Distance Reiki: How It Works and How to Receive It

Share Questions? Write to us

A distance Reiki session is an agreed window of time — usually 30 to 60 minutes — in which you lie down wherever you are and I hold the session from here, with your name and your consent. There is normally a conversation before and a message afterwards. It is the modality that provokes the most scepticism, and I am going to explain why that scepticism is reasonable.

What a distance session actually is

It is not a video call where someone guides you. It is not a recorded audio either.

It is a meeting with a fixed hour. We agree a specific day and time. At that time you lie down or sit somewhere quiet, and I give that whole window to your session, in silence, as if you were on the treatment table.

In the traditional Reiki of the Usui lineage, this practice is held with the second-level symbol, the one used to work beyond space and time. That is the framework I work from.

What I will not do is present it to you as an established fact. It is not one.

Step by step

We talk first. By WhatsApp or by call. You tell me what brings you, how you are sleeping, and anything I should know.
We agree an exact time. In your time zone if you are outside Colombia. This matters: the appointment is real.
You prepare your space. Somewhere nobody will interrupt you, phone silenced, a blanket, comfortable clothes.
You receive. You lie down and do nothing else. You may fall asleep.
I close and write to you. A short message at the end — no interpretations, no dramatic revelations.
You tell me afterwards, if you want. The next day, if you feel like it. It helps shape the next one.

You need no camera, no platform, and nothing done correctly.

In person and at a distance: what really changes

	In person	At a distance
Physical contact	Optional, by agreement	None
Usual length	60–90 min	30–60 min
Opening conversation	Face to face, 10–15 min	By chat or call, shorter
Travel	Yes	No
External frame	Table, room, leaving your routine	You create it at home
Best for	First time, long processes	Distance, limited mobility, continuity
Main limitation	Requires being in Medellín or Santa Elena	Depends on you giving yourself the space

The honest difference is not energetic. It is contextual: on the table, I provide the frame. At home, you provide it — and that is harder than it sounds.

Why it invites scepticism (and why that is reasonable)

I am not going to get defensive here.

If anything is hard to believe, it is this. Receiving a therapy with nobody in the room contradicts the most basic intuition about how things work. Finding it difficult to accept does not make you closed-minded: it makes you sensible.

And what needs saying should be said. Science has not demonstrated the existence of the energy field Reiki postulates, nor a mechanism by which sustained intention across kilometres could produce a measurable physical effect. The NCCIH is clear: Reiki has not been shown to be effective for any specific health purpose.

I will add something almost no Reiki site says: the distance modality is even less studied than the in-person one. The few available trials focus overwhelmingly on sessions with physical presence. Extrapolating their results to remote work would stretch the data further than it can bear.

If you are looking for proof, I do not have it. Nobody does.

What I can honestly say

I can say what happens and what people report, without decoration.

Many people describe, at the agreed hour, sensations much like those of an in-person session: heat, heaviness, deep sleep, sometimes emotion. Others feel nothing in particular and still report sleeping better that night.

I can also say something less mystical and fairly obvious: setting aside a window in your calendar to do absolutely nothing, expecting to be accompanied, already puts the body in a different state. That does not explain everything, but it is part of what happens and it would be dishonest to ignore it.

And I can say what I experience on my side: an hour of sustained presence, with your name held, without distraction. That is what I offer. I promise no more.

Whether my framework is the right one is something neither you nor I can settle. You can receive the session without resolving it.

Who it makes sense for

You live outside Medellín — elsewhere in Colombia, or in another country.
You have limited mobility, pain that makes travel hard, or you are bedbound.
You are in a medical process that leaves you little energy for travel.
We have already had sessions in person and you want continuity between trips.
You are caring for someone and cannot leave the house.
You simply prefer your own bed to someone else's table.

For a first time, if you can choose, I suggest in person. Not because distance work "does less", but because the face-to-face conversation builds a trust that later holds the remote work better. You can see what that looks like in your first session step by step.

How to prepare

Less than you think, but not nothing.

