A client came to me for something else — stress, mostly — and mentioned, almost as a footnote, that her period pain had become noticeably worse since her move to the Riviera. Sharp, the first two days, enough to cancel things. After one session, timed a day before her cycle, she messaged to say the discomfort that month had been noticeably easier. Right after the session, in her words.

I'm starting with the case because it's the honest shape of what I can tell you about Reiki for period pain: it's what one woman noticed, it happened once and then again the next month, and I don't fully know why. What I can offer is the pattern I think is underneath it, and where this sits next to a gynaecologist — which is alongside, never instead.

Why tension and cramping travel together

Menstrual pain is partly muscular — the uterus contracting — and partly everything around it: a pelvis and lower back held tight, a stomach braced against the pain before it arrives, a nervous system on alert because the last few cycles were bad. That bracing doesn't cause the pain, but it amplifies it, and it makes the body hold the pain longer than it needs to.

A session doesn't touch the uterus. What it does is get the whole system to stand down — pelvis, lower back, abdomen, the breath — for 45 minutes. Women describe the lower body going heavy and warm in a way it hasn't in years. What they report afterwards is that the cramping, when it comes, has less to grip.

When to time it

The two or three days before the cycle, if you can. A session on the first day of pain also helps in the moment — the discomfort often eases during and for hours after — but the pre-cycle session seems to change more. If you're tracking, we book against the tracking.

What I hear most

"I didn't realise I was holding my stomach in all the time." "The lower back let go and I didn't know it was tight." "This month I didn't cancel."

Those are the sentences. I don't hear "it's gone." I hear "it's easier" and "it's shorter," and from a couple of women, "it's like it used to be before things got bad."

What a session looks like

The same as any session — lying down, fully clothed, hands resting lightly on or above the body, head to feet — with more time at the lower back, the abdomen and the hips. If you're in pain during, tell me and I'll stay where it helps. It's 45 minutes. Nothing is applied or pressed.

Where the doctor is

Pain that's new, getting worse, or stopping your life: gynaecologist. Heavy bleeding, pain between cycles, anything you've been told to watch: gynaecologist. If you have a diagnosis — endometriosis, fibroids, cysts — keep every appointment and every treatment; some of the women I work with live with exactly these and use sessions for the tension and the rest alongside their care. That's the right order. Reiki is complementary. It's the calm around the medicine, not a replacement for it.

What I'm not claiming

That Reiki changes hormones, shortens cycles, or does anything to the uterus. I have no basis to say any of that and I won't. What I'm describing is a body that stopped bracing for 45 minutes and reported, that month, that the pain had less to hold on to. Whether that's the whole explanation or part of one, I don't know. One woman's month is one woman's month — I'd want you to try it and judge by yours.

FAQ

Can Reiki help with period pain? It helps with the tension and bracing that amplify cramping. One client reported noticeably easier discomfort right after a session timed before her cycle. It's not a treatment, and it works alongside your gynaecologist.

When is the best time for Reiki during your cycle? Two or three days before, if you're tracking. A session on the first day of pain also eases things in the moment.

Is Reiki safe if I have endometriosis or fibroids? Yes — it's light hand contact with nothing applied. Keep every medical appointment; sessions sit alongside that care for the tension and rest, never instead.

If your cycle has become something you dread

Message me on WhatsApp with roughly where you are in your cycle and I'll suggest timing. A single session is €180, at your home or my space in Cannes.