wellness

This gets right to the heart of the matter for most prospective clients. They want to know if Reiki, and the magical results they’ve heard about on podcasts and from cousins, friends and strangers on IG will also affect them in such amazing ways.

The short answer: it largely depends on you.

Reiki can help re-establish body-mind-spirit balance. This holistic approach is the foundation for lasting healing as it addresses the root cause of imbalance.

It’s helpful to use analogies, so let’s consider a bucket as the container of your ki, or life-force energy. Reiki can fill up your bucket, 100%, no questions asked.

It can even repair holes in your bucket that may have come from unresolved trauma, chronic stress, outdated defense mechanisms, coping patterns, denial, avoidance, addiction, suppressed emotions, and tendencies to turn away from yourself when things get uncomfortable emotionally.

Depending on how empty or leaky your bucket may be, this might take time and consistent application, but is totally doable.

But if you continue to poke holes in your bucket, the results will be temporary. Reiki cannot heal you if you continue to engage in unhealthy behavior. It can help resolve the impetus for such behavior, but you will need to willingly participate.

If you’re allergic to strawberries and eat them every day, there’s only so much Reiki can do for you. Not because you’re bad or strawberries or bad, but because your body is sending a clear message that it doesn’t want any more… strawberries!

The idea of outsourcing wellness without taking any responsibility for changing the contributions to lack-of-wellness is completely at odds with holistic healing.

There are no magic pills. There are no miraculous treatments that will allow you to be well while still engaging in destructive patterns.

This does not necessarily mean that you’ll need to quit your soul-sucking job or leave a dysfunctional relationship, but it might. It’s possible to take actions to counterbalance such situations and resolve the stress, integrate the emotions, get your needs met in other ways, process the anger/grief/resentment/disappointment and refill the bucket.

This requires your active participation.

So, yes, if you’re willing to help by protecting the container of your ki bucket and preserve the wellness within, Reiki can indeed benefit you greatly. If you’re not, it can help you feel better in the moment, but will wear off as you return to any unhealthy patterns.

There is no issue that is too big, too deep, too ingrained, too attached to that Reiki cannot help to resolve. You don’t need to know what needs to be done to benefit from treatment. You do, however, need to be willing to receive the healing and notice the guidance that follows, the discord or lack of integrity that is exposed, and take the necessary steps to correct these hole-punchers.

Reiki will shine the light on the trail of breadcrumbs leading you to wellness. It’s then your job to follow the path, stay true to your mission and be kind to yourself on the way.

It’s much more complex than allopathic medicine, which, let’s face it, isn’t working for you or you wouldn’t be reading this.

So, yes, Reiki can help you. But the outcome is really up to you.

If you’re interested in adding Reiki to your wellness journey, I’d be delighted to work with you.

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Will Reiki Work for You?

This gets right to the heart of the matter for most prospective clients. They want to…
Whoosh. There’s nothing like Reiki to get me out of my crazy busy head and into my body. It’s amazing how quickly it happens each and every time.

I find that thoughts just dissolve when the energy is flowing. We don’t need to think or reflect or plan while healing is happening. In fact, our minds can often be obstacles to healing, harboring the ego’s tricks of delay and distraction.

Last night in Reiki 2 class, we started with a self-treatment. I found myself amusingly unable to find words for the simplest things. I couldn’t remember the names of the “tubes” in our throat for breathing and swallowing.

(I meant esophagus and trachea, but just couldn’t grab hold of those terms!)

What’s especially cool is that this would have embarrassed me in the past. I would have allowed the stunted vocabulary to mean something about my abilities as a teacher or value as a person.

But because of my daily Reiki practice, which has been filling in the gaps of self-worth that did not come organically during my childhood, I saw it as a funny thing that happened to me rather than making it mean that I’m a failure.

I don’t usually use Reiki on myself when I’m teaching because accessing my communication skills is obviously important. But this was a great learning experience for me and we all had a good chuckle about the tubes.

Not only did the usual monkey mind of swirling thoughts dissipate, but the inner judge was nowhere to be found. Hallelujah!

There’s a Reiki 1 class coming up soon. That’s the starting point for folks interested in learning how to use healing energy for themselves and their pets, friends, and family. If you want to stay in the loop and receive notifications about upcoming classes, please join my mailing list.

You can also read about Reiki classes in general or book a Reiki session and I’ll do all the work while you lie back and receive.

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Getting Out of My Head

Whoosh. There’s nothing like Reiki to get me out of my crazy busy head and into…
Living in a culture with a completely different mindset is really bizarre. Sometimes I find it deeply frustrating, other times humorous, and always strange.

