Hand Positions for Treating Yourself With Reiki

The single biggest difference between self-Reiki and treating another person is reach. When you work on someone else, you can place your hands anywhere on their body with ease. When you work on yourself, your arms only go so far, and some areas that are simple to cover on another person, such as the middle of the back, are awkward or impossible to reach on your own. This article maps out the hand positions people commonly use for self-treatment and the adaptations that make them practical given that limitation. It covers head and face, the front of the torso, the back and lower body, and comfort adjustments. Throughout, this is described as a relaxation and self-care practice rather than a treatment for any condition, and the positions are a flexible framework, not a fixed rule.

How Self-Positions Differ From Treating Others

When treating another person, a practitioner moves around a table and can rest their hands flat on the head, the back, the shoulders, and the legs without straining. Self-treatment removes that freedom. You are reaching your own body with your own arms, which changes both which positions are comfortable and how long you can hold them before your shoulders tire.

Two practical consequences follow. First, some standard positions get adapted: instead of laying both palms flat over an area, you might use whichever hand reaches more easily, or rest the backs of your hands against a spot you cannot cup. Second, hovering becomes more useful. Because Reiki is often described as working whether the hands touch lightly or hover just above the body, holding your hands near an area you cannot quite reach is treated as an acceptable substitute for resting them on it. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health notes that practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above the body, and that “or just above” is what makes self-treatment workable for hard-to-reach areas. Keep in mind that none of this rests on a demonstrated mechanism; the value here is the calm of the routine, and the positions are simply where people choose to rest their hands.

Head and Face Positions

The head and face are the easiest region to reach in self-treatment, which is why many self-routines start here. A common opening position is to cup the hands gently over the eyes and forehead, palms resting without pressing, fingers toward the hairline. This is a naturally comfortable shape for the arms and a familiar one, similar to simply covering the eyes to rest them.

From there, hands often move to the sides of the head, resting over the temples or the ears, and then to the back of the head, where the palms cradle the base of the skull with the elbows dropped. Some people also rest a hand at the crown, on top of the head. None of these requires much reach, so they can be held comfortably for a few minutes each. Because the face and head are sensitive, light resting contact or a slight hover is typical, and there is no need to press. People who wear glasses usually take them off for these positions. The head region tends to feel the most settling to many practitioners, partly because covering the eyes and quieting visual input is relaxing in its own right.

Front-Torso Positions

Moving down the front of the body is straightforward in self-treatment because everything on the front is within easy reach. After the head, hands commonly come to the throat or upper chest, though many people prefer to rest the hands just below the throat rather than directly on it, since the throat can feel vulnerable to touch. Resting near the collarbones or the upper chest is a comfortable alternative.

The center of the chest, over the heart area, is a frequently used position, with one hand resting near or above the other. From there the hands move to the solar plexus, the soft area below the ribs, and then to the abdomen around the navel. These front-torso positions are among the most relaxed in self-Reiki because your arms can rest naturally against your body, supported, rather than held up in the air. Many people find lying down makes these positions especially easy, since the hands can simply rest in place with no effort. Each is typically held for one to a few minutes, and you can stack them, that is, hold one for a while and then slide the hands down to the next, without lifting away.

Reaching the Back and Lower Body

The back is where self-treatment runs into its clearest limit. You cannot comfortably rest your hands on the middle of your own upper back, and the area between the shoulder blades is essentially out of reach. Practitioners handle this with adaptations rather than contortion. The most common approach is to reach what you can: rest the hands on the lower back, around the kidney area, by bringing them behind you at the waist, which most people can do without strain. For the upper back and shoulders, people often rest a hand on the front of each shoulder or simply skip the unreachable areas, on the understanding that the practice does not require covering every spot.

Some practitioners use a hover or intention-based approach for areas they cannot touch, holding the hands wherever is comfortable while directing attention to the unreachable region. Whether that “reaches” anything is, like the rest of Reiki, an unproven claim, so it is best understood as a way to include an area mentally rather than a demonstrated technique. For the lower body, the hips, the front of the thighs, the knees, and the ankles or feet are all reachable, especially when seated, by bending forward or drawing a foot up. The legs and feet are sometimes treated as a grounding finish to a session. As with the rest, comfort decides how much of the lower body you cover; there is no obligation to reach your feet if doing so is a stretch.

Comfort Adaptations

Comfort is the organizing principle of self-treatment, because a position you cannot hold without straining defeats the purpose of a relaxing practice. The first adaptation is choosing a posture that supports your arms. Lying down lets your hands rest on your body with almost no muscular effort, which is why it suits the longer front-torso positions. Sitting with your elbows supported on the armrests of a chair, a desk, or your own lap helps for head positions.

Other adaptations are equally simple. Use one hand instead of two when reaching with both is awkward. Let the hands hover rather than rest when an area is hard to cover, or when resting weight on it is uncomfortable. Shorten or skip any position that makes your shoulders ache, since a tired, tense arm works against the calm the practice is meant to provide. Pillows and bolsters help: a cushion under the knees when lying down, or under the elbows when sitting, can make a sequence feel effortless. The University of Minnesota’s integrative health resource frames the recipient’s job as letting stillness do the work rather than working at relaxing, and in self-treatment that means arranging your body so the positions hold themselves. To recap, the reachable areas, head, face, front of the torso, lower back, hips, and legs, form the practical core of self-Reiki, the upper back is adapted around or hovered, and comfort always takes priority over completeness. It remains a self-care practice, adapted to your own body, and not a medical one.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I treat my back if I cannot reach it?
Most people simply reach what they can and adapt the rest. The lower back, around the waist, is reachable for many by bringing the hands behind them, while the upper back and the area between the shoulder blades usually are not. Common workarounds are resting a hand on the front of each shoulder, lying back against your own resting hands so your body weight holds them in place, or holding the hands nearby while directing attention to the area you cannot touch. Since the practice does not require covering every spot, skipping the unreachable middle of the back is entirely normal.

Can I do these positions sitting at a desk?
Yes, a seated desk version is practical, especially for the head, face, and upper-chest positions, which are easy to reach while sitting. Resting your elbows on the desk or your lap supports your arms so your shoulders do not tire. The front-torso positions work seated as well, and you can reach the lower back, hips, and knees with small adjustments. A desk session naturally tends to be shorter and lighter than a lying-down one, which makes it a convenient option for a brief midday pause.

Do I hold each position for the same time as when treating others?
Roughly the same idea applies, with timing usually described as about one to a few minutes per position or simply as long as feels comfortable, but self-treatment often ends up a little shorter per position because holding your own arms up gets tiring. There is no precise rule, and the comfortable range matters more than an exact count. Many people let the time stretch when their arms are supported, as in lying-down front positions, and keep it brief when a position requires more reach.

Sources

• Reiki from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, on practitioners placing hands lightly on or just above the body and the state of the evidence.
• How to Practice Reiki Self-Treatment from the Reiki in Medicine Institute (Pamela Miles), on self-treatment hand positions and holding each for a comfortable length of time.
• How Does Reiki Work? from the University of Minnesota’s Taking Charge of Your Wellbeing, on resting hands, hovering, and letting stillness do the work.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychological, or professional advice. Reiki is a complementary relaxation practice; the existence of a measurable “energy” and any health benefits beyond relaxation are not established by scientific evidence. Reiki is not a substitute for professional medical care. If you have a health concern, consult a qualified healthcare provider.