Your first Reiki session goes like this: a short exchange on WhatsApp to agree time and place; a 45-minute session lying down, fully clothed, with light hand contact and no conversation; a few minutes to come back; and a night's sleep that most people describe as different. There's no form to fill in, nothing to bring, nothing to believe, and nothing that happens to you that you haven't agreed to.
Here's the whole thing in order, so there are no surprises.
Before: the WhatsApp exchange
You message me. I ask three things: what's brought you here in a sentence, where you'd like the session — your home, villa, hotel, or my space in Cannes — and when. I'll also ask if there's anything medical I should know about, because if there is, I'll tell you to see a doctor first. That's it. No questionnaire, no history. Five minutes.
What to wear
Whatever you're wearing. Fully clothed, throughout. Comfortable is better than smart — you'll be lying down for 45 minutes — but I've worked on people in suits between meetings and it was fine. Take off shoes, a belt if it's tight, a watch if it bothers you. Nothing else.
Arriving
If I'm coming to you, I'll arrive on time and quietly, with nothing but myself. If you're coming to me, the space is a calm room in Cannes; you'll be offered water and shown where to lie. There are no candles you didn't ask for. No music unless you want it. I'll ask how you slept and whether anything hurts, and then we begin.
The session
You lie on your back. I start at the head and work down to the feet, hands resting lightly on or just above the body, moving through a set sequence. I don't talk. You don't have to. There's nothing to do — not to relax, not to breathe in any particular way, not to think of anything. Most people are still thinking for the first five or ten minutes and then, without deciding to, stop. Some fall asleep. Some feel warmth, or heaviness, or a strange lightness. Some feel nothing much and that's fine too.
Forty-five minutes. It usually feels shorter.
Coming back
I finish at the feet and step back. I'll leave you lying for a minute before I say anything, because coming up fast from that depth is unpleasant. Then you sit up slowly. You'll probably be thirsty and a bit disoriented in a pleasant way. If you want to tell me what you noticed, I'll listen. If you don't, we don't. I'll never ask you to interpret or report an experience you didn't have.
After
Drink water. Don't plan anything demanding for the next hour if you can help it. Most people sleep well that night — that's the most common first change, and the one worth paying attention to. Some feel emotional that evening; it passes. Some feel very little until the next morning, and then notice they're calmer than they've been in a while.
Elena, a client, spent the day before her first session in bed with no energy at all. She wrote the next day that she felt, in her word, recharged. That's not the typical first session — most are quieter — but it's what a first one can be.
What doesn't happen
I don't diagnose. I don't tell you what's "blocked". I don't suggest a package before you've had a session. I don't ask you to stop seeing your doctor — this is a complementary practice, and it works alongside medical care, not instead. And I don't discuss who I see, so nothing about your session goes anywhere.
If you need to leave early
Occasionally someone has to. A call, a child, a car. Tell me at the start and I'll shape the session to the time we have — thirty minutes is still worth doing. What I'd rather avoid is a phone ringing halfway through; it undoes more than it seems. Phone in another room, or with whoever's waiting for you.
FAQ
What should I wear to a Reiki session? Whatever you're comfortable lying down in. You stay fully clothed throughout; only shoes come off.
What happens in a first Reiki session? Forty-five minutes lying on your back with light hand contact from head to feet, no conversation, nothing to do. Most people go into deep rest within ten minutes.
How will I feel after my first Reiki session? Usually thirsty, calm and a little disoriented for an hour, then sleep that night that's noticeably deeper. Some feel emotional for an evening; it passes.
If you'd like to book your first
Message me on WhatsApp with where you are and when suits. A single session is €180, at your home, hotel or my space in Cannes. If it's your first days here, ask about the Arrival Reset.