Why This Sceptic Fell in Love with Jikiden Reiki (Part One)

I worked as a full-time teacher, my husband was working in France coming home every other weekend, I had 2 nearly teenage daughters and 2 dogs; time was not my friend! I was working too many hours, as well as being a part-time full-time mum. I did nothing for myself, and I was stressed beyond belief. I was so stressed I would be sick everyday when I got to work and randomly throughout the day. Sometimes I got so stressed I was unable to lift my head off the pillow without spinning out and being sick. I knew something had to change but I didn’t know what.

One afternoon when I was feeling particularly stressed, having cried myself to work and back (sadly this was not unusual) my mum asked me if I wanted to learn Reiki. To be honest, I had never had a treatment, never having the time or money to have one, but I knew that it was weird and that I didn’t really believe in it. But something made me say yes. Maybe it was the idea of learning something new, maybe it was the idea of having a weekend where I wasn’t marking the whole time, or maybe it was my higher self telling me I needed it. We’ll never know what caused me to say yes but looking back now, I think know!!

Looking back on the training, it was a magical, confusing time! Everything the teacher was saying made sense, right up until we were meant to feel something. I spent, most of the weekend, thinking that either there were candid cameras filming us or that there was something wrong, because honestly, I could feel nothing! Everyone else was saying they could feel this and that, I could feel nothing! I left the sessions having made friends, I had my first reiki session, and I felt so relaxed after it, so it hadn’t been a complete waste of time.

The weeks following the classes were so enlightening. I was practicing on anyone who would let me – so mainly my mother- who was loving the sessions. She was saying she felt so much better and more relaxed. And I started to feel things in my hands. I began to slowly believe what I had been taught and just as importantly I was more relaxed.

My first real treatments, outside of family and friends were different to say the least.  My mother and I volunteered for a weekend at a Guiding festival offering Reiki to those who needed or wanted to try it. We had thought we would be very quiet; we didn’t think people would be open to Jikiden Reiki. We were so wrong. We were fully booked for the first day before we had set up our table! Inside our tent we had the music playing and a candle burning, it really was quite beautiful. We chose to do 20 minutes of treatment together and then end with one of us doing the Kekko to ensure we could reach as many frazzled leaders as possible! Over the weekend, we had many happy, relaxed ladies leave our treatment tent, but 2 treatments really stick in my mind. The first lady burst into tears at the end of the Kekko. When I entered the tent (mum had completed the Kekko), the lady was stroking the bed with tears rolling down her face. She was telling us she was fine, but I worried that we had done something wrong, as this was one of our first treatments. Eventually she was able to gather herself and explained that she had always dreamed of being a vet but had lost feeling in her fingertips a few years before, so she wasn’t able to train. She explained that she could feel the cloth on the bed which is why she was crying and stroking it. She was so excited, she kept coming back for further treatments and we found a Jikiden Reiki practitioner near to where she lived. This was like a light bulb moment for me, suddenly I saw the power of Reiki (I am such a sceptic that I literally have to be beaten over the head with something to believe it!). I am truly grateful for this teaching.

The second treatment was an emergency; we squeezed a lady in as she had just been stung by a bee and her thumb had swollen. I was amazed by the pain I could feel in my hand; it was my first experience of Itami. I was unable to put my hands very close to the lady’s thumb but slowly the pain for me and for her began to reduce. This was another wonderful lesson for me (not so much for the lady) on the power of reiki.

It was during a festival that I first realised just how strongly some people feel about Reiki—and how misinformed those feelings can sometimes be. A woman approached our stand and began shouting, accusing us of doing “the work of the devil” and bringing something anti-Christian to the event. I was genuinely shocked. I had no idea anyone felt that way.

So, I’d like to gently set the record straight and share what Reiki truly means to me.

1. Many Reiki practitioners are Christian.

Some of the most dedicated practitioners I know are active members of their churches. For a time, I even volunteered at a local church, offering Reiki to people who couldn’t afford regular sessions. Most of the people I supported there were practicing Christians themselves. Reiki never conflicted with their beliefs. They were grateful for the support and pain relief.

2. Reiki is not a religion.

I have never been asked to follow a particular faith or surrender my own beliefs in order to learn or practice Reiki. The style of Reiki I learned has no religious requirements or affiliations.

3. While Reiki’s founder studied many spiritual traditions, Reiki itself is not tied to any of them.

The person credited with developing Reiki explored various religions and philosophies, but none of them form part of Reiki practice. What Reiki does share with many traditions is the idea of universal compassion and kindness—but love is universal, not religiously exclusive.

4. For me, Reiki works with the body’s natural energy.

I see Reiki as a way of supporting the flow of Ki—also known in other traditions as Chi, Prana, life force, or even, for some people, the Holy Spirit. The name you give it is your choice. My focus is simply on helping energy move in a way that supports relaxation and balance.

5. I am not the healer—your body is.

My role is to create the conditions for your body to relax deeply. When the body is calmer, it often accesses its own ability to settle, restore, or rebalance. Reiki, to me, is an act of support and compassion.

6. The idea behind Reiki is something we all recognise.

When a child falls and hurts themselves, we instinctively pick them up, rub the sore spot, or kiss it better. That comfort, that gentle touch, that intention to soothe—that’s the essence of Reiki. I believe we once used this kind of natural, intuitive healing all the time, but over the centuries, science and the need for measurable proof overshadowed those instincts. With my psychology background, I’ve always been someone who questions and examines everything I feel and observe, and perhaps that’s why Reiki’s simplicity feels so familiar and genuine to me.