With over 200 varieties and practitioners all over the globe, Reiki therapy just might be the answer to midterm anxiety. With the premise of the body as an energy system, practitioners channel hefty amounts of Universal Life Force Energy into patients and manipulate energy fields to facilitate healing. While it doesn't replace scientific means of treatment, it can be used as a supplement."Many people come to Reiki as a complement to their traditional medical care. Many others find that they want to approach their health care on a more holistic level and Reiki is extremely effective for stress reduction, pain management, numbness and dizziness," explains Karen Wylie, a registered practitioner and teacher with the Canadian Reiki Association. It can also boost the immune system, promote self-awareness, and reduce sleeping disorders and back problems.Still skeptical? "Reiki is at the very least a stress reduction and relaxation therapy," says Wylie. "It is no more mystical than microwave energy."

Sessions last about an hour. Patients lie on a table, fully clothed, while the practitioner directs energy from the universal life force through their hands to corresponding energy points along their patient's body. Unlike massage, acupuncture, and other therapies based on tissue manipulation, Reiki involves no hands-on movements. Even when the patient gives permission for touch, there's very little physical contact-a benefit for cases where a firmer pressure might cause too much pain, or for those who don't like to be touched.Many patients report feeling tingling sensations and deep relaxation after a session, but whether this is from lying in the dark for an hour or from energy healing remains to be seen.While the main purpose of Reiki is healing, members of the CRA can't "claim that Reiki can cure, nor… diagnose any medical problems or prescribe, nor will they ever advise a client to stop taking medications, unless qualified to do so," according to the CRA Code of Ethics, which all practicing members must sign.