Reiki in Violence Prevention
Reiki in violence prevention is an emerging topic that connects emotional healing with social impact. Many forms of violence are rooted in stress, trauma and unresolved emotional pain. By supporting relaxation and inner balance, Reiki may help individuals process these experiences and reduce the likelihood of harmful reactions.
“Reiki is, for me, an ideal tool to quickly reach the hearts of young people. Through Reiki, they can learn to appreciate themselves and others, strengthen their self-confidence, and find their center.” Marco Hennings
Reiki in Violence Prevention – Inner Calm as the Foundation for Conflict Awareness
Reiki in High-Stress and At-Risk Communities
Several years ago, together with a social worker, I offered a Reiki seminar on violence prevention for young inmates at the Hahnöfersand Correctional Facility (Lower Saxony). After introductory conversations about the causes of aggression and fear, I guided the participants to give Reiki to each other. This experience—touching one another mindfully and appreciatively—stood in stark contrast to the environment and upbringing that many of the youths had experienced.
After discussing the sources of aggression and deeper fears with the inmates, I guided the participants to first place their hands on themselves, and then on each other. The experience of doing something good for someone else and relaxing was the opposite of what they had been conditioned to do. My Reiki master once told me: “Those who have learned to hurt another person with their hands should, to balance things, also learn to heal with their hands. This is how one regains their ‘center.’”
That was 26 years ago, and what he told me then was true. Through my personal experiences with Reiki, I regained my center as a young man and transformed from an aggressive youth into a calm and loving person, discovering the incredible potential within myself. Today, I am grateful that I can pass on this wealth of experience to others.
Many years later, after I first heard this sentence from my Reiki teacher, reports of youth violence were once again dominating the media, and I was given the opportunity to work with young inmates at the Hahnöfersand Correctional Facility using Reiki. Anyone who has seen a prison knows how it feels to approach the entrance. Most people want to leave such a place as quickly as possible: high fences topped with barbed wire, guard towers, locked gates, cameras—not exactly a welcoming sight. I, however, was determined to go in.
One often hears about programs that aim to put people back on the right path through pressure or even violence—for example, boot camps in America. My approach was completely different. From my personal experience, and that of my students in my Reiki seminars, I knew that Reiki can influence a person positively in a much gentler way and lead to meaningful change.
Of course, it is good and important to provide a young person who has gone off track—through, for example, a boxing training camp—with clear structure, boundaries, and rules.
In my opinion, it is equally important not only to show them how to throw a punch correctly but also to show them how they can use their hands to help another person—or even themselves.
The art of Reiki is ideal for this because it is easy for anyone to learn, immediately applicable, and produces positive results very quickly.
Have you ever noticed that angry people are under extreme tension? Have you ever tried to be angry or aggressive when completely relaxed? Of course not. It’s impossible. In a relaxed state, we are simply not capable of being angry or aggressive.
Why is that?
Anger consumes a lot of life energy—love gives us life energy.
Too little energy leads to tension—sufficient energy leads to relaxation.
And this is precisely where I work with Reiki energy and its deeply relaxing and transformative effects.
Together with a social worker, I led a two-day Reiki seminar on violence prevention
My assistant and I first developed a concept for our project.
Mr. Tamm-Berg selected six suitable young people, aged 17 to 21, for our project and prepared everything else to ensure a smooth process. We needed about six weeks for our preparations. The project was planned for two days, during which I would initiate the inmates into what is called the First Reiki Degree.
The prison administration at Hahnöfersand was very helpful and supported our work in every possible way. We were allowed to use the gymnasium undisturbed for those two days, and several guards were also made available to us.
On the first day, I introduced myself to the young inmates and explained what they could expect over the next two days. At first, they were skeptical, especially after hearing words like “laying on of hands.” But after an hour, we had answered all questions sufficiently, and everyone wanted to participate. Curiosity ultimately overcame the initial skepticism.
Before we began, I asked the inmates to write down their most important values, ranking them in order of importance—e.g., family, success, love, money, etc. We then collected these sheets. At the end of the seminar, we asked the inmates again about their values to see if, and how, their priorities had changed after the Reiki seminar.
