes of Health's National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, reiki is a healing method based on an Eastern belief in an energy that supports the body’s natural ability to heal. There’s no evidence, the center says, that such an energy exists. Plenty of people disagree.

The word "reiki" is a Japanese term meaning "guided life force energy," which reiki practitioner and teacher Alice Langholt likens to water: Both are in and among us, she says, and take on different forms – some heavier and some lighter. Reiki can shift this energy into balance "so that our immune systems aren't fighting the sludge, but can keep us healthy and help us heal faster," says Langholt, author of “Practical Reiki: for balance, well-being and vibrant health.” 

Health care settings including the Simmons Cancer Institute at Southern Illinois University's School of Medicine, where Reynolds was treated, are increasingly offering complementary treatments like reiki to help patients relax and “prime them for healing,” says Pamela Miles​, a reiki master in New York who has​ served as the lead reviewer for the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine’spage on Reiki. It also may reduce anxiety, improve sleep and simply help people feel better so they make healthier decisions, Miles says. That was the case for Reynolds. "I've lost weight because of being able to calm my mind and my spirit and promote this harmony in my body," she says.​   

Independent reiki practices exist, too, appealing to people seeking balance, clarity or relaxation. At Introspection: DC​, a reiki and crystal healing ​practice in the District of Columbia, owner and reiki practitioner Tara Olowoye​ says a lot of her clients are young working ​mothers “trying to make it all work.”

And you don’t even have to go to a practitioner to try reiki. Anyone can learn to practice it on themselves, experts say.

“This is something that potentially could benefit anyone – it’s really a matter of whether or not they’re interested,” says Miles, who wrote the book “Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide.” “In my experience, when people experience the benefit, they become interested. If you try to explain to them what it is [and] how it works, then you lose them.”

Science or Hype?

Reiki is one of several therapies based on the biofield, or a type of energy field that “regulates everything from our cellular function to our nervous system,” says Shamini Jain, ​assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California–San Diego. 

While the biofield itself is generally accepted – it “consists of things that we can measure like electromagnetic energy that actually emanates from us,” Jain says – biofield therapies such as reiki and therapeutic touch are more controversial​ because they’re based on the idea of a “subtle” aspect of the biofield,​ which is harder to measure.

“It’s difficult for our Western science to wrap its mind around” because it’s not about popping pills, injecting needles or otherwise altering the body’s chemical composition, says Jain, a clinical psychologist who studies integrative medicine.​

Indeed, reiki has its fair share of critics, who point to research that discounts the effects of reiki and other similar alternative therapies as a placebo effect. One study ​this year in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine, for example, evaluated the effect of energy healing on colorectal cancer patients and found the therapy did not improve depressive symptoms, mood or sleep quality. Only study participants who already had a positive attitude toward complementary and alternative medicine practices showed a boost in mood.

Another 2008 study in the International Journal of Clinical Practice analyzed ​​205 previous studies on reiki and found mixed results for its efficacy. It also noted ​that many studies on the topic aren’t well-designed.

Others worry that the practice is unethical, fraudulent and deceptive. ​​​​​“One can easily see that deception – even if not intentional – is involved in representing that a particular therapy sold to the public is effective, when there is no evidence that this is true,” says Jann Bellamy​, a retired attorney in Tallahassee, Florida, who does pro bono work for organizations that educate consumers about science-based medicine​.

From: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/11/10/what-is-reiki

Toshihiro Eguchi

Toshihiro Eguchi 

Copyright © 2003 James Deacon 

[11 Απριλίου 1873 - 10 Ιουνίου 1946] 

"Μας λένε ότι ο Toshihiro Eguchi, ένας φίλος του Usui-Sensei, πέρασε αρκετούς μήνες δουλεύοντας και μελετώντας μαζί του, στα τέλη του 1920 / αρχές του 1921. 

Το 1923, λέγεται ότι ο Eguchi επέστρεψε στο προπονητικό κέντρο του Usui-Sensei για να εξασκήσει το δικό του θεραπευτικό σύστημα te-no-hira («παλάμη του χεριού»), που προφανώς ενσωμάτωσε στοιχεία από τις διδασκαλίες του Usui-Sensei. 

