What to Expect During a Virtual Reiki Session

This post is part of the Reiki Orientation Series at Soulful Growth Academy. If you’re new to Reiki, I recommend starting with: What Is Reiki? How I Practice Reiki at Soulful Growth Academy.

If you have never experienced Reiki virtually, it is natural to wonder what will happen.

Do I need to sit in front of the computer?
Will I feel anything?
Am I supposed to meditate?
What if my mind wanders?
What if I fall asleep?

These are honest questions. I had some of them myself before receiving virtual Reiki from other practitioners.

In my practice, a Virtual Reiki Session is simple, quiet, and restorative. The goal is not to perform relaxation perfectly. The goal is to create a space where your body, mind, and soul can settle.

At Soulful Growth Academy, I use the phrase Virtual Reiki Session to describe a scheduled Reiki session held live online. Some people use the phrase “distance Reiki” more broadly, but in my practice, “virtual Reiki” means we meet live online at a scheduled time. We talk before the Reiki portion begins; the session itself is quiet; then we reconnect briefly afterward.

The format is different from being in the same room, but the purpose is the same: to create a grounded space for rest, restoration, and reconnection.

You do not have to know how to “do” Reiki.
You do not have to force yourself to feel anything.
You do not have to have a dramatic experience.

Your only job is to rest, receive, and allow yourself to settle.

A Virtual Reiki Session Begins Before We Meet

A virtual session begins with preparation on both sides.

On your end, I encourage you to choose a private, comfortable space where you can rest without being interrupted. You may want to have water nearby, silence your phone if possible, and gather anything that helps you feel supported.

That might be a blanket, pillow, journal, crystals, eye pillow, or anything else that feels grounding for you.

You do not need to have all of those things. A blanket, water, and a comfortable space are enough.

You can also give yourself a few minutes after the session before returning to work, caregiving, errands, or conversation. This is not required, but it can help your system transition more gently.

On my end, I prepare my Reiki room, review your intention, prepare the music and timer, and settle myself before we begin.

Preparation is not about making the session perfect. It is about creating enough comfort and quiet for restoration to have somewhere to land.

We Begin With a Brief Welcome and Intention

At the start of the session, we spend a few minutes checking in.

I will welcome you, briefly explain the session flow, and review the intention you shared when you booked. Your intention may be specific or simple.

You may come in wanting rest.
You may come in wanting clarity.
You may come in wanting grounding.
You may come in not knowing exactly what you need, only that you need space to slow down.

That is okay.

The check-in is brief. This is not a venting session or a deep processing session. It is simply a way to name what you are bringing into the room and what kind of support you are inviting into the session.

If your intention is rest, we hold rest.
If your intention is clarity, we hold clarity.
If your intention is release, we hold release gently.
If you are not sure, we can keep the intention simple:

I am open to receiving what supports my restoration today.

The intention gives the session a direction without forcing a specific outcome.

You Get Comfortable in Your Own Space

Once we have named the intention, you will get comfortable.

You may sit in a chair, lie on the couch, rest in bed, or use a yoga mat. You can stay near the computer or move away from it. You can keep your camera positioned in whatever way feels comfortable, as long as we can stay connected at the beginning and end of the session.

You do not need to stay directly in front of your computer unless that feels best for you.

If you want to stay more aware of body sensations, sitting upright may help. Sometimes when I receive Reiki, I sit in a chair because I want to stay more present with what I notice in my body.

If your intention is deep rest, lying down may feel better. When I receive Reiki this way, I often arrange my pillows and blanket so my body feels fully supported. Sometimes I notice sensations. There are other times I get so comfortable that I fall asleep.

Both are okay.

Your job is not to stay alert the whole time. Your job is to get comfortable enough to receive.

We Take Three Slow Breaths Together

Before I begin facilitating Reiki, we take three slow breaths together.

This gives your body a clear transition from conversation into receiving. It also gives your mind something simple to focus on before the quiet part of the session begins.

You do not have to meditate perfectly. You do not have to clear your mind. You do not have to chase sensations.

If your mind wanders during the session, you can gently return to your breath. If your thoughts move toward your to-do list, your responsibilities, or what you think you “should” be feeling, simply notice it and come back.

In cognitive behavioral language, this is attention redirection: noticing where the mind went, then gently choosing your anchor again.

The breath is there as an anchor, not as another thing to get right.

The Reiki Portion Is Quiet, With Soft Music

The Reiki portion of my virtual sessions is quiet.

