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August 21, 2025 12 mins

What Happens When Reiki Finds You

What if an ancient healing practice could help you process emotions you've been avoiding and break patterns that keep you stuck? Reiki is now validated by research and used at major medical centers, but for me, it became the key to moving through fear and recognizing how I'd been trying to fix everyone but myself.

In This Episode:

  • My experience with Reiki during the pandemic when I was stuck in fear
  • How leading hospitals like Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins use Reiki
  • The science behind why virtual Reiki works
  • Research showing Reiki's effects on stress, anxiety, and pain
  • How Reiki helped me recognize and work through old patterns

My Story:

After leaving a company I'd been with for 19 years, the pandemic hit and I found myself frozen in fear—not just about COVID, but about my future. Remote Reiki sessions helped me process emotions I'd been suppressing and see patterns around codependency and trying to fix others that went back to my family of origin.

What's Next:

Part II drops tomorrow - a 20-minute guided Reiki healing session where you can experience this for yourself, wherever you are.

In the coming weeks, you'll also be able to access recorded Reiki sessions focused on recovery and resilience, confidence and empowerment, inner child healing, freedom, and body wisdom. Go to www.intrinsicly.com to learn more.

Citations and Studies:

  1. Liu, K., et al. (2025). Effects of Reiki therapy on quality of life: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Systematic Reviews, 14(1), 1-10. https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/integrative-oncology/overview/ovc-20542190

  2. Cleveland Clinic. (2024). Reiki: How Energy Healing Works. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/reiki

  3. Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing. (2024). What Does the Research Say about Reiki? https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/what-does-research-say-about-reiki

  4. Verywell Mind. (2024). What to Know About Reiki Healing for Self-Care. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-to-know-about-reiki-healing-for-self-care-8665540

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:23):
This might sound unreal, but it's true, and it's called Reiki.
In this episode, we'll talk about what reiki is, the research behind its effectiveness, and how leading medical centers are integrating it into patient care.
We'll also explore how quantum physics can help explain why it works through virtual formats.