Το σύστημα του Eguchi είχε προφανώς θρησκευτικές αποχρώσεις - χρησιμοποιεί διαλογισμό / προσευχή που βασίζεται στην θεραπεία και περιελάμβανε μια μορφή τελετής αγιασμού που ο Eguchi είχε μάθει από ένα φίλο που ονομαζόταν Tenko Nishida [ιδρυτής της κοινότητας Ittoen]. 

Ο Usui-Sensei, φαίνεται, ότι ένιωθε κάπως άβολα με την προσέγγιση του Eguchi, αλλά τελικά του επέτρεψε να διδάξει στο κέντρο, μια δύο φορές σε εβδομαδιαία βάση. 

Του επετράπη να εκτελεί την τελετή αγιασμού, αλλά προφανώς δεν του επέτρεψε να ψάλλει μια προσευχή ενός στοιχείου γνωστού ως Komyo KIGAN. 

Ο Eguchi προχώρησε, για να ιδρύσει τη δική του σχολή: 
την "Eguchi Te-no-hira Ryoji Kenkyukai" (Palm Healing Research Association- Ομοσπονδία Έρευνας Θεραπείας της Παλάμης) το 1928 και δίδαξε το θεραπευτικό του σύστημα στα μέλη της κοινότητας Ittoen Tenko Nishida στο 1929. 

Το 1930 δημοσίευσε το : Te-no-hira Ryoji Nyumon (Μια Εισαγωγή στη Θεραπεία με τις Παλάμες) και αργότερα, το 1954 το : Te-no-hira Ryoji Wo Kataru (Μια ιστορία θεραπείας, με τις παλάμες των χεριών)".

Πηγή: http://www.aetw.org/reiki_eguchi.htm

Μετάφραση: Ανδρέας Ξενάκης

A 1928 REIKI ARTICLE BY SHOU MATSUI

A 1928 REIKI ARTICLE BY SHOU MATSUI
Copyright © 2003 James Deacon


"A Palm-Healing Treatment to Cure Many Diseases " by Shou Matsui

FOR A PRINTABLE, PDF-FORMAT VERSION OF THIS DOCUMENT, CLICK HERE

Shou Matsui (1870 - 1933), had worked as a journalist before becoming well-known as a playwright and drama teacher, and supporter of the traditional form of Japanese Theatre called Kabuki. He was also one of Chujiro Hayashi's Reiki students.

Even as a playwright Mr. Matsui continued to write articles and reviews, etc, including one particular Reiki-promoting piece, published in the 'Sunday Mainichi' [Sunday Every Day] Magazine, on March 4th, 1928.

In response to a request from a reader who wrote:
I would like to learn about the treatment introduced in the book presentation by Shou Matsui in the 'Mainichi' on January 30th.

Mr. Matsui responds:"I am pleased to discuss this method.
This cure-all treatment is called "Reiki Ryoho" and is practiced by an elite group of people. It was created, or rather founded, by Sensei Mikao Usui who passed away a few years ago. Currently, his students have clinics where they practice healing and train others in Reiki Ryoho. Although remarkable in its effectiveness, not many people are familiar with this treatment. Sensei Mikao Usui did not like to advertise Reiki Ryoho and so his students are also hesitant in publicising it."

Mr. Matsui goes on to say that he really can't see why they don't make an effort to publicise Reiki Ryoho. He comments about how various religions proclaim and spread their teachings - speaks of the positive use of propaganda and how if the truth can make people happy then it should be a persons duty to spread the truth.

He continues:"So it is that when asked, I always promote this Reiki Ryoho in a positive way. I will write about it if asked. Yet my doing so attracts criticism from other Reiki Ryoho practitioners. I do think it is a shame to refrain from publicising such a great healing technique. It is a both a moral and a social shame and I am always pleased to promote it."

