Retraining as a reiki practitioner

Wisest words on the internet, frankly.

The universe is not telling you to hand over thousands of pounds for 'attunements' and being told about 'secret symbols' to think nice thoughts about people.

It's telling you that your job is shit and you need to get another one, not to make your worries about money even worse because you've handed over thousands and can't make your mortage or rent payments.

We work for an awfully long time relative to lifespan. It’s important to get it right for ourselves and to accept we are likely to evolve over time into different areas of work, just as we change as people. So…being practical….it’s reasonably straightforward to do short taster courses and have some reiki in order to explore your instinctive feelings about it. If it’s for you, well, you’ll find a way! You may want to develop other therapeutic skills as well if working in independent practice is a goal. The practitioner I see is qualified in massage therapy as well as reiki. Most training can be done part-time and knowing that you’re working your way out of a job you hate can help make it more bearable.

😁

It's a load of old woo nonsense.

There are, indeed, more established and respected areas you could train in, like clown college.

Shame, at least as a sex worker you'd be in a more ethical profession.

@ellitheelephant this so much describes a relative of mine. The ‘ massive time spent spouting motivational quotes and other deep and meaningful stuff on insta’ and the sharing of past trauma (which is hurtful as involves a late family member).
I’d like to think she does believe in it (I certainly don’t) as otherwise she’s just exploiting clients, some of whom in a vulnerable state.

I’ve a relative who does Reiki along with past lives regression. She has a full time ‘normal’ job alongside. Unless you combine it with other things or are exceptionally charismatic and maybe teach it as well, you are unlikely to make a living.

You can do a first-level Reiki training course fairly cheaply over a weekend. If it seems right for you, you can progress from there. As part of the training you would need to do a certain number of supervised sessions before qualifying.
You would then have to register as self employed and join some kind of professional body that allows you get insurance for your practice. Again, not too expensive individually, but it adds up. Practicing without insurance isn't a good idea, though not illegal.
I doubt that you could make a decent living from it at first; not for a number of years, perhaps never. You would need good marketing and a network of recommendations, and where you live is significant. I know a few Reiki practitioners but none without another income source.
Good luck. Whether you decide to pursue Reika practice or not, it sounds as if you are ready for a change of job, and perhaps this is the first step.

GrumpyPanda
You're taking the words out of my mouth. Was going to suggest reiki-cum-palm reading.

I'm not looking at offering cum I'm not sure many people offer reiki with a happy ending!

I think GrumpyPanda was actually trying to insert a bit of Latin into this "enlightened" conversation 😂

You'd be better off financially learning to teach Pilates and Zumba. My friend does this and earns enough to survive. Add in reflexology maybe?

Reiki in my experience is a load of old tosh.

If you're worried about your bank balance probably not the 'career' for you tbh. One of my former best friends does it - she had a midlife crisis and has now become a reiki/holistic wellness practitioner but it took her a long time to build up a client base including massive time spent spouting motivational quotes and other deep and meaningful stuff on insta, offering numerous free 'seminars' every week and inventing a whole backstory of trauma in her life as her 'specialty' is trauma healing via reiki and meditation. She was doing lots of other part time work in between for the first few years plus she has a healthy inheritance so no mortgage. How good you are at marketing yourself and making people feel at ease so they want to throw money at this is going to be a lot more important to your success than any training because as others have said it's all BS and not based on any actual science in the first place. Fair play to my friend, she has fully embraced the lifestyle and does seem genuinely happier than when she was working a corporate job and has built a good business out of it, although I've lost a bit of respect for her because she's now extreme in her views around vaccines, dismissing western medicine altogether, completely anti-alcohol and processed foods, anti-capitalist etc. It does seem like to be successful at this sort of thing you really need to drink the cool aid completely or at least project those views publicly - whether or not she actually believes it all I don't know.

It has a placebo effect so it's useful for treating certain conditions, That's what it's all about, IMHO.

OP I am looking at doing something in complementary therapies as well or teaching yoga/pilates.

There are more established and respected areas you could qualify in than Reiki: massage therapy, reflexology or if you have the time and money things that would require longer term studies like osteopathy, podiatry or mental health therapist.

I can't see that you'll ever make money from this. There are thousands of reiki practitioners most of whom do it because it's a short easy course. I live in Glastonbury and every other person here is a reiki "master".

I know the placebo effect is tangible, but how many reiki practitioners are saying to their clients that this is not what it purports to be, it's just the placebo effect? The dubious ethics is in lying to people, though I'd suggest most reiki practitioners are not trained in psychology, so probably just benevolently ignorant.

Hypnotherapy would be a better avenue to go down OP. It is the placebo effect used in a more explicit way.

Would you be easy in your conscience making a living from snake oil?

The placebo effect is tangible. This year's Ig Nobel prize for medicine went to research proving that a fake medicine with painful side effects is more effective than one with no side effects. www.newscientist.com/article/2447781-ig-nobel-prizes-2024-the-unexpected-science-that-won-this-year/ www.newscientist.com/article/2447781-ig-nobel-prizes-2024-the-unexpected-science-that-won-this-year/]]]] Query the ethics of it all you like, but the placebo effect absolutely exists and is tangible!

You're taking the words out of my mouth. Was going to suggest reiki-cum-palm reading.

Don't forget you'd need to sell or market your practice, it doesn't just fall into your lap.

Lots of people forget about that part of it.

If you can live with the dubious ethics of selling unconditional positive regard and the placebo effect as something tangible, go ahead. Why not combine it with other nonsense practices such as tarot, crystals and chakra cleansing whilst you're at it?

Check out the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology website