Reiki: Touching the Intangible

Hospitals throughout the Washington area have, in recent years, been enlisting the services of people like Luann Jacobs, an Arlington-based reiki (pronounced "ray-key") healer.

Jacobs, founder of ReikiPartners, spends a portion of her days working with patients at George Washington University Hospital, laying hands on them in a way she, and many others, thinks reduces stress and promotes healing. Starting at the head and slowly working their way to the feet, healers place their hands on or just above different parts of a patient's body. (Unlike massage, it's a very light amount of pressure, if any at all.)

There's no scientific evidence behind their claims, but reiki healers believe that during sessions, they're tapping into a universal source of energy that is then transferred to the recipient.

Reiki was developed in Japan in the early 20th century and can cost $60 or more for hour-long sessions here. But several practitioners in the region accept pay-what-you can donations and offer reduced prices for sessions while they are learning the craft.

Meitia Hedge, who works at the World Bank by day, moonlights as a reiki practitioner, accepting donations for her Saturday afternoon sessions in Takoma Park. "Anybody can have treatments," she says. "If you don't have any ailments, it will optimize your feeling of wellness."

Even if they don't feel like much is happening during the process, Hedge says, her clients almost always report sleeping better after an hour of reiki.

"When I receive it, sometimes I feel heat in certain places," says Cheryl Jones, a Cheverly music teacher and one of Hedge's clients. "But it's not always a physical sensation -- it's more an overall feeling of peace. I get a lot of clarity, insight."

Jones, who was first introduced to reiki when she worked as a chaplain at the Washington Hospital Center, understands that the concept of the practice can be hard to grasp. "It can be ethereal sounding -- intangible," she concedes. "But the benefits are tangible, even if they're hard to explain."

HEALING WITH REIKI Meitia Hedge offers treatments Saturday afternoons at Zinn Chiropractic's office, 7000 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park. 202-365-5975.http://www.healing-with-reiki.net. $40 suggested donation.

REIKI CENTER OF GREATER WASHINGTON 9059 Shady Grove Ct., Gaithersburg. 301-963-0787.http://www.reikicenter.info. Student clinics three times a month. $20 per treatment.