Guide to Buying A Therapy Bed for Reiki
As a Reiki teacher, I commonly get asked about therapy beds by students in my Reiki training courses looking to purchase one after their training, to either practice at home or use in a professional Reiki setting. There is a vast array of choices out there, so what I wanted to do in this article was give you some guidance and points to consider to help you select the best therapy bed for you. A point I want to make is that a therapy bed is not just for those who do Reiki treatments professionally. Anyone who does Reiki for family or friends could benefit from having a therapy bed. It is not essential to be able to do Reiki on someone, but it does make it easier to do in a relaxed position which is desirable and is likely to make it more comfortable for you, so could reduce the potential for injury if you are doing a lot of Reiki sessions, as well as being comfortable for the person receiving the Reiki treatment. In addition, you would need a therapy bed to be able to practice the Keisu-ki-kohan-ho (Kekko) technique, you learn in the Shoden (beginner level) Jikiden Reiki training course.
I would view the task of selecting a therapy bed as a range of considerations, each with something like a 1-10 scale of importance that you can dial up if important, or dial down is less important to you. As this will guide your purchasing decision. For example, if the price is the one biggest factor for you, then that will guide your selection strongly. It tends to be finding a sweet spot between your ideal features, such as ideal dimensions, comfort, or foam quality against cost. Let’s look at some key factors to consider.
Safety:
Let’s get this one out of the way. It has to be strong enough for those you might use the therapy bed with from a safety and liability view. Most therapy beds state working ranges of over 230kg (36 stone) even the cheaper ones, which would be fine in pretty much all settings. Take whatever the lowest weight they advertise (dynamic, or working weight) and ensure you have plenty of buffer weight capacity. Around 250 kg capacity would be a common weight capacity. The build quality is likely the consideration between beds. I have had good and not-so-good build quality with therapy couches. My preference now is to go for aluminum frames, rather than the wood composite, as I have seen some quality issues with one I had once, with the screws that go into the wood. You can get still see low-quality aluminum frames, that’s just my preference.
Dimensions:
Most options tend to be between 65-75cm (25-29 ½”) wide, and 70cm (27 ½”) is a common width. Lengths 180-195cm (70-76”) is a common range. For reference: The static therapy bed I use professionally is 70 cm wide and 195cm long, it covers most heights and sizes. My 2nd therapy bed is 70cm wide and 182cm (71 ½”) long. Both these serve me well, but it is about as small as I would want to go. I have had a previous therapy bed around 60cm (23 ½”) wide, but that’s a bit thin for what I want. I have had some around 65cm wide which were OK, but I prefer a therapy couch to be a bit wider. Yes, many have width extension pads on two dowel rods you can add on. But for me (remember I work professionally and I may not have seen the client until they show up for session one) it’s not helpful to the experience of a session of a new client to show up and you look at them and in front of them go and dig out your ‘large person’ width extensions and add them to the couch. Any width extensions I get with a therapy bed go in a bag and the loft. I prefer to get the therapy bed the size I want it, might be 1 Kg heavier, and £20 more cost, but that’s just my preference.
The length of the therapy bed, my main professional one is 195cm long which is fine for anyone. If they are very tall the ankles just hang a bit over the end, you can add the headrest to extend the therapy bed length for face-down work. Just watch quoted therapy bed dimensions on the sales pages, just you ensure to understand what is the size of the therapy bed itself is, same with the width, watch the quoted width is not including extra side width extension pads). Unless you work with a basketball team you should be fine with a therapy bed 180-195cm therapy bed. You might need to consider where you are going to put the therapy bed, if it's in a box room or small therapy room you might lean towards a shorter bed, or if you know you would work with larger clients it might be wider, all just things to consider. Also, more often those who are shorter might find a thinner therapy bed more comfortable to work with, as there is less distance to lean over to reach, the center of the bed/ person’s body, or more likely to find it more comfortable to perform the Kekko technique with a thinner therapy bed.
Client Comfort:
Comfort will be a big consideration with the use of Reiki. If it's uncomfortable the experience of coming to see you will not be relaxing, which is no good for your clients. My current static therapy bed I got for the generous dimensions, for me the padding was not great, so as a solution, I got a 5cm (2”) memory foam topper on it. However, my view is it’s better to get a therapy bed with good foam in the first place. My 2nd therapy couch has much better foam. I got this one second-hand (almost new) it has better 7cm (2 ¾”) and better-quality foam. If looking for a therapy bed I would say a minimum of 6cm (2”) thickness of high-density foam, the kind that doesn’t collapse when a client lays on it. Manufacturers are getting better with this in recent years. It is an area I would invest in when selecting a therapy bed.
Cost:
Cost is commonly a big factor to consider. I’m always a fan of high value. Higher price does not always mean better with therapy beds, that said cheap and low quality is not the best idea either. You can get brand new therapy beds from around £95- £500. There are always more expensive options, but this is the common Range. I have had therapy beds across that price range. I will give some options at the end of this article. Second hand you can pick up from £50 upwards.
