Reiki or massage: two different kinds of touch
By Vanessa Chugani · Updated August 2026
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.
Both put a pair of hands on you, which is where the similarity ends. A massage therapist works your muscles: pressure, kneading, finding the knot and pressing into it until it releases. A Reiki session is quieter. My hands rest lightly on or just above your body, mostly still, and nothing is being worked on in a mechanical sense. The touch itself is not the treatment: it is a way of telling a nervous system that has been on alert for weeks or months that it is safe to stand down. Both can leave you looser. They get there by different routes.
| Reiki | Massage | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | A therapist manipulates muscle and tissue directly: pressure, kneading, stretching, working a specific area. | My hands rest lightly on or near your body, mostly still, while you simply lie down and rest. |
| What it's for | An injury or tight muscles from training and posture, when the problem sits in one part of the body. | A nervous system running hot: stress, exhaustion, grief or anxiety, and a body that will not settle. |
| Pressure | Firm, moderate or light, chosen by you and the therapist for the area being worked. | None. Nothing is pressed, kneaded or stretched at any point in the session. |
| A locked jaw or shoulders up by your ears | The right call if it is pure muscle tightness from posture, training or overuse. | Often the better fit, since this kind of tension usually sits on top of stress. |
| An actual injury or sports strain | This is the one to book. Massage works directly on the tissue involved. | Not built to work on an injury directly. Reiki here is rest and support, not a treatment for any condition. |
| Afterwards | Loose muscles, sometimes a bit of soreness the next day after deeper work. | Calm, and often sleepy afterwards. Rarely sore, since nothing in the session was manipulated. |
Which one suits you
Book a massage when the problem is in the tissue: a strained shoulder from moving house, a back locked up after a long flight, legs wrecked from a week of surfing. A therapist can work directly on that, and that is what massage is built for. Reiki is a different kind of appointment. It suits the woman who is not injured anywhere in particular but has not slept properly in weeks, who is carrying a divorce or a job that will not let go of her, whose jaw aches from clenching it in her sleep. Nothing is asked of you for an hour. My hands are quiet. Most people leave calmer than they arrived, sometimes clearer, sometimes just finally able to rest. If your body needs mechanical work, get the massage. If what you are carrying is stress, or grief that will not lift, Reiki is what it is for.
Related questions
Can I get a massage and Reiki on the same day?
There is no reason not to. Some people book a massage for the body and a Reiki session for everything else, either back to back or on separate days. There is no fixed order and no rule against combining the two, so do whatever suits how you feel that week.
Does Reiki involve any actual touch?
It can, and mine usually does. My hands rest lightly on your shoulders, head or feet, or just above the body if you would rather not be touched there. Either way it is still, not a manipulation of muscle, so it will not feel anything like a massage.
I'm not sure which one I need. What then?
Tell me plainly what's going on, whether it is a sore back or a mind that will not stop, and I will tell you honestly if Reiki is the right fit or if a massage therapist would serve you better. Get in touch and we can work it out.