Just yesterday I was thinking about getting a class on the calendar. Today someone emailed me to ask when the next class starts. For someone who operates on intuition, it doesn’t get much clearer than that!
A fire was lit and the next class has been scheduled. Everything fell together so easily.
I’ve decided to make this a 5 class series as students always want more time to practice and I don’t like to rush.
So if you’re interested in learning how to access spiritually guided life-force energy (AKA Reiki) for healing body and mind, heart and soul, this is the starting point.
We’ll meet on 5 Thursday evenings, 5:30-7:30 at my studio, in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philly.
September 4, 11, 18, 25 & October 2.
I’m offering a $25 discount off of the $400 price through Sunday 8/10. Use the code EARLY-BIRD at checkout.
If you want to read more about the class, here’s where to find all the details.
Just yesterday I was thinking about getting a class on the calendar. Today someone emailed me…
We’re reaching that part of summer when I’m just over it. My resilience for heat and humidity has dwindled and I’m ready for falling leaves and pumpkins. Instead, we have winds that feel rather like standing in front of my blow dryer. 😅
Every morning I go out onto the porch for a sunrise meditation. Lately I feel like I’m entering a swamp when I step outside. At 6am!
Looking on the bright side, there’s no need to hit the sauna. Getting in the sweltering car a few times every day must have some sort of detox effect, right? And going into most stores has got to have benefits similar to a cold plunge, what with the 30 degree temperature differential.
I joke that I now have a 10am curfew. I don’t love being hermetically sealed inside for so much of the day, so I try to get out to the woods early. It’s a few degrees cooler by the creek.
I took a little video to remind me of this little oasis. May it offer you some relief and a touch of nature’s medicine. Imagine yourself being there in person, drinking in the fresh air and cool breeze.
Adapting my routine and bright-side-thinking can only take me so far, though. Let’s be realistic, mint tea and coconut water are refreshing, but they aren’t miracle workers.
Eventually my inner rebel emerges.
“You can’t make me stay inside!”
(It might help to explain that I give my internal voices a descriptive character name and speak of them as separate beings. It’s just a tool for understanding the workings of my mind. It ends up sounding like there’s a full cast in my head. Because there often is! Can you relate?)
Please note, this rebel is the same character who said, “You can’t make me go outside!” when summer began. 😆
She’s just contrary. But the thing about rebelling is… that’s not really freedom. When you’re just doing the opposite, breaking the rules, rocking the boat just to be different, you’re still controlled by the status quo.
Last year about this time, she came out and insisted we absolutely could go for a hike in the 95 degree weather. The hike itself was fine, but afterwards, a whopper of a headache erupted. The end result could hardly to be described as “freedom”.
What I did today was mediate a negotiation. Ignoring, suppressing or overriding the rebel generally fails. At best, it’s energy consuming and not much fun.
Same goes for the inner overprotective mother. She’s the one who’d prefer I remained at a consistent 72 degrees year round. Bah!
So I called upon the inner stern auntie, a role I have perfected in real life with my niece and nephews. I’m fair, but not a softie with them, and this wise, compassionate, mature part of me is best qualified for overseeing arguments between children as well as different aspects of myself.
Rule #1: Everyone has a chance to say their piece.
The rebel wants to go out and it’s past our 😂 10am curfew. Helicopter mom says no, it’s too hot.
Rule #2: We don’t rule things out just because they didn’t work in the past. Instead, we workshop ideas to improve them and plan accordingly.
I’ll spare you the details, but I sorted through options of when and where to go, what to bring, what I could do before and after in order to get a proper walk in the woods without ending up dehydrated and decrepit.
In this way of relating, everyone wins. The parent figure gets to keep us safe, the rebel gets to go out and experience some freedom, the auntie gets to play peacekeeper.
This approach works for all sorts of inner incompatibility. When I find myself resistant to doing the thing I promised myself I would or wouldn’t do, torn between two choices or completely clueless about how to proceed, I invite all the characters to a round table session and discuss how to meet everyone’s needs.
This engenders trust in myself and reduces future resistance and outbursts.
I learned this ages ago as an energetic practice of aligning head, heart and gut. Getting thoughts, emotions and instincts all onboard for decisions and actions. Since then, I’ve drawn on the IFS (Internal Family Systems) model. “No Bad Parts” by Dick Schwartz is a good entry point if you’d like to learn more.
The reason I’m using such a minor issue to demonstrate this technique is because I think it’s important to begin with the easy stuff. Jumping in to the deep end can backfire and cause emotional distress and a rift in self trust.
I’m happy to report that I’m back from the woods, showered, hydrated and feeling ready to meet the rest of the day. I’ve learned something about myself and am more likely to be self-compassionate moving forward as a result.
Whatever your day brings, whatever season you find yourself in, whatever inner turmoil might be brewing, I wish you harmony and peace. I hope these words can help you cultivate it.
Cultivating peace and harmony internally is essential to cultivating holistic health. Hit subscribe and stay connected for more tips and tricks to enjoy optimal wellness.
