Reiki class

  • I’m delighted to announce some in-person classes coming soon! Both will be held in my Mt. Airy (a neighborhood of Philadelphia) studio. Space is limited, registration is required.

    Anyone can learn Reiki! You don’t need any special psychic skills or healing abilities. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never meditated or eaten kale, if you don’t practice yoga or wear crystal jewelry or baggy pants.

    If you’re open to new ideas and want to actively participate in cultivating the optimal health and vitality available to you, this is your way in.

    My passion is helping ordinary, busy folks find their own unique path on the healing journey. I endeavor to make energy healing as accessible and doable as possible. You can cultivate a daily routine if you enjoy structure and/or practice on the go if you prefer freedom and spontaneity.

    During class, you’ll receive an attunement (the initiation provided by a Reiki Master) which will gently open your energy pathways and connect you to this healing energy.

    Afterwards, you’ll be able to effortlessly tap into Reiki and direct it at will. Whenever you want! Lifetime access without any membership fees.

    If you’re interested in learning how to use Reiki exclusively for your personal wellness, healing, empowerment and personal or spiritual development, Reiki for Self-Care will provide all that you need to get started.

    If you’re interested in offering treatments to others or perhaps become a professional practitioner, Reiki 1 is your starting point. We cover everything in the Self-Care course plus how to give a session to friends, family and pets.

    Reiki 1 Certification

    4 Tuesday evenings, 6-8pm

    March 19, 26 & April 2 & 9, 2024

    Investment: $225.

    10% early bird discount through February 29.

    Reiki for Self-Care and Empowerment

    This is a two hour, one-on-one, in person or online workshop.

    Investment: $133

    Contact me to register or with any questions.

    Upcoming Reiki Classes

    I’m delighted to announce some in-person classes coming soon! Both will be held in my Mt.…

  • Folks are often surprised, maybe even bewildered, at all the ways I apply Reiki in my life. Recently a Reiki 2 student commented that it seems like I’m just doing Reiki all day.

    She’s right!

    But probably not in the way you think. I do live in the world, same as you. I pay my bills, shop for groceries, cook my meals, brush my teeth. I have dentist appointments and get the oil in my car changed and do the laundry. So. Much. Laundry!

    I have not forsaken all the usual tasks, but I do bring Reiki into them.

    To me, Reiki has become a state of being rather than a task. So, when I’m on hold with the internet provider, Reiki is flowing. When I’m brushing my hair, I’m connected to the flow of life-force energy and aligning myself with its frequency. Before I put the car in drive, I pave the way forward with Reiki intentions.

    This is my recipe for maintaining equanimity while dealing with whatever the world presents me. I meet each moment, turning towards whatever pops up with compassionate attention and.. yup, Reiki.

    Much of the time, I’m successful. I’m still participating in this human experience and do lose my sh*t from time to time. But it’s rare, usually doesn’t last long, and I recover pretty quickly.

    If full-time Reiki sounds a bit overwhelming, let me assure you that I started this journey 21 years ago with a simple daily practice. For about 15 minutes every morning, I used the traditional hand positions to fill myself up with healing energy.

    Over time, my practice began to expand. I brought Reiki into the shower with me, washing my body with ki as well as soap and hot water. I brought Reiki to the yoga mat, infusing my breath and awareness with it. It came along on my meditations and walks, gushing from my open palms and surrounding me with supportive and protective energies.

    Gradually it grew, seeping into more and more of my daily life. This wasn’t effort-full by any means! Once you realize you have full-time access to healing powers that help smooth the way through the rough spots and deepen the joyful moments, willingness to apply them emerges quite naturally.

    I believe that committing to a daily practice is the first step for all of us. Once you get into a habit of showing up for yourself and taking time for self-compassion, self-empowerment, and self-healing, you begin to notice the rewards. And once you get familiar with the rewards, you begin to notice pretty quickly when you aren’t experiencing them and quickly want to return.

    There’s nothing particularly special about me. I’m not overly motivated or assertive or ambitious. Quite the opposite! I’m just very averse to suffering and lazy enough to want the simplest, safest, easiest support system that provides amazing results with only beneficial side effects.

    I was willing to devote a mere 15 minutes of my mornings to a practice that gave me full-time access. Eventually I began to take more and more advantage of this full-time access, because… why not? Why not use your superpowers all the time to help you with all the things?

