Reblogging this gem about some of the more popular reasons for learning how to connect to spiritually guided life-force energy, AKA Reiki.
The next certification training begins in December. If you’re in the Philly area, we’d love to have you join us!!
Reblogging this gem about some of the more popular reasons for learning how to connect to…
The next series of in-person level 2 training is coming up!
We meet for 6 Thursday evenings, 5:30-7:30 in my Mt. Airy (neighborhood of Philly) studio.
November 6, 13, 20 &
December 4, 11, 18.
I’m predicting a snowy winter, so we’re also reserving January 8 & 15 in case of any weather-related cancellations.
This workshop is for anyone already attuned to Reiki 1 who wishes to deepen their practice.
You’ll learn three sacred healing symbols and how to use them for a variety of purposes. We cover enhanced self-care, treating others in person and remotely, and how to bring Reiki into your daily life in addition to a healing practice.
It’s a great joy and tremendous honor for me to teach this class in a way that encourages retention and integration of the material and personalization of your practice.
If you’re interested in joining us, you’ll find more information by clicking the button below. Space is limited, so don’t delay!
The next series of in-person level 2 training is coming up! We meet for 6 Thursday…
It’s easy to think that we’re all at the mercy of invading microbes, but it isn’t that simple. There are so many factors that influence our body’s capacity to defend itself against disease.
Some of the factors fall under our personal influence. And this is where our power lies.
True, I cannot completely control my environment and circumstances, although this doesn’t prevent me from doing my best. Just because I can’t achieve 100% success doesn’t mean I sit on my hands and do nothing.
My definition of empowerment is doing everything that I am able to cultivate the life I desire. If I want optimal health, I’m going to address every factor that is within my power.
While the chaos happening in the world is beyond my scope of influence, I do have a fair amount of sway over how it lands in me. I can’t escape stress entirely (although I take a good stab at minimizing it as best I can!), I am all about metabolizing it so it doesn’t leave me in a state of chronic fight or flight.
Not only is that uncomfortable given the resulting tension and anxiety, but living in survival mode drains the body’s resources, rerouting energy that would otherwise be used to keep ourselves healthy.
Sure, there are supplements you can take to boost the immune system. If you’re forever in super-stressed-out mode, though, your digestion and assimilation is impaired and you won’t be able to absorb them and they won’t be particularly effective.
There are tons of ways to address chronic stress. My favorites are spending time in nature, bouncing on the rebounder, laughing, meditation, tai chi, mantra, and Reiki. These practices all soothe my nerves and help me to move the energy so it doesn’t get stuck in my system.
So before you go spending a small fortune on vitamin C and such, find a way to release the tension held in your body and cultivate an internal sense of peace and safety so your nervous system can relax.
If you’d like some support, I’ve created a remote Reiki treatment exactly for this.
It’s easy to think that we’re all at the mercy of invading microbes, but it isn’t…
The school year has already begun here in Philly. And summer is definitely winding up.
While these things aren’t a surprise, many of us can use some support transitioning from one season to another to maximize wellness.
With the cooler temperatures and shortening days, our bodies are challenged to find a new equilibrium.
For those of us who are students, teachers or work for the school system, or have one of these in their lives, there can often be extra stress as new routines are implemented.
Add to that the germ factories that pop up when kids gather together, it’s a common time of year for illness to thrive.
Just because a bug is going around doesn’t mean you need to catch it!
It’s the perfect time to make yourself inhospitable to all unwelcome guests, bacteria and viruses included.
I’m launching a campaign of unavailability for invading microbes by offering an immune boosting remote Reiki special.
I’ve made this is as accessible as possible so you can get a hefty dose of life-force energy and give your body a jumpstart to face whatever cooties lurk around the corner.
This is a 40 minute remote Reiki session focused specifically on your immune system for only $77. I’ve trimmed down the duration by eliminating the pre-session phone call to save you some cash. And since you needn’t go anywhere for the appointment, it’s super easy to receive the healing energy with minimal effort.
There are countless ways to boost your immune system. Resting at home while at getting an infusion of stress-reducing, immune boosting Reiki might just be the simplest, most effective and most enjoyable.
The school year has already begun here in Philly. And summer is definitely winding up. While…
Seven is my lucky number. In honor of the seventh month, the seven chakras (as portrayed in several traditional systems), and the particularly potent full moon on the day I’m posting this, I’ve designed a new treatment.
It’s a remote Reiki session for cleansing, charging and balancing the energy centers.
I love Reiki because it is powerful, yet gentle, and never invasive. It always gives each client exactly what they need in that moment because it works with their bodies’ wisdom rather than attempting to impose some prescribed protocol.
By focusing in on chakra healing and removing the chatting element of a session, I’m able to offer this 40 minute treatment at only $77.