Mr. Matsui continues to explain that he wouldn't like readers or other journalists to get the wrong impression. He does not want people to think that the reason Reiki Ryoho practitioners generally do not promote their art is because it is all sham and trickery.

"So, I will take on the responsibility and promote the truth about Reiki, both for the sake of the art and for the sake of those who are suffering. In writing this, I am acting on my own - these are my thoughts, and I am responsible for them, this has nothing to do with other Reiki Ryoho practitioners. I find I am so excited about this treatment that I can hardly concentrate on scriptwriting since having learned how to use it."

It is, Mr. Matsui says, his desire to promote Reiki Ryoho far and wide, so that not only the Japanese people, but people all over the world will be free from disease, know excellent health and be much happier.

Yet in the same breath, he mentions how in the years since Reiki Ryoho was first developed by Mikao Usui, only a handful of clinics have actually been established to provide this wonderful treatment.
Mr. Matsui goes on to speak about how he was initiated into Reiki by Chujiro Hayashi - a warm-hearted yet serious man, according to Matsui - one who seemed as if he had been destined from birth to work with Reiki.

He mentions that Chujiro Hayashi gives Reiki treatments to clients in the morning, and teaches Reiki Ryoho for five days each month.

He then goes on to explain that, because there are numerous other treatment methods and sects which have the syllable 'Rei' in their name, many people incorrectly assume Reiki Ryoho is connected with these other groups. [Note: in the early part of the 20th C, several such groups were viewed with suspicion due to supposed 'cultist' behaviour] And, as Reiki Ryoho practitioners are unwilling to speak out and clarify their beliefs and position, it is little wonder that this much-needed treatment style has not grown in popularity.
"I would like to state that, of all the treatment methods I have encountered, Reiki Ryoho is the most effective and the most unique. It can really heal, whatever the disorder. People ask: 'is Reiki Ryoho effective in dealing with psychological disorders?' Yes it is, and it can also heal all manner of internal diseases and external injuries as well. Intestinal problems, burns, rheumatism, nervous problems - the lot!"

Reiki Ryoho, Mr. Matsui explains, is considered a spiritual technique - as the "Rei" part of the name suggests. However, he himself considers it to be a very practical, physical technique.

Mr. Matsui says he bases this belief on his personal experience, having successfully treating more than a hundred patients. He says that some people put the effects of Reiki Ryoho on a par with the miracle healings of Jesus and Buddha, but that he, Matsui, is simply a normal, practical-minded, and common person - not a great person, not a man of great character. He does claim to be 'spiritually advanced'.
To him, Reiki Ryoho is not something supernatural, but a natural, physiological treatment method.

He then goes on to give some examples of disorders he has treated, explaining that he has effected many such healings which, though seemingly miraculous, are simply the result of applying a practical treatment (Reiki Ryoho) which stimulates the body's self-healing mechanisms.

Explaining how he gives treatment, Mr. Matsui says:"I simply place my hands on the affected part. I don't push or pat. To me, this is the interesting point about this healing method. I scan the patient's whole body, sense the source of the disorder, treat that area, and the healing effect is dramatic. I can discover the source of disease because I will feel pain when I place my hands there. Depending on the disorder, the intensity of pain differs, but I am not sure of the precise relationship between the condition of the disorder and the intensity of pain felt. I don't just feel this pain in my hands at the point indicated by the patient, I also feel it at the point which is the source of disease, so I can find the treatment point easily. Unlike doctors, I do not need the patient to tell me where and how they experience their disorder. Patients may be suspicious about my treatment, but no matter, within thirty minutes to two hours their condition will undergo a noticeable change.
As an example, take a man with serious heart disease. His pulse is 85 beats per minute and he feels pain in the heart. His doctor says there is cardiovascular constriction. Yet I don't feel any pain in my palms when I place my hands over his heart. But as I move down to the area of the stomach, the intestines, and the kidneys, I experience sensations of pain and so I give Reiki treatment to these areas. In a short time his condition improves.
So why is the heart condition healed? And why do the healer's hands experience pain? These are important questions. It really is a mystery how disorders which the doctor has given up on can be healed by laying hands on the body. While it cannot be truly explained, it is generally seen as a spiritual phenomenon.
In my opinion, the blood circulation in my hands has increased since I was initiated by Mr. Hayashi.
I am unable to reveal Mr. Hayashi's teaching method and initiation process, but certainly this was what gave me the healing ability, and strongly sensitised my hands.
Anyway, I believe the increased circulation in my hands stimulates the patients own blood circulation when I place my hands on their body."

