How Many Reiki Sessions Are Needed?

In the Boston Reiki practice that I’ve run for several years, a question comes up nearly every day: “How many Reiki sessions are needed?” This conversation usually happens after a person’s first energy work session, and goes like this:

Client: [as they slowly and happily walk away from the table where we had our session] “Wow, that was amazing. I feel so relaxed, and I am now realizing all of these insights I didn’t see before! So… how often do you recommend I come back for more Reiki?”

Me: “I’m so glad you had a good experience! Well, there is a multi-part answer to the question of how frequently to receive Reiki. The answer depends what you’re looking for, and what you want to achieve.”

Money and Reiki Frequency

Before diving into guidelines about how often to receive energy work, we need a caveat: depending on the practitioner you’re seeing, a Reiki session cost can be high, and thus can add up financially if you’re receiving Reiki often. Therefore, please take any recommendations I give here with the modification that, while energy work is important, your finances are even more so — thus you should not be doing Reiki to the detriment of a responsible budget.

As I explained in my article, “Is Reiki Real or a Scam?” 99.99% of energy work practitioners are kindly and legit — but anyone who pressures you to do Reiki more than is appropriate for your money situation is not someone who should be followed. There are plenty of other great bodyworkers out there who can provide benefit at a rate and timing plan that fits your wallet. Now let’s move on to the full frequency answer.

Reiki: How Often?

After working with over a hundred clients over the course of years, here are my thoughts on different Reiki frequencies for different situations. Do note that many practitioners (myself included) offer discounts for bulk bookings like Reiki 3-packs, and highly recommend scheduling multiple sessions in advance so you see the path forward.

1. Once or even twice a week (for a month or two).

If there is a specific and urgent issue you are working through (ex: you need Reiki for clarity in a pressing, time-sensitive situation, or you’re trying to stop drinking alcohol), doing energy work one or even two times a week over the course of a month or two can build excellent momentum and progress in this area.

I don’t usually recommend doing this compressed frequency for more than a month or two (as one reason for a headache after Reiki can be because of its emotional intensity), but it does the trick in a smaller burst. With such intense time frames, pay particular attention to any visions during Reiki, which can help clarify next steps in the situation you’re investigating.

2. Reiki every 2-3 weeks.

I have one client who has come for Reiki every three weeks for years (modifying to 2 or 4 weeks on months where there is more or less stress occurring), and he swears by this frequency for ongoing stress relief.

3. Reiki every month.

The classic answer to “How many Reiki sessions are needed?” is that a frequency of once a month is recommended. This is the ideal for general maintenance of energy flow. As mentioned earlier, I do highly recommend scheduling multiple sessions in advance so you’re not scrambling each month to book them in. Having the treatment plan laid out already helps ease stress and enrich intentions — especially if you’re using Reiki for life coach purposes.

4. Scheduling Reiki as needed.

Many people choose to schedule Reiki somewhat randomly — booking a new session whenever stress starts to mount — maybe every two to five months, or even once a year. This can certainly be effective, and is better than nothing. Just know that sometimes this causes a buildup of energy which can lead to phenomena such as shaking during Reiki. This is fine and not harmful — just be prepared for potentially more intense sessions than if you are receiving Reiki more regularly.

Now, even if you’re doing Reiki infrequently, it is nice to go back to the same practitioner more than once, as this builds trust and familiarity This, in turn, engenders confidence in making requests for what will make the best difference for you in your session.

Note: Couples Reiki usually falls into this category of only scheduling maybe once or twice a year for special occasions, and when you want to feel new energy connecting you two.

How Many Reiki Sessions Are Needed?

Now you know that there are multiple correct answers to the question, “How many Reiki sessions are needed?” In sum, more energy work sessions are better than just one, but to determine the correct frequency, you need to assess what your goals are. If you’re looking to really make fast progress on a specific issue, book more frequent sessions over a shorter amount of time. For maintenance, you can do Reiki once a month, or even less often than that, if you find a flow that feels right.

Throughout this entire calculation, remember to listen to your body, and be mindful of what works best for your finances and time. Reiki is here to help! For those who do energy work regularly, what frequency works for YOU, and why? Do share!