Reiki or chakra balancing: which one actually suits you?
By Vanessa Chugani · Updated August 2026
Choose Reiki when what you are carrying is diffuse: stress, exhaustion, a mind that will not switch off, grief with no single cause. Choose chakra balancing when you already know the one area, like confidence or communication, and want a practitioner who works there directly. Plenty of people use both.
Reiki and chakra balancing get lumped together because both fall under energy work, but they are built differently. Reiki is a specific practice within one lineage, Usui Reiki Ryoho, and a session moves through the whole nervous system rather than aiming at any one part of you. Chakra balancing is not one fixed practice; it is a family of approaches built around the seven-chakra map, a system that reached its familiar form in the twentieth century and was paired with Reiki only in the 1980s, not something ancient despite how it often gets sold. Sessions built around that map tend to work centre by centre, often naming the specific life area each one stands for.
| Reiki | Chakra balancing | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | You lie down, fully clothed, while she rests her hands lightly on or near your body, following what the body needs. | A practitioner works through the seven chakra points in turn, sometimes with hands, sometimes with crystals, sound or visualisation. |
| What it targets | The whole nervous system: stress, exhaustion, grief, anxiety, a body that will not settle. | One named area at a time, like confidence, communication or creativity, whichever centre feels blocked that day. |
| The framework | Usui Reiki Ryoho, a lineage taught and passed on since the 1920s. | The seven-chakra map, a twentieth-century synthesis first paired with Reiki in the 1980s, not an ancient teaching. |
| Cost | EUR 188 in person in Canggu, EUR 138 by distance, with three and five session packages. | Depends on the practitioner; nobody publishes a standard rate here, so ask before you book. |
| Who leads it | Vanessa Chugani, Reiki Master Teacher since 2019, practising Reiki since 2006. | Depends entirely on who you book. Training and experience vary a great deal between practitioners. |
| Best fit | Something feels off but you cannot name exactly what, or it is simply too much. | You can already point to the one area, like your voice or your confidence, that needs attention. |
Which one suits you
Reiki suits someone who cannot point to one thing. The trouble is general: sleep that will not come, a jaw that will not unclench, a mind that spins at 2am, grief or overwhelm with no single cause. There is nothing to diagnose or aim at, and that is rather the point of it. Chakra balancing suits someone who already has a specific area in mind and wants a practitioner who works there directly. If you freeze every time you have to speak up in a meeting and want a session built entirely around your throat, or you are trying to find your creativity again after years of not using it, a chakra-focused practitioner will go straight there in a way a general Reiki session will not. Reiki is for the days when you cannot even name what is wrong, only that you need somewhere to put it down.
Related questions
Can I combine Reiki with chakra balancing?
Yes. Many people use Reiki for the general reset and turn to chakra-focused work when something specific needs attention. Vanessa teaches the chakra system as part of Reiki training, as useful vocabulary rather than a fixed diagnosis, so the two sit together easily.
Is the chakra system actually part of Usui Reiki?
Not originally. Usui Reiki Ryoho carries no chakra teaching of its own. The seven-chakra framework was folded into Western Reiki training in the 1980s, and it is taught here as a useful way to talk about the body, not as ancient doctrine.
Does chakra balancing involve crystals?
Often, though it depends entirely on the practitioner running the session; some use crystals, sound or visualisation, others work with their hands alone. Crystals are not part of Usui Reiki Ryoho and are not used in Vanessa's sessions or training here.