Review: Reiki Energy Medicine

The book Reiki Energy Medicine by Libby Barnet and Maggie Chambers sets out to do something that's both very far reaching, and very needed. The authors have set out to introduce Reiki to a medical audience and show how it can be used in medical settings of all kinds.

Knowing a little bit about medical settings, I don't believe they will convince every medical practitioner that Reiki is suitable for medical use. However the book demonstrates their thesis well enough to reach many medical practitioners, and no doubt is part of the impetus behind the expanded use of Reiki today in medical settings.

Much of the book is spent on topics typical to introducing Reiki itself. There is a brief history of Reiki, an overview of its use, an overview of learning Reiki and so forth. All topics you find covered on this web site and in many other books about Reiki. Their writing is very heartfelt and conveys a cozy warm feeling in the reader.

What's different is how they approach the topic of "energy medicine".

All through the book are pictures of various medical settings, with captions indicating that the picture shows Reiki being used in that medical setting. This includes typical patient care, interactions between pracitioners, people sitting at desks, and more, all involved with using Reiki. Overall it indicates how benign Reiki is, and how easily it can be incorporated into any activity.

In the last half of the book is a discussion of using Reiki in medical settings. For example they say

Most nurses to whom we teach Reiki use it in routine patient care. Nurses report that certain shifts in patients' conditions are common following Reiki treatment. These shifts include the following:

Patients "pink up" (i.e. circulation increases)
Hands and feet warm up
Patients sleep calmly and for extended periods
Relaxation response is elicited
Less time is needed to calm patients following a stressful event
Patients have a more positive attitude
Patients are more cooperative
Patients report decreased pain

In general this is presented anecdotally. Very little in terms of "scientific research" showing benefits. One study is referenced that showed increases in oxygenation of the blood from Reiki, which only validates half of the benefits reported above.

The book did not, however, live up to the "energy medicine" portion of the title. But I think this is due to a difference in meaning. Their meaning seems to be "the use of Reiki (energy) in medical practice". For that meaning the book does an excellent job of giving an overview of Reiki in medical practice, and at least anecdotal evidence of its usefulness.

In my use of the term "energy medicine" I'm thinking more of the deep study and practices that some forms of energy healing follow. Here I am thinking of Donna Edens book Energy Medicine, the training offered by the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, or the millenia old practices of Qi Gong. Each of those involve in-depth training, and deep levels of understanding of the Human Energy Field and the various sorts of treatments used for different conditions.

While this book did not live up to my expectations, it probably shouldn't have done so. The way Reiki is taught and used today is not compatible with my meaning of the phrase "energy medicine".

In all, this is a very nice book. It is probably a very good book to give to a medical professional to give them an understanding of Reiki. Just make sure they understand the book won't go very deep nor give them solid proof of any claim.