Pain has a way of taking up space—physically, emotionally, spiritually. Whether it’s chronic aches, post-surgical recovery, or the wear-and-tear of daily life, discomfort can quietly drain your joy and narrow your world. But what if pain relief didn’t have to come with side effects, prescriptions, or invasive procedures?
Understanding Pain: More Than Just a Physical Sensation
Before we dive into the healing, let’s talk about what pain really is.
Pain isn’t just a signal from the body—it’s a complex experience shaped by your brain, emotions, past trauma, nervous system sensitivity, and even beliefs. Two people can have the same injury, yet experience drastically different levels of pain. Why? Because the brain is constantly interpreting what pain means and how much attention it deserves.
This is where hypnotherapy and Reiki come in: both practices work directly with the mind-body connection to shift the way pain is experienced—not just physically, but emotionally and energetically.
What Is Hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic approach that uses guided relaxation and focused attention to access a heightened state of awareness—also known as the hypnotic state. Contrary to pop culture myths, this state is not about mind control. It’s more like a deep meditative awareness where the subconscious mind is open, relaxed, and receptive to positive suggestions.
When you’re in this state, your brain is more flexible. This makes it possible to:
Reframe pain-related thoughts
Release tension and anxiety
Interrupt stress-pain cycles
Explore unresolved emotional patterns that may be amplifying discomfort
Modern neuroscience confirms that hypnotherapy reduces activity in the brain’s pain centers, especially in highly suggestible individuals. A 2022 meta-analysis in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews found that hypnosis significantly reduced both acute and chronic pain—and these effects lasted well beyond the session.
What Is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese energy healing technique that gently balances the body’s natural energy systems. A trained practitioner places their hands lightly on or above the body, allowing universal life force energy to flow where it’s most needed. The recipient remains fully clothed, relaxed, and open to receiving.
During Reiki, many clients experience:
A deep sense of calm
Tingling, warmth, or emotional release
A shift in pain or tension
Feelings of peacefulness or connection
Research supports what so many people feel intuitively: Reiki activates the parasympathetic nervous system (aka the “rest and digest” state), lowers stress hormones, reduces inflammation, and alters pain perception.
In a 2024 randomized trial, breast cancer patients receiving Reiki during chemotherapy reported significantly less pain, fatigue, and anxiety compared to control groups. Another study found that Reiki improved sleep and reduced discomfort in post-operative patients—without side effects.
Why Hypnotherapy and Reiki Work So Well Together
Pain is never just one thing. It’s physical. It’s mental. It’s emotional. It’s energetic. That’s why blending hypnotherapy and Reiki can be such a powerful path to relief—they meet pain on every level.
Let’s break down how they complement each other:
1. Nervous System Reset
Chronic pain keeps the nervous system in a loop of hypervigilance. Hypnotherapy helps unwind the mental patterns contributing to this loop, while Reiki helps soothe the energetic imprints. Together, they signal safety to the body—so it can finally relax.
2. Addressing Root Causes
Hypnotherapy can uncover subconscious beliefs and emotional wounds that are intensifying pain (like guilt, grief, or trauma). Reiki offers a safe space to energetically release those imprints. One unearths, the other restores.
3. Mind-Body Alignment
Many people feel disconnected from their bodies after long-term pain. Hypnotherapy restores a sense of agency and mental resilience. Reiki reconnects you with your body through gentle presence. The result? More trust, more awareness, more healing.
4. Boosted Pain Threshold
Hypnotherapy alters how pain signals are processed. Reiki can increase endorphins and reduce inflammation. This combination helps raise your overall pain threshold, so discomfort feels more manageable—and sometimes disappears entirely.
What a Session Looks Like at Bliss Reiki Arts
Every session is uniquely tailored, but here’s what you might expect from a combined hypnotherapy and Reiki session for pain relief:
Intake & Intention Setting
We begin with a conversation about your pain story—where you feel it, how long it’s been present, and what emotional layers might be involved.Guided Hypnosis
You’ll be gently led into a hypnotic state using breath, visualization, and grounding techniques. Here, we offer subconscious suggestions for comfort, safety, and relief. You remain aware and in control the entire time.Transition to Reiki
As your mind integrates the suggestions, we begin Reiki—either with light touch or hands hovering above the body. The energy works in harmony with your nervous system and subconscious mind to deepen the healing.Grounding & Reflection
Afterward, we gently return to full awareness. You’ll be invited to share insights, emotions, or physical sensations that arose.
Sessions usually last 75–90 minutes, and many clients report feeling lighter, clearer, and more mobile after just one session.
Who Benefits from This Approach?
We’ve supported clients dealing with:
Chronic back pain
Migraines
Fibromyalgia
Post-surgical healing
Neuropathy
Arthritis
TMJ and jaw tension
Emotional pain connected to grief or trauma
Even clients with long-standing medical conditions have found that hypnotherapy and Reiki reduce the intensity of their symptoms and increase their overall quality of life.
But Is It Really Science-Backed?
Yes—and the research is growing. Here’s a quick look at recent findings:
Hypnotherapy: A 2023 analysis from Pain Reports confirmed that hypnosis is one of the most effective non-pharmacological treatments for chronic pain. It showed improvements in both pain intensity and emotional well-being.
Reiki: In 2025, a clinical trial showed that Reiki sessions reduced post-operative pain scores by an average of 30% without the need for additional medication.
Combined Approaches: Emerging studies are exploring how combining energy therapy with cognitive and somatic approaches amplifies outcomes. While more research is underway, case studies show promising results.
Of course, neither modality replaces medical care—but they’re an empowering adjunct that supports your body’s natural healing intelligence.
Ready to Explore a New Way of Healing?
Pain doesn’t have to be the whole story. If you’re ready to try something that supports every layer of you—mind, body, and energy—we’re here to walk with you.
🌿 Schedule a Hypnotherapy and Reiki session
🌿 Gift a session to someone navigating chronic pain
🌿 Reach out with questions—we love helping you find the right path
Relief doesn’t always come in a pill. Sometimes, it arrives in breath, in stillness, in softness, and in the quiet spaces where the body remembers how to heal.