(00:43):
Then in part two, the podcast, I'll guide you through a Reiki healing experience so you can feel it for yourself. 6 00:00:56,932.429152378 --> 00:01:05,512.429152378 As always, we've given every episode with somatic regulation a way to ground ourselves and more fully access our cognitive abilities. 7 00:01:06,202.429152378 --> 00:01:11,92.429152378 So what we'll do today is cross body tapping to help activate both hemispheres of the brain. 8 00:01:12,352.429152378 --> 00:01:14,302.429152378 We are gonna be talking about physics. 9 00:01:14,302.429152378 --> 00:01:15,22.429152378 After all. 10 00:01:16,72.429152378 --> 00:01:19,102.429152378 This is gonna help us support, focus, and clarity. 11 00:01:21,367.429152378 --> 00:01:22,507.429152378 So let's get started. 12 00:01:23,737.429152378 --> 00:01:28,387.429152378 Make sure that your feet are flat on the floor, feeling stable and grounded. 13 00:01:29,77.429152378 --> 00:01:30,427.429152378 Then cross your arms. 14 00:01:30,457.429152378 --> 00:01:36,337.429152378 So your right hand is resting on your left shoulder and your left hand is resting on your right shoulder. 15 00:01:36,877.429152378 --> 00:01:46,87.42915238 Position your hands in a way that feels most comfortable for you, and you'll begin to just tap your shoulders left and right. 16 00:01:46,537.42915238 --> 00:01:58,627.42915238 I find it easiest to just let my wrists continue to rest on my shoulder, and so I'm lifting my fingers and palms to tap and tap. 17 00:01:58,717.42915238 --> 00:02:05,947.42915238 So fingers and palm lifts to tap one side, and then switching the other shoulder. 18 00:02:06,277.42915238 --> 00:02:07,927.42915238 Just going back and forth. 19 00:02:08,497.42915238 --> 00:02:12,517.42915238 This should feel really ease, useful, and rhythmic. 20 00:02:13,387.42915238 --> 00:02:16,927.42915238 Tap in a rhythm or pace that's most comfortable for you. 21 00:02:18,667.42915238 --> 00:02:20,797.42915238 Now let's bring our breath into this. 22 00:02:21,577.42915238 --> 00:02:24,307.42915238 Start by just noticing your breath. 23 00:02:24,877.42915238 --> 00:02:31,447.42915238 Feel the inhale coming in through your nose and feel a sense of relaxation. 24 00:02:31,537.42915238 --> 00:02:41,17.42915238 As you exhale, allow the belly to expand as you inhale, continuing to tap your shoulders left and right. 25 00:02:41,887.42915238 --> 00:02:51,217.42915238 And then feel just a sense of release or relaxation as you exhale, continuing to tap in a rhythmic way. 26 00:02:52,117.42915238 --> 00:03:02,227.42915238 Whatever feels good to you, inhaling your belly, expands and exhale, find that sense of release and relaxation. 27 00:03:03,697.42915238 --> 00:03:07,627.42915238 Continuing to tap your shoulders left and right. 28 00:03:08,662.42915238 --> 00:03:11,332.42915238 Activating both hemispheres of your brain. 29 00:03:14,152.42915238 --> 00:03:19,312.42915238 Inhaling again through your nose, belly expands, keeping your shoulders relaxed. 30 00:03:20,32.42915238 --> 00:03:22,822.42915238 Exhale, find that release. 31 00:03:23,602.42915238 --> 00:03:26,992.42915238 Let's do one more round of breath together as you continue to tap. 32 00:03:27,622.42915238 --> 00:03:33,562.42915238 Inhaling the belly, expands shoulders, stay relaxed, and then exhale. 33 00:03:33,622.42915238 --> 00:03:35,212.42915238 Feel that sense of relief. 34 00:03:37,357.42915238 --> 00:03:41,992.42915238 You can bring your arms down and then shake 'em out a bit. 35 00:03:43,522.42915238 --> 00:03:55,42.42915238 You can use this practice anytime where you just need to connect with your body and feel grounded or use it whenever you're starting a project, creating something. 36 00:03:55,747.42915238 --> 00:03:57,337.42915238 Trying to solve a problem. 37 00:03:57,397.42915238 --> 00:04:05,407.42915238 'cause what you're doing is activating both sides of your brain, so you're more fully accessing your cognitive abilities. 38 00:04:07,872.42915238 --> 00:04:16,272.42915238 So in addition to somatic regulation, each episode also includes what I like to call life imitating art. 39 00:04:17,142.42915238 --> 00:04:23,502.42915238 I highlight a piece of art, like a song, a movie, or a painting that resonates in the moment. 