I recorded a six minute video to explain the how and why of remote Reiki for chakra healing. I could have gone on and on, but really tried to reel myself in to cover the basics. There’s a lot to be said about working with the energy centers and I’d much rather DO it than yammer on about it.
You’ll find buttons below for scheduling if it feels right for you.
Seven is my lucky number. In honor of the seventh month, the seven chakras (as portrayed…
We have so much information at our fingertips today that it can be overwhelming. If you’ve ever attended Google University seeking a self-diagnosis and treatment, you’ve likely come up with tons of contradictory information.
How I Healed XYZ in 5 Days
7 Easy Steps to Cure XYZ
The One Thing That Fixed Everything
Headlines like these abound. They often lead to confusion, frustration, and sadly even a worsening of the situation.
Why? Because they are addressing symptoms, not the root cause.
Let’s use insomnia as an example.
There are a gazillion reasons people don’t sleep well. It could be churning thoughts, physical discomfort, a lumpy mattress, a snoring spouse, or excess caffeine.
(Not an Ambien deficiency. You might find relief through a prescription, but the side effects often outweigh the benefits. Please consider exploring the underlying condition while you’re taking the pills so maybe you won’t need them someday in the future.)
Each of these causes will obviously have a different plan of treatment.
So when I read about someone who quit drinking coffee, improved their sleep patterns, and touts this as the number one cure, I’m a bit tetchy. I don’t even drink coffee, so who’s that going to help me?
Whether you’re dealing with insomnia or back pain (two conditions I’m intimately familiar with on a personal and professional level), psoriasis, headaches, or fatigue, there are a few things I can suggest that will always be beneficial as they help uncover the root cause.
Insight Timer is a free app and a wonderful resource for simple, guided practices that will help you do many of these things. I found the yoga nidra (a sort of meditation where you systematically bring attention to areas of the body) to be invaluable.
My all-time favorite and go-to remedy is Reiki. Reiki treatments offer an infusion of spiritually-guided life-force energy that relieves stress, tension, anxiety, and pain and promotes the body’s innate healing abilities.
It won’t, however, address your spouse’s snoring-like-a-chainsaw issue. For that you’re going to need some hefty earplugs or a separate bedroom. I’ve heard about successful elimination of snoring by diffusing sweet marjoram essential oil, or changing pillows or sleeping position.
While Reiki is amazing and can help with a lot of problems, it really depends on the root cause. It won’t make you sleep soundly after a late-night triple espresso, but it can help you build better sleep habits.
There is no such thing as a miracle cure. But there are numerous ways to address the root problem. All of them will require your participation and willingness to make changes.
If you’d like some support in this arena, you can use this button to book a session.
We have so much information at our fingertips today that it can be overwhelming. If you’ve…
I had a breakthrough last week in a chronic pain pattern. Woohoo! I discovered tension in an adjacent area that was torquing my pelvis and causing discomfort in my lower back, hip, and leg. This awareness is huge as it points my efforts towards the cause of the imbalance rather than chasing the symptoms.
Chasing symptoms never provides lasting results because the source of the problem remains unresolved. A particular symptom might diminish, only to have another appear in its place.
Nearly all of the problems that people bring to my office are symptoms. Despite near- heroic efforts, clients have not been able to resolve issues because they were looking at the superficial problem and not what was underneath.
I don’t say this with any judgment or blame. We don’t know what we don’t know, and we can only do the best with the information that we have at the time. I’m offering some new information that will hopefully be helpful moving forward.
I have long hair. It often gets caught in my coat zipper in the winter. It’s obvious that the problem is coming from the zipper, but I feel it in my scalp. There’s no amount of intervention at the level of my scalp that is going to yield relief.
The same is often true for that crick in the neck, the burning in the shoulder blade, the ache in the elbow.
My massage teacher used an analogy of a schoolyard. He said that the complaining muscle was like the nerd, but if you looked closely, you could find the bully lurking nearby. The bully is the source of the pain, the nerd is the one that suffers. (I pretty nerdy myself, so please don’t let this word cause offense. It’s just an illustration.)
OK, so now what?
It’s possible to work with a pain pattern on your own if you have the capacity to bring compassionate awareness to what you’re feeling and remain present through the discomfort.
Sadly, few of us have any training in how to do that. These are skills that can be learned and I’d fully encourage you to begin today. Can you be with yourself for two full minutes, or 15 deep breaths, with 100% of your attention turned inward? Start there and build up your tolerance over time.
See if you can separate out the emotions that may be stored in this area clamoring for your care. Or the stories about previous experiences and concerns about the future. If you have been raised in the western world, you mostly likely have been conditioned by society, Saturday morning cartoons, magazine ads, pop culture, and Instagram to have certain beliefs about your body and how it is “supposed” to look and function.
