Do you have to believe in Reiki for it to work?
Answered by Vanessa Chugani · Updated August 2026
No. A session works the same way whether you believe in it or not, because it works with the nervous system rather than with conviction. Sceptics who simply lie down for the hour report the same things regulars do: easier sleep, less tension. Curiosity is enough; belief is not required.
People usually ask this before they ask anything else, and it is a fair question. A practice that only works if you already believe in it is not much of a practice. Reiki here does not run on conviction: it works with the nervous system, not with what you think about it beforehand. This suits the practical sceptic best, someone who would rather test it for herself than take reassurance on faith.
What belief actually does
Nothing has to happen in your head before a session starts. You do not need to accept a theory of energy or agree with the chakra system, and you don't need any particular frame of mind either. You lie down, fully clothed, and Vanessa places her hands lightly on or near the body. What happens next happens the same way whether you are convinced or doubtful the whole way through. It is rest and support for a nervous system that has been running hot, not a promise, and the effect does not depend on your opinion of it going in.
What sceptics report
Ask people who arrived unconvinced what they noticed afterwards and the answers are not mystical. A 2019 study in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine tracked 1,411 sessions across 99 practitioners and recorded what participants reported, not what Reiki caused, since there was no control group to compare against. People described:
- Sleep that came more easily, pain sitting a little further away
- Appetite returning, a steadier sense of themselves
None of that requires having believed anything on the way in. It requires lying down and letting the hour happen.
What the placebo-controlled research says
This question has actually been tested, because a placebo-controlled trial exists specifically to separate what a treatment does from what belief alone can do. A 2022 review in Frontiers in Psychology looked at fourteen randomised, placebo-controlled trials and rated the evidence high for clinically relevant stress and depression, and moderate to high for clinically relevant anxiety. The people who improved most were the ones who were genuinely struggling, not the ones who walked in certain it would help. The review's own authors still describe their findings as inconclusive, which is an honest place to leave it: promising, not proof, and not something that hinges on the participant's faith in the outcome.
What this means if you are training
If you are weighing training rather than a single session, the same rule holds. Vanessa would rather a student arrive with accurate expectations than romantic ones. You do not need a settled belief about how Reiki works to learn to practise it properly, and if you feel nothing during your own attunement, that is normal and not a sign the training failed to take. It includes the manual and the attunement, plus support afterward. Training runs in groups of no more than six, in Canggu or live online.
If you would rather test this than take anyone's word for it, a private session is the more direct way in, and preparing for an attunement covers what to expect if scepticism is exactly where you are starting from.
Related questions
Will a session still work if I'm not sure I believe in it?
Yes. The session runs the same way regardless of what you think going in. Most people who come sceptical still report the same things regulars do: easier sleep, less tension. You do not need to convince yourself of anything beforehand.
What if I feel nothing during a session or attunement?
That is common and not a sign that anything went wrong. Feeling nothing during an attunement in particular is normal, and Vanessa says so plainly rather than letting a student assume they did something wrong. Some people notice a shift later that evening rather than during the session itself.
Can I train as a practitioner if I'm still unsure how Reiki works?
Yes. Vanessa would rather a student arrive with accurate expectations than romantic ones, and training does not require a settled belief about how Reiki works. You learn the practice the same way regardless, through the manual, the attunement and live support afterwards, in groups of no more than six.