40 00:04:24,192.42915238 --> 00:04:29,292.42915238 For this episode, I chose the song I can see clearly now by Johnny Nash. 41 00:04:30,252.42915238 --> 00:04:35,142.42915238 Here are the lyrics that I believe capture the clarity and lightness that Reiki helps me access. 42 00:04:37,118.71292082 --> 00:04:39,728.71292082 I can see clearly now the rain is gone. 43 00:04:40,598.71292082 --> 00:04:43,598.71292082 I can see all obstacles in my way. 44 00:04:45,428.71292082 --> 00:04:48,368.71292082 Gone are the dark clouds that had me down. 45 00:04:49,88.71292082 --> 00:04:54,158.71292082 It's gonna be a bright, bright, bright sunshiny day. 46 00:04:55,454.19021935 --> 00:05:05,859.19021935 I now, don't get me wrong, I still have a lot of moments when I'm confused, I second guess myself, or I feel a heavy energy. 47 00:05:07,479.19021935 --> 00:05:14,739.19021935 But Reiki helps me move through these states a lot more quickly and return to a place of clarity and peace. 48 00:05:16,119.19021935 --> 00:05:28,134.19021935 The line specifically that says, I can see all obstacles in my way in the song, I think is, is so important in my relationship with reiki. 49 00:05:29,134.19021935 --> 00:05:48,694.19021935 In that, it's not that my life doesn't have obstacles, but I can more clearly see them and I'm in a place where I can address the obstacles, feel like I have the resilience to move through them and see them in a deeper and more truthful way. 50 00:05:49,877.52355268 --> 00:05:52,394.19021935 The time I tried reiki was during the pandemic. 51 00:05:52,574.19021935 --> 00:05:59,954.19021935 And like so many of us, I was in a state of fear and I wasn't just afraid of COVID. 52 00:05:59,954.19021935 --> 00:06:04,904.19021935 And for my family, I was afraid for my livelihood. 53 00:06:04,904.19021935 --> 00:06:15,764.19021935 Um, not long before I had loved the company I'd been with and really loved for 19 years, and so I wasn't working. 54 00:06:16,379.19021935 --> 00:06:25,979.19021935 I felt stuck in that fear and I didn't know how I was gonna get out of it for a while. 55 00:06:25,979.19021935 --> 00:06:28,739.19021935 I was suppressing it or numbing it. 56 00:06:28,739.19021935 --> 00:06:32,994.19021935 I know I was drinking way too much, so I looked for help. 57 00:06:35,759.19021935 --> 00:06:39,419.19021935 After my Reiki session, something had definitely shifted. 58 00:06:41,69.19021935 --> 00:06:45,149.19021935 It was like I could finally take a breath again and. 59 00:06:45,779.19021935 --> 00:06:55,559.19021935 The fear didn't completely disappear, but that heavy frozen feeling started to lift a little bit by bit. 60 00:06:56,969.19021935 --> 00:07:06,29.19021935 After each session, I was better able to process the fear I was feeling and understand some of its deeper sources. 61 00:07:07,109.19021935 --> 00:07:17,369.19021935 It wasn't just situational what was happening in my life, what was happening in the world was triggering older fears that I previously had suppressed. 62 00:07:18,119.19021935 --> 00:07:21,989.19021935 Numbed Pretended wasn't there. 63 00:07:23,159.19021935 --> 00:07:27,899.19021935 And I got to a place that I could address these deeper fears. 64 00:07:29,241.05174035 --> 00:07:33,741.05174035 And since this was happening in the middle of the pandemic, the sessions were remote. 65 00:07:35,346.88318189 --> 00:07:44,256.88318189 How is Reiki able to do this? It's kind of difficult to understand, but I'm gonna try to explain it the best way I can. 66 00:07:45,914.70497531 --> 00:07:48,494.70497531 Physics tells us that everything is energy. 67 00:07:49,334.70497531 --> 00:07:58,214.70497531 The particles that make up our bodies are constantly vibrating and creating electromagnetic fields and energy interacts with other energy. 68 00:07:59,174.70497531 --> 00:08:08,174.70497531 Quantum physics shows us that particles can instantly affect each other regardless of space and time. 69 00:08:09,914.04606498 --> 00:08:19,154.04606498 You can also think of it like how a defibrillator resets your heart's electrical rhythm, or how a radio picks up signals through the air. 70 00:08:20,774.04606498 --> 00:08:26,774.04606498 Reiki can work with your body's energy field similarly, and it doesn't force anything. 71 00:08:27,734.04606498 --> 00:08:31,364.04606498 It just helps everything find its natural balance again. 