Crystals and chanting, or six people at a table: which Reiki training suits you?
By Vanessa Chugani · Updated October 2026
If you are picturing candles, robes and a chanting ritual, that is not what Vanessa teaches or offers. Choose the actual version if you want a plain, honest explanation rather than a performance of mysticism.
Most people who have never had Reiki are picturing something specific: crystals laid out on a table, chanting, maybe flowing white robes. That image comes from films and stock photography, not from any teacher's actual room. Here is what Vanessa teaches and gives: a manual, an attunement, and a teacher who answers questions plainly rather than performing a ritual. The difference matters because it changes what you should expect to feel: an ordinary afternoon spent learning something specific, calmly, not a mystical event.
| the imagined version — crystals, chanting, flowing white robes | the actual version — six people at a table, tea breaks, notebooks open | |
|---|---|---|
| The room | Candlelit and incense-heavy, like a shrine | An ordinary room in Canggu, with tea on hand |
| Who leads it | A guru figure performing a ceremony | Vanessa, teaching plainly and answering questions as they come |
| What's worn | Flowing white robes | Whatever you would wear to any other class |
| The sound | Group chanting | Conversation, and the occasional kettle |
| On the table | Crystals, placed as part of the ritual | A manual, open, and tea going cold |
| Pace | One continuous ritual, no breaks | Tea breaks and time to take notes |
Which one suits you
The imagined version suits someone who wants theatre: a dramatic, ritual-heavy experience that feels like stepping into a film. If that is genuinely what you are looking for, Vanessa's training and sessions will disappoint you, because none of it is there. The actual version suits someone who wants to understand what they are learning or receiving, who would rather ask a question out loud than guess at the meaning of a gesture. Picture someone back from a stressful week, sitting at a table with five other students, a manual open and a cup of tea going cold: that is who this is for. It is not a smaller version of the fantasy; it is a different thing entirely: rest and support, taught and given plainly, without a costume.
Related questions
Will there be crystals or chanting at the training?
No. Crystals are not part of Usui Shiki Ryoho and are not used in Vanessa's teaching. There is no chanting and no robe. Training is a manual and an attunement, taught around a table, usually with six people or fewer, often one to one.
What if I actually want the mystical, ceremonial version?
That is a fair thing to want, and it is honest to say this training will not give it to you. Vanessa would rather a student arrive with accurate expectations than romantic ones, so she teaches it as it actually is: plain and practical, without performance.
Is a private session also this ordinary, or just the training?
Both. A one to one session in Canggu happens in the same plain way: no incense and no ritual. It is a quiet room, a chair or a treatment table, and time set aside to rest while the nervous system settles. The setting is calm, not theatrical.