What is the difference between Reiki & Polarity therapy?

People ask me this a lot & it’s a great question as there is a huge difference! 

I will say that behind any class I teach, whether it’s Reiki or Polarity therapy,  the most important thing to me is that my students come from a place of loving kindness and compassion for their clients. But beyond this is where we find many nuances of difference between these two modalities. 

I will go over a few in this blog and expand out into some cultural differences between the modalities in another blog. 

Let’s start with Reiki first. 

Reiki is a very simple energy healing modality that is done on a fully clothed person with gentle but effective hands on healing treatments. 

The practitioner follows a protocol that covers all the major organs in the body and in some traditions all the joints as well. 

Each hand position is generally held for about 3-5 minutes each in a static position. 

Advanced practitioners in Reiki also will send very specific symbols into the body that were discovered by the founder to aid people in releasing energy, stuck emotions & also to help the practitioner perform distance healing. 

Practitioners of Reiki are trained to get out of the way of their mind and allow the energy all around them to channel through their hands. 

When you take part in a Reiki training you also get “attuned” to the energy of Reiki through a short ceremony where we send symbols through your chakras in a specific way that aids the chakras in opening up. This is done so that you can channel more life force energy. It’s sort of like being plugged into a stronger electrical outlet. 

The Reiki hand positions again are very simple and easy to learn which allows the practitioner to engage their intuitive self much more quickly. It’s great for people who are just starting on their spiritual journey and healing journey or for those who want a more yin way to engage in healing where there is a state of effortlessness. 

Polarity therapy, on the other hand is a much more complex system. 

It was developed by an Osteopathic doctor and Chiropractor who was looking for a way for his chiropractic adjustments to stick. 

He went on a journey to India and studied Ayurveda and more & learned to map what we call the wireless circuitry in the body. 

He understood that in this circuitry there were many overlapping maps where if one part of the body was out of balance , chances are another corresponding part would be, too. And by holding both parts together you could effect change. 

Many of these maps reflex to our differing nervous systems. And so when we perform polarity therapy is not uncommon to deeply reset and re-center folks’ nervous systems.

One of the many maps the found of Polarity therapy spoke of was that of the 5 elements and where those 5 elements live in the body. 

The cool and interesting part to me is that each element rules both imbalanced states and balanced state. 

For example when your fire element is blocked you may experience anxiety, anger, inflammation and indigestion. 

However, when it is in balance you may experience joy, enthusiasm, forgiveness, energy and healthy digestion. 

By deeply listening to our client’s issues we find what is out of balance & then apply the bodywork to correct it. From there we also can share food choices that can support our clients based on an elemental / Ayurvedic model. And also yoga postures & mindset shifts that can help our clients come back into alignment.

It is a very holistic approach to healing as we combine bodywork, yoga postures, food choices and mindset work to support our clients on their healing process. 

The bodywork itself is also much more complex than Reiki as we are following those maps of the elements and more to correct the flow of energy. 

Often clients go into an alpha state, feeling deeply relaxed and reset. Although sometimes there needs to be emotional and other releases. 

Our job as practitioners is to remain neutral & hold the space our client needs and we are extensively trained in that space holding as well. 

While there is much more to say, these are a few of the key differences in these two modalities. 

If you would like to train in either modality, I offer trainings in foundational Polarity therapy over the course of 6 months and have a new class beginning October 3rd , 2026.

Learn more here:

https://www.flowersandstarsshop.com/polarity-therapy

I also have Reiki classes several times a year and you can always request a Reiki level as well by emailing me at: hello@flowersandstarsshop.com