We’re reaching that part of summer when I’m just over it. My resilience for heat and…
Modern medicine is finally starting to recognize the detrimental effects that chronic stress has on our health. Physiologically, it’s clear that living under a cloud of too much to do, too many to care for, too little support and too few resources is a recipe for illness.
We know that the fight or flight response helps in an emergency situation, but when triggered 10 times each day before breakfast, it inhibits the immune system. It reroutes energy that would ideally be used for detoxification, digestion, assimilation of nutrients, cellular repair, creativity and focus and leaves us feeling fatigued, anxious, tense and stuck.
Activating the relaxation response is the foundation of the work I do. The number one thing clients say to me after a session is, “I feel so relaxed.” Or some variation of that. Sometimes it’s, “I didn’t know it was possible to feel so relaxed.”
Fantastic!
And then people generally return to their default patterns which generally do not preserve this relaxation.
I’m not pointing fingers here. We live in a world that promotes stress and busyness as markers of value and dismisses rest, relaxation and listening to the body’s cries for help as weakness. It’s totally understandable that most of us never learned how to relax, why it’s so important or how to keep it once we’ve gotten a taste.
If you get your car detailed, it will look great at first. How long will it last? Well, that’s up to you, isn’t it? It could be a minute or a month, maybe even two, depending on how you use it and your habits.
Same goes with relaxation. There is no one application that is permanent. It’s something that needs to be cultivated. There isn’t a “one size fits all” way to do that, though.
For those who are primed to change their habits and commit to a different way of interacting with the world, a treatment can be a jumpstart into their new routines.
Others will need consistent treatment until they find their footing and can build and maintain their routines.
Others will see a monthly treatment as ongoing support for themselves and all the care they offer to the world.
Others don’t even know where to begin. If this is you, I commend you for reading this far and being willing to consider what might be very much out of your comfort zone.
If your comfort zone has gotten too restrictive and you’re ready to expand it, I’d suggest trying my Reiki + coaching treatment and we can have a chat about small, simple actions you can take as well as fill up your tank with healing life-force energy.
Wherever you are, I’m here to help. There’s no need to worry that you’re too stressed or too anything or not enough of some other thing. We all have to begin our healing journey from where we are. Rather than bemoaning our starting point we can instead use that energy to step in the direction we’d like to go.
Today’s a good day to take that first step, don’t you think?
Modern medicine is finally starting to recognize the detrimental effects that chronic stress has on our…
Today I achieve level 54! That’s 54 voyages around the sun under my belt. How amazing is that?
There are two primary ways of dealing with birthdays and neither suit me.
One is bemoaning the loss of youth and collagen, criticizing the body’s aging process and wishing for the good ole days.
Bleep that! What most people call aging, I see as accumulated toxins and tension, suppressed emotions, buying into BS patriarchal beliefs that youth=value, and the result of decades of abusing and neglecting our poor bodies.
All of this is something I address daily with Reiki. And after 8,000+ days of soaking up healing energy, I’m just getting more and more powerful and wise and attuned to my worthiness.
The second popular way to celebrate birthdays is the f*** it approach. It could be performative- look at all the fun I’m having- see the photo proof on Instagram!
It could be self-destructive with overdrinking, overeating, overindulging, overspending, overdoing, trying to prove to the world that you can do/have/be it all.
Allow me to present a third option. One that becomes much more clear once you activate these higher levels.
An honoring of self. Here are some questions I consider when leveling up.
What would my soul enjoy doing today?
How can I express the essence of my true self?
What would feel really good for my body, not just in this moment, but also tomorrow morning?
What seeds do I want to plant for the next revolution around the sun?
Which weeds do I need to pull to fully activate the wise woman within?
Unsurprisingly, Jell-O shots and sheet cake, spa treatments and shopping sprees, amusement parks and bars do not make the cut. I’m more likely to opt for a visit to the woods, a bath or extra long meditation.
Next time you’re due to level up, I hope you’ll consider what is it that truly nourishes you rather than doing the thing that is expected.
Today I achieve level 54! That’s 54 voyages around the sun under my belt. How amazing…
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’re approaching Independence Day here in the U.S. While I’m not much interested in parades, day drinking or fireworks these days, I do like to honor the spirit of the holiday.
Freedom.
It’s buzzing in the microcosm and I’m going to take full advantage, bringing that energy into my microcosm.
Much of what inhibits personal freedom can be addressed from within.
Outdated coping mechanisms and unhealed wounds can cause behavior that is not aligned with our intentions.
Limiting beliefs absorbed in childhood can diminish self-worth and cause us to expect less from life than what is actually available.
Habitual thought patterns and addictive tendencies can keep us stuck.
Addressing all of this begins with awareness, compassion, curiosity, and the willingness to choose differently.
When you feel into the intention of experiencing more freedom, what stands in the way? When you feel into that obstacle, what lurks beneath it? And beneath that?
Keep going and I’m willing to bet that you arrive at a fundamental disconnection from your essence and the divine nature within you.
