Remote Reiki

Can the healing energy technique work across distance and space?

- By Megan Johnson, Photography and Illustration by Westend61; Sadik Demiroz/Getty Images

When the pandemic first hit, I dove deeper into the home practices that provided comfort and calm. I channeled my anxiety into daily meditation sessions, which I continue to do a year and a half later. I adapted my need for exercise into five-mile walks that I kept up until the gym reopened. But I found options for alternative therapies, such as massage, to be limited. Then I learned that Reiki managed to pivot its practice in the same manner as many other things: It went virtual.

I’ve always been a little skeptical of the technique, in which practitioners assist with the transmission of energy through gentle placement of the hands either on or slightly above a client’s body. But everyone I know who has tried Reiki staunchly asserts that the sessions eliminated emotional blockages and relieved physical pain. Several friends insisted that they felt more like themselves after having a session. One person said it’s as if all her baggage had been suddenly taken away. Another friend shared that she and the practitioner felt an “amazing energy” in her sacral area; two days later, she found out she was pregnant.

Curious, I wondered if Reiki’s renowned transfer of energy could work through a computer screen as well as it would through a practitioner’s hands. I turned to Google and soon found Molly Coeling, an experienced practitioner and teacher of Reiki based in Chicago, who was offering remote sessions. I reached out for more information.

HOW REIKI WORKS