When You Feel Stuck: How Reiki Helps You Take One Healing Step

Reiking Sunshine
May 3
5 min read

Hey, Radiant Soul!

There are moments in every woman’s healing journey when we feel utterly stuck. Maybe life hit you hard—a diagnosis, a breakup, a setback, a loss—and suddenly it feels like everything is too much. You’re tired of being strong. You want to move forward, but even taking one step feels overwhelming.

If this is where you are right now, you’re not broken. You’re not lazy or weak. You’re simply in a moment of freeze. Your nervous system, energy field, and heart ask for something different than pressure or performance. They’re asking for presence. They’re asking for healing. And this is precisely where Reiki can hold you.

In this post, we’ll explore why feeling stuck is a valid and very human experience, how energy healing can help, and how you can take just one small step—with gentleness, not force—toward reclaiming your inner power. I’ll also share more action steps, a personal reflection, and a clear takeaway to help you integrate what you learn.

Understanding Feeling Stuck Through the Nervous System

Feeling stuck isn’t just an emotion—it’s a full-body experience. It shows up when the nervous system shifts into survival mode, particularly the freeze response, where we feel stuck, numb, or disconnected. This is the body’s way of protecting us when fight or flight is no longer an option.

You may want to act, to shift, to reclaim something—but your body might be saying: “Not yet.”

Deb Dana, a leader in Polyvagal Theory, explains:

“We don’t heal by pushing through the pain—we heal by finding safety, connection, and regulation.”

When you feel stuck, your energy may be scattered, withdrawn, or completely shut down. You might go through the motions, but feel disconnected. That’s not a mindset issue. It’s an energetic and somatic cue asking for restoration.

This is where Reiki becomes not just helpful, but essential.

How Reiki Supports You When You Feel Stuck

Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing that channels universal life force energy into the body to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, support healing, and help restore energetic balance.

Here’s how Reiki supports you in moments of deep emotional fatigue or stagnation:

It helps you feel safe in your body again. Many women who feel stuck are dealing with a dysregulated nervous system. Reiki helps calm the fight, flight, or freeze response.
It supports emotional release without overwhelm. Reiki helps clear blocked energy without forcing you to relive painful memories. It creates space.
It reconnects you to your intuition. When you feel shut down, Reiki restores your ability to hear your inner voice, even if faintly.
It reminds you that healing doesn’t have to be loud. Healing can be slow. Soft. Subtle. Reiki honors that.

A 2021 study in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice found Reiki to be effective in reducing psychological distress, improving relaxation, and increasing overall wellbeing. This is especially important in moments when you don’t have the strength to do much—but know you need something to shift.

A Natalie Moment: What Helped Me Move Forward

There was a time when I felt like I was drowning in expectations—not just from others, but from myself. I was doing everything "right" but felt completely disconnected. I remember sitting on my couch, feeling exhausted and foggy. The idea of doing anything more—even a walk—felt like too much.

That night, instead of trying to "fix it," I placed my hands over my heart, closed my eyes, and took five deep breaths. I didn’t try to solve anything. I just let myself be. That moment—small and quiet—shifted something. I wasn’t healed in an instant, but I was held.

That’s what Reiki does. It holds you. It doesn’t rush you. It helps you come home to yourself, one breath at a time.

A Gentle Reiki-Based Healing Practice

This practice is designed for those moments when you don’t feel like you can do much—but still want to take a small step toward yourself.

The One-Step Reiki Practice

Step 1: Ground Through Breath

Sit or lie down in a quiet place.
Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly.
Take three deep breaths in through the nose, out through the mouth.

Say silently: “I am safe to slow down.”

Step 2: Reiki Self-Touch

Place both hands on your heart, belly, or wherever you feel tension.
Breathe gently. Visualize golden light flowing through your hands.
Say: “Even in stillness, I am healing.”

Stay for 5–10 minutes. Let your thoughts pass. Let yourself be.

Step 3: Choose One Small Act of Power

Ask: What is one thing I can do today that feels doable and nourishing?

Ideas include:

Brushing your teeth
Drinking a glass of water
Standing in the sunlight for 3 minutes
Texting a friend and saying, “I need support”
Writing one sentence in your journal
Saying: “I matter” out loud

This act may seem small. But energetically, it’s huge.

Step 4: Affirm and Anchor

Repeat: “I am not powerless. I choose to care for myself today.”

Write this affirmation down. Put it somewhere visible. Let it be your anchor.

Expanded Action Steps: More Ways to Reclaim Your Power

Here are six additional actions that can support you on the days you feel like giving up:

Name what you feel without judgment. Write down: I feel ___ and that’s okay. Naming allows you to meet yourself without shame.
Create a 3-item ‘Power List.’ List three things you can do today, no matter how small. Example: Shower. Light a candle. Breathe for one minute.
Set a 5-minute timer. Do one thing (stretch, journal, tidy one area) for five minutes. Then stop. Let that be enough.
Receive Reiki support. Book a virtual or in-person Reiki session. When we feel stuck, being held in sacred space by someone else can make all the difference.
Turn on healing music. Vibrations affect energy. Listen to 528 Hz or soft binaural beats to shift the field gently.
Use a grounding object. Hold a crystal, a stone, or a meaningful object. Let it remind you: I am still here.

Real Women, Real Stories

“I started placing my hand on my chest every morning and saying, 'You’re doing better than you think.' That was my healing step. Reiki helped me stay present.”— Keisha

“My therapist said to try Reiki. I was skeptical. But after one session, I felt lighter—not because life changed, but because I had. I remembered I could still make choices.”— Alina

Research & Evidence

Scientific research continues to show Reiki’s benefits:

A 2019 clinical study showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety after four Reiki sessions.
Heart rate variability (HRV) improvements demonstrate that Reiki supports parasympathetic healing states.
Pain management trials show Reiki can reduce physical discomfort, a common trigger for emotional shutdown.

These effects are powerful for women dealing with trauma, chronic illness, emotional exhaustion, or nervous system dysregulation.

Your Key Takeaway: You Still Have Power

Feeling stuck does not mean you are stuck forever. It means your system is asking for tenderness, presence, and reconnection.

The most transformative thing you can do in these moments isn’t to push through—it’s to meet yourself exactly where you are, and take one gentle, conscious step toward healing.

That step might be a breath. A sip of water. A moment of stillness. A whispered affirmation. And that’s enough. Truly.

Your To-Do Task Today:

Pause right now and place your hand on your heart.
Take three breaths and say: “Even when I feel stuck, I am still here. I still get to choose.”
Choose one action from the list above—and do it before the day ends.
Journal: What shifted when I allowed myself to take that one step?

Final Thoughts

You don’t have to move mountains today. You have to move one breath closer to yourself. Let Reiki hold your hand as you walk back to your power. You don’t have to do it alone.

Keep shining—remember, you got this.