Reiki vs Access Bars: What's the Difference and Which One Do You Actually Need?
"I hear this question all the time — and honestly, I love it. Because it means you're already paying attention to what your body and your energy might need."
If you've been curious about energy healing but found yourself wondering what the difference is between Reiki and Access Bars®, you are not alone. Both are beautiful, deeply relaxing modalities — but they work in very different ways, and each one offers something unique to your healing journey.
As a Reiki Master Teacher and an Access Bars® Facilitator, I've had the privilege of witnessing the profound shifts both can create, especially in women navigating the rich (and sometimes messy!) terrain of midlife. So let me break it down for you in plain language — no jargon, no fluff.
01. What Is Reiki?
Reiki is a Japanese energy healing practice based on the idea that life force energy — called ki (or chi) — flows through all living beings. When that energy is blocked or depleted, we may feel stressed, tired, emotionally heavy, or even physically unwell. Reiki works by channeling universal life energy through the practitioner's hands to help restore balance and promote your body's natural ability to heal.
During a Reiki session, you lie fully clothed on a massage table while the practitioner gently places their hands on or just above specific areas of your body, following the energy centres (chakras). There's no pressure, no manipulation — just warmth, presence, and energy.
What People Often Experience with Reiki:
Deep relaxation and stress relief · Emotional release and clarity · Relief from physical tension · Improved sleep · A feeling of being truly "held" and supported · Reconnection with your inner self
02. What Are Access Bars®?
Access Bars® is a gentle yet remarkably powerful hands-on modality that was developed by Gary Douglas in the early 1990s. It involves lightly touching 32 unique points on the head that correspond to different areas of your life — things like money, creativity, aging, body image, relationships, and more.
Each of these "Bars" holds the electromagnetic charge of all the thoughts, feelings, emotions, judgments, and stories you've accumulated in that area across your lifetime (and in some belief systems, beyond this lifetime). When these points are gently touched, the charge begins to release — like clearing the cache on a very cluttered computer.
Access Bars® is like a deep digital declutter for your mind. It helps you let go of the mental and emotional "junk" that's been taking up space so that something new — and better — can show up in your life.
The most common thing people say after a session? "My mind feels so quiet." That constant inner chatter — the worrying, the replaying, the over-thinking — simply softens.
What People Often Experience with Access Bars®:
Mental stillness and reduced anxiety · A sense of freedom and possibility · Shifts in long-held patterns or beliefs · More ease around decisions · Deep sleep (many people drift off during sessions!) · A feeling that the weight has been lifted
03. Which One Is Right for You?
Here's my honest answer: there's no wrong choice. Both are safe, gentle, and deeply supportive. But here's a little guide to help you tune in to what your body and mind might be asking for right now.
Choose Reiki if you…
Feel physically or emotionally exhausted
Are grieving or going through a loss
Want to reconnect with your body
Feel "off" but can't explain why
Are healing from illness or stress
Crave a sense of being held and nurtured
Want to support your chakra health
Choose Access Bars® if you…
Can't quiet your mind or stop overthinking
Feel stuck in old patterns you can't shake
Are in the middle of a big life transition
Struggle with anxiety, worry, or perfectionism
Feel like something is holding you back
Want to open up new possibilities in life
Are curious about shifting your money or relationship story
And if you're sitting here thinking, "Honestly, I need both" — you might be right! Many of my clients move between the two, or even combine them in their healing journey. Your needs shift with the seasons of your life, and I'm here to support you through all of them.
A Note from My Heart to Yours
I became a Reiki Master Teacher because I experienced firsthand how energy healing could reach the places that words and traditional therapy sometimes couldn't. I trained in Access Bars® because I watched it quietly dismantle decades of mental noise — in my clients and in myself — in ways that still take my breath away.
Both of these modalities honour you exactly as you are. There's nothing you need to fix, believe in, or prove. You simply show up, receive, and allow.
If you're a woman in your 40s, 50s, or beyond — navigating a shift in identity, in body, in purpose — I want you to know: this is exactly the season that healing like this was made for. You've spent so long giving. It's time to receive.
READY TO BEGIN?
Let's Find the Right Healing Space for You
Whether Reiki, Access Bars®, or a blend of both is calling to you — I'd love to hold space for your next chapter.
