Hands On vs. Hands Off?

As a Reiki practitioner, what is your experience of Reiki done with hands directly on the person, vs. hands just above, nearly touching the person?

Also, have you been a recipient with both methods? Did you notice any differences during or after your treatment, that you might attribute to that method of hands on or hands off?

Thanks so very much for kindly sharing your input on this.

Sunflower wrote:As a Reiki practitioner, what is your experience of Reiki done with hands directly on the person, vs. hands just above, nearly touching the person?

Also, have you been a recipient with both methods? Did you notice any differences during or after your treatment, that you might attribute to that method of hands on or hands off?

Thanks so very much for kindly sharing your input on this.

I have been a recipient of hands on/off.
I prefer hands on

I always ask my clients if they want hands on/off. Most
clients are OK with hands on. I had a client who had a
condition that she could not tolerate touch I did hands
off short session. The second session with the client I
was able to go a little longer. The third session she
could only tolerate 10 minutes hands off.

When I volunteer with the elderly in a nursing home they
love the touch Reiki saying they miss the hugs and love
from family

Hi Sunflower.

I've experienced all of the above with treatments and attunements.

As a former massage therapist, my personal preference is direct touch. For me, it's more relaxing and for whatever additional reasons, helps bring me into a deeply relaxed state of mind compared to when the hands are hovering over me at any distance.

With respect to hands-on and hands-above (any distance), I am aware of the same level of energies--which means it makes no difference to me.

However, many of my students have shared different opinions--except when they are practicing massage therapists. It seems that the massage therapists that I have experienced Reiki with have a tendency to prefer direct touch. But many others seem to prefer holding the hands just above the body, largely for the reason it is easier for them to sense various energies.

Sometimes you may want to work on a person's energetic body/aura before you do the hands on. Try it out see if you notice any difference yourself and maybe the person you are working with will also give u some helpful feedback. As Buck mentioned above, sometimes it is easier to sense different energies with the hands off approach, this has been my personal experience as a practitioner anyway.

I am so grateful to you all for sharing your experiences. Thank you for your generous input and sharing your perspecrives with me! I so appreciate the chance here to learn from others' viewpoints and experiences.

as a reiki practitioner i ask what clients would like but as a recipient i much prefer hands on. i like this because when i have reiki treatments i'm so relaxed i sometimes feel "abandoned" if the practitioner takes her hands away and i can't know for certain that she is still there. and at a time when i was giving reiki to a friend who has a mental illness she became very distress when i just raised my hands to move them to another position so it is a very important issue to think about whenever reiki is given or recieved

queen of clean wrote: as a reiki practitioner i ask what clients would like but as a recipient i much prefer hands on. i like this because when i have reiki treatments i'm so relaxed i sometimes feel "abandoned" if the practitioner takes her hands away and i can't know for certain that she is still there. and at a time when i was giving reiki to a friend who has a mental illness she became very distress when i just raised my hands to move them to another position so it is a very important issue to think about whenever reiki is given or recieved

That's interesting that you use
the word abandoned. That's exactly
how I feel about an acupuncture
treatment after the needles are
placed the acupuncturist leaves and
then comes back later to take the
needles out.

queen of clean wrote:...i sometimes feel "abandoned" if the practitioner takes her hands away and i can't know for certain that she is still there.

I can relate to that. My trouble is that I am always sensing a flow of energy during a treatment session, so when a practitioner positions their hands so that they are floating in my local energy field, I never know if they are doing some sort of energy-work or have completed the session.

my most relaxing session was just after my 2nd level attunement when my reiki teacher gave me a 20 minute reiki treatment.i felt so many hands on me but ofcourse only my teacher was with me. has any one else experienced this

Hi,

Usually I start with my hands on the body. However, I let the energy guide me and the higher meditative state of consciousness 'tell me' where to go or what to do.
This way there are moments my hands are on the body and there are moments where my hands hover over an area.

*Gasshō*
Frank