Mr. Matsui then explains that in his view, the patient's circulation and pulse rate become synchronised with those of the therapist and this is how healing occurs.

He goes on to say:
"When I speak to them about Reiki Ryoho, most 'intelligent' people will say, "It must be 'Animal Electricity'."

But, he continues, current science doesn't clearly understand the nature of electricity, and likewise the true nature of Reiki cannot be easily explained or defined now. Mr. Matsui says that, in his opinion, the effect of Reiki treatment could be due to something such as the 'ether' - but as the 'ether' has not been not examined scientifically either, people will laugh at him.

"But when I need to explain to a patient about the Reiki effect, "ether" is a good analogy."

He says that he cannot explain clearly and correctly - that he does not have the mathematical skill.

" Anyway, now I am satisfied with the practical effect of Reiki. And at first, even I laughed at the idea of this treatment."

He explains that one day he told a friend that as he was feeling unwell he thought he might take up playing golf. The friend, whose opinion Matsui valued has told him about Reiki.

"I became interested in it, and while not really believing in it, I and my family took training in it."
Mr. Matsui says that, soon after starting to learn Reiki, he had occasion to try Reiki Ryoho on a man who had a fish bone stuck in his throat.
" I tried Reiki Ryoho on him without expectation, and the pain was gone. It was then that I understood the essence of this treatment. I cannot laugh at the Reiki method anymore."

"I was introduced to Mr. Hayashi by a mutual acquaintance and I paid a large sum of money to learn this treatment method. There are several grades including Shoden (elementary level) and Okuden (advanced level), but I am still at the elementary level - not yet having reached Okuden.

I am not sure of all the details yet but I've heard there are further grades to achieve. Those involved with this Ryoho are very modest and don't like to boast about the wonderful treatment. It is odd that such modest people create grades and charge for initiation into this method, but I suppose we must accept that it is their prerogative.
For this reason, I am not free to discuss the means of initiation into this healing ability, or the precise details of its application."

However, Mr. Matsui does say that he feels he can speak briefly about some aspects of Reiki Ryoho training:

"To begin learning Reiki Ryoho, you train for an hour and a half a day for five days. Some people can heal others from the very first day of training. It's so easy to learn this treatment. A special inherent state of consciousness, like a sixth sense, is awakened by the training and the ability to heal is activated. The Teacher gives clear and simple instruction. The ability is common to all people and everyone except babies can use it to heal others. The treatment involves simply placing your hands on the affected part. There is nothing easier than our Reiki Ryoho. I should really like to share this treatment process, not just with an elite group of people, but with the general public, but I am unable to do so for the reason stated above. All I can do is to speak about Reiki Ryoho's existence so that as many people as possible will know about it."

After giving a further three examples of cases of healings he has effected with Reiki treatment, Mr. Matsui concludes:

"I could go on recounting my stories of healings brought about by Reiki Ryoho.
However, there are, no doubt, many skeptics who wont believe me, and this is only natural if you haven't experienced it yourself. If you have some simple disorder, I can cure it easily. But I've little interest in treating easy cases because doctors can cure them, too. If you know of someone with a serious disorder - one beyond the help of doctors, please bring them to me, or if they are not able to come to me, I can visit them.
But as you can appreciate, I am a busy man - with several scripts to complete for a couple of theatre companies in time for next month's productions. So I am unable to deal with many patients but, to test my palm-healing ability, I will treat a single patient suffering from a serious complaint."