72 00:08:34,42.47444864 --> 00:08:45,622.47444864 And studies have validated Reggie's effectiveness, showing it reduces pain, stress, and anxiety with measurable physiological changes like heart rate variability and blood pressure. 73 00:08:47,820.97671879 --> 00:08:47,850.97671879 Okay. 74 00:08:47,850.97671879 --> 00:08:55,620.97671879 Major medical centers like the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, and Cedar-Sinai offer Reiki for stress reduction and recovery support. 75 00:08:57,310.3180717 --> 00:09:06,750.3180717 Beyond the science and the research and the studies, this matters because right now, so many of us are carrying heaviness and worry. 76 00:09:06,800.3180717 --> 00:09:13,35.3180717 Between work demands, family needs, health concerns, financial pressures, what's going on in the world. 77 00:09:13,485.3180717 --> 00:09:17,985.3180717 Stress accumulates in our bodies and a state of overwhelm can become our default. 78 00:09:18,848.95425332 --> 00:09:25,778.95425332 Reiki helps build resilience, reduce overwhelm, ease physical tension, and improve focus and clarity. 79 00:09:26,338.95425332 --> 00:09:39,988.95425332 This foundational shift in our energy naturally flows and improves every aspect of our life, including relationships, managing daily stressors, professional success, and personal growth. 80 00:09:41,419.5155473 --> 00:09:50,629.5155473 The beauty of Reiki is how accessible it is and how powerful it is in a way that is gentle. 81 00:09:52,759.5155473 --> 00:09:57,169.5155473 It's hard to put into words how much reiki has changed my life. 82 00:09:58,674.51500223 --> 00:10:04,194.51500223 I've been able to process hard and old emotions that I had suppressed for years. 83 00:10:06,189.51500223 --> 00:10:17,589.51500223 I've been able to recognize, and again, in working with patterns around codependency and trying to fix people, taking responsibility for other people's wellbeing instead of my own. 84 00:10:18,849.51500223 --> 00:10:32,829.51500223 I saw these patterns playing out in my family of origin, and then again in every romantic relationship where I try to be lovable and be needed through giving gifts and cooking meals and trying to help in all aspects of their lives. 85 00:10:34,224.51500223 --> 00:10:45,654.51500223 Reiki didn't fix me or heal me from these things, but it gave me the resilience I needed to go deeper and recognizing my limiting beliefs and patterns. 86 00:10:46,764.51500223 --> 00:10:55,974.51500223 It helped me to know I could face things that had been too hard before because I didn't feel like I had the ability to pull myself out of how the emotions and difficult truth. 87 00:10:57,899.37937113 --> 00:11:03,629.37937113 It supported me so deeply that I've gone on to become a Holy Fire three Karuna Reiki master. 88 00:11:04,709.37937113 --> 00:11:11,464.7693608 That's the highest level of training from the International Center for Reiki training Because it's transformed every part of my life. 89 00:11:11,524.7693608 --> 00:11:21,634.7693608 I am passionate about making Reiki accessible through group sessions and virtual formats, Which I'm going to be doing in part two of this episode. 90 00:11:23,800.3440068 --> 00:11:26,920.3440068 If you've never experienced reiki before, here's what to expect. 91 00:11:27,970.3440068 --> 00:11:30,865.3440068 Reiki often works in ways that might surprise you. 92 00:11:33,115.3440068 --> 00:11:38,455.3440068 You might feel physical sensations like warmth, tingling, or relaxation. 93 00:11:39,385.3440068 --> 00:11:57,650.3440068 You might have an emotional shift, um, like suddenly feeling lighter or feeling tears of release joy or sadness, or you might experience mental clarity solutions appearing priorities becoming clear. 94 00:11:58,448.75608412 --> 00:12:07,868.75608412 Or your mind may wander and daily worries might surface, or you may even fall asleep, which is something I can often do. 95 00:12:10,500.28865813 --> 00:12:16,350.28865813 So when we transition to part two, give yourself permission to receive. 96 00:12:17,190.28865813 --> 00:12:22,590.28865813 Let yourself be curious about what wants to shift, what wants to heal, what wants to be released. 97 00:12:24,870.28865813 --> 00:12:34,170.28865813 I'm excited for the next episode where I'll guide you through a Reiki session focused on finding peace so you can experience Reiki for yourself.
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