Reiki, Animals, and Distance Healing: My Experience ( and what science says)

My girl. Lily

This past weekend, I completed Animal Reiki Levels 1 and 2 with Pam Allen-Leblanc through the International Center for Reiki Training. There are a lot of really cool things about Pam, but on is that she is an agricultural scientist as well, and we both went to the same university.

The class was was a beautiful, expansive experience - one that deepened my understanding of Reiki in a way I didn’t expect.

Yesterday, I practiced on my own animals and also offered a distance session for a dog. The feedback from the caregiver was that the dog visibly relaxed during the session. At the same time, I noticed something with my own dog that felt just as powerful - she stayed close, open, and receptive the entire time, almost as if she was choosing to be in the energy.

If you’ve worked with animals, you know - they don’t perform, they don’t try to please, and they don’t follow a script. They simply respond.

And that’s what makes these experiences so meaningful.

Why I’m Drawn to Distance Reiki

Over the years, I’ve practiced Reiki with many clients- both in person and at a distance. And if I’m being completely honest, I often prefer distance sessions.

Not because one is “better” than the other- but because they are different.

In distance sessions:

• There are fewer external distractions

• I can fully settle into the energy and my intuition

• Clients are often in their own comfortable space

• The experience can feel deeper, quieter, and more focused

  
  

There’s a clarity that comes through when everything else falls away.

And interestingly, in traditional Usui Reiki training, we are taught that Reiki transcends time and space. Distance healing isn’t a new concept-it’s foundational to the practice.

So in many ways, what we’re doing now through technology and online connection is simply an evolution of something that has always been there.

What About the Science?

This is the question that often comes up: What’s actually happening here?

Science doesn’t currently support the idea of a measurable “energy transfer” in the way Reiki is traditionally described. But that doesn’t mean that nothing is happening.

In fact, there are several well-understood mechanisms that help explain the effects people (and animals) experience:

1. The Relaxation Response

Reiki creates conditions that activate the parasympathetic nervous system- the part of the body responsible for rest and healing.

This can lead to:

• Reduced stress (who else can use less stress in their life???)

• Slower heart rate

• A sense of calm and safety

  
  

In animals, this often shows up as:

• Lying down or settling

• Slower breathing

• Softening of body language

• Sighs or big yawns

  
  

2. Regulation and Co-Regulation

Animals are incredibly sensitive to nervous system states.

When we enter a calm, grounded, focused state during Reiki, animals can co-regulate with us. They don’t need to understand Reiki - they respond to the state we are in.

3. Focused Attention and Intention

Reiki sessions create a space of deep presence - where someone (or an animal) is being held in focused, non-judgmental attention.

That alone is powerful.

For humans, this can shift emotional and physical states. For animals, it can create a sense of safety and ease.

4. The Environment Matters

Whether in person or at a distance, Reiki often brings both practitioner and recipient into a meditative, relaxed state - which supports healing, regulation, and emotional release.

Holding Both Truths

For me, Reiki doesn’t have to be explained in just one way.

I’ve experienced its impact in my own life and witnessed it in others- humans and animals alike. Those experiences are real.

At the same time, I appreciate what science can explain:

• Nervous system regulation

• Relaxation

• Presence and connection

And maybe Reiki lives somewhere in the space between:

A practice that creates the conditions for healing - whether you understand it through energy, science, or your own lived experience.

Final Thoughts

What stood out most to me this weekend wasn’t just the training - it was the reminder that animals meet us exactly as we are.

There’s no overthinking. No expectation. Just response.

And maybe that’s the invitation for all of us:

To soften.

To be present.

To trust what we feel.

✨

If you’re curious about Reiki - whether for yourself or your animals -

I offer both in-person and distance sessions.