Reiki for grief processes: accompanying loss with respect (therapist in Dubai)

Grief is one of the most universal and, paradoxically, most lonely experiences. Society gives us a few days off, some condolences, and after that we’re expected to return to “normality” — but grief doesn’t work like that. The body, especially, doesn’t work like that. After the loss of a loved one — mother, father, child, partner, sibling, pet — the body carries a load the rational mind can’t manage alone. In this article, from my 10+ years accompanying grief in my Arabian Ranches studio, I explain how Reiki accompanies a grief process without invading, the phases of grief from the body’s perspective, when it complements psychotherapy, and what real tools it offers. I want to do it with the same honesty and experience as in my articles on repressed emotions or — no empty promises, with respect for the dignity of the process.

My space prepared for a grief session: lit candle, white flowers, Tibetan singing bowl. Atmosphere of absolute respect. Here nothing is “fixed” — it’s held.

Grief is not a problem to solve

Before talking about how Reiki accompanies, a framing change helps. Grief is not a disorder to resolve, but a process to live. Modern therapies promising “overcoming grief in X weeks” are misunderstanding the nature of the process.

Grief is:

• A healthy response to a significant loss
• A non-linear process — you don’t advance through ordered phases, you come and go
• A body experience before a mental one — the body feels it earlier and deeper than the mind
• Particular to each person and each loss — there’s no “normal” grief
• Something that integrates, not closes — the lost person or being comes to occupy a different inner space

My work isn’t to “cure” you of grief. It’s to accompany you while you live it — with respect, presence and concrete tools for the body.

The phases of grief from the body’s perspective

Psychology describes emotional phases of grief (the classic Kübler-Ross, today revised). But the body also goes through very specific phases that most verbal therapies overlook. Those I see in consultation:

Body shock phase (first days-weeks)

The body enters a survival state: cortisol spiked, nervous system hyperactivated or frozen, difficulty eating, sleeping or concentrating. Many people describe “not feeling anything” or feeling everything too intensely. It’s biological protection. The nervous system needs time to start integrating.

Possible work: very gentle Reiki, presence, containment. It’s not yet the moment for emotional processing — the body is still in emergency.

Wave phase (first 2-6 months)

Emotions arrive in unpredictable waves. You’re fine for three hours, then something triggers you — a song, a scent, a street — and you collapse. The body is reorganising. Fatigue is enormous. Sleep is altered. The immune system weakens.

Possible work: regular Reiki (weekly or fortnightly), nervous system work, aromatherapy to accompany the waves, specific Bach Flowers.

Body search phase (3-12 months)

The body searches to “find” the absent — in gestures, in places, in sensations. Many people talk to the lost person, expect to hear them. It’s normal, healthy and often painful. The body learns to live with the present absence.

Possible work: deepening of Reiki work, gradual emotional integration, possibility of ritualising farewells.

Integration phase (6-24 months)

The loss comes to occupy a different inner place. You don’t “forget” — the person or being becomes part of you in another way. The body returns to a more stable rhythm. Moments of joy appear without bringing guilt.

Possible work: light maintenance, calm remembering spaces, occasional sessions on anniversaries or sensitive moments.

Reorganisation phase (1-2 years onwards)

Your life reorganises with the integrated loss. You are someone different — grief has changed you. Not always for the worse; often, in ways you don’t yet fully understand.

Possible work: post-loss identity work, new life decisions, maintenance.

How Reiki specifically accompanies grief

Reiki works in grief through very specific mechanisms:

1. Regulates spiked cortisol

Acute grief spikes cortisol for weeks or months, weakening the immune system, altering sleep, exhausting adrenals. Regular Reiki helps the nervous system return to a more sustainable response — without “avoiding” pain, but preventing it from becoming systemically destructive.

2. Holds without invading

Unlike psychotherapy (essential but sometimes too verbal for the first months), Reiki holds without asking anything. You don’t have to speak. You don’t have to understand. You don’t have to advance. Just receive physical-energetic containment for an hour.

3. Allows body releases

Many people in grief cry for the first time in Reiki sessions — not in verbal consultations. The body releases what the mind can’t yet name. And that’s profoundly therapeutic.

4. Improves sleep

Insomnia or superficial sleep are almost universal in acute grief. Reiki, especially combined with specific aromatherapy, helps recover sleep quality — and sleeping well is essential to process grief (much integration occurs in deep sleep).

5. Reconnects with the body

Grief disconnects from the body (many people feel “outside” themselves for months). Reiki brings body presence very gently, without forcing. Reminds you that your body is still there, still alive, still yours.

