Reiki session or Level 1 training: which one is right for you?
By Vanessa Chugani · Updated September 2026
Book a session if you want rest and support now, with someone else doing the work. Start Level 1 if you want a practice of your own, one you can use on yourself and your family for the rest of your life. Many people do both, in that order.
Both start in the same place: a body that has been running on empty for too long. A session is something done for you. You lie down, Vanessa works with her hands, in the room or from a distance, and for an hour someone else is doing the noticing. Level 1 training is something you learn to do. Over a weekend, or across a few sessions arranged to fit your life, you learn the hand positions, the history, and the attunement itself, and you leave able to work on yourself whenever you need to, without booking anything. Neither is more serious than the other. The real question is whether you want to receive, or whether you want a skill of your own.
| Booking a reiki session | Starting Level 1 reiki training | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | Vanessa works with her hands, in the room or at a distance, while you lie down and rest. | You learn the hand positions, the history, and the attunement itself, taught live, never a recording. |
| Time commitment | One appointment, about an hour, whenever you book it. | A course held over a weekend or spread across sessions arranged around your life. |
| What you leave with | Whatever shifted in your body that day: often sleep, calm, or some tension easing. | A practice of your own, usable on yourself, your family, or eventually clients. |
| Who it suits | Someone who wants support now and would rather someone else do the work. | Someone at a turning point, often after a career or a big life change, wanting a new skill. |
| After it ends | Book again whenever you need it. No obligation to continue. | Use it for the rest of your life, with no further booking required. |
| Cost | EUR 188 in person, EUR 138 by distance, packages at EUR 388 or EUR 588. | Set out on the training page and arranged when you enrol. |
Which one suits you
Choose a session if you are stressed, exhausted, grieving, or simply wired and want an hour where someone else holds things for you. That is most people, most of the time, and there is nothing to prepare beyond showing up. Choose Level 1 if you know you will want this again and again: a parent who wants a way to settle their own child at night, someone rebuilding life after a divorce or redundancy who wants a skill rather than another appointment, or anyone drawn to training as a second act after years in a career. Training asks more of you: a weekend or several sessions, and the discipline to keep practising afterwards. A session asks nothing but your time. Both roads lead to the same place, a nervous system that gets to rest. Reiki, whichever way you meet it, is support for a body that has been carrying too much for too long.
Related questions
Can I do both?
Yes, and many people do, usually a session first. It gives you a direct sense of what Reiki feels like before you commit to training, and there is no rule about which comes first. Some students start with Level 1 with no session behind them at all, and that is fine too.
Do I need any experience before starting Level 1?
No. Level 1 is the beginning, not a step for people who already know Reiki. You do not need to have had a session first, and you do not need any background in energy work. Vanessa teaches groups of no more than six, often one to one, so there is room to ask anything.
How do I decide between the two if I'm not sure?
Notice what you are looking for. If you want relief this week, book a session, it is the faster route and asks nothing of you afterwards. If you keep thinking about learning it properly, that pull is worth taking seriously: training is the one that turns into a skill you keep.