Source : http://www.aetw.org/reiki_matsui_article.htm

Thank you James Deacon for all your precious informations!!! 

JOHNS HOPKINS ΓΙΑ ΤΟ ΡΕΙΚΙ

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Πηγή: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/search?client=hopkinsmedicine_frontend&proxystylesheet=hopkinsmedicine_frontend&output=xml_no_dtd&site=hopkinsmedicine_collection&q=Reiki&btnG=Search

Μελέτη και χρήση του Ρέικι σε νοσοκομεία

http://www.ayamereiki.com/english/validation-recognition.php

validation>Recognition

The benefits of reiki are starting to be recognized by communities around the world. Public, private and veterinary hospitals, universities, schools of nursing, health insurances, foundations and charities promoting health or supporting the sick, are thus starting to take an interest in reiki treatment. Depending on their calling, they offer information, treatment, contributions to scientific research, initiation and reimbursement of treatment fees.

Below are links to the websites of some of these establishments in the United Kingdom, Canada, United-States, Australia, Germany and Switzerland, taking you directly to the pages concerned (new windows ; if necessary, type « reiki » in your browser search box).

United Kingdom

University College London Hospitals NHS, London :
- reiki treatment offered to patients with stress and mood disorder
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments
- reiki treatment offered to complement the treatments of endometriosis

Southampton University Hospitals NHS, Southampton :
- reiki treatment offered to palliative care cancer patients (day care)

Aintree University Hospitals NHS, Liverpool :
- reiki treatment offered by elderly medicine services

Wallace Cancer Care (works with Addenbrooke’s Hospital-Cambridge University Hospitals NHS), Cambridge :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

South Tees Hospitals NHS, Middlesbrough :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health (HRH Prince Charles’s foundation) :
- information about reiki (complementary therapies)

Breast Cancer Care (charity) :
- information about reiki in a guide on complementary therapies (pp. 12-13)

Canada

University Health Network-Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario :
- reiki treatment given by nurses at the lodge for cancer patients and families
- information on complementary therapies including reiki (guide on breast cancer survivorship, p. 80)

Université de Moncton, Moncton, Nouveau-Brunswick  :
- reiki offered as a customized training (Santé et mieux-être section)

United-States

The Cleveland Clinic (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), Cleveland, Ohio :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (integrative medecine)
- reiki treatment offered to patients and hospital staff (patient experience)
- reiki treatment offered to gynecology patients
- reiki treatment offered to heart patients (integrative approach)
- reiki treatment offered to heart patients and their families (resources)
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments
- research : effects of reiki on stress
- research : reiki and prostate cancer

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), Boston, Massachusetts :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments (handbook for patients, families and friends, pp. 7, 10)
- reiki mentioned in a handbook on coping with cancer pain (p. 4)
- monthly reiki share sessions offered to nurses and visitors (newsletter for nurses, Feb. 2009)
- reiki initiation offered to nurses (newsletter for nurses, Nov. 2006)
- peri-operative nurses inform their colleagues on complementary therapies including reiki (newsletter for nurses, Dec. 2007)
- nurse-reiki practitioner’s testimonial (newsletter for nurses, Aug. 2005)
- study of complementary medicines including reiki in men with prostate cancer (radiation oncology research)

Johns Hopkins Hospital (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), Baltimore, Maryland :
- part of complementary therapies, including reiki, in the nurses’ practice and education (school of nursing journal, spring 2007, pp. 26, 29, 32-33)

Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New-York Presbyterian (America’s Best Children’s Hospitals 2009), New York, New York :
- reiki treatment offered to children to complement conventional cancer treatments

Yale-New Haven Hospital (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), New Haven, Connecticut :
- reiki treatment offered to families and intensive care heart patients
- reiki treatment offered as a complementary therapy to cardiology patients
- complementary therapies, including reiki, recommended to cancer survivors (newsletter July 2007)
- reiki practitioners recruitment (newsletter Sept. 2006)

