holistic healing

Yesterday an old friend asked me about Reiki via text message. Given that we haven’t had much contact over the past few decades, he doesn’t yet know that I can talk A LOT about this powerful healing modality. And I’m unsure about how much he wants to hear, so I started with just a basic analogy.

That’s right. I compared spiritually-guided life-force energy healing to a Swiss Army knife.

In case you’re not familiar, a Swiss Army knife is a multi-use tool. A quick search online turned up this one, which has 29 different actions. And you can carry it everywhere you go.

Reiki is much the same- one tool that serves many purposes, including dismantling some things and connecting/integrating others.

Which makes it perfect for treating ALL the things- be they physical pain or illness, anxiety or uneasiness, overwhelm or grief, chakra imbalances, unwanted behavioral patterns, outdated coping mechanisms, aging and limiting beliefs.

My favorite definition of Reiki is “spiritually guided life-force energy”. It has its own innate intelligence and is always working to bring us into harmony with our True Selves and purpose. It gently aligns our energies and washes away that which is not serving the highest good.

I teach my students that they can use Reiki for ALL the things simply by activating the energy and using their intention to guide it. Often this awakens questions about unique maladies and obscure circumstances. To which I reply: activation + intention + consistent application = healing.

If you’ve been wanting to give it a try but think your goal is too bizarre or not bizarre enough, I can assure that Reiki always works. Some things take time and other things might turn out differently than we had expected- that’s the nature of healing.

Reiki. The Swiss Army Knife of Holistic Healing

Yesterday an old friend asked me about Reiki via text message. Given that we haven’t had…
For those who have already received Reiki 1 certification and wish to further their studies, I’m pleased to announce my next training.

First of all, why might you want to do this?

So many reasons!

Many people are quite content with the basic level 1 training and have no wish to go beyond the first class. You know who you are and I salute your Knowing. Carry on with what you’re already doing because it’s working for you.

Others want to offer treatments professionally. For this, I suggest this intermediate training.

Others have no interest in doing sessions for a living, but would like to share healing with people who live elsewhere. And for this, the level 2 symbols will be the bridge between your location and that of your intended recipients.

Still others are wanting to bend time and work their magic to heal wounds of the past, inherited belief systems, childhood programming, outdated coping mechanisms, and survival strategies that no longer serve their best interests. And for you, my courageous friends, this is the training that will give you more tools to go there.

And for those interested in ancestral and past-life healing, get yourself connected to these deeper and wider frequencies to do this important work.

If all of that seems like it’s too much trouble, this is also the training I recommend for anyone who wants to be a transmitter of harmonious, healing energy wherever you go. And I can wholeheartedly declare that the world could use more of this right now!

If you’re interested in learning more about this in-person, 5-week series of workshops priced at $444, you’ll find details here. We begin on September 16 in Philly.

Reiki 2 training

Reiki 2 Training Begins in September 2026

For those who have already received Reiki 1 certification and wish to further their studies, I’m…
I find these birds to be utterly mesmerizing. Ok, sure, I’m a total nature nerd and appreciate most of the creatures in the wild. The swimmers, crawlers, fliers, and four-legged furballs are all celebrated in my eyes.

(I’m even trying to accept the possum that I occasionally see in my backyard despite feeling a Very Strong Aversion to this bizarre critter. I mean, what’s with the spiky hair? The snout? The TAIL?)

But the heron is one of my favorites.

I admire how they stand so still and alert in the creek, waiting, almost regally, for the fish to come to them.

It’s easy to think: be like the heron! Just hang out by the water all day and dinner will be delivered.

But what we must remember is that they first go to where the fish are and then they watch, patiently and diligently.

They don’t just wish for a meal. Nope. They show up at the right place and the right time, completely available to seize it when it arrives. They give the water their full attention, poised to capture the object of their desire.

They don’t sit in the nest dreaming of a tasty fish. They don’t loiter, all distracted, gossiping like the geese seem to do. They aren’t zipping around, constantly seeking a better vantage point.

Instead they demonstrate a beautiful combination of desire + presence + attention + prompt action.

I think we can all learn from this!

It’s not the typical new age spiel of believing your way to what you want or the conventional hustle culture. It’s a mix of longing, instinct and effort.

I, for one, am very interested in being more like the heron and putting myself in the right place at the right time prepared to claim my bounty.

Who’s with me?

Introducing My Role Model: The Heron

I find these birds to be utterly mesmerizing. Ok, sure, I’m a total nature nerd and…
I think we can all agree that chronic tension is unpleasant. It can cause physical discomfort, which can cause mental and emotional distress and create an incessant loop of muscular contraction causing pain which causes muscular contraction.

