A first Reiki session or Level 1 training: which one fits you now?
By Vanessa Chugani · Updated August 2026
Book a session if you want rest and support for a nervous system that has been running hot. Start Level 1 if you already know Reiki helps and you want to learn to give it, to yourself, your family, or as a second career. Most people start with a session first.
A session is something Vanessa does for you. You lie down, she works for around an hour, and you leave with whatever your body was holding a little lighter. Level 1 training is something you learn to do yourself. Taught live in Canggu or online, never as a recording, it gives you the attunement, the manual, and her support afterwards, so you can keep practising long after the course ends. One is rest, arranged for you. The other is a craft you carry for life. Most people who train have already had sessions and want to take the practice further, for their own household or as work they might offer others.
| Booking a first Reiki session | Starting Level 1 training | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | Vanessa works on you for about an hour while you lie down and rest. | You receive the attunement and manual yourself, taught live and arranged around your schedule, not a fixed course date. |
| Time commitment | One session, about an hour, or a package of three or five spread over weeks. | Arranged around you rather than a set calendar. No fixed date, in Canggu or live online. |
| What you take away | Rest for a nervous system running hot: often easier sleep, tension that loosens, a little more steady in yourself. | A practice you keep for life: the ability to work on yourself, your family, or eventually as a second career. |
| Cost | EUR 188 in person in Canggu, EUR 138 by distance, or EUR 388 and EUR 588 for three and five session packages. | Priced per level, the same in person or online. Ask Vanessa for the current figure. |
| Groups | One to one, always. It is your session. | Small groups of six or fewer, often one to one. |
| Who tends to choose it | Someone who is stressed, exhausted, grieving, or just needs a couple of hours where nothing is asked of her. | Someone who already knows what Reiki does for her and wants to learn to do it herself, or start a second career. |
Which one suits you
Book a session first if you have never tried this and want to know what it feels like before committing to anything larger. It is the right call for almost everyone starting out: someone stressed, wired at 2am, carrying grief or overwhelm, who needs a few hours of real support. Level 1 training suits a different moment. It is right for a woman who has already had sessions, felt the difference, and now wants to work on her own family at home, or a woman rebuilding a working life after a career, children, or a divorce, who wants a credible second act rather than another course she will not use. Training is not a bigger dose of relaxation. It is a craft, handed over properly, live, with support afterwards. For everyone else, Reiki is rest and support for a nervous system that has been running hot for too long.
Related questions
Do I need to try a session before training?
No, but most people do. Having a session first means you already know what the energy feels like before you commit to a full level of training, and it helps you arrive with realistic expectations rather than romantic ones, which is exactly how Vanessa would rather you start.
Can I go straight to training with no experience of Reiki at all?
Yes. Some students start at Level 1 with no prior session. You will still receive the attunement and the manual, and Vanessa teaches in small groups of six or fewer, so there is room to ask questions as a complete beginner.
Is training just a longer, more intense version of a session?
No. A session is something done for you: an hour of rest and support you receive lying down. Training is different. It is a craft you learn to practise yourself, on your own terms, for as long as you want to use it: for your own family, or as work you offer other people.