Reiki Is Being Integrated and Accepted Into Top Medical University's and Hospitals
Laura Cerrano
I had the pleasure of providing a Reiki talk and workshop at Columbia University Irving Medical Center Central in February 2025. In attendance were Columbia doctors, nurses, resident doctors and various other employees and staff from the university.
Interestingly, a good amount of those in the audience shared they never heard of Reiki. I found that fascinating because Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York was one of the first to advocate studies on Reiki during open heart surgeries in 2000 with Dr. Mehmet Oz and Reiki Master, Raven Keyes. Since that time, more studies have come out in support of Reiki.
Today, several hospitals throughout the United States offer Reiki Healing Services to those in recovery. Some of those locations include Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, Northwell Health, Yale New Haven Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center as to name a few.
It’s great to see Reiki being integrated into western medicine practices. Studies so far have found Reiki to offer different benefits for patients. This including the reduction of anxiety, pain, stress, and improvement with a person’s overall emotional state. However, there are still researches who say there needs to be more quantifiable, reliable ways to study the effects of Reiki.
Before meditation was accepted as being beneficial, it too had to go through rigorous critiques and studies. We’ll see how the future of Reiki continues to unfold throughout the scientific medical community.
Photo: Setting up the room for Reiki Master Laura Cerrano’s Reiki talk and workshop at Columbia University Irving Medical Center Central in New York City
The session I provided at Columbia University included a brief history about Reiki, breath work, gentle guided Reiki meditation and suggested hand positions, subtle sound healing with soft chimes, a singing bowl and rainstick. The session concluded with everyone in the room chanting “Om” three times collectively to help reground the audience. I have to say, the closing vocalization was powerful and quite beautiful to receive.
I look forward to presenting at future Columbia events and are grateful for the opportunities.