Scientific Research about Reiki

First, I would like to recommend a simple exercise taught by one of my Reiki teachers. Search in your memory which was your spiritual awakening. What changed your way of think and feel? What opened your eyes to a new state of consciousness?

I open this article with this exercise because in my personal experience one of the moments that I consider a spiritual awakening was in high school when I studied the composition, structure, and functioning of proteins. This was for me as entering a wonderland, a magic place that I love. But, above all, by studying molecular biology I could conclude that besides all those molecules that have an amazing and perfect design as engineered, there is a Divine sparkle in every living being. That is something I cannot explain, and don’t pretend to do, but by studying it, I feel closer to this Divinity. And this was what led me to my call as a molecular biologist.

My work is focused on plant genetics and epigenetics; so, I’m not conducting research about the effect of Reiki on humans. However, since scientific research is somehow distant from public knowledge, I would like to explain what is needed to conduct research, where you can find the scientific articles about Reiki (or any other topic), and finally, present an interpretation of some of these articles.

Can Researchers study anything that comes to mind?

Creativity is certainly a very important aspect to design research, but an idea is not enough to conduct research. We also need funding. Public and private organisms provide funding for research, but you need to win that funding, by presenting a project describing the research, the institution where it will take place, the human resources and equipment necessary to conduct this project. Then, the project is evaluated by qualified professionals and competes with other projects. The projects with better grade get funding.

Where can we find the results of researches?

All investigations must be published, preferably in specialized journals that publish scientific articles on specific areas of knowledge. The process of publication undergoes several rounds of revision that includes the participation of specialized reviewers to assure that it is an investigation of quality. Publication of scientific articles is merit. A way to rate a researcher is counting how many articles have published and the prestige of the journal is also important.

Scientific articles can be searched in Google scholar but I prefer to use NCBI (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) that includes only indexed journals. Searching “Reiki[Body – Key Terms]” we will find 218 articles (today). We can distinguish at least two types of scientific articles: research articles and reviews. The first reference I found about Reiki is a research article from 1989, written by Wendy Wezter in the Journal of Holistic Nursing. I cite this article below (Wezter 1989) and explain the results obtained.

How are the effects of a therapy determined for science?

Science must be severe with everything is studied. As mentioned by Mindfulness’ creator, the molecular biologist Jon Kabat-Zinn “We were trained in scientific rigor: don’t believe in your ideas, don’t believe in what you think it is, in what you feel it is, prove it”. This rigor is applied to every scientific study.

As stated by Wezter (1989), “since is not currently possible to visualize or document the human energy field and/or its transmission, it is reasonable to instead examine the effects of this transfer”. So the effects of therapy can be measured using different parameters, some quantifiable (such as blood pressure, hemoglobin content, number of colonies that survive, and several others), and others are no quantifiable (such as the sensation of pain, the sensation of wellbeing). The precise determination of the therapeutic effect is given by significant statistical differences with a negative control.

The experimental methods used in the scientific articles I’ve read evaluate doing Reiki on bacteria (Rubik et al. 2006), mice (Gronowicz et al. 2015), and most of them evaluate doing Reiki on people (Mehl-Madrona et al. 2011; Morse and Beem 2011; Mothersill et al. 2012; Baldwin et al. 2013; Berger et al. 2013; Kundu et al. 2013; Potter 2013; Jahantiqh et al. 2018; Vergo et al. 2018) some of them evaluate distant Reiki (Vandervaart et al. 2011).

For example, in Wezter’s article she evaluates the effects of first degree Reiki attunement on human in vivo hemoglobin and hematocrit. To evaluate this she uses a group of study and a control group composed of healthy people with similar characteristics. In both groups, she takes two blood samples separated for 24 hours. During these 24 hours takes place the attunement for the group of study and no event, in particular, takes place for the control group.

Wezter states “Analysis of hemoglobin and hematocrit values showed a significant change in both parameters in the experimental group. The control group remained homogenous and demonstrated no significant change. The pre-test means of the control and experimental groups demonstrated no significant difference. In a case by case analysis, it was found that over half (28) experienced an increase in values and the remainder a decrease. This is consistent with the Reiki theory of healing, harmonizing and balancing on an individual level”. “Over 90% of the participants demonstrated some change in hemoglobin, hematocrit, or both. The control group failed to demonstrate change, while the experimental group produced a change of a statistically significant nature”.

This is a very good article that proves the effect of the attunement, but it fails to dismiss the placebo effect that might be taking place. Other studies about Reiki included in the experimental design a different control in order to assess the placebo effect. About this topic, another article that I would like to present is a review in which the results of several studies are analyzed and it is interesting to see the conclusion:

“Of the 13 suitable studies, 8 demonstrated Reiki being more effective than placebo, 4 found no difference but had questionable statistical resolving power, and only one provided clear evidence for not providing benefit. Viewed collectively, these studies provide reasonably strong support for Reiki being more effective than placebo. From the information currently available, Reiki is a safe and gentle “complementary” therapy that activates the parasympathetic nervous system to heal body and mind” (McManus 2017).

