5 Reiki Rituals to Heal the Emotional Body
- Brainz Magazine
- Aug 14
- 6 min read
Updated: Aug 15
Olivea Kazumi Shure is an entrepreneur, Reiki Master, teacher, and healer. Through her business, Reiki with Olivea, she offers transformative healing experiences that blend traditional Reiki with a deep connection to nature and the wisdom of ancient practices.
Throughout my years of Reiki practice, I’ve been continually drawn back to the idea that Reiki can help heal the emotional body.
The emotional body isn’t a “body” in the same way our arms or heart are parts of us that we can see; it’s more like an invisible energetic layer that surrounds the physical body. Many consider it part of the aura, or even the aura itself. This is the place where our joys, grief, hopes, and heartbreaks live. It’s where we store our old wounds and fresh sparks of inspiration. We experience it in the swell of warmth when someone we love walks into the room, or the tightness in our chest when we’re anxious. Just as our skin can scar or heal, our emotional body carries marks of our lived experiences. And just like a garden, it can thrive with care or become tangled if left unattended.
For many of us, the pain of our past lingers in the present, almost as if we’re reliving it in real time. Because our energy often attracts what it’s most familiar with, we might even find ourselves re-creating those experiences until the underlying wounds are healed.
Why healing the emotional body matters
It’s easy to overlook our emotional body when discussing health and wellness. But in energy healing traditions like Reiki, the emotional body is just as real as the physical body. When we tend to our emotional body with care and consideration, we may find that physical symptoms also find relief. The emotional and physical bodies are intricately connected.
To heal the emotional body means to clear it; in other words, we release energies and emotions that don’t belong to us and transform those that do. When this happens, we feel lighter, refreshed, and even free. Some of my students have told me they feel “sparkly” or "shiny and clean" after a session (their words, not mine), which I take as a sign that their emotional body has received some deep care.
Because our emotions are so closely intertwined with our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, emotional balance sets the tone for our entire being. When we feel good emotionally, even physical aches can ease, as if by magic. Like a well-tuned instrument, our energy flows more easily when our emotional body is tended to.
When we feel emotionally clear and nourished, emotions flow like a healthy river: feelings arise, move through, and then settle. But when it’s congested, emotions can get stuck. Unprocessed grief might become chronic heaviness, or unexpressed anger might simmer until it boils over.
Signs your emotional body might need care
We often ignore emotional maintenance until something feels “off.” But our emotional body sends clues, just like the physical body does:
Mood swings or lingering heaviness without a clear reason.
Physical tension in the jaw, shoulders, or gut that doesn’t respond to stretching.
Feeling emotionally flat, like you can’t access joy, excitement, or curiosity.
Replaying old stories about yourself or others that keep you stuck in the past.
A sense of disconnect from people, places, or even yourself.
These aren’t signs that something is “wrong” with you. They’re invitations to check in and tend to your emotional landscape.
Transforming pain into peace
One question I’ve sat with is: If energy can’t be destroyed, only transformed, then how do we turn emotional pain into something useful?
For me, something useful is peace. Without it, I get easily overwhelmed, anxious, and worried. I'll either freeze in place or push too hard. Peace gives me the balance I need to live well. For someone else, it might be love, courage, or joy. The key to greater self-mastery is identifying what would most nourish your emotional needs and then consciously transforming your pain into that energy.
Whether we realize it or not, our emotions influence our everyday successes and setbacks. But emotions aren’t the enemy. They’re simply E-motion, energy in motion. The more we learn to relate to this energy with compassion and skill, the more agency we have over our overall well-being.
For me, Reiki has been an anchor in this process. When I send Reiki to myself, I’m sending it directly to my emotional body. As I’ve deepened my healing journey through practices like journaling and therapy, I’ve become more specific about what I want to transform. In effect, I’m now more able to allow Reiki to do its work.
So, the big question remains: How do we heal the emotional body? Well, it will look different for each of us, but if you’re a Reiki practitioner and are curious about healing rituals, here are five Reiki rituals that I use to support my emotional body healing. Maybe they will inspire you to create some of your own.
1. Send Reiki to your words
Through journaling, therapy notes, or quiet reflection, write down what feels painful within you. This can be tender work, so give yourself grace and take it slowly. These words are keys; they unlock what’s hidden beneath the surface. Once written, send Reiki to the page. The clearer you are about what you want to transform, the more fully Reiki can support the process.
2. Send Reiki to your younger self
Find a photo of yourself from a time when certain wounds began; these can be from childhood, adolescence, or even last year. A photograph holds light and time, and it can serve as a direct portal for healing. Hold the image, let memories surface without judgment, and send Reiki to that version of you.
3. Pair Reiki with music
Music can transport us by rearranging our emotional landscape and reconnecting us with moments that shaped us. Play songs that remind you of a time you'd like to send some healing to. For me, there are certain artists whose music carried me through difficult times, maybe even saved me. Let yourself feel whatever arises, and send Reiki to yourself as the music works its magic.
4. Create a letting–go ritual
Rituals are simply actions infused with intention, presence, and heart. One of my favorites is walking into the forest with flowers or herbs in hand, offering them to the trees as tokens of any sadness or worries I might be carrying. In this way, I'm offering them to the Earth and asking for its assistance too. I send Reiki to both the offering and myself, sealing the ritual with gratitude.
5. Move your body with Reiki
I call infusing movement a self-love ritual with Reiki, HeartBody Reiki. I set the intention for Reiki to flow through my hands and feet, and then allow my entire body to move in whatever ways feel right. Sometimes the movements are big and expansive, sometimes subtle. My body becomes the bridge between past, present, and future, allowing healing to happen in real time. When the movement feels complete, I close in gassho (prayer position) and thank Reiki, my body, and myself.
The power gained from healing the emotional body
Healing the emotional body isn’t about erasing the past; it’s about transforming it into something that serves you now. Reiki gives us a gentle yet powerful way to do just that.
Unprocessed emotions aren’t harmless background noise. Over time, they can drain our energy, cloud our thinking, and even influence our physical health. When we store emotional pain instead of moving through it, it often manifests as stress, tension, or fatigue.
Healing the emotional body doesn’t mean we’ll never feel sad, angry, or hurt again. It means we build the resilience to move through these feelings without getting lost in them. This creates more room for joy, creativity, and connection to flow through us, which nourishes and creates a vibrant emotional body.
Read more from Olivea Kazumi Shure
Olivea Kazumi Shure, Reiki Master, Teacher, and Healer
Olivea Kazumi Shure is a professional healer and dedicated Reiki Master committed to teaching and sharing about the life-changing power of Reiki with students around the globe. For over a decade, she has continually developed her business, Reiki with Olivea, to offer transformative healing experiences and journeys that blend traditional Reiki with ancient wisdom and a deep connection with the natural world and the lessons it offers. Her mission is to enable people to easefully step into their personal power and be peaceful warriors of love.
