Explainer | How reiki can help with your anxiety, grief, stress, chronic illness and more – all about the hands-on healing therapy with roots in Buddhist scripture

The Japanese energy-based healing technique is growing in popularity and becoming more accepted in hospitals as a complement to Western medicine

Practitioners say they have seen reiki help with a range of emotional, physical and mental issues, from headaches and anxiety to eczema and insomnia

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Reiki, performed here by Hong Kong healer Corie Chu, is an alternative therapy in which energy is channelled to treat physical and emotional woes. It is gaining followers as an effective complement to Western medicine. Photo: Camilla W Photography

Published: 7:15am, 11 Jun 2021Updated: 9:31am, 11 Jun 2021

Ian Mok first experienced reiki three years ago, when he was living in London. He was going through a stressful time and, for weeks, his stomach felt like it was on fire. Western medicine didn’t help and his doctor just told him to be mindful of stress.

When his sister (visiting from Hong Kong) offered to give him reiki treatment, an energy-based healing technique, Mok was so desperate to get rid of his stomach pain that he accepted. After one session, the pain subsided. The next day, it disappeared.

Mok was intrigued. He’d heard of reiki before but didn’t think much of it. Growing up in Britain, he was used to seeing conventional doctors and getting medical prescriptions for health issues. Last year, after moving to Hong Kong, he decided to try reiki again because he was feeling “out of sorts”.

“The pandemic had started and I was anxious, frustrated, angry, sad and disappointed,” says Mok, a 38-year-old musician, lawyer and arts consultant. “The concerts, trips and other events I’d planned were all put on hold, plus I’d just changed careers and was getting used to living in a new city. It was hard adjusting to all the changes.”

Ian Mok, after moving to Hong Kong last year, decided to try reiki again because he was feeling ‘out of sorts’. Photo: Jonathan Wong

After an hour with reiki master teacher Corie Chu, Mok says he felt lighter, happier and more relaxed. “The session was an eye-opener – I learned that most of the discomforts we carry are because of energy blockages in our body. These blockages affect our physical, mental and emotional states.”