Final considerations

Some of us desire to understand deeply how things work. Concerning Reiki, the biggest challenge is to have an appropriate technology to measure the energy field of living beings. However, this is not necessary to demonstrate that Reiki has a positive effect. Many important theories were stated based on evidence but without understanding the mechanism. For example, Gregor Mendel published in 1865 his research about the heredity of traits that is today the fundamentals of genetics. Only in 1944, it was confirmed that DNA is the molecule that contains the hereditary material and in 1966, 100 years later, began to be understood the mechanisms by which DNA is responsible for the phenotype of living organisms and the laws of the inheritance at the molecular level. However, the laws of Mendel were accepted before that, since it was always possible to observe how the characters of the plants segregated in the way that Mendel had proposed.

Similarly, Jon Kabat Zin began to study the effects of meditation and demonstrated its positive effect without understanding completely the mechanism of it. Now, several studies are shedding light on those mechanisms.
Reiki practitioners are very aware of the positive effects of Reiki but having scientific validation of Reiki would be great.

Infinite love

References

• Baldwin A, Fullmer K, Schwartz G (2013) Comparison of Physical Therapy with Energy Healing for Improving Range of Motion in Subjects with Restricted Shoulder Mobility. Evid-based Compl Alt 2013:1–9. doi: 10.1155/2013/329731
• Berger L, Tavares M, Berger B (2013) A Canadian experience of integrating complementary therapy in a hospital palliative care unit. J Palliat Med 16:1294–8. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2013.0295
• Gronowicz G, Secor E, Flynn J, et al (2015) Therapeutic Touch Has Significant Effects on Mouse Breast Cancer Metastasis and Immune Responses but Not Primary Tumor Size. Evid-based Compl Alt 2015:1–10. doi: 10.1155/2015/926565
• Jahantiqh F, Abdollahimohammad A, Firouzkouhi M, Ebrahiminejad V (2018) Effects of Reiki Versus Physiotherapy on Relieving Lower Back Pain and Improving Activities Daily Living of Patients With Intervertebral Disc Hernia. J Evidence-based Integr Medicine 23:2515690X1876274. doi: 10.1177/2515690×18762745
• Kundu A, Lin Y, Oron A, Doorenbos A (2013) Reiki therapy for postoperative oral pain in pediatric patients: pilot data from a double-blind, randomized clinical trial. Complement Ther Clin 20:21–5. doi: 10.1016/j.ctcp.2013.10.010
• McManus D (2017) Reiki Is Better Than Placebo and Has Broad Potential as a Complementary Health Therapy. J Evidence-based Complementary Altern Medicine 22:1051–1057. doi: 10.1177/2156587217728644
• Mehl-Madrona L, Renfrew N, Mainguy B (2011) Qualitative Assessment of the Impact of Implementing Reiki Training in a Supported Residence for People Older Than 50 Years with HIV/AIDS. Perm J 15:43–50. doi: 10.7812/tpp/10-152
• Morse M, Beem L (2011) Benefits of Reiki Therapy for a Severely Neutropenic Patient with Associated Influences on a True Random Number Generator. J Altern Complementary Medicine 17:1181–1190. doi: 10.1089/acm.2010.0238
• Mothersill C, Smith R, Henry M, et al (2012) Alternative medicine techniques have non-linear effects on radiation response and can alter the expression of radiation induced bystander effects. Dose-response Publ Int Hormesis Soc 11:82–98. doi: 10.2203/dose-response.11-048.mothersill
• Potter P (2013) Energy therapies in advanced practice oncology: an evidence-informed practice approach. J Adv Pract Oncol 4:139–51.
• Rubik B, Brooks A, Schwartz G (2006) In Vitro Effect of Reiki Treatment on Bacterial Cultures: Role of Experimental Context and Practitioner Well-Being. J Altern Complementary Medicine 12:7–13. doi: 10.1089/acm.2006.12.7
• Vandervaart S, Berger H, Tam C, et al (2011) The effect of distant Reiki on pain in women after elective Caesarean section: a double-blinded randomised controlled trial. Bmj Open 1:e000021. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2010-000021
• Vergo M, Pinkson B, Broglio K, et al (2018) Immediate Symptom Relief After a First Session of Massage Therapy or Reiki in Hospitalized Patients: A 5-Year Clinical Experience from a Rural Academic Medical Center. J Altern Complementary Medicine 24:801–808. doi: 10.1089/acm.2017.0409
• Wendy S Wetzel, MSN, RN (1989) Reiki Healing: a physiologic perspective Journal of Holistic Nursing Vol 7, 1 48-54

Article by Magalí Giménez

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I am Magalí, I am a Molecular Biologist, I have a PhD in Biological Sciences, I specialize in plant genetics and epigenetics.
I am a Master in Usui Reiki and level two Karuna Reiki®. I am a reader and healer of Akashic Registers.
You can visit my meditation channel in Spanish @ElMayorBien, and you can contact me at [email protected]