In my mind, health is something we cultivate, neglect or diminish with every single choice. It’s not something that gets relegated to an annual checkup or a team of experts that specialize in one small aspect of the human body.

I’ve stopped using the words “alternative” and “complementary” to describe the work that I do because they imply that conventional, western medicine is the norm. This is thinking that I’d like to challenge.

Holistic healing means looking at lifestyle, values, nutrition, movement, body mechanics, habits, patterns, belief systems and relationships and bringing them into alignment with our goal of wellness.

If I want to be free of knee pain, I need to stop the activities that cause it, provide adequate support and rest, supply the necessary nutrients for repair, meet any underlying or resulting thoughts and emotions, and manage stress. I can apply salves that promote healing as a bonus.

While I’m doing all of that, I might take a pain reliever because there’s no sense in suffering in the meantime.

But I can’t keep doing things the old way, pop some ibuprofen, slap on some kinesio tape and call it healing.

It just doesn’t work that way.

When people first come to holistic therapy because the conventional route has failed them, they’re often looking for different answers without adapting their understanding of what healing entails.

They hope for something like an herbal pill to make the pain go away without changing all the ways they are contributing to the pain.

Or a magic salve. Or pressure point. Or stretch. Or recipe.

While all of these things can be helpful, healing requires addressing the source of the problem, learning to accept that our bodies have limitations, and we need to take care of ALL aspects ourselves according to our own unique needs.

Rejecting our emotions or values or worthiness in order to go-along-to-get-along will always take a toll.

Yes, it can be uncomfortable, inconvenient, even revolutionary to choose to address the inner landscape. You might find little support or even pushback when beginning to make changes.

If it were easy you would have already done it.

If there were a pill that truly worked you would have found it.

Holistic healing can be the magical cure you hope it will be, but probably not the way you thought. Creating inner harmony does indeed have miraculous results, but you’re going to need to participate in the journey.

At the very least, there needs to be a willingness to change any destructive thought patterns and welcome all emotions as valid. I’ve never met anyone who overcame a condition while continuing to think hateful thoughts about themself or another or stuff their feelings down.

The rewards are well worth the efforts. The peace, joy, comfort and freedom on the other side of regulating the nervous system, processing emotions, compassionately caring for the body, and cultivating life-force are spectacular.

And it all begins with one step in the direction you want to go.

If Reiki is a step that appeals to you, I’m here to be of service. It will help shift patterns, soothe your nerves and discomforts, and provide the energy needed to heal.

Maybe you prefer acupuncture or Somatic Experience or yoga therapy. There are tons of options and loads of practitioners to help.

Lying on the earth, sitting by a tree, or listening to sound healing are super-easy and cost-free practices that over time can have amazing results. These things will shift your vibration, helping you to notice and accept the changes that need to happen.

Pick something and get started today. Your future self will thank you.

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Holistic Healing: A Whole New Paradigm

Living in a culture with a completely different mindset is really bizarre. Sometimes I find it…
Just a few clicks and you can have a lovely gift for Mom. It’s a win-win-win situation- easy for you, an exquisite experience and lasting memory for her, and a joy for me to be a part of the tradition of honoring mothers.

Use the code MOMS10 at checkout to save 10% on any gift certificate or 5 session remote Reiki package.

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Save 10% on Gift Certificates through Mother’s Day!

Just a few clicks and you can have a lovely gift for Mom. It’s a win-win-win…
Aromatherapy is finally here!!

I’ve been testing and sniffing and consulting with a colleague and master aromatherapist about creating delightful essential oil blends.

They are each designed to evoke a particular physiological and emotional outcome AND smell divine.

Choose from one of the four mixes and elevate your healing experience.

Calm: lavender, bergamot, and frankincense

Ground: spruce, sweet orange, and vetiver

Uplift: tangerine, cypress, and petitgrain

Balance: lemongrass, rosemary, and geranium

Some medical conditions don’t pair well with these oils- they are pretty potent medicine and need to be treated with respect. It’s important that you share any conditions or if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding, with your therapist.

The special for May is a free upgrade with a 90-minute Reiki-massage if scheduled by May 31, 2024.

Prepare yourself for a next-level healing experience! I hope to offer this as an add-on for all appointment types in the future, but for now the 90-minute combo is the way to go.

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Aromatherapy Special

Aromatherapy is finally here!! I’ve been testing and sniffing and consulting with a colleague and master…
I spent a lovely hour in the woods the other morning. It’s pure therapy for me to be outside amongst my tree friends. Today I visited a tributary of the creek and found it to be rushing instead of its usual trickle.