6. Creates space for integration

After a Reiki session in grief, many people report new clarity, a decision to make, a pending conversation, a memory needing honouring. Reiki doesn’t produce this — it creates the conditions for it to appear.

Specific aromatherapy for grief

Some oils have a long tradition of use in grief processes, and my 10 years confirm them:

For the first days-weeks (shock)

Rescue blend: 10 ml jojoba + 4 drops lavender + 2 drops neroli + 2 drops marjoram

Apply on wrists, solar plexus and nape when needed. It accompanies without invading.

For the waves (2-6 months)

Emotional support: 10 ml jojoba + 3 drops damascena rose (if available) or rose geranium + 2 drops frankincense + 2 drops sandalwood

Apply 2-3 times a day during difficult periods.

For integrating and honouring

Memorial: 10 ml jojoba + 3 drops rose + 2 drops myrrh + 2 drops frankincense

For ritual moments: anniversaries, significant dates, cemetery visits. Works as symbolic accompaniment in addition to chemical.

For improving sleep

Night: 10 ml sweet almond + 5 drops lavender + 2 drops Roman chamomile + 2 drops marjoram

Apply on soles of feet and centre of chest before sleeping.

See more in my essential oils for stress and anxiety guide.

Specific Bach Flowers for grief

Bach Flowers are an excellent tool in grief because they work at a subtle vibrational level and are compatible with any other treatment.

Those I most use in these processes:

• Star of Bethlehem: for the shock of loss (central essence in grief)
• Sweet Chestnut: for that “dark night of the soul” when pain seems unbearable
• Honeysuckle: if you remain anchored in the past and can’t live the present
• Walnut: to accompany the transition to a life without the lost person/being
• Mustard: for deep sadness without identifiable cause
• Wild Rose: if you’ve fallen into apathy or resignation
• Gentian: for moments of discouragement when you thought you were progressing
• Pine: for survivor’s guilt

A personalised Bach formula is prepared in consultation according to your moment, and adjusted every 3-4 weeks.

Candle, white flowers, Tibetan bowl: the symbolic language accompanying a grief session. Sometimes there are no words — only presence.

How I do my Reiki sessions at the studio

Every session is unique because every person arrives with a different energetic state. Here’s how a session usually unfolds:

Opening with the Tibetan singing bowl. I start each session by sounding the Tibetan bowl. Its vibration opens the energetic space, calms the nervous system and prepares your body to receive.

Energetic reading with the pendulum. I review each of your chakras with the pendulum to perceive how they are — balanced, blocked or disordered. That reading guides me throughout the session.

Intuitive work. My practice is deeply intuitive: I let myself be guided by what I perceive. Sometimes I stay longer at a specific chakra because I sense there’s pending work there; other times the body asks me to move quickly.

Aura cleansing. After working with the chakras, I perform an energetic cleansing of your auric field. When I perceive blockages or alterations, I work to harmonise and seal the aura, restoring its natural integrity.

Closing with the Tibetan singing bowl. I finish by sounding the bowl again to close the energetic space and integrate the work done. What has moved during the session settles into your body and your energy.

About my treatments at Arabian Ranches

If you’d like to go deeper into any of the topics covered in this article, at my Arabian Ranches studio I offer several treatments: Reiki with chakra balancing, therapeutic and aromatherapy massages, manual lymphatic drainage, Bach Flower therapy and personalised essential oil formulas, among others.

📋 See the full list and up-to-date pricing at Treatments.

✨ First visit: includes a free 15-minute initial consultation to understand your case and tailor the treatment. New clients also receive a 10% discount on their first treatment.

Book your session here or contact me if you have any prior questions.

Frequently asked questions about Reiki for grief

When is a good time to start?

When you want. Some people come a week after the loss, others months later, others years later. There’s no “correct” moment. What is true: don’t wait to “feel better” to start — holistic work helps you feel better.

Am I going to cry in session?

Probably yes, and it’s good. Many people in grief don’t cry outside session — they’re sustaining too much for too many people. The table may be the first safe place to release. And that’s profoundly healthy.

Do I also need psychological therapy?

It depends on your case. In “normal” grief without complicated components, holistic can be enough. In complicated grief or if clinical depression emerges, psychotherapy is essential — and holistic complements.

How long does all this last?

honesty and experience: grief lasts what it lasts, and “ends” in the sense of integration (not of forgetting) between 12 and 24 months for non-complicated grief. But don’t expect to “be okay” in X months — that creates more suffering.

Can I bring an object from the loved one?

Of course. A photo, an object, a piece of clothing. They can be in the session as silent accompaniment. These rituals have real value.

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