remote Reiki

I’m getting older and let me tell you, it’s pretty amazing! Today is my birthday and rather than lamenting the fact that I’m aging, I’m celebrating. I’m not supposed to tell you that I’m 53, but I’m delighted to do so! I’m not ashamed to be in my 50’s. Quite the opposite. I find it quite empowering.

I know who I am and what I want in ways that I never did when I was younger. It’s very refreshing! No more am I trying to fit myself into someone else’s expectations and the sense of freedom is invigorating.

We’ve been sold a narrative that once you reach a certain age, health begins to fail. Well, that’s just bullshit! It’s perpetuated by the marketing industry trying to sell us stuff that treats the surface symptoms, but never the root cause. If it treated the cause, we wouldn’t need to buy it anymore.

The vast majority of symptoms that I see are simply a result of chronic stress, energetic overspending and under-receiving, suppressed emotions causing a continuous cortisol drip, exposure to toxic chemicals, and neglect/misuse/abuse of the body.

We have control over much of this!

This is the work I do. Relieving stress and pain, integrating emotions, supporting the body’s needs so it can detox and repair, and filling up the energetic tank. I see it working day after day in my clients and students and I am a living, breathing, joyful example that making healthful choices consistently has a tremendous impact on well-being.

What is one thing you can do today to nourish yourself?

What is one thing you can do today to support your body, mind, heart and spirit?

What is one thing you can do today that reduces your exposure to chemicals- be it in food, water, personal care products or your environment?

What is one thing you can do today to protect your energy? It might entails saying NO, better yet, HELL NO! to something you don’t want to do.

What is one thing you can do today to move your body in a way that feels pleasurable?

Just one thing! Do that one simple thing for a week or two and then add another thing.

I bet you already have a thing in mind. Something that you’ve been thinking about for a while and just lacking the motivation to take the plunge.

Today is the perfect day to get started on the next level of your healing journey. Any empowered action in the direction you want to go will ripple outwards and affect others as well.

If you want, you can get started right now by placing a hand on your heart and making a commitment to yourself.

Perhaps you’d like to repeat these words from the mindful self-compassion tradition:

May I be safe.

May I be healthy.

May I be at peace.

May I be kind to myself.

May I make choices to support my overall wellness.

If you’d like some support, that’s what I’m here for! I do Reiki healing sessions for people around the globe and soothing, nurturing bodywork here in Philadelphia. It’s my mission to spread this message of self-care and empowerment. I’d be delighted to work with you if that sounds appealing.

But not today. Today, I’m going on a hike, eating fabulous food, reading a fun book and connecting with my friends. I’ll be back in the office tomorrow and ready to give from my overflowing tank.

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I wrote an article over on Substack about my process of reviewing the year through a holistic health and spiritual journey lens. Check out Annual Review if you’d like to learn more about this radical way of thinking.

Radiant Aging and Birthday Bliss

I’m getting older and let me tell you, it’s pretty amazing! Today is my birthday and…
There are many reasons you might have tight muscles. Many of them are worsened by stretching.

WHAT?

Yup.

When a muscle is habitually shortened, stretching can indeed help. If you just spent an hour lifting weights or jogging, i.e. contracting muscles to build strength, stretching them afterwards can help maintain range of motion. If you spend 12 hours every day sitting, your quads are probably chronically shortened and could benefit from daily stretching.

If a muscle is shortened through repetitive contraction or postural patterns, lengthening it will help recreate balance. Unless you go at it aggressively, in which case you will encounter the protective mechanism built into your soft tissue to prevent injury. If you override this, you will likely do harm. Best to stop just short of your edge, linger and attempt to soften.

So, mindful, gentle stretching can help some kinds of tight muscles.

But let’s look at other reasons a muscle might feel tight.

It could be overstretched. Imagine pulling a rubber band to its maximum length. It’s tight, right? Would stretching it release this tension?

No! It will make things worse. Overstretched muscles need slack to relieve tightness. The chronic tension you feel in the back of your neck and upper back? I can almost guarantee they are tired from holding your head up when it’s crept forward of your shoulders. These muscles are already at their limits.

A muscle will tense if any part of you senses danger. Think about getting punched in the gut. Did your belly muscles tighten defensively? Many of us have patterns of contracted muscles due to chronic stress and unresolved trauma. The result? Walking around unconsciously braced for potential attack- physical, emotional, verbal or psychic.

Trying to stretch these muscles is an act of war with yourself. They are holding on and you’re trying to pull them apart, which creates greater unease and sends a signal to the nervous system to tighten further.

Clench your hand into a fist. Everything feels tight, yeah? The solution is to send a signal to the muscles to let go. Trying to override messages from the nervous system that are trying to keep us safe causes more stress and… tension. Protective patterns are usually well-intentioned, but often unskillful, outdated and unnecessary.

Same goes for patterns of emotional protection. If you feel the need to guard your heart, your shoulders and chest might curve in defensively. These muscles will indeed feel tight but until the cause is addressed, any effects of stretching will be temporary at best.

It’s common for muscles to get recruited to protect an injury. If you have a micro tear in a tendon, stretching is going to aggravate it. After the injury is properly healed, stretching can help return to a balanced posture, but before then, those tight muscles are serving an important purpose.

Rather than systematically addressing all tightness with stretching, try something new. Something radical. Drop your awareness into the body, beneath the tightness. Sense what it needs. Is there anything you can soften with your attention and breath? What about shifting your alignment so that your skeleton is bearing more of your weight?

I wholeheartedly recommend moving the body through its full range of motion as a remedy for tightness that won’t worsen these issues. Some forms of yoga can do that- those that invite body awareness and deliberate alignment. Not so much the calisthenics varieties. Somatics is a form of movement reeducation that helps establish healthy patterns. I’m a huge fan of Gyrokinesis classes which do the same.

Addressing the sympathetic nervous system and chronic stress, however, is my number 1 recommendation. Deactivating the message that your brain sends to your muscles to tense will allow much of the tightness to simply melt away. The root cause is often not in the muscles but in the nervous system. The nervous system can be activated by our emotions or our memories and even just a hint of perceived danger can launch a full-on sympathetic response (fight, flight or freeze).

In my 20+ years of literal hands-on work of tight muscles, I can say without a doubt that most of it comes from stress and the nervous system. Many of my clients are trying to get relief by stretching and wonder why it’s not having any benefit. That’s because it isn’t the correct remedy most of the time.

It’s important to note that I’m not saying that stress needs to be eliminated. That’s simply not doable for most of us. Yes, definitely minimize the stressors that you can. AND find a way of managing the unavoidable ones.

It could be meditation, journaling, dancing, tai chi, qi gong, acupuncture, gardening, walking, or painting. Something that brings you joy and moves your body in a way that feels good.

Reiki and gentle massage are brilliant at activating the physiological remedy for stress as well as stimulating circulation and releasing tension. If you’re wanting some support on your journey, I’m here to help.

And in the meantime, if you’ve been stretching and stretching to no avail, give it a break. It’s possible that those muscles are already overstretched.

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When Stretching Doesn’t Work

There are many reasons you might have tight muscles. Many of them are worsened by stretching.…
12 Reasons to Learn Reiki

Reiki for All
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…
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…
Heart Chakra Clearing

Remote Reiki Session

Reiki is an energy healing technique that infuses the recipient with spiritually-guided life-force. It’s safe and gentle, but powerful. It realigns the energy pathways flowing in and around us for maