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What Is Reiki and Why Do People Love It?

By Steph · July 2026 · 6 min read

I hold a psychology degree, so believe me when I say: I was the sceptic in the room once. If the word "Reiki" makes part of you roll your eyes while another part stays quietly curious, this article is for both parts.

What Reiki actually is

Reiki is a gentle, hands-on practice that began in Japan in the early 1900s. The word combines rei (universal) and ki (life energy). In a session, you lie down fully clothed while the practitioner places their hands lightly on or just above the body, working slowly from head to toe.

Within the tradition, this is understood as supporting the flow of energy through the body. If that framing isn't yours, here's the practical version: it's an hour of stillness, warmth and intentional, caring touch in a deeply calm environment — one of the few settings in modern life where you're invited to do absolutely nothing.

What a session feels like

Everyone's experience is different, but clients most often describe:

• Heaviness and warmth — limbs sinking into the table, warmth around the practitioner's hands.
• The mind going quiet — often for the first time in months. Some people drift into a dream-like state; some simply fall asleep.
• Waves of emotion — occasionally tears or laughter arrive from nowhere as held tension releases. All of it is welcome.
• Deep calm afterwards — many people report their best sleep of the year that night.

Do you have to believe in it?

No — and I mean that without a wink. You don't need a belief system to lie down and rest. Come in curious, notice what your body does, and draw your own conclusions. Scepticism is welcome in my studio; it was my starting point too.

You don't need to believe in rest for rest to work.

Why busy people keep coming back

The clients who return most reliably aren't the "spiritual" ones. They're corporate professionals, business owners and mothers — people whose minds never switch off. Here's what they tell me keeps them coming back:

It asks nothing of them

No technique to learn, no performance, no talking through the week. For people whose whole life is output, an hour of pure receiving is genuinely radical.

The body switches off in a way sleep doesn't

Rest while stressed is shallow. The stillness, warmth and safety of a session let the nervous system drop into a deeper gear — and everything looks different from a settled body.

Clarity arrives as a side effect

Person after person leaves saying "I got clear on something while I was on the table." Not because anyone gave them answers — because the noise finally dropped low enough to hear their own.

What Reiki is not

Reiki is not a medical treatment, and any practitioner who suggests replacing your doctor with it should lose your booking. It sits best alongside good medical and psychological care, as support for rest, stress and reconnection — which is exactly how I hold it.

Trying it in Perth

If you're curious, my studio is in Inglewood, and Reiki sessions start at A$111 for an hour — with options that weave in live sound or ritual massage if you'd like the fuller experience. You'll find everything on the Reiki & Energy Healing page.

Come as you are. Bring the sceptic — they usually leave the most surprised.