One simple remedy is to place a hand over your heart in a gesture of loving kindness and to speak to yourself using the words you’ve always longed to hear.
I see you. I’m here with you. You’re doing great. You’ve got this.
Find that words that resonate deeply and really drink them in.
Follow it up by repeating “freedom” as a sacred mantra. Let the frequency of freedom vibrate within you and spread throughout your entire being.
Make this a daily practice. Repetition is key. Healing is a process and requires devotion and stamina.
You are worth the effort.
If you have access to Reiki superpowers, absolutely turn them on for this simple healing ritual.
If you’d like support for this endeavor, or whatever you’re working through, I’m just a few clicks away. If you want to go all-in, I have one opening for a 5 session Reiki+ intuitive coaching package.
We’re approaching Independence Day here in the U.S. While I’m not much interested in parades, day…
Quite frequently people who come to receive a Reiki session report feeling stuck. They want to let go of an emotion, thought, or behavior that seems to be holding them down or holding them back, but don’t know how. I think most of us can relate to this- I sure can!
Reiki has helped me to let go of resentment, to forgive myself and those involved in numerous upsets, to release grief that had lingered way past its shelf life, and to transmute cravings for unhealthy foods, and escape a wide variety of coping mechanisms. I’ve witnessed it do all this and more for my clients.
Flooding the energy field with Reiki helps us to rise above the ego-mind and to align with the higher self, that part of us which is eternal and unchangeable.
From this perspective, we have a better view of unhelpful patterns and the thoughts and beliefs that hold us hostage.
Being immersed in the flow of spiritually-guided life-force energy helps us to feel safe, accepted, and more at ease.
This sets the stage for the type of deep inquiry that can lead to lasting change. From this sacred space of realized wholeness and empowerment, we are able to create shifts that support the changes we desire in our lives.
And yet, it is really up to each of us to make those changes if we expect to see lasting change.
Reiki is indeed a tremendous support in this process, but it is not the process itself. It is not a magic elixir that enables us to sit back and watch as our world morphs into something more desirable.
The thoughts we think contribute to our future and also affect our ki (life- force energy). If we wish to improve our lives, it is essential that we take responsibility for becoming aware of how we continue to contribute to our troubles, either consciously or unconsciously. Reiki can help us do that (indeed it is a huge help in that department!).
The work of partnering with clients who want to go to the next level and get off the merry-go-round entirely is my real passion. So much so that I developed a Reiki + Coaching combo for those who want to do the necessary inner work that leads to transformation.
Finding the places (often thought patterns, outdated coping mechanisms, old protective strategies, or inherited beliefs) where people get stuck and helping them get unstuck is a true joy. It involves a more active treatment where the client participates in a dialog exploring resistance to moving forward in addition to the usual passive practice of receiving the healing energy.
Now this process is not for everyone. Examining one’s shadow can be uncomfortable and requires a great deal of courage. If you’re seeking a path to healing old wounds in order to recreate a life based on peace, love, and joy then my Reiki + Coaching treatment just might be the technique to help you along the way.
I also offer a 3 session package at 10% off the individual rate, good for two months from the date of purchase and a 5 session package at 15% off, good for three months. Availability is limited. Packages are a great way to commit to doing the work. If you’re interested, please contact me to briefly share your goals and I’ll ask a few questions to see if we’re a good match.
I’m seeing a lot of heightened emotions out there. Given the state of the world, it’s no surprise. Emotions aren’t a problem in and of themselves, but when we hold them in, they wreak havoc with our health, and when we fling them about carelessly, they wreak havoc in our relationships and contribute to the collective chaos.
There’s another way! We can alchemize our feelings using practices such as this meditation that my Reiki teacher Laura Bruno shares. Rather than repressing, suppressing, avoiding, escaping, or projecting you could engage in a process of responsibly and compassionately acknowledging and transmuting these powerful emotions.
It’s been a game changer for me and I hope you’ll give it a try.
I’m seeing a lot of heightened emotions out there. Given the state of the world, it’s…
Common replies I hear when I tell a client that their Reiki or massage treatment is over:
“That went by so fast!”
“The shortest hour ever!”
“Already?”
And my all-time favorite?
“Nooooooo!”
It’s not that I’m cutting sessions short; truly an hour has passed, but it often doesn’t seem that way because in a relaxed state, time isn’t linear.
Many people experience altered consciousness during a session. Not quite asleep, not quite awake, someplace in between.
I suspect some enter a delta or theta brainwave state. This is the zone where deep healing happens.
In the in-between, minutes don’t matter, nor do they tick by in the way we usually experience them.
I’m usually in a flow state while providing sessions, so I have to keep an eye on the clock because time is different for me too.
Time might be relative in the treatment room, but that doesn’t make it any less valuable. Please believe me when I say that nobody is playing tricks with the clock!
You get the full benefits of a session, even if you’re asleep or in-between. Maybe even more as the healing can bypass any resistance from the conscious mind.
Time might be relative in the treatment room, but I can say with 100% certainty that when that happens, so does healing.
Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage 