Feeling Tired After Reiki Session: How to Fix It

As a practitioner of Reiki in Boston since 2018, it took just two clients reporting: “Feeling tired after Reiki session” before I figured out the mistake we’d been making, and learned how to fix it. Read on to learn about a simple and effective way to avoid fatigue after energy work.

When my first Reiki client reported feeling tired after our session, I immediately reached out to my most senior energy work trainer to get her advice. Her response was swift: “Ask the client if she drank water after the session.” Huh? Water?

Hydration is the Key!

I messaged the client, asking the hydration question, and he wrote back quickly, “Hmm — actually, I haven’t had much to drink at all today.” He went immediately to the sink and had a big glass of H2O… and felt his vitality surge back! He’d also reported a headache after Reiki, and that subsided as well.

Drinking water is a central part of the equation of battling fatigue, and hydration almost immediately solved the problem for this client — and for others as well. Given this, I now have drinking water explicitly written in my pre-Reiki and post-Reiki meditation instructions for clients. If they don’t arrive to a session with a water bottle, I always offer them a glass (with the strong suggestion to guzzle it). Hydration makes all the difference!

Exhaustion from Processing Emotions and Energy

Though hydration (or lack thereof) can account for much of why one might feel tired after a Reiki session, there is another central reason. Reiki and chakra balancing help process difficult emotions such as stress, grief, loneliness, sadness, trauma, pain, and frustration. This processing is extremely effective and important — but it also takes energy.

Given this, it is absolutely normal to feel like all you want to do after Reiki is curl up and go to sleep, or cuddle for hours with a loved one (or do other preferred relaxation and self-soothing activities) — especially if you had a cleansing bout of crying during Reiki. Allow yourself this time and space to rebuild after the intensity of the session.

A related note: Part of why my answer to “How many Reiki sessions are needed?” is “more than one if possible” is that the exhaustion you feel after each session usually becomes less and less as you work through your pent-up emotions.

Headache After Reiki

If you get a Reiki headache, the solution is the same as my suggestions for combatting fatigue from energy work: Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate — which might actually immediately solve your headache after Reiki — then allow your body to do the self care and rest needed in order to continue processing the release you experienced during the session.

Feeling Tired After Reiki Session, Solved

There you have it: The first place to look if you’re feeling tired after a Reiki session (or have a headache from energy work) is at whether you’ve had enough water. To be sure, always drink a full glass, minimum, after your appointment.

The second place to look is whether your body is processing previously pent-up emotions and experiences. Allow yourself the rest and comfort needed to heal.

Happy energy working, and feel free to reach out with further questions, or to share your experiences.

Want more? Check out “Reiki Pronunciation,” “Reiki Principles,” and “Reiki Symbols.”