People often ask what Reiki is "supposed" to feel like. The honest answer is that it varies a great deal — but a handful of experiences come up again and again.
The usual feelings
The most common report by far is deep relaxation, often deep enough to drift toward sleep. Beyond that, people frequently describe warmth flowing from the practitioner’s hands, a gentle tingling, a heaviness or floating in the limbs, or simply a spreading sense of calm. Some notice colours or images behind closed eyes; a few feel a quiet wave of emotion. All of these are perfectly ordinary.
For the practitioner
The person giving Reiki often notices sensations too — warmth, tingling, or a pulsing in the hands, and sometimes a sense of where to linger. In the Japanese tradition this awareness is called byosen, the felt sense that guides the hands. It develops gently with practice and is nothing to force.
Feeling very little
It is just as common, especially the first time, to feel very little at all — perhaps only that you were relaxed and rested. This does not mean Reiki "didn’t work." Sensations are not a measure of the session; a quiet, uneventful hour of rest is a complete and worthwhile experience.
No wrong experience
There is no correct thing to feel and nothing you need to make happen. The best approach is to arrive without expectation and simply notice whatever arises — dramatic, subtle, or barely there. However it goes, letting it be enough is very much in the spirit of the practice.
Strong sensations are not "better" than quiet ones. What matters is the rest and ease you carry away, not what you felt along the way.