Chronic tension is often a symptom of an operating system that is perpetually primed for survival and stuck in a pattern of activation and/or collapse.

There are countless reasons for why we hold stress in our bodies. Many of them are external. We live in a system that does not support optimal health for many of us. Women tend to carry an unbalanced mental/emotional load in relationships and at work. There are wars happening around the globe. The economic structures here in the U.S. are squeezing out the middle class and corporations are sucking the life-force from their employees.

All of that is true.

AND! It’s possible that we are making choices that unintentionally add fuel to this flame of never feeling quite safe enough to let our guard down and relax.

I’m going to get real here today; just hear me out, please. You don’t need anyone else telling you that the trauma you experienced, your unruly brain, your Neanderthal husband or boss, your xyz disability or IBS aren’t your fault. Yet, this does not exempt you from the consequences of living in a body that is chronically stressed.

It might not be your fault, AND you’re the one who’s suffering, AND you’re the only one who can decide to make changes, so why not cut out the optional tension?

We can start by looking at social media. The whole shebang is designed to keep you on edge and scrolling. Algorithms have been expertly designed to manipulate your emotions and push your buttons. I see two major pathways that accomplish this- the anger that gets stirred up, especially around politics, much of it created by AI bots to deliberately enrage folks. And the “you’re-not-good-enough” hook dangled by influencers trying to sell you a lifestyle upgrade by making you feel bad about yourself.

Next up, video content. I love a good spy movie, a suspenseful who-dun-it, any kind of apocalyptic zombie/alien/mutated-fungus-that-turns-people-into-zombies thriller.

I suspect it’s because they activate my system in a way that feels familiar. It reminds me of the chaos of my youth, the eggshells that I learned to tiptoe upon, the breath that was held. My brain mistakes “familiar” with “normal” and seeks to recreate that which feels like home. When home was a landmine of explosive emotions, this is a pattern that continues to generate tension long after the circumstances have changed.

All the efforts I make with breathwork, yoga, walking in Nature, mindfulness meditation, journaling… poof! Gone in five minutes of plugging into the TV.

All the shows based on urgency activate my nervous system. Urgency makes for great entertainment and it’s everywhere you look. It’s obvious with horror flicks and action-adventure and suspense movies. But it’s also prevalent in the medical, law enforcement, criminal justice and military based content. So that basically leaves rom-coms and musicals!

Then there are the pet peeves, the grievances, the judgments I hold towards the people around me who don’t live up to my standards.

The jerk who tailgated me in the school zone.

The property manager who tries to convince me the AC has been repaired when I’m the one in the building sweating while she is reading numbers from a digital dashboard across town.

The ex-husband who owes me money from 25 years ago.

Do I want to give these situations the power to usurp my peace? Sure, I am most definitely in the right, 100%. AND, I get to choose if being right is worth the extra tension that gets triggered every time I entertain these memories.

Just because we can’t resolve all the tension points in our lives doesn’t mean we can’t effectively reduce the loads we carry. Just because we’ve been a victim in the past doesn’t mean we need to continue to give away the power that is available to us today. Just because our world is topsy-turvy doesn’t mean we should spend our free time watching shows about times when it’s even worse! Even if it is addictively entertaining.

I’m here to encourage us all, myself included, to get real and honestly evaluate how we might be unconsciously contributing to the tension that wears us down.

Maybe by cleaning up these stressful contributions we can gain the insight, clarity, energy, and motivation to face the more major sources of tension or help dismantle the infrastructure that keeps us spinning on the hamster wheel or break free from the rat race altogether.

What is one small step you can make towards reducing optional tension? Me? I’m going to turn the dial and find a comedy show to enjoy. Any suggestions?

Opting Out of Unnecessary Tension

I think we can all agree that chronic tension is unpleasant. It can cause physical discomfort,…
If you’ve ever been online, even once in the past decade, you are probably aware that chronic stress has a negative impact on health. The kind of stress that runs quietly in the background as you go about your days has been linked with inflammation and many of the diseases we all hope to avoid.

Managing it does not mean creating some sort of fairytale life in which you never again experience a stressful situation.

Nope. It means you handle it, to the best of your ability, rather than letting it take up permanent residence in your body or psyche.

Easier said than done, I know.

But I have first-hand experience and front row seats to the very real benefits of making the effort. Things like headaches, muscle tension, indigestion, and sleeplessness can fade away. Reliance on emotional support donuts diminishes. Clenched jaws release and teeth are no longer ground to dust overnight.