Harvard University, Boston/Cambridge, Massachusetts :
- reiki treatment offered at the Harvard Cancer Center (David Rosenthal M.D.)
- reiki treatment offered to all by the university health services (well-being)
- reiki mentioned as a best practice by an insurance company working with the university (best practices)
- hypothesis on cortical dynamics as a therapeutic mechanism for
touch healing including reiki (Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York :
- reiki treatment offered to children with cancer
- reiki treatment given during Employee Health and Wellness Day (journal June 23rd 2003)

New York University Medical Center (America’s Best Hospitals 2009), New York, New York :
- reiki treatment offered to children with cancer or blood disorder
- reiki treatment offered to patients with joint disease (services)
- reiki treatment offered to patients with multiple sclerosis (programs)
- reiki treatment offered to women with disabilities

Concord Hospital, Concord, New Hampshire :
- reiki treatment offered to patients nearing the end of life

Cooper University Hospital-Cooper Cancer Institute, Voorhees, New Jersey :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

Lowell General Hospital, Lowell, Massachusetts :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

St. Joseph Hospital, Nashua, New Hampshire :
- reiki treatment offered to seniors

Washington Hospital Center, Washington DC :
- reiki treatment offered to complement conventional cancer treatments

York Hospital, York, Maine :
- pre-op, post-op and inter-op reiki treatment offered to surgical patients (wellness)

St. Mary’s Hospital, Amsterdam, New York :
- reiki initiations offered (center for complementary therapies)

George Washington University Medical Center, Washington DC :
- reiki treatment offered to patients

California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (clinical massage and bodywork)

Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts :
- reiki treatment offered to children (integrative therapies)

Saint Agnes Medical Center, Fresno, California :
-  reiki treatment offered to patients

Hawaii Pacific Health-Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Lihue, Hawaï :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (patient support services)

Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut :
- reiki treatment offered to patients

Stamford Hospital, Stamford, Connecticut :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (services)

Windham Hospital, Willimantic, Connecticut :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (integrative health services)
- reiki treatment offered to patient visitors (family and friends)

Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood, New Jersey :
- reiki treatment offered to patients (massage, healing and relaxation therapies)

Carroll Hospital Center, Westminster, Maryland :
- reiki treatment offered (complementary health)

South San Diego Veterinary Hospital, San Diego, California :
- reiki treatment offered for animals (approach to pets’ care)

Australia

St Patrick’s Care Centre, Fremantle, Western Australia :
- reiki treatment notably offered to people with alcohol or drug problems (Drug and Alcohol Office)

Mission Australia – Youth Withdrawal and Respite Service, East Perth, Western Australia :
- reiki treatment offered to young people wanting to withdraw from alcohol or other drugs (Drug and Alcohol Office)

Queensland’s Health  :
- relaxation services including reiki sessions for Central Highlands Health Services
staff (magazine nov. 2005, p. 14)

Germany

CGG Klinik (Centrum für ganzheitliche Gynäkologie), Mannheim :
- reiki treatment and initiations offered for pain management and to complement conventional cancer treatments

St. Augustinus Krankenhaus, Düren :
- reiki treatment offered (well-being)

DRK Krankenhaus Lichtenstein (Red-Cross), Lichtenstein :
- reiki treatment offered (physiotherapy)

Switzerland

Groupe mutuel’s insurances :
- reiki treatment repayment (special conditions, p. 2)

SWICA insurance :
- reiki services repayment (preventive health)

Supra insurance :
- reiki treatment repayment (special conditions)

ASCA (foundation for the recognition and development of alternative and complementary therapies) :
- certification for reiki practitioners (therapies, p. 3 ; health insurances)

RME (register of empiric medicines) :
- certification for reiki practitioners (therapies)

validation>Scientific studies

Though using only small samples, scientific studies on reiki have begun to appear. Below are data from the abstracts of several published studies on reiki and other energetic practices with links to the complete abstracts on the Pubmed website (a service of the National Library of Medicine and of the National Institute for Health, developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the United-States) :