    If you’re already on your Reiki journey, why not take advantage of the New Year reset energies to reinvigorate your self-treatment commitment? Or consider booking a Chakra-cleanse remote Reiki (December’s special) or an in-person session if you’re in Philly.

    If you have yet to be initiated into the Reiki world, join my mailing list and be amongst the first to know about upcoming classes. I’m planning to offer Reiki 1 certification training in January.

    Full-Time Reiki Activation

    Folks are often surprised, maybe even bewildered, at all the ways I apply Reiki in my…

  • This is a great video from Tosha Silver about sending blessings rather than worry. Both are felt in the energetic realm by both the giver and the receiver. Guess which has a positive effect? Which would you prefer to receive?

    I teach this same concept in Reiki 2 classes when we’re delving into the benefits of remote sessions. It’s very empowering to be able to help when your people are struggling. Worry never helps! It’s actually disempowering.

    You might have been taught that worrying is a side-effect of caring. This is a mistaken concept and today is a great day to change your thinking. Give it a try. And sign up for my newsletter if you’re interested in starting your Reiki journey in 2024.

    Instead of worrying…

    This is a great video from Tosha Silver about sending blessings rather than worry. Both are…

  • I had an epiphany last week, spurred by a bagel of all things.

    Not a “the earth revolves around the sun” kind of epiphany, yet still pretty fascinating. To me at least. 🙂

    It will sound silly at first, but hang with me. In truth, it really has nothing to do with the bagel; just as gravity has nothing to do with apple trees. It’s really about the message, not the messenger.

    For the first time ever in my 52nd journey around the sun, it occurred to me that I could (perhaps should!) put the bagel’s cut surface down in the toaster oven. You might already know that this produces a much improved end result.

    Not exactly groundbreaking news, I know.

    But what it points to is the questioning of autopilot behavior. I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent and self-aware person. But somehow I live for decades without even considering a simple alternative way of doing something so very basic.

    I was reminded of a transformative lightbulb moment I had in college. Sitting in the dorm lobby one day, I met a girl who blew my mind.

    Melinda. She was a good friend of a good friend, a self-proclaimed Dead Head who dressed the part. Melinda’s leg were unshaven. She’s probably telling the story of this weirdo girl who stared at her legs in disbelief so many years ago. But until that fateful day, it never ever, not ever, occurred to me that it was possible for women to simply not shave their legs.

    Shocking, right?! Liberating too. My inner rebel had a field day.

    That was my introduction to the concept of how cultural programming shapes our minds and limits what we believe to be real about the world.

    But the bagel was different. We didn’t have bagels when I was growing up. Or a toaster oven for that matter. I never watched anyone in my family or community, or TV for that matter, toast a bagel.

    Curiously, I discovered bagels’ crispy delightfulness about the same time as I met Melinda in the NYU dorm. And now these two seemingly unrelated events are forever linked in my mind as exposing my assumptions about “this is how we do things”.

    Not a big deal in and of itself. But consider the implications! How much of my life is run on autopilot? A lot, and mostly that’s a good thing. Imagine needing to use the same level of concentration every day that you did as a kid when you were learning to tie your shoes. Or write a sentence with legible penmanship or drive a car. We’d be so focused on the simple, everyday tasks that nothing important would get done!

    Autopilot isn’t a bad thing. Neural network grooves help us concentrate on the trickier, more advanced aspects of adulting.

    Yet, somewhere in between mechanical compliance and re-inventing the wheel, there lives a middle ground.

    I’d like to spend more time there, questioning the limiting beliefs and behaviors that I’ve adopted, often without query. It seems to me that these are the potentially pivotal moments when transformation is truly possible.

    Having a daily Reiki practice is what has helped develop my sense of clarity and wonder. If you’re wanting to have Reiki superpowers to use for getting out of your own ruts, join my mailing list to be informed of future classes, both online and in-person in the Philly area. Or sign up for a session and let’s see what we can shake loose together.

    Bagel Magic

    I had an epiphany last week, spurred by a bagel of all things. Not a “the…

  • Sensitivities seem to be running high these days. If you’re someone who consistently finds yourself absorbing other people’s energies and suffering for it, I have a few tips.

    First, start with the brush off to remove any unwanted energies. It doesn’t matter where or when they came from. If it’s time for them to go, let ‘em go. Laura Bruno, my Reiki Master Teacher, suggests doing this twice daily, at a minimum.

    Perhaps more effective is keeping yourself from getting slimed in the first place. I use an easy technique to keep my energy field so full there is no room for anything else to glom on. If you have Reiki, you can add it in, but Reiki is not necessary to make an Energy Bubble.

    Also, I’ve written about the book, The Empath’s Survival Guide before. So helpful! Just understanding what’s happening and why you sometimes feel drained or angry or upset for no seeming reason is a relief, and there are lots of tips for how to live your life more easily.

    If you feel like you want more tools, consider taking my Reiki for Self-Care training if you’re in the Philly area.

    If you want a professional intervention, consider booking a Reiki session. Remote sessions can be received from anywhere in the world! In-person sessions are available in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia.

    How to Protect Your Energy Field

    Sensitivities seem to be running high these days. If you’re someone who consistently finds yourself absorbing…

  • Reiki is really helpful for cultivating our ability to remember. It supports the deactivation of our survival response, also called the fight/flight/freeze mechanism, which blocks access to our ability to think clearly or retrieve memories. When we’re not perpetually stressed, memory can come back online.

    What’s even more interesting to me, is that Reiki (more specifically the mental/emotional symbol taught in Reiki 2) can help cement new memories.

    Many years ago, I heard someone (can’t remember who, but the impression is of a doctor or researcher) say that part of the problems we face in the chaotic, fast-paced world is that we are just not paying attention enough to what we’re doing to actually make new memories.

    Can you relate?

    I can! Especially now that I’m wearing reading glasses. I haven’t yet gone looking for them while they’re on my head, but they do get misplaced sometimes.

    So for those pesky, maddening experiences of not being able to find your keys or wondering if you left the iron on at home the moment your plane takes off for a distant land, there is hope.

    I had a scare a few years ago when on a hike with a friend. I was certain I’d return and find my apartment burnt to a crisp. It didn’t really matter than in my decades of adulting, I’d never ever left a candle burning or the stove on, I was freaking out.

    Of course, I got home and everything was fine. But for weeks, every time I went somewhere, I was worried about having forgotten to turn the stove off.

    It didn’t matter that every time I came home, sometimes immediately and inconveniently because I just couldn’t deal with the discomfort of not knowing, never ever did I find what I feared to be true.

    Then I realized that I was not creating new memories of turning off the stove or oven, blowing out the candle, or locking the door.

    A new strategy arose. One much more effective than circling back each time I went somewhere to double check my home.

    Before I leave, I stand at the stove, check all the knobs and say, “off” while taking a mental snapshot of the stove indeed being off. This same technique can work for any situation. “Keys”. “Glasses”. “Candle”. Whatever.

    A week after I started doing this, my out-of-the-home panic diminished greatly and about a month later I didn’t need it any more. I had effectively cured my paranoia. I only do it now if I’m going out of town or some unusual circumstance has me out of my routine.

    Anyone can do this. It’s simply a matter of turning your attention for just a moment to that which you’d like to remember. If you have Reiki super-powers, use SHK to stamp your memory in deep. If you’d like to have Reiki super-powers, get on my mailing list to be in the know about upcoming classes.

    Reiki and Memory

    Reiki is really helpful for cultivating our ability to remember. It supports the deactivation of our…

  • This is a fair question and one I hear frequently. People want to know before they begin treatment what to expect and how many sessions they’ll need. I made a short video to explain why it’s difficult to answer.

    If you were to ask me how long it would take to get out of debt, I’d ask for more information.

    How deep in the hole are you?

    What size payments are you making?

    How much do you spend frivolously?

    It’s very much the same when it comes to life-force energy! If you want to heal, it will likely be beneficial to stop engaging in the activities that contribute to the underlying imbalance and get involved in activities that promote balance.

    Makes sense, right? I can’t say for sure how long healing will take because your willingness to participate is a variable that is known only to you.

    Regardless of your degree of involvement, Reiki CAN help. There are numerous ways to proceed, depending on how much effort you want to make. You can lie back and simply receive a session, go the DIY route and take a class, or somewhere in between. I’ve got something for everyone!

    Reiki Q&A: How Long Will it Take to Heal?

    This is a fair question and one I hear frequently. People want to know before they…

  • Are you looking to activate your personal power? For optimal well-being, happiness, creativity, abundance, and connection? Why not start the new year off with a bang and give yourself a helping hand? Reiki is a potent tool for dismantling the blockages that prevent us from experiencing our best possible lives. You could have limitless access to this healing energy with minimal cost or time.

    Hidden beliefs, unconscious triggers, cultural conditioning, and outdating coping mechanisms can sabotage even the most sincere resolutions. Reiki can help us love and accept ourselves exactly as we are and support our efforts to be more peaceful, compassionate, and integrated. No need to keep white-knuckling it or banging your head against the wall. Instead, try cultivating balance from within.

    Photo by nicollazzi xiong on Pexels.com

    This is a simple, yet powerful, modality that can assist you in aligning desire and intent; body, mind, and spirit; head, heart, and gut so that all your parts are working as a team, rather that a bunch of rogue elements fulfilling personal whims at the expense of the greater good.

    Join me for a series of four online classes in January. No experience or special skills are necessary. Anyone can learn Reiki and benefit quickly from consistent application. It’s the easiest, safest, most magical method I’ve discovered in 25 years of spiritual practice and personal development work. Whatever therapies, remedies, or potions you’ve got going on, you can add Reiki for amplification.

    If you’re wondering what the heck Reiki is, I’ll attempt an explanation. Keep in mind that words don’t really do it justice. Just like kissing, one authentic experience will be more informative than volumes of books! But I know that’s not very helpful, so here we go. Reiki is a holistic technique for healing that relieves stress. It activates the body’s innate restorative abilities by flooding the system with universal life-force energy. Once we are no longer chronically depleted, overwhelmed, or barely existing in survival mode, we have so much more power to create change in our lives. One of my students described her experience as stepping off the hamster wheel. I think that’s a great metaphor!

    If you’ve been burning the candle at both ends or spread too thin, taking care of everyone else besides yourself, or simply going along just to get along, it would be my great pleasure to introduce you to a different way. You can find details about the class here. If you’re interested in applying, just send me a message and we’ll see if it’s a good match for you.

    Online Reiki 1 Certification in January, 2023

    Are you looking to activate your personal power? For optimal well-being, happiness, creativity, abundance, and connection?…

  • Reiki helps to correct any type of imbalance, and it can be fun to think of choosing the goal of a session as if from options on a menu. A sense of humor can be very helpful in the healing process! Sometimes my clients come up with comical names for the type of treatment they desire. One asks repeatedly for The Reboot; a session devoted to resetting the nervous system and activating the relaxation response. She finds it incredibly recuperative given the intense demands of her career.

    The Deactivator is also popular, especially for those recovering from trauma or dealing with chronic pain. It helps to break the uncomfortable cycle triggered by hyper-vigilance and near-constant sympathetic nervous system (AKA fight-flight-freeze) activation. Occasionally folks ask for The Activator when they’re feeling stuck or blocked and can’t seem to get motivated. Kinda like all-natural, energetic uppers and downers with no negative side-effects!

    Over the past couple of years, most of my work has been centered around The Fill ‘er Up treatment. People who have become depleted energetically, physically, and emotionally seem to  be developing bizarre symptoms such as rashes, digestive upset, or severe joint pain as the tank runs dry and there just isn’t enough energy for the body to do much more than survive. Physiological systems begin to break down and mysterious ailments pop up. 

    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    For the past few months, there’s been an emerging trend that stems from The Fill ‘er Up. The Flush and Fill; the perfect remedy for those who have experienced the emotional equivalent of running a marathon in a toxic waste dump. So many of my clients are empathic and tend to pick up unwanted energies as they go about their days. When tanks are already low, there are few resources available for protecting personal boundaries or lugging around accumulated burdens, and eventually the body and the psyche begin to suffer. Burnout looms on the horizon.

    Reiki can transform any and all energies that do not belong to us or that have worn out their welcome. Breaking free from the heavy loads that are outdated or not even ours to bear is incredibly invigorating. I don’t know of any other therapy that is so simple, so gentle and so powerful; certainly not any that can be received from the comfort of home or in a practitioner’s office; or learned in just a few hours for those who desire frequent application. 

    If you’d like to learn how to give yourself daily Flush and Fills, consider taking a Reiki 1 class. I am offering one online beginning in July, and others are teaching in-person classes. If you can’t stand the idea of adding one more task, no matter how wonderful the results, to your to-do list, that’s what we professionals are here for. If you’re already a practitioner, simply set your intention to transform anything that is not aligned with your highest good to that which is, and proceed with the hand positions you’ve been taught. Whatever your desired degree of participation (or lack thereof!) is, Reiki has a niche just for you.

    Options on the Reiki Menu

    Reiki helps to correct any type of imbalance, and it can be fun to think of…