Reiki
Japanese: 霊気 (reiki), from rei ('spiritual' or 'mysterious') and ki ('life energy').
Reiki is a Japanese energy-healing practice, developed by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century, in which a practitioner channels healing energy to a client through light touch or hands held near the body. Practitioners describe it as promoting relaxation and supporting the body's own healing capacity.
Reiki is typically taught in stages of attunement leading to practitioner and master levels, and sessions are usually conducted with the recipient fully clothed and relaxed on a treatment table. It is used as a complementary practice alongside, not a replacement for, conventional medical care.
Go Deeper
Related Terms
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a system of alternative medicine developed by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th century, based on the principle that highly diluted substances that cause symptoms in a healthy person can treat similar symptoms in an unwell one. Its remedies are diluted to the point that many contain no detectable trace of the original substance.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a component of Traditional Chinese Medicine involving the insertion of thin needles at specific points on the body, traditionally believed to correspond to channels of energy flow called meridians. It is used, with mixed but growing research support, for conditions such as chronic pain and nausea.