These things might not be as important as reducing the chances of major maladies, but are much more tangible in real time and greatly affect one’s quality of life.

Clients who come consistently for treatment often reach a point where they aren’t coming to address specific problems any more, but to continue feeling pretty darn good and maintain their resilience.

Their reports come with amusing details. The quirky issues that no longer present troubles or the quirky fun they get up to once the troubles no longer take center stage.

Today I got the best report ever. This, coming from a doctor who was on-call overnight all last week, still handling daytime clinical work plus extra admin work because of staff shortages, and a wife and mother. She was stretched pretty thin, and a bit worn out, but not overly stressed or tense. The icing on the cake? Her words: I didn’t even swear at anybody all week.

Don’t pretend you can’t relate! 🤣

(Side note: There are lots of folks saying that what we really need is an infrastructure upgrade so that we have fewer stressors. Yeah, sure, that’s ideal. In the meantime, since that probably isn’t happening today, I prefer to roll up my sleeves and take the action that is available to me.)

Managing stress isn’t about gaining moral superiority or bragging on Instagram. It’s about making your life more enjoyable, your body more comfortable, your emotional reactivity less explosive, your creativity and pleasure more accessible, your people less sweared-at.

Monthly Reiki-infused Swedish-ish massages aren’t for everyone. But that doesn’t mean you give up and do nothing. A few deep breaths, practiced throughout the day can make an impact and not cost a penny.

There are tons of ways you can actively participate in handling the stress that life inevitably delivers. Pick the one that appeals the most or is easiest and get started today. Insight Timer has a gazillion guided practices, many of them available for free.

If Reiki or Reiki-infused Swedish-ish massage appeals to you, that’s what I’m here for!

Learn More

Myriad Benefits of Stress Management

If you’ve ever been online, even once in the past decade, you are probably aware that…
I’m a big fan of aromatherapy. I use essential oils daily, both therapeutically and for the simple pleasure of smelling yummy smells.

Yet I avoid all products with “fragrance” or “perfume” listed as an ingredient. Especially air fresheners.

Why? First of all, they are not even remotely the same thing as essential oils. It’s like butter and margarine- one is real food and the other resembles plastic.

Secondly, fragrances often give me a headache. That’s reason enough for me, but if you want more: they are generally synthetic chemicals, often petrochemicals. As in made from petroleum. Which is a hot topic all on its own.

Minimizing my exposure to toxins is a big part of my healthy aging plan. Yes, the body can adapt to many things, but the amount of toxins most of us are inundated with on a daily basis is staggering. My liver has other things to do than detox self-inflicted toxins.

As a middle-aged woman going through the delightful transformation of perimenopause, I fiercely protect my precarious hormonal balance. Many of these chemicals are known endocrine disrupters. No thanks!

Lisa Bronner, granddaughter of the founder of Dr. Bronners, the castile soap maker, has laid it all out brilliantly in this article. She has done the research, translated it into language for us non-chemists, and offers some simple, doable steps to create distance, bit by bit.

If you’re not up for diving all in, I’ll suggest two relatively easy shifts you can make.

One: lotion. You slather it all over your body and your skin absorbs it all. Fragrance-free options are widely available and usually not more expensive.

But… have you ever read the list of ingredients on a bottle of lotion? Generally it starts with water. Then some oil. Followed by fifteen different chemicals to get these two famously incompatible liquids to bind together into a smooth, creamy texture.

I ditched all lotion decades ago. Even the so-called “natural” ones tend to have some organic ingredients PLUS some chemical ones. Plus a hefty price tag.

(Instead, I dry brush to exfoliate a few times a week. And I mix up a combo of aloe vera gel and rose hip oil in my palm each day for moisturizing. Plain oil can be too, well, oily. The addition of the aloe gel helps mitigate that. This exact recipe might not be right for you, but I believe you can find something that is much better than water, oil, chemicals, and endocrine disruptors. I use pure organic MCT coconut oil for massage and it works brilliantly.)

I’ve digressed. This is supposed to be about fragrance. But really, all my posts are about holistic health and wellness, and I sometimes can’t help myself from sharing the things the marketplace would rather I didn’t.

The second easy swap is laundry products. Fresh linen scent? Gentle rain aroma? Read instead: supposedly nice smells made from toxic chemicals that saturate your clothing and bedsheets and which you will be inhaling and absorbing. All day (and night) long.

Many brands offer a fragrance-free option. And truly, fabric softener is not necessary. I stopped buying it a long time ago for budget reasons, and haven’t missed it once.

If you want to go farther, poke around Lisa’s website. She has very thorough guides for how to clean up household cleaners. I like their concentrated detergent, called Sal Suds. I dilute it in a repurposed spray bottle. That and a couple of rags, baking soda, and vinegar and I can clean pretty much everything in my world with minimal cost, clutter, and effort. My lungs, hormones, and skin benefit as do all visitors with chemical sensitivities, asthma, or allergies.

Here’s the fragrance guide again. This is not an affiliate link; I have no financial motivation here. Just a genuine desire to promote health for you and the planet.

Complete Guide to Fragrance

How to Break Up with Fragrance

I’m a big fan of aromatherapy. I use essential oils daily, both therapeutically and for the…
My friend, you are a complex being. You have history that is still alive in your cells, emotions stored in your chakras, coping mechanisms that were helpful when you were younger but have since become outdated. Any of these are good reasons to get a Reiki session and begin to move forward in the direction you desire.

Simply acknowledging the obstacles you face can be overwhelming. Taking steps to face them is courageous, revolutionary even, in a society that is heavily invested in selling you stuff that you don’t need in order to avoid old wounds. When you show up for your appointment, it’s very possible you’ll be feeling vulnerable, anxious, nervous, excited, hopeful, or skeptical. Maybe even all of that, all at once! And still you show up.

That’s amazing.

You’re amazing.

You might not be at your best. Not your most forthright at communicating your needs. Not the most level-headed or open to trying something new. That is perfectly normal.

And I welcome it all.

You do not need to perform okay-ness in the Reiki room. You can be a hot mess here. It will not offend me. It will not upset me or cause me to think less of you.

And you need not apologize for any of it. In fact, please don’t. Apologizing for being human is not necessary when you come for a session.

I always have a backup box of tissues in my studio because tears often come to the surface when healing work is happening. They might be tears of release; oftentimes though it’s grief. Grief that you were unable to face before for any number of reasons. Grief that senses an opportunity to finally be met and eventually integrated.

That grief is welcome here.

You need not apologize for it or the tears that follow.

You can apologize if you forget your appointment and keep me waiting, or if you step on my foot when you arrive. Once a client head-butted me when turning over on the table. That was an apology that was actually merited. In the 23 years I’ve been practicing, those are the only “sorries” I’ve accepted. And I’ve witnessed all sorts of emotional distress, distracted and unfocused thinking, and frazzled nerves.

You need not show up for your healing appointment as if you are already healed. And you definitely need not apologize for the pain you carry. There is no reason to try to take care of me in this situation; it’s my job and my honor to be there, witnessing all the feelings. I can handle it.

Your hot mess is welcome here.

Learn more

Hot Messes Welcome Here

My friend, you are a complex being. You have history that is still alive in your…
I was deeply touched by Jeff Foster’s latest newsletter- so much so that I’ve copied it below. All the words following this sentence are his; I’m just sharing them here for anyone who may need some inspiration.

I want to explore a question that I’ve received in so many forms these last couple of years, and it’s a question I’ve contemplated a lot myself:

“How do we go on living our ordinary, comfortable lives while knowing that terrible suffering is going on every single day for so many people around the world? Can we ever make peace with that suffering?”

Here’s how I’d respond:

I do not think you have to “make peace” with cruelty and violence.
Not today. Maybe never.

(Look. I cannot tell you what to do. But perhaps I can suggest the following…)

Let the suffering of the innocent and the oppressed move you. Let it break your heart. Let it hurt. Deeply. The pain itself means your heart is still working! You are not numb. You are not detached, cold, or indifferent. You are not bypassing your humanity.

You hurt because your brothers and sisters are hurting. You belong to the same river of humanity.

At the same time, you must accept a limit to your hurting, if you can. Remember, you did not directly cause this horror. You cannot carry all of it without being crushed by it yourself, without being destroyed by the weight of the world’s suffering. You can only carry what is truly yours.

So you choose how and when to engage, as much as possible. When to read. When to watch. When to talk about world events. When to listen. You do this consciously, deliberately.

Grief and anger have to be held in presence, not poured endlessly into your nervous system all day long without limits. That is not compassion. It is a fast track to burnout and helplessness.

So you breathe first. You find your ground. You return to your real responsibility each day. How you speak. How you treat the people around you. How you love your child, your partner, your neighbour. How you refuse to pass unconsciousness onwards. How you refuse to fuel numbness, hatred, or violence in your family, your community, your workplace, your town or city.

You do your own inner work. You look honestly at the violence and prejudice in yourself. You attend to your own childhood wounds. You look at the log in your own eye before pointing at the splinter in your neighbour’s. Healing your own trauma is not a distraction from saving the world. I truly believe it is part of how the world is saved.

And yes, of course, you can still protest. But not as permanent outrage. Not as more hatred layered on top of hatred. You act where action is possible. You show up. You speak. You vote. You give generously. You withhold consent.

And you do not let protest make you cruel! If your protest costs you your capacity to love, the damage has already spread.

And you rest too. You rest when you can. Rest is not a luxury. It is fuel. It is the source of all things.

And you allow joy, without apology and without guilt! Joy is not a betrayal of the cause. Joy is how you stop the violence from taking your soul too.

You shine your light, even when it feels impossibly dark.

And remember, there is no clean or easy way to live with all this. Anyone who says there is is being glib, or trying to sell you comfort way too cheaply. Being deeply affected by the world does not resolve neatly. It does not offer easy closure.

You may never be at peace with all the suffering in the world, but maybe you can make peace with THAT.

Finally, I’d say that it really is damn brave to choose to stay awake, tender, open-hearted and curious in a world that keeps asking you to shut down.

Staying Tender in a Hurting World, by Jeff Foster

Jeff Foster’s newsletter on staying open
Today’s post was inspired by a country song.

That’s not a sentence I ever expected to type! I’m not a country music fan, but I sometimes find the lyrics to be creative, colorful, and utterly relatable.

This song was about attempting to drown sorrows, but failing as they (the sorrows) had learned to swim.

We can safely assume that “drowning sorrows” in this context involves a large amount of whiskey.

But that doesn’t really work, does it? It can help you avoid a problem for a short amount of time, but often stirs up entirely new problems, such as a hangover or the consequences of decisions made while inebriated.

Believe me, I fully understand the impulse to escape the uncomfortable feelings. I’m well versed in a wide variety of strategies for doing exactly that. The reason I have so much experience is because it never works, so you have to keep the distractions coming, like a never-ending parade.

I wonder how many sorrows I’ve caused for myself in the pursuit of escaping sorrows. How many layers of suffering did I create for myself in these misguided attempts to avoid pain? I think it’s safe to assume that I’ve more than doubled my struggles in the name of “feeling better”. But it wasn’t better that I was feeling- it was just a temporary numbing.

Let’s just assume that all sorrows can swim. There is no drowning them. Not with whiskey or wine, shopping or scrolling, cookies or ice cream.

Rather than wasting precious life-force to avoid experiencing the full spectrum of emotions, what if we turned to face them?

It requires some courage and moxie to do so. Having some support such as a kind friend, spiritual advisor, or practical tool to help you stay present and grounded can make all the difference.

Reiki is one such tool. Not the only one, just the one I’m most familiar with as I’ve used it daily for the past 23 years. It helps with emotional and nervous system regulation by fostering a sense of peace and calm within. It neutralizes my urge to run away when things get tough and allows me to stay connected with my higher self. It builds harmony, clarity and balance so that I’m better able to meet the sorrows when they appear, but don’t get stuck wallowing in them.

Reiki helps me to be with grief, anger, upset and disappointment as well as joy and peace (which can be equally as uncomfortable if they’re unfamiliar).

These days I experience emotions like clouds in the sky. They come and go, but do not define me. Some days are stormy, some cloudy, some sunny. If I don’t like the weather, I can just wait a few minutes and it will change naturally.

Wherever you are in the world and on your healing journey, I’m willing to bet that Reiki can help you face your sorrows if you’re ready to try something new.

This is a judgment-free zone. I work with people with all sorts of issues, big and small, mystical and mundane, common and bizarre. I’ve yet to meet an emotion that Reiki couldn’t help metabolize when the recipient was truly willing to meet it.

Today is a great day to take a step towards wholeness by reclaiming all the life-force that has been invested in avoiding feelings. Get yourself some Reiki or join a training so you can learn to give yourself daily treatments.

There’s no need to drown sorrows when you can instead become adept at sitting with them and watching as they gradually lose intensity.

The side effects of Reiki treatment are feeling relaxed, at ease, at one with self and purpose, patient, compassionate, and joy-full. You already know the side-effects of several escapism strategies that are doomed to fail.

Those sorrows are not going to drown, no matter how much alcohol you use. Let’s stop this madness and try a holistic approach that cultivates wellness instead of headaches and regrets.

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The Problem with Drowning Your Sorrows

Today’s post was inspired by a country song. That’s not a sentence I ever expected to…