Then there’s the way you use your body, such as repetitive movement patterns, your posture, and the way your body has adapted to your environment. Perhaps the most disruptive, hidden influence is how the nervous system responds to anything unfamiliar as if it were a threat and causes muscles to tense. When this happens over and over again, the muscles sometimes get locked in their contracted positions, perpetually ready for a threat that never comes.
We could also look at causes for systemic inflammation such as allergens in our foods, toxins we’re exposed to daily, latent viruses, chronic stress, inadequate sleep, and mold spores in the walls.
Let’s not forget about the energy body. When life-force is depleted, our systems don’t have the juice they need to function optimally. When energy flow is blocked, chakras are underutilized. When the flow is clogged, often the backlog feels painful and we unknowingly look for ways to discharge this pent up energy that can have detrimental effects.
To be thorough, I’ll add that the soul also plays a role. Not that it needs healing, as it’s eternal and whole by nature, but because we can become separate from it through trauma and programming. When we’re aligned with our essence and purpose, the other elements of healing are more easily accessible.
In short, our body, mind, emotions, instincts, and soul are all intricately woven together and need to be addressed fully to heal. If you’ve been working with an issue to no avail, try switching your focus to one of the other realms.
Or try Reiki. It works wonders as it addresses all the parts, striving to bring them all into harmony. You can learn to give yourself daily doses of healing energy or book yourself a session. You don’t even need to leave home.
I had a breakthrough last week in a chronic pain pattern. Woohoo! I discovered tension in…
A new client just left my office. After the session was over, she proclaimed, “That was crazy!”
I’m always delighted to hear what people have to say about their time on the table. Everyone uses unique words to describe their healing experiences.
“I was floating on waves of peace.” Mmhmm, that sounds nice!
A lot of people drop into a deep place, not quite awake, not quite asleep. I suspect they are going into delta or theta brainwave grooves, but have no way of measuring. I just know that it’s an altered state that opens the gate for profound healing to happen.
I remember a time when I received a treatment from a friend. I’d been in her space dozens of times before, but on this particular day when the session ended and she left the room, I thought to myself, how did the door get over there?! I’d been so deeply immersed in the spiritual realm that the 3D space seemed off.
Some people see colors or hear music. Everybody is different. Most people just feel a warmth or a sense of calm and relaxation that eclipses their ordinary reality.
I wonder if this is how we’d feel most of the time if we lived lives more closely connected to our natural rhythms.
I guess I’ll never know, but it’s my goal to help people go there, into their deepest selves, as best I can. It’s like having a two week tropical vacation condensed into an hour- with no sunburn or hangover!
Want to surf the waves of peace? Get yourself some Reiki! And if you’re in the Philly area, go for the combo and try my Reiki-massage combo.
A new client just left my office. After the session was over, she proclaimed, “That was…
I met a client this week who shared after her session that she was surprised that I didn’t painfully dig in to her muscles. (She came to me by way of a gift certificate and hadn’t seen my website where I very clearly state that my style of bodywork is NOT painful.)
It gave me the opportunity to address what I believe is a very common myth that pushing really hard on sore muscles is the way to create relief. In my experience, this is absolutely not true! At least for me and the thousands of people I’ve worked with.
What happens when the body feels pain? It tenses. How does that help? It doesn’t.
And when someone is experiencing chronic pain, their muscles are already tense and their nervous system set to hyper-protection mode. Even the hint of pain activates an instinct to fight or flee. How does that help? It doesn’t!
Instead, I find that a soothing, gentle approach allows the nervous system to calm and the muscles to melt. I meet the painful areas with a curious and compassionate attention: “Hello, I see you there, what can I do for you?” Rather than an attack: “Bad muscle, I’ll pummel you into submission!”
I don’t know where where this “no pain, no gain” mentality comes from in the massage realm, but it saddens me that people think that they need to suffer to experience relief. Or worse yet, that because they are unwilling to suffer, bodywork is not for them.
There are tons of deep tissue therapists out there who want to jab an elbow into your achy spots. If that’s your thing, you’ll have no problem finding someone to hurt you. But it isn’t me.
If you are pain averse and want your session to be enjoyable while leaving you feeling relaxed and gooey, that’s my wheelhouse.
Working with the nervous system, musculoskeletal system, endocrine system, emotional and energetic bodies is a lot more nuanced and effective than pushing hard on a sore spot.
It doesn’t mean a feather-light touch, either, just in case that’s a concern. It means meeting the tissue as it is, sinking in as far as it allows, and responding when it says stop.
It’s a technique that respects the body and its innate wisdom rather than trying to force an arbitrary solution from the outside.
If you’re in the Philly area, I’m here to be of service. If you live elsewhere, don’t be afraid to inquire with the provider before you book a session. Any respectable therapist will be able to answer your questions and confirm if they are able to offer a pain-free experience.
I met a client this week who shared after her session that she was surprised that…
Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage 