The Reiki Series
The first question people ask me is almost always the same. How can Reiki work if we are not in the same room?
It is a fair question. I asked it too. So let me walk you through exactly what happens in a distance session with me, from the moment you book to the moment we say goodbye. Then I will share two kinds of truth with you. First, what the research honestly does and does not show. Then, what my own life has shown me, in the places science cannot measure yet.
How a distance session works
We meet on Google Meet. You rest in your own space, somewhere quiet and familiar, and I hold the session from mine. We both press play on the same music at the same moment, so we share the same sound, the same pace, and the same quiet.
You do not need to do anything special. You do not need to believe anything. You only need a place to lie down and a little time that belongs to you.
Before we meet
Once you book, your confirmation email holds everything you need.
- Your time and Meet link. These arrive by email as soon as you choose.
- A short intake form. It helps me understand where you are right now. We will not read through it together. It simply lets me arrive prepared.
- Your session music. A link to the track we will play together.
To prepare, find a quiet spot where you can lie down or recline. Wear something soft. Charge your device, keep water nearby, and use headphones if you have them. Let the people you live with know you will be resting for a while.
When we begin
We start with a brief check in. How are you feeling today? What would you like this time to hold? Together we set one simple intention, something like rest, release, or steadiness.
Then you settle in, close your eyes, and we press play.
During the session
The music is a soft harp, tuned to 432 Hz, with a gentle layer underneath that helps the mind slow down. Every three minutes you will hear one quiet bell. That is simply me moving to the next area of focus. You do not need to track it. Let it wash over you.
People notice many different things. Warmth. Tingling. A heaviness in the body, like sinking into the bed. Colors behind the eyes. A memory, or a wave of emotion. Some people fall asleep. Some people feel nothing in particular, only calm.
All of it is welcome. There is no right way to receive.
The last five minutes
Five minutes before we finish, you will hear three bells. That is your cue to come back slowly. Wiggle your fingers and toes. Take a few deeper breaths. Open your eyes when you are ready.
Then we talk. I share what I noticed, you share what you felt, and we close gently. There is never any rush.
After your session
Your body may keep settling for a day or two. You might feel sleepy, a little emotional, or wonderfully light. Drink water, rest when you can, and be kind to yourself. I will send you an aftercare note that same day, and I will check in a few days later to see how you are doing.
What the science says
Here is where I put on my nurse hat.
Research on Reiki in general is growing, and the most consistent finding is for anxiety. A 2024 meta-analysis, which pools the results of many trials, found that Reiki reduced anxiety compared with control groups (Fan, 2024).
Research on distance Reiki specifically is much smaller and younger. One pilot randomized trial with oncology patients in Turkey compared usual care alone with usual care plus five nights of distant Reiki. The Reiki group reported lower pain, stress, and fatigue (Demir et al., 2015). That is encouraging, and it is also one small study. We need larger, well designed trials before anyone can make firm claims.
So I hold it with honesty and curiosity. What I can tell you for certain is that giving your nervous system thirty or forty five quiet minutes to rest is a gift, and that many people leave their sessions feeling calmer and more like themselves.
Reiki complements medical care. It never replaces it. Please keep your healthcare team in the loop, and keep taking care of yourself in all the ways that you already do.
What science cannot measure yet
Now let me take off my nurse hat for a moment and speak from my own life.
Most of us have had moments we cannot quite explain. You think of someone you have not heard from in months, and a minute later, they call. You hold a friend in your thoughts during a hard week, or you pray for them, or you sit in meditation with them in your heart, and later they tell you they felt held. You walk into a room and sense the heaviness before anyone says a word.
Science does not have clear answers for these moments yet. Some may one day be explained, and some may always stay a mystery. I will not tell you they prove anything. I also will not tell you they are nothing. They are real experiences, and they shape how we love and how we heal.
My own healing path began with one of them.
When I was a sick little girl, my grandmother held me close, sang prayers over me, and bathed me in flower petals and herbs from her garden. No study can measure what that bath did. But I remember exactly how it felt. I felt safe. I felt loved all the way through. And something in me understood, long before I had words for it, that care can travel across the space between us.
That bath changed how I connect with the world. Looking back, I can see its thread in every step that followed: nursing, Reiki, and this work. When I hold a distance session, I am doing what she did. I am offering my full attention and my intention, with love, to someone who needs to rest. You can read more of her story in Where It All Began: My Grandmother’s Garden.
So you do not need to decide what you believe before a session. Come curious. Notice what you notice. Your experience is yours, and it counts.
Is a session right for you?
If you are curious where your energy is asking for care, start with the free energy quiz. It takes about a minute.
When you are ready, you can book a 30 or 45 minute session here. And if you want to go deeper first, read What Is Reiki, and Does It Actually Work? or Your Energy Body.
I would be honored to rest with you.
Go gracefully. 🤍
Kristina Soto, RN, BSN
Usui Ryoho Reiki Master
References
Demir, M., Can, G., Kelam, A., & Aydıner, A. (2015). Effects of distant Reiki on pain, anxiety and fatigue in oncology patients in Turkey: A pilot study. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 16(12), 4859-4862. https://doi.org/10.7314/APJCP.2015.16.12.4859
Fan, Y. (2024). Therapeutic effects of Reiki on interventions for anxiety: A meta-analysis. BMC Palliative Care, 23(1), Article 147. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01439-x
