How Reiki compares

Choose massage for physical injuries, tight muscles from training, or a purely mechanical problem you want worked on directly. Choose Reiki when what you are carrying is stress, exhaustion, grief or a nervous system that will not switch off, even if it shows up as a locked jaw or shoulders by your ears.

If a doctor or physiotherapist has recommended acupuncture for something specific like chronic pain, go with that, it has clinical trials behind it. If you want rest and support during a hard patch of life and you're not expecting a medical outcome, Reiki fits. Neither should replace ongoing medical care.

Reiki offers rest and quiet support for the nervous system; it does not diagnose or treat mental health conditions. If you are dealing with depression, anxiety disorders, trauma, suicidal thoughts, or a relationship or family crisis, see a qualified therapist or doctor first. Reiki can sit alongside that care, never replace it.

Choose meditation if you want a skill you build yourself, on your own time, for free. Choose Reiki if what you need right now is to stop doing and be looked after for an hour, with someone else holding the space so you don't have to do anything at all.

Yoga is something you do: movement and effort, building strength and flexibility over time. Reiki is something you receive: you lie down and rest while she works. Choose yoga if your body needs to move. Choose Reiki if you are worn out and need to be still. Plenty of people do both.

Choose in-person if you can get to Canggu and want the room, the drive there and light touch as part of the hour. Choose distance if travel, time zones, being unwell or simply staying in your own bed matters more. Both are full sessions with Vanessa, live, at an agreed time, nothing recorded.

Small-group training (six or fewer, often one to one) gives you more individual attention, a pace set around you, and dates arranged to suit your life. Large-group training gives you more practice partners and a date already fixed on a calendar. Choose small if you want focus, large if you want company and a set schedule.

Choose Bali if you want the trip itself to be part of learning: days away from your routine, taught live in Canggu. Choose training at home if travel isn't possible right now, or you would rather qualify among people you already know. Both give you the same level of qualification; the difference is the experience around it.

Level 2 is enough if you want Reiki for yourself and the people close to you, and maybe a small practice on the side. Go on to Master Teacher only if you want to attune and teach new students yourself. Neither is more valid than the other, and there is no rule saying you must continue.

Choose a private one-to-one session if you have something specific going on: grief, a big transition, pregnancy, or anything you would rather talk through before you lie down. Choose a group circle if you want a lower-commitment first taste of Reiki, or you like having other people quietly in the room with you.

Breathwork suits you if you want a quick, active practice you can do yourself, anywhere, the moment stress hits. Reiki suits you if you want to lie down, do nothing, and let someone else hold the space while your body settles on its own time. Many people use both.

Both give you the same levels, manual and price, taught live by Vanessa, never a recording. Choose online if your life is anchored elsewhere right now: work, children, a home you are not leaving. Choose in-person if you can be in Canggu and want her in the room with you for the attunement.

Choose sound healing if you want a no-touch, often group experience. Choose Reiki if you want quiet, one to one attention and are comfortable with light touch, for stress, poor sleep, grief or a nervous system that will not settle. Many people use both, for different things, rather than picking permanently.

Reiki suits you if you want quiet, one-to-one rest for a nervous system that has been running hot for too long, lying down with almost no talking. A cacao ceremony suits you if you want company: a group, movement, and a chance to process feelings out loud with other people. Neither is a medical treatment or cure for anything.