• yoga, tai chi, meditation and reiki : effect on nurses – USA
• reiki and autonomic nervous system – United Kingdom
• reiki and relaxation - USA
• reiki and pain – Canada
• reiki and pain (cancer patients) – Canada
• reiki and pain, anxiety (hysterectomized patients) – USA
• reiki and fatigue, pain, anxiety, quality of life (cancer patients) – Canada
• hands-on reiki and distance reiki : effect at 1 year on depressive symptoms
• alternative therapies and psychotherapy (DSM-IV diagnosed subjects) – USA – several therapies including reiki
• reiki and memory, behaviour deficiencies (mild cognitive alteration, mild Alzheimer) – USA
• distance treatments : effect at 6 months for advanced aids patients) – USA – several distance therapies not named in the abstract

“The effectiveness of tai chi, yoga, meditation, and reiki healing sessions
in promoting health and enhancing
problem solving abilities of registered nurses”

Authors : Raingruber B., Robinson C. (University of California-Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California, USA)
Year : 2007
Publication : Issues in Mental Health Nursing , 28(10) : 1141-55

Protocol

• Subjects : nurses
• Program : yoga, tai chi, meditation classes and reiki healing sessions
• Measures : self-care journals, analyzed with a Heideggerian phenomenological approach

Among the results

• Relaxing sSensations of warmth, tingling, and pulsation
• Enhanced problem solving ability
• Increased ability to focus on patient needs

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Autonomic nervous system changes during reiki treatment :
a preliminary study”

Authors : Mackay N., Hansen S., McFarlane O. (Institute of Neurological Sciences, South Glasgow University Hospital, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom)
Year : 2004
Publication : Journal of Alternative et Complementary Medicine, 10(6) : 1077-81

Protocol

• Subjects : 45 people
• Program : 3 random groups assigned each to 1 condition, no treatment (rest), reiki treatment, placebo treatment
• Measures : quantitative measures recorded, values during and after the treatment period compared with baseline data

Significant outcomes in the reiki group compared to both placebo and control groups

• Heart rate decreased
• Diastolic blood pressure decreased

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Biological correlates of Reiki touch(sm) healing”

Authors : Wardell D.W., Engebretson J. (School of Nursing, University of Texas Houston Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, United-States)
Year : 2001
Publication : Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33(4) : 439-45

Protocol

• Subjects : 23 essentially healthy people
• Program : 30-minute reiki session
• Measures : data collected before, during and immediately after the session

Significant results

• During the session :
• skin temperature increased
• muscle tension decreased
• Before/after the session :
• anxiety reduced
• salivary IgA levels rose
• drop in systolic blood pressure

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Using reiki to manage pain : a preliminary report”

Authors : Olson K., Hanson J. (Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 1997
Publication : Cancer Prevention and Control, 1(2) : 108-13

Protocol

• Subjects : 20 volunteers experiencing pain at 55 sites and using opioid therapy
• Program : reiki treatment
• Measures : pain measured before and after the treatment

Significant results

• Highly significant reduction of pain

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“A phase II trial of reiki for the management of pain
in advanced cancer patients”

Authors : Olson K., Hanson J., Michaud M. (Faculty of Nursing and International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 2003
Publication : Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 26(5) : 990-7

Protocol

• Subjects : 24 patients with cancer pain
• Program : 2 groups, either standard opioid management plus rest (2 rest periods within 7 days) or standard opioid management plus reiki (2 reiki treatments within 7 days)
• Measures : pain ratings, blood pressure, heart rate and respiration before and after treatment/rest periods ; analgesic use and pain ratings reported for 7 days ; quality of life assessed on days 1 et 7

Results for the reiki group compared with the rest group

• Improved pain control following treatments
• Improved quality of life

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“The effect of reiki on pain and anxiety in women with abdominal hysterectomies : a quasi-experimental pilot study”

Authors : Vitale A.T., O’Connor P.C. (Community Medical Center, Toms River, New Jersey, United-States)
Year : 2006
Publication : Holistic Nursing Practice, 20(6) : 263-274

