Reiki
What Are Energy Blockages in Reiki?
In Reiki’s own theory, an energy blockage is a place where the flow of life energy, called ki, is restricted, and Reiki is said to help it flow again. It is a concept from the practice’s tradition, not a medical finding: the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says there is no scientific evidence that the energy field Reiki is based on exists. Any physical symptom deserves a medical explanation first.
Where does the idea come from?
From the concept of ki, the Japanese term for life energy. In an ICRT article on Reiki energy, William Lee Rand describes ki as the non-physical energy that animates all living things, and equates it with the Chinese chi and the Indian prana. Reiki, in this account, is “spiritually guided life force energy.”
The same article describes how practitioners understand a blockage: ki is said to respond to thoughts and feelings, and negative thoughts and feelings are said to restrict its flow in particular places. Reiki is described as flowing to those places and restoring the flow.
How do practitioners say they find blockages?
Through their hands. In one practitioner’s account quoted in the Wikipedia article on Reiki, she describes moving her hands over a client looking for heat, coldness, tingling or a dense or repelling feeling, which she interprets as places needing attention.
What does science say?
The NCCIH page on Reiki says there is no scientific evidence supporting the existence of the energy field thought to play a role in Reiki. By that account, the “flow” described as blocked or restored has not been shown to exist scientifically. The sensations a practitioner reports in their hands are real experiences, but they are not a diagnostic measurement.
How should you read the term?
As part of the practice’s language. When a practitioner says you have a blockage in your shoulders or stomach, they are describing their own experience in the session within the framework they were taught. It is not a statement about your organs or your health, and it should not be taken as one.
If a practitioner mentions a blockage
Ask what they noticed and what they mean by it. If the area they mention matches a symptom you have, such as pain, digestive problems or tightness in the chest, see a doctor about the symptom itself. Keep the Reiki explanation and the medical one separate, and let the medical one guide any decisions about your health.
This article is general information, not medical or psychological advice; talk with a licensed clinician about your own situation.