In my regular Reiki seminars, the focus is clearly on “Reiki and Healing.” In this project, the focus was on Reiki and, among other things, on violence. This was a particularly exciting combination for me, as in addition to my Reiki practice, I have been practicing martial arts such as Kung Fu, boxing, and Filipino Kali for over 25 years.
I therefore asked questions such as: Why do you think people fight? Have you ever been hit? Have you ever hit someone else? How did you feel during and after? How did you feel when you won or lost?
It was very interesting, for example, to learn that the inmates quickly agreed that people probably hurt each other out of fear. It became increasingly clear to them that fear is a major motivator for violence—that there aren’t just perpetrators and victims, but both are actually victims of their own fear, which drives their actions. Fascinating, isn’t it…?!
After the mutual seated Reiki treatment, I asked them how they were feeling, and I received responses such as:
“It was very relaxing”;
“I felt comfortable”;
“My problems somehow drifted away”;
“Somehow lighter…”;
“I feel strange, but pleasantly strange”;
“Funny, I can’t describe it, but it was okay.”
“Could it be that I felt a tingling on my head?”
“Earlier I was still angry at a guard, but that’s gone now”;
“You really forget, even if just for a moment, that you’re in prison…”
Very soon, I no longer even noticed that I was in a prison, teaching Reiki to “inmates.” From that moment on, they were simply “guys” to me. Once again, Reiki demonstrated its wonderful power of love. I saw only the people, not the prisoners.
Even the various guards and my assistant were amazed at what was unfolding before their eyes. The guys worked quietly and focused together. They listened attentively. A relaxed and harmonious atmosphere prevailed the entire time. Experiences like this were rare.
More Conscious Handling of Conflicts
On the second day, before the second part of the seminar, we sat down with the guys for two hours to discuss their impressions from the previous day. We talked about Reiki but also about topics such as respect. “What does respect actually mean to you? Do you respect yourselves?” All six participants gave a clear “no” in response to that question…
The second part of the seminar began with a review of self-treatment, followed by a repetition of seated treatments with other partners. On the second day, the participants perceived the Reiki energy more strongly, and the sequence of positions was more familiar to them.
Later, they learned to perform treatments on a person lying down. Again, everyone was very focused and engaged. I conducted the Reiki initiations in a small, separate equipment room. Although it was uncomfortable, it posed no problem because the guys still felt comfortable during the initiations. It was also remarkable how respectfully they behaved toward me and how gratefully they received the initiations.
Strengthening Self-Esteem & Improving Emotional Self-Control
After the seminar, everyone received the so-called “values sheet” once again. For some participants, there were indeed changes in their rankings. For example, new values had appeared, such as “helping other people” and “gratitude.” Values like “money” had moved to the lower positions—or even disappeared entirely.
I was also very grateful to have had this experience with the young people.
My Conclusion: Young people who become violent usually learned this behavior in their lives and have never had loving role models. Some have been traumatized through abuse and now, out of fear, pass the suffering on to others. This creates a vicious cycle of violence. Peer pressure and group dynamics add to it. It is very difficult for a young person to break out of such a cycle on their own.
With Reiki, I have a tool that allows me to reach the hearts of these young people. Through Reiki, they learn to appreciate themselves, build self-confidence, and find their center. Through this previously unexperienced practice, they also learn to appreciate others. They discover, through the laying on of hands, that they can do something good for another person. Only those who love themselves can give love to others.
In my opinion, Reiki has a bright future in violence prevention. One day, it may become completely normal for Reiki to be applied in correctional facilities—as well as in all areas concerned with violence prevention. The interest from the leadership at Hahnöfersand was certainly very promising. This could be the first step in the right direction. I would be delighted if my example were to set a precedent.
I would like to thank my assistant, Dietmar Tamm-Berg, and the Hahnöfersand Correctional Facility, whose support made this project possible.
Note: All photos were published with the consent of the inmates. To protect the young people, their faces were obscured.
