Where will my session take place?
What does Reiki feel like?
Are there any medical conditions that would make Reiki inadvisable?
Do you still offer massage?
Do you offer sessions for male clients?
Do you do sessions for children?
Is Reiki a religion?
Is a Reiki practitioner healing me when offering Reiki?
Is Reiki potentially harmful?
If Reiki is everywhere, can anyone access it?
What are attunement/initiation and Reiju?
How are Reiki sessions for animals different from Reiki sessions for people?
Where will my session take place?
Your Reiki session will take place non-locally/at a distance, with communication via Zoom, text or phone call.
What does Reiki feel like?
Reiki might be experienced as a relaxing warmth, tingling or heat, or occasionally, nothing is felt physically, but the results of the session manifest in other ways (such as a noticeable clarity of thought, for example, or maintaining calm in situations where you might have previously become stressed.) The practitioner and client may experience the movement of Reiki as energy/ heat/ warmth/ tingling moving through their bodies. Some might experience it as a sense of relaxing more deeply, or it might not feel like anything at all during the session, but later on might be experienced as a shift in perspective, increased mental clarity, or a stronger connection to an outcome or interesting coincidences. The practitioner doesn't offer his/her own energy, but serves as a focused conduit for the energy. Reiki practitioners simply supports the self-healing process of the recipient.
Are there any medical conditions that would make Reiki inadvisable?
Reiki is very gentle, with no contraindications. (In the case of a hands-on session, I would only avoid putting my hands over wounds or surgical sites.)
Do you still offer regular massage?
No, I no longer do Swedish/Esalen massage or Warm Stone Massage. I continue to offer Reiki and Acupressure self-help instruction which I had been doing for many years as part of massage sessions. Please see the side navigation panel for the Reiki pages for more details.
Do you offer sessions for male clients?
Yes, I am happy to provide nonlocal/distance Reiki.
Do you do sessions for children?
When I was offering acupressure, Reiki and massage in my treatment room, these sessions tended to be fairly brief because children tend not to need or want a long session. I can offer a Reiki session to children over Zoom, but the parent/guardian would be on Zoom with me initially, and when the Reiki portion begins, I suggest that the parent or guardian hold the child in their arms, with both you and the child receiving Reiki. Or child could be laying down comfortably nearby. Usually 10 or 15 minutes for this would be the norm. If, after the session begins, and the child wants to end it after 5 minutes, I respect that and end the session. Generally, the younger the child, the less able they are to tolerate being still for long periods of time. For infants, toddlers and young children, receiving Reiki in the arms or laps of their parent or other adult is most effective.
1. Is Reiki a religion?
As it is practiced in the West, Reiki is not affiliated with any religion (although its founder was a Tendai Buddhist). Reiki is a system of spiritual development that can be expressed as a means to support healing and well-being. It is complimentary to all spiritual practices.
2. Is a Reiki practitioner healing me when offering Reiki?
The Reiki practitioner doesn't manipulate the energy to produce a specific result (unlike, for example, acupuncture or acupressure). Reiki flows to where it's most needed by the client, with the practitioner serving as a conduit for the energy. Therefore, those who offer Reiki do not refer to themselves as "healers" because they do not manipulate the energy.
Although it's easy to interpret a Reiki session as the practitioner sending energy to the recipient, what is actually occurring is that the client's permission and request for Reiki draws it through the practitioner, whose training and initiations have made it easier to create and open a space to encourage and support the client’s own healing process. Reiki nourishes the channels, promotes a feeling of peace, quiets the mind, and is relaxing. There is often an increased feeling of mental, physical and emotional spaciousness and ease.
4. Is Reiki potentially harmful? Are there any possible side effects?
Reiki goes to where it's most needed, and the flow of energy stops when finished. Reiki cannot cause harm, there are no side effects and no contraindications for it. Reiki is a wonderful way to compliment and support both allopathic and holistic forms of healing. Sometimes after a Reiki session, people might notice some changes in how they feel or levels of energy over the next day or so. This is due to the energy moving through the channels and systems, unblocking congested areas; similar to how someone might feel after receiving acupuncture or acupressure. Usually people feel relaxed, calm and light after a session. Reiki is especially beneficial to those recovering from surgery, injury or trauma, or who are physically too fragile to receive massage.
5. If Reiki energy is everywhere, can everyone access it?
Yes, everyone can. It is contained within everything and is everywhere. The system of Reiki teaches people how to do that, offering meditations, visualizations, chants and, at the Okuden and Shipiden levels, mantras and symbols. I had been working with chi and energy well before my first Reiki attunement, and found that after I'd received the attunement, it was much easier to access and work with the energy, and it gets easier and the flow is stronger after each attunement I received.
6. What are attunements/initiations and Reiju?
Initiations into Reiki (also referred to as attunements or Reiju) are offered through a Reiki Level III Practitioner (usually referred to as a Reiki Teacher) to the student to assist the student in accessing and working with Reiki. Reiju literally translates as spiritual blessing.
7. How are Reiki sessions for animals different from Reiki sessions for people?
The only real difference is that the animal controls the session, and moves in and out of the Reiki “space,” in contrast to a person typically resting on a table, with the practitioner moving around them. People are able to agree to receiving Reiki by setting appointments, having questions answered, etc. Animals are not usually given this freedom of choice – they are taken to the vet, to the groomers, etc. without any choice. With this approach to Reiki, the practitioner opens up the Reiki space, and invites the animal to enter. The animal might come in, might walk away, or might do a combination of both. To find out more about Reiki for animals, please click here.
Ayurveda Lifestyle Counseling
Although I have had a lot of training in herbology, I do not sell any products or make specific herbal recommendations because my primary focus isn't on herbs. I believe it's important for an herbalist to be fully engaged with current findings about the effectiveness of herbs and possible newly discovered side effects, so if I feel that herbs might help, I will refer clients to full-time herbalists.