We’ve had abundant rain lately, along with occasional flooding of major thoroughfares and copious mud puddles. A bit more dramatic than usual, but isn’t that the way things have been?

While I was enjoying the fresh air, the sounds and beauty of nature and the sunshine, I realized that this little waterway was a reflection of what I’m sensing in life.

Things are really moving fast these days! Perhaps it’s the energy of Aries, where assortment of heavenly bodies are currently clustered, the effects of the recent eclipse, or… well, who knows exactly, but I’m guessing you’ve felt it too.

What really popped out on my walk, though, was that the water flows fastest where the creek bed is narrow. In the places where it widens out, the water slows and becomes more leisurely.

This was one of those ding-ding-ding moments where something that seems completely obvious clicks into place in a deeply satisfying way.

If I want to enjoy the benefits of these quickly moving currents, focusing my attention on where I want to go AND how I can surrender to the flow will amplify my efforts.

It’s the combination of using the power of my intention combined with riding the natural energies that will yield the greatest results. I can choose to narrow my focus and feel like I’m kayaking through the rapids or I can diffuse my focus and feel like it’s a lazy, slow inner tube float.

Both are necessary for me in my personal life and business, but different goals call for different methods.

If you’re finding the flow to be too fast, too activating, maybe even overwhelming, zoom out and place your attention on the bigger picture. It’s likely your nervous system is all riled up and could use some soothing, but you can’t really feel that when you’re riding the rapids.

Likewise, narrowing your focus might help you to catch a lift on those rushing currents and bring some excitement and inspiration into your efforts.

I chose the latter and found myself being carried by exciting inspiration. I have some new services brewing, a potential collaboration for a new workshop and a new blog: A Soul’s Journey, found on Substack.

The cool thing about Substack is that it’s reader-supported rather than ad-supported, and I’ve made most posts available for free while offering twice-monthly guided practices for paid subscribers. If you’re interested in exploring the spiritual realm with me, I hope you’ll join us over there.

And if you’re interested in staying up to date on events and services I offer, please join my monthly newsletter.

And if you’re interested in receiving a session, I would delighted to work with you, no matter if you’re wanting to go narrow and fast, or wide and slow.

A Soul’s Journey

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Focused Flow

I spent a lovely hour in the woods the other morning. It’s pure therapy for me…
Yowza. I’m hearing a lot of reports from folks who are feeling daunted by the next phase of their healing journeys. It seems a lot of wounds and imbalances are coming to the surface; while this can be quite uncomfortable, it’s better than having them festering beneath the surface preparing for sneak attack.

If you’re feeling this way, know that you aren’t alone.

Whether it’s taking that first step or leveling up, overwhelm might be an unwelcome companion on this trip. There’s so much information out there, it’s hard to know what is relevant for you and where the heck to begin.

Misaligned habits, unprocessed trauma, limiting beliefs, cultural conditioning, suppressed emotions, dysfunctional relationships, unhealthy environments, outdated coping mechanisms, and chronic stress can all contribute to lack of wellness. To make it extra-interesting, many of these factors get tangled together and it can be difficult to trace to their origins.

It can be A LOT!

And… all journeys begin with just the first step. In my experience, managing stress is a wise place to start. Stress affects all of our bodily systems- digestion (gut health, we are learning, is the cornerstone to wellness), mental/emotional state (another cornerstone), quality of sleep (yup, this too!), cardiovascular capacity (need I say it?) and detoxification (mmhmm…) in particular.

By addressing chronic stress, we can free up life-force energy from perpetual survival state functioning and allow it to support the body’s innate healing abilities.

I’m not talking about a tropical vacation or meditation retreat or retirement. While that might be the route that you choose, it’s possible to learn to metabolize the effects of stress rather than avoiding it altogether through a complete lifestyle makeover (again, that may be for you, but don’t freak out if it isn’t!).

When I feel overwhelm bubbling up and my shoulders creeping up to my ears, I find moving my body to be a miraculous remedy. A few songs spent dancing (or thrashing!) about my living room can work wonders. Deep breathing, being in nature, expressing my thoughts and feelings (within the safe confines of my journal), singing, chanting, time spent on a creative project, laughter, and Reiki are all elements that help me manage the stress of the world.

Now you might read that as an assignment and think, well how in the world am I going to do all of that?

Good news! You don’t need to do it all. Choose one thing and start there. I’ve been at this for decades, and my healthy habits have accumulated over that time, bit by bit, but I started with just one thing.

One strategy is to choose the action that will have the biggest impact.

For me, that’s Reiki, a powerful but gentle healing energy that grounds me and activates the physiological antidote to stress.

Another strategy is to choose the easiest thing to implement as that will build your sense of accomplishment and encourage progress.

For me that’s also Reiki! How easy is it to absorb healing energy?

Your circumstances are obviously different than mine, but I feel confident that there’s something you can do today that will help. Ten conscious, deep breaths. A walk around the block. Watching a silly cat video. Calling a friend who knows how to listen.

It doesn’t need to be perfect, and it needn’t be the solution to all your problems. Just one thing that helps you feel calm in the moment. Just give it a try!

And if you want some Reiki healing deposited in your wellness account or some soothing bodywork, that’s what I’m here for! Book a session and I’ll do the work and you can sit back and receive.

And subscribe to this blog! I share lots of tips and tricks about holistic wellness, monthly specials and metaphysical tools. On most devices, the button to subscribe is found on the lower right corner.

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Overwhelmed? Just Pick One Thing

Yowza. I’m hearing a lot of reports from folks who are feeling daunted by the next…
Spring has definitely sprung here in Philly! It’s a great time for clearing out any energy that might have gotten blocked or stagnant over the winter.

To support this spring cleaning and the challenging energies that many are facing, I’ve decided to keep the five package remote Reiki special rolling for another month. Goodness knows, lots of people can use lots of healing energy at this time.

Reiki is an infusion of spiritually-guided life-force energy that fosters relaxation and relieves stress and pain, stimulating the body’s innate healing abilities and freeing us up to pursue our goals.

This is a holistic healing treatment that addresses the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and energetic bodies. It brings our beings into balance and helps align us with our passion and purpose.

Remote treatments are received from the comfort of your own space for maximum impact, minimum effort. We have a short phone call to clarify your needs, then disconnect so I can focus on the treatment. Afterwards, I follow up with an email, sharing any pertinent information.

Shedding old skins, cultural conditioning, limiting belief systems, outdated coping mechanisms, releasing trauma, poor self-worth and ancestral healing are all UP these days. Reiki can help get things moving where they’d been stuck and give us the energy we need to keep going in the face of adversity.

For those of us in any kind of transition (divorce, moving, menopause, having kids, kids growing up, grieving loss), those who are beginning a new project and those who are burning the candle at both ends, some extra support and nourishment can make a huge difference. If your energy is depleted, stagnant, stuck, stale or altogether missing, Reiki can fill up the tank.

5 session packages are $400 when purchased through the end of April and good for an entire year. That’s a $100 savings compared to the one-off price and $50 less than the usual five package rate.

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April Special

Spring has definitely sprung here in Philly! It’s a great time for clearing out any energy…
A good portion of my work is focused on helping folks with chronic muscle tension and the resulting discomfort. Let’s just say I have a fair amount of job security; thanks to the stressfulness of modern-day living there’s no shortage of tension.

I’ve learned some interesting things over the past 20+ years doing massage and Reiki in addition to finding balance in my own body.

Very frequently a protective mechanism is involved and stimulating the muscle(s) to contract. Fighting against a contracted muscle is an arm-wrestling match you can never win.

It could be the nervous system activating the reflex that attempts to ensure your survival by preparing to fight or flee. It does this by tensing the muscles in your extremities.

It could be an old injury, long forgotten, and the resulting movement pattern that continues on long past it’s helpfulness. It could be an emotional upset or energetic blockage.

What these things all have in common is that they are not effectively treated by pummeling, stretching, thumping or mashing a tense muscle.

Protective mechanisms respond to creating a sense of safety and awareness in the body. Gentle, non-invasive, non-painful touch can communicate to the part that is standing guard, hyper-vigilant and overprotective, that it’s ok to let go. Once that message is received, the muscles can relax effortlessly.

Rather than trying to force the muscles, which btw are only following orders from the nervous system, to release, in my work I go right to the command center and convince the boss that it’s time for a new strategy.

This is why a lot of DIY approaches fail. Stretching a muscle that is on high alert/lock down might feel good in the moment, but it does nothing to change the reason why the muscle is tight to begin with. Same goes for getting your GF, BF, BFF, spouse, sister or neighbor to jab an elbow into the knot.

If you’re not experiencing relief from your current approach, I’d like to suggest trying something different in order to invite different results.

Makes sense, right?

I specialize in gentle massage and Reiki treatments to reduce stress, pain and suffering. These are not your ordinary sessions! My clients report deep transformation and relaxation because I communicate with the command center rather than attempting to overpower muscles.

Book yourself an appointment and let’s get started on rewiring your nervous system and giving your muscles a break.

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A Holistic Approach to Muscle Tension and Chronic Pain

A good portion of my work is focused on helping folks with chronic muscle tension and…