Protocol

• Subjects : 22 women after abdominal hysterectomy
• Program : 2 groups, the experimental one receiving traditional nursing care plus 3 30-minute sessions of reiki, the control one receiving traditional nursing care

Results for the experimental group compared to the control group

• Less pain
• Fewer analgesic requested
• Reduced state anxiety on discharge at 72 hours postoperation

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Pilot crossover trial of reiki versus rest
for treating cancer-related fatigue”

Authors : Tsang K.L., Carlson L.E., Olson K. (Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Year : 2007
Publication : Integrative Cancer Therapies, 6(1) : 25-35

Protocol

• Subjects : 16 cancer patients
• Program : 2 conditions, reiki condition (daily reiki sessions, then days without treatment, then reiki sessions, then days without treatment) and resting condition (rest sessions instead of reiki sessions)
• Measures : questionnaires before and after reiki/rest sessions

Significant results in the reiki condition

• Fatigue decreased over the course of all treatments
• Improvements in quality of life compared to the resting condition
• Scores of presession 1 versus postsession 5 (results not seen in the resting condition) : significant decreases in tiredness, pain, and anxiety

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Long-term effects of energetic healing on symptoms of
psychological depression and self-perceived stress”

Author : Shore A.G. (PhD)
Year : 2004
Publication : Alternative Therapies: A Guide to Complementary Medicine, 10(3) : 42-48

Protocol

• Subjects : 46 participants
• Program : 3 random groups, receiving either hands-on reiki, or distance reiki, or distance reiki placebo ; 1 to 1,5 hour treatment each week for 6 weeks
• Measures : symptoms of psychological depression and self-perceived stress

Significant results for the treatment groups compared with the placebo group

• Reduction in symptoms of psychological distress
• Differences still present 1 year later

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Integrating complementary therapies into
community mental health practice : an exploration”

Authors : Collinge W., Wentworth R., Sabo S. (Collinge and Associates, Kittery Point, Maine, United-States)
Year :  2005
Publication : Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 11(3) : 569-74

Protocol

• Subjects : 25 people receiving ongoing psychotherapy, with a mean history of 7.4 years of mental health treatment, all histories including trauma, and a DSM-IV diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder, major depression, anxiety disorder, or dual diagnosis
• Program : 5 sessions in the mean of either massage, or acupuncture, or reiki, or healing touch
• Measures : interview data before treatments ; ratings of satisfaction and perceived changes in four dimensions of trauma recovery after treatments

Results

• High levels of satisfaction of the service
• Significant levels of perceived change on each outcome measure
• Enhanced psychotherapeutic outcomes reported by mental health clinicians

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“Using reiki to decrease memory and behavior problems
in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s disease”

Authors : Crawford S.E., Leaver V.W., Mahoney S.D. (Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant Point, Perry, Maine, United-States)
Year :  2006
Publication : Journal of Alternative et Complementary Medicine, 12(9) : 911-3

Protocol

• Subjects : 24 participants, aged from 60 to 80 years old, with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease
• Program : 2 groups, either 4 weekly reiki treatment, or no treatment
• Measures : before and after treatment

Significant results

• Increase in mental functioning
• Improvement in memory problems
• Improvement in behavior problems

• read the study abstract on Pubmed

“A randomized double-blind study of the effect of distant healing
in a population with advanced AIDS. Report of a small scale study”

Authors : Sicher F., Targ E., Moore D. 2nd, Smith H.S. (Geraldine Brush Cancer Research Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, California, United-States)
Year :  1998
Publication : Western Journal of Medicine,169(6) : 356-63

Protocol

• Subjects : 40 patients with advanced AIDS
• Program : 2 groups, either 10 weeks of distance healing treatment (by healers located throughout the United States), or no treatment
• Measures : psychometric testing and blood draw at enrollment, and subjects followed for 6 months

Significant results at 6 months for the treatment subjects compared with the control group

• Fewer new AIDS-defining illnesses
• Lower illness severity
• Fewer doctor visits required
• Fewer hospitalizations required
• Fewer days of hospitalization required
• Better mood

• read the study abstract on Pubmed