What to Expect from a Reiki Massage Therapist

reiki massage therapist

Massage and Reiki are two practices that can help you relieve stress and help you connect with your spiritual and your physical body. Both are healing practices that have been scientifically proven to provide people with stress and pain relief.

But if you’ve never had a Reiki treatment performed by a Reiki massage therapist before, it can be a little nerve-wracking. What do they do? What is Reiki exactly? What can you expect during Reiki healing sessions?

We are going to answer all these questions and more in this article. Hopefully, by the end of it, you’ll know exactly what to expect at your first Reiki massage session.

What is Reiki?

Before we can go into what to expect at your first session, you have to know what Reiki is in the first place.

Reiki is a spiritual healing practice originating from Japan. A Reiki practitioner trained in Reiki will administer the session. They work with the energy of “the life force” that is believed to flow through all living things.

While Reiki is a spiritual practice that involves the life force and the flow of energy, it isn’t religious. You don’t have to be religious or even all that spiritual to receive a Reiki treatment.

Are All Reiki Therapists Also Massage Therapists?

The short answer: no. Not all Reiki providers are massage therapists.

But, there are a large number of massage therapists who also perform Reiki healing sessions during the massage session.

How is Reiki Massage Administered?

Usually, Reiki is administered while you are fully clothed. Oftentimes, the practitioner will have you lay on a massage table.

If you are getting a Reiki treatment along with a massage, you can speak to the practitioner about clothing. Some people feel uncomfortable without their clothes. Just speak to the practitioner and they will do their best to accommodate your needs.

Before the treatment, the practitioner will ask you if there are any particular issues or problems that you’d like them to focus on in the treatment session. This could be a particularly sore muscle, a symptom of an illness/disease, or even emotional feelings like stress or depression.

Once you’re comfortable, the treatment will begin. During the Reiki part of the session, the practitioner will lightly place their hands at various point around your body. Common areas for this touch are the shoulders, head, and upper torso.

Some Reiki practitioners perform Reiki without physical touch. They will simply hover their hands above the area they’re concentrating on.

When combining Reiki with massage, it is slightly different. The touches where the practitioner is performing Reiki will be light, with little to no pressure. Massage, on the other hand, involves pressure and rubbing your muscles.

Benefits of Reiki Massage

Both Reiki and massage have a number of benefits for both your physical and your mental health.

Massage

Massage can relieve pain from sore or tense muscles. Massage of these muscles can help relieve muscle strain, reduce pain, and promote circulation.

The increased circulation around your muscles will increase the amount of oxygen reaching your muscles. This can help speed up injury recovery. Massage also releases endorphins, which are known as “feel good” molecules.

Studies also show that massage can lower blood pressure, improve digestion, and even boost your immune health.

Besides these significant effects on physical health, some of the best benefits of massage are emotional and mental in nature.

We all know that getting a massage is relaxing. But numerous scientific studies actually prove that massage can significantly reduce stress. There are even studies showing that massage reduced the stress and symptoms in psychiatric patients.

Massage can also help patients suffering from mental disorders like:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Eating disorders
  • Stress
  • Hormonal and neurotransmitter imbalances

So not only is massage relaxing, it can significantly improve your quality of life from pain management to relieving symptoms of depression.

Reiki

Like massage, Reiki treatment can help both your physical and mental health. Studies have shown that Reiki can significantly reduce stress and anxiety to promote relaxation.

Studies also provide evidence that Reiki treatments can help reduce pain, including those with cancer and chronic pain issues. These studies also show evidence that Reiki can reduce negative health symptoms, including:

  • Fatigue
  • Pain
  • Stress
  • Anxiety
  • Depression

Another benefit of Reiki treatments is that there are no side effects of this type of treatment. Other more traditional forms of treatment, like medication, for example, can have a number of negative side effects. Reiki provides many similar benefits without any negative side effects.

What Can I Expect from a Reiki Massage?

During a Reiki massage session, you’ll get both a massage and a Reiki treatment. This will involve the light touch of Reiki we mentioned earlier alongside a classic massage therapy session.

Everyone experiences Reiki massage differently. Many people describe a Reiki treatment as relaxing and refreshing. People often feel energized after a Reiki massage.

It’s also common to fall asleep during these sessions. That’s ok! It’s an extremely relaxing experience, so nodding off it entirely understandable.

During the session, it’s common to feel as though the practitioner’s hands get very hot or “pulsate” with energy. This is probably because of the energy flowing between you and the practitioner due to the Reiki treatment.

What you experience after the treatment also varies. Some people immediately feel relief from stress, pain, or headache while others notice the relief in the days or weeks following a session.

If you don’t experience much during the first session, it’s often recommended you continue with more sessions. Your experiences usually get progressively more intense and deep with each session.

Expectations of a Reiki Massage Therapist: Wrapping Up

Going into a brand new experience with a Reiki massage therapist can seem intimidating, especially if you have no idea what you’re in for. Hopefully, this article gave you a good idea of what to expect before your first session.

If you’d like more information about Reiki and its effects, check out our website. You can speak directly with Reiki masters to get all your questions answered.

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