Choose a place nobody will walk into. Tell whoever lives with you. Put the phone on airplane mode or fully silent — not on vibrate.

Have a blanket nearby: body temperature often drops as you relax. Use the bathroom first. And if you can, do not schedule anything demanding in the hour that follows.

What usually goes wrong is not energetic. It is logistical: people receiving with the door open and three notifications going off.

What I see in my practice

There is a message I receive fairly regularly, and it always makes me smile.

It comes from someone who booked at a distance from another city, or another country, and who writes the next day saying: "I don't know whether it was the Reiki or the fact that I gave myself an hour, but I slept the way I haven't slept in months."

That sentence strikes me as the healthiest of all. It holds the doubt, it holds the experience, and it exaggerates neither.

I do not correct it. I tell them it does not matter which of the two it was: they rested, and if they want, we do it again.

With people who live in Medellín something else happens: they alternate. They come in person when they can and book at a distance when the week gets complicated. And there are people who drive up to Santa Elena once a month and hold the rest remotely.

What I do not do at a distance

This part matters as much as the rest.

I do not work on anyone without their consent. People often write asking for Reiki for their mother, their partner, or a friend going through something hard. I understand it, and it comes from love. But free will is non-negotiable: if that person can give consent, we ask for it. If they do not give it, it is not done.

I do not diagnose anything. Not near, not far. I will not tell you what you have, which organ is affected, or what is going to happen to you.

I do not do readings or channelled messages. I will not pass on revelations about your life, your partner or your future. That is not Reiki.

I replace nothing. If you are under medical or psychological care, continue it. A distance session accompanies; it does not substitute.

Price and logistics

In Medellín, one local centre publishes distance Reiki at around 194,000 Colombian pesos (COP) per session, and in-person sessions listed in directories run roughly from 50,000 to 220,000 COP. At current rates that is broadly a few tens of US dollars — treat any USD figure as approximate. This is the observed market range, not our fee. Write to me and I will send you the current price for a session before you decide anything.

If you are outside Colombia, we coordinate the time zone and agree the payment method before the session. Sessions can be given in English or Spanish.

How many to do is decided the same way as in person: a short block and an honest review. I explain it in how many Reiki sessions do I need.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to be awake and silent at that exact hour? Ideally yes, though being awake is not required: many people fall asleep and it interrupts nothing. What I do suggest is not driving, working or sitting in a meeting. The appointment is real and deserves the time you set aside for it, if only for what that gesture means to you.

Do I need to send a photo or something personal? It is not essential. I work with your name and your explicit consent, which is what matters. Some people prefer to send a photo because it helps them feel the link, and that is fine. Nobody should ask you for personal objects, locks of hair or anything of that sort: it does not belong to this practice.

Does it feel the same as an in-person session? Many people describe very similar sensations: heat, heaviness, sleep, emotion. Others notice less, and usually attribute it to the missing external frame — at home there is no table and no journey. You can see the full repertoire in what does Reiki feel like.

Can I book a session for someone else? Only if that person knows and consents. You can of course gift a session and let them choose when to use it. What is not done is working on someone behind their back, not even with the best intentions. Free will is the basis of all this and admits no convenient exceptions.

Does it work the same from another continent? Within the framework I work from, distance is not a variable. That said, I cannot prove that claim to you and I will not pretend otherwise. What does change is logistics: we coordinate the hour to your time zone and choose a moment when you can genuinely rest.

Is it cheaper than an in-person session? Not necessarily, and it is worth knowing. The time given, the preparation and the follow-up are the same; what you save is your journey. Some centres publish it at a price similar to or higher than in-person work. Always ask the rate before booking, at any practice.

If you live far away and want to try, write to us on WhatsApp at +57 314 811 7561 or through contact. We talk first, with no obligation, and you decide afterwards.

And if you would like to understand how we work beforehand, it is set out on the Sananda Reiki therapy page.

Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes and does not replace diagnosis, treatment or follow-up by a healthcare professional. Reiki is a complementary practice: it accompanies, it does not substitute. If you are under medical or psychological care, continue it and talk to your treating professional before adding any complementary therapy.