Reiki Biography
Reiki is a pseudoscientific form of energy healing, a type of alternative medicine originating in Japan. Reiki practitioners use a technique called palm healing or hands-on healing through which, according to practitioners, a "universal energy" is transferred through the palms of the practitioner to the client, to encourage emotional or physical healing. It is based on qi ("chi"), which practitioners say is a universal life force, although there is no empirical evidence that such a life force exists. Reiki is used as an illustrative example of pseudoscience in scholarly texts and academic journal articles. The marketing of reiki has been described as "fraudulent misrepresentation", and itself as a "nonsensical method", with a recommendation that the American government agency NCCAM should stop funding reiki research because it "has no substantiated health value and lacks a scientifically plausible rationale". Clinical research does not show reiki to be effective as a treatment for any medical condition, including cancer, diabetic neuropathy, anxiety or depression. There is no proof of the effectiveness of reiki therapy compared to placebo. Studies reporting positive effects have had methodological flaws.
