Reiki training with strangers or with a friend: which suits you?
By Vanessa Chugani · Updated November 2026
Neither is better on its own. Choose a group of strangers if you want a fresh room with no history attached, often right after a big life change. Choose training with a friend if you already support each other through hard things and want a shared practice to carry on with afterward.
Both paths lead to the exact same training: the same manual, the same attunement, the same levels from One through Master Teacher, taught live by Vanessa in Canggu or live online, in groups of no more than six, often just one to one. What changes is who else is in the room with you and what you carry out of it afterward. A group of strangers means nobody there has history with you, which some people find freeing when they're starting something new. A friend already in your life means you walk in with context, and walk out with someone to keep practising with. Neither changes what Reiki itself does, or what the training itself contains.
| Joining a Reiki training group of strangers | Doing the training alongside a friend you already know | |
|---|---|---|
| Who's in the room | Up to six people you're meeting for the first time, sometimes it's just you and Vanessa. | Someone whose life you already know, in the same small group or in a private session with you two. |
| Doing the hands-on practice | You practise attunements and hand positions on people who have no history with you. | You practise on someone who already trusts you, which can make the early awkwardness easier. |
| After the training ends | You leave with the level you trained for, and whatever contacts you made in the room. | You leave with the level you trained for, and a practice partner already lined up. |
| What it asks of an existing friendship | Not a factor here. There's no existing relationship at stake going in. | Training together changes the dynamic. It doesn't always stay comfortable once attunements start. |
| Scheduling | Dates are set around whoever has signed up for that particular group. | Two diaries are usually easier to align than several, and training is available one to one too. |
| Cost | EUR 488 per level, the same in person or live online. | Also EUR 488 per level. There's no group discount on the site. |
Which one suits you
A stranger-filled group suits you if you're moving through a transition and want somewhere nobody already has an opinion about you: after a divorce, after children, after a loss, when you want the room to meet you as you are now. The anonymity can make the early vulnerability of an attunement easier, not harder. Training alongside a friend suits you if you already lean on each other through hard things and want a shared practice to carry forward together, say two friends who've supported each other through grief and want a way to keep showing up for one another once the course ends. You get a built-in partner for the ongoing sessions the craft asks for. Either way, what you're learning is the same: a way to offer rest and support to someone, her included.
Related questions
Can I bring a friend into a group that's mostly strangers?
Yes. Training happens in groups of no more than six, often fewer, so a friend can join the same group as everyone else. Dates are arranged around the group rather than fixed on a calendar. It doesn't change the price or what the training covers, only who else is in the room.
Does training with a friend cost less?
No. Training is EUR 488 per level whether you train alone, with a friend, or in a group of strangers. There is no group rate or discount for bringing someone along with you, whether you train in Canggu or live online.
What if my friend wants to stop after Level 1 but I want to keep going?
That's fine. Each level stands on its own, and there's no fixed calendar binding either of you to someone else's pace. You can move on to Level 2 and beyond on your own timeline, alone or with a different group entirely.