We talk before the Reiki begins, and we reconnect after the Reiki portion is complete. During the session itself, I do not narrate every step or talk you through what I am doing.

The quiet is part of the restoration container.

This gives you space to rest without needing to respond, explain, track, or perform. It also allows me to stay focused as I facilitate the session.

During a Virtual Reiki Session, I facilitate Reiki from my Reiki room while you rest in your own space. I hold the session intention and allow the Reiki portion to remain quiet and focused.

I may check the screen from time to time to make sure we are still connected, but I am not relying on your face or body position to guide the whole session.

My focus is on holding the session intention and maintaining a grounded Reiki container while you rest.

You may hear soft music. You may notice quiet. You may drift in and out of awareness. You may stay awake the whole time. You may fall asleep.

All of that is welcome.

What You May Notice During the Session

There is no “right” Reiki experience.

Some people notice warmth, coolness, tingling, heaviness, lightness, emotion, tears, sleepiness, calm, or a sense of spaciousness. Some people notice very little during the session itself.

Feeling a lot does not mean the session worked better.
Feeling very little does not mean nothing happened.

When I receive Reiki, I have had different experiences at different times. Sometimes I feel clear body sensations. Sometimes I notice yawning or shifts in awareness. Sometimes I simply feel relaxed. Other times, I fall asleep and do not remember much of the session at all.

That does not make the session less meaningful.

Sometimes restoration feels like sensation.
Sometimes it feels like emotion.
Sometimes it feels like stillness.
Sometimes it feels like sleep.

You do not have to measure the value of the session by how much you noticed.

Near the End, I Gently Close the Reiki Portion

Near the end of the session, I will let you know when we have about three minutes left.

This gives you time to transition slowly rather than feeling pulled abruptly back into the conversation. I will gently guide you back to your breath, your body, and the room.

You may want to wiggle your fingers or toes, take a deeper breath, stretch, or simply notice the surface underneath you.

There is no rush.

A big part of restoration is learning how to return slowly. Many of us move through life jumping from one role to the next, one responsibility to the next, one demand to the next.

The closing gives your body and mind a moment to come back with steadiness.

We Close With Brief Reflection and Aftercare

After the Reiki portion, we take a few minutes to notice how you are feeling and close the session with care.

You are welcome to share what you noticed, but you do not have to explain everything. This is not a time to analyze the whole session or to turn it into a deep-processing conversation.

It is a moment to ground, name what is present, and return to your day gently.

I may offer simple aftercare reminders, such as drinking water, moving slowly, journaling when something feels meaningful, or giving yourself a little space before moving on to the next task.

Aftercare is not complicated. It is simply a way of honoring the fact that your body, mind, and soul may need a little time to integrate the quiet.

What a Virtual Reiki Session Is and What It Is Not

A Virtual Reiki Session is a quiet, restorative space.

It may support relaxation, grounding, body awareness, reflection, and reconnection with yourself. It can be a place to pause, breathe, and allow your lifeforce to settle after carrying the weight of responsibility, over-functioning, transition, or everyday life.

A Virtual Reiki Session is not psychotherapy.
It is not medical care.
It is not crisis support.
It is not a psychic reading.
It is not a full energy report.
It is not a space where I diagnose what is wrong with you or your energy.
It is not a promise of a specific outcome.

I facilitate Reiki and hold a grounded space. I do not diagnose, treat, or promise outcomes. Your body, mind, and soul do the work of receiving and integrating what supports you.

This matters because restoration does not require someone to tell you what is wrong with you.

Sometimes what you need most is a quiet space where you can stop performing, stop explaining, and come back to yourself.

You Do Not Have to Perform Receiving

The most important thing to know is this:

You do not have to perform relaxation.

You do not have to have a dramatic experience. You do not have to know what you are supposed to feel. You do not have to stay awake. You do not have to sit perfectly still. You do not have to prove that Reiki is “working” by noticing something impressive.

A Virtual Reiki Session is simply a space to pause, receive, and reconnect with yourself in a grounded way.

Your role is simple:

Get comfortable.
Set an intention.
Breathe.
Rest.
Allow yourself to receive.

If you are curious about receiving Reiki in this way, you can book a Virtual Reiki Session here:

Book Your Virtual Reiki Session

Continue the Reiki Orientation Series:
Previous: What Is Reiki? How I Practice Reiki at Soulful Growth Academy
Next: There Is No Right Way to Experience Reiki