Research Reveals Reiki Energy Healing and Equine Therapy Reduce Stress

Energy is within and around every living being on the planet. This field of energy and information is called a biofield, or magnetic field. Energy healing modalities work to balance the biofield by changing the vibrations of energy to promote healing. 

Both Reiki and equine therapy, or horse therapy, have been found to be useful in energy healing, reducing both physical and mental stress. Dr. Ann Baldwin, a professor of physiology and researcher of mind-body science, has researched the effectiveness of the practice of Reiki and the use of equine therapy to reduce stress. Dr. Baldwin, author of the book Reiki in Clinical Practice: A Science-Based Guide, was recently featured on a webinar hosted by psychologist Dr. Shamini Jain, founder and director of the Consciousness and Healing Initiative. 

The word “Reiki,” the popular energy healing modality, comes from two Japanese words, “rei,” which means “the wisdom of God or the higher power,” and “ki,” which means “life force energy".

As a lifelong scientific researcher, Dr. Baldwin has used her skills to extensively test the effectiveness of Reiki to heal inflammation and other afflictions caused by stress. In the course of her work, she discovered that a stressful environment caused inflammation within the intestines of rats, as the gut contains neurons and is hypersensitive. Dr. Baldwin found that noise in animal facilities caused the rats so much stress that their small intestines became inflamed and blood vessels were damaged. She looked at how the practice of Reiki could reduce the effects of stress on the laboratory rats. After 15 minutes of Reiki each day for three weeks, the rats had very little inflammation compared to the control group.

Another animal Dr. Baldwin observed in her research was the horse. She discovered that horses are able to sense the biofield of other organisms. In one study, she had a student interact with a horse. At first, the horse paid no attention to the student. Then the student was asked to sit quietly, slow down her breathing, and send love and appreciation to the horse. The animal moved his ears and approached the student. 

Dr. Baldwin studied similar scenarios and found that horses recognize a “balanced” person by reading their biofield, a skill that humans have, but have forgotten. Equine therapy has been found to treat those with anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health issues.

Dr. Baldwin also studied the biofield of humans using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID). This device senses magnetic fields and can measure the biofield of living beings. Using the SQUID, she was able to measure the size of a biofield and found that it extended 15 feet in all directions from the body. This energy field is extremely sensitive and can be chemically altered by the mind. Thoughts can influence the flow of energy just as much as environmental toxins, according to Dr. Baldwin. 

Research on the biofield, Reiki, equine therapy, and stress reduction provides evidence that energy healing works as an effective tool in reducing stress, both mentally and physically.