Energy healing in hospitals: Why Reiki works with Dr Ann Baldwin

Energy healing is a controversial topic. Many dismiss the idea that one person can help another person get better through channeling some unseen force into a patient. But, Reiki, a Japanese energy healing tradition, is actually used in some 15% hospitals across the US, with peer reviewed research showing that it can be an effective complementary medicine for conditions like pain, infection and inflammation.Today's guest, Dr Ann Baldwin, has a PHD in physiology from Imperial College London, and spent decades in vascular research, before a chance encounter led her to discover Reiki, and the seemingly positive effect it was having on lab rats she was studying.Today she’s the research advisor at the Reiki Healthcare Research Trust, which aims to support clinical research into Reiki, and better integrate it into modern healthcare settings. She’s also the author of Reiki in Clinical Practice, which unpacks peer reviewed research into the technique, laying out how it’s been found to have positive effects on pain, infection and inflammation in the body.In this episode, Tim and Dr Baldwin discuss the evidence that suggests Reiki works, the very physiological conditions it can treat, and theories for how it might act in the body.Artwork: Justine Hyde-Mobbs