Weight:
It's something to consider, more so if you are a mobile therapist, if it’s staying in one location, as long as you can drag it in the door it’s not an issue. Therapy beds tend to be similar, as manufacturers are aware it’s a consideration or concern for many. There is a super light quality one that I link to below that comes in at 11.5 kg (25lb). Most will be in the range of 13-15kg (28 ½- 31lb). Both my therapy beds are about 14kg. If a therapy bed was 10kg or under I would be looking deeper at how that was achieved. If moving it around was a big problem for you, you might need to consider having two therapy beds, one at a couple of locations, or if you are a mobile therapist the weight might be a big consideration for you.
Other Specifications:
This could be if you want a therapy bed that has the option to raise one end, so the client can lay sitting up a bit, so not flat. I have one that does and one that doesn’t. Occasionally I do have clients that I use that with (such as breathing or reflux issues that lying flat is not comfortable, but it’s rare for me). Another feature that most therapy couches have is adjustable leg heights, with a good range with small increments in adjustments. Any therapy bed needs to be comfortable for you to use, so I would say this feature is a must, or you will likely hurt your back in the long term (unless you find one that is a good match for you). Most have a head extension pad for when facing down, some have an additional face hole in the bed so you have 2 options. Many come with an arm sling out front, you can use it for take-off, but not a game changer.
Things marketed like ‘Reiki end plates’, are marketing, it’s just so you can put your legs straight under the bed, as many beds used to have a bar that went across the leg posts at shin height. I would say get a therapy bed that has any support across the leg posts at the head end as high as possible, so you have the option to put your legs under the therapy bed. If the ‘Reiki end’, or bar is covering more than 25% of the end leg posts, its unlikely to serve that purpose anyway, especially if you are tall, or you are shorter and have the bed set at a low height, as your knees would hit it.
Other Considerations:
Here I wanted to list some things to think about when making a choice. You might look to second-hand as an option to have a starter therapy couch, or a second-hand one might be fine long-term, you can look online, or social media marketplaces, or other therapists. You might be looking for a therapy bed that does everything, or one for transporting around and one to stay at the main place you do Reiki treatment sessions. Remember to consider any delivery charges on top of a therapy bed price itself, as they are not light. Customer service is a consideration, more for some than others, other therapists and students, I know have tended to report poorer quality of service and customer support with the larger retailers, compared to the more local specialist companies. I have heard good reports for the retailer of the higher-price option below.
Example Therapy Bed Options:
Below I have selected three therapy beds to demonstrate what you might expect in terms of pricing, dimensions, etc. I have selected a low, mid-range, and higher price option. For the low-priced and medium-priced ones, I have had similar versions and have used them for many years. Note: the lowest price option was one where I found the foam to be poor on previous models, this one appears to have improved foam, but I have not personally used this newer model, however, it provides an example of what is common for that price and type of therapy bed. If I was to buy another therapy bed, I would likely purchase the higher-priced one, but remember I do this for my work. I have not had personal experience with the higher priced option, but of options at that price range, it has a lot of what I would look for, and I know other Reiki teachers that use and rate this company and its products, the one I have selected is the one that seems most popular with the teachers (mainly due to its lightweight, comfort, and quality).
Note: This article is not sponsored, the 2 lower cost options do have a basic Amazon affiliate link. If you are a Jikiden Reiki UK Association Member, look on your member benefit /practitioner page, there will be a special discount with Massage Warehouse for you (from the end of May 2023). Another benefit of joining the JRUKA.
Lower price option:
Massage Imperial® Charbury Extra Wide Massage Table
Price: £99 (approx.)
weight 13 Kg
Dimensions: 70cm wide/ 195cm long
For details and purchase click on the link below:
Mid-Priced Option:
Massage Imperial® Consort Oval Massage Table
Price: £124 (approx.)
Weight: 14kg
Dimensions: 70cm wide/ 195cm long
For details and purchase click on the link below:
Higher price option:
Porta-Lite Delta II, by Massage Warehouse
Price: £365 (approx.)
Dimensions: 71cm wide/ 185cm long (there is also a popular wider 76cm option for this model)
For details and purchase click on the link below:
I hope you found this article interesting. For more information about Reiki, or Reiki courses visit my website, or for more ideas about Therapy Beds for Reiki see the additional links below.
Useful links:
Massage Warehouse Therapy bed full range page
Amazon Therapy bed full range page, click on the link below:
I am mainly known nowadays for my work with Reiki, as a specialist in authentic Japanese Reiki. I am an experienced, Reiki teacher and practitioner with a proven track record of results. I offer Jikiden Reiki training courses, promoting authentic Japanese Reiki teachings. I am based in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, in the UK. I have a background in coaching and training in the areas of exercise coaching, holistic lifestyle, fitness, and performance coaching. I also have a BSc.(Hons) degree in Sport and Exercise Science, for more information visit: www.shaunmckeown.com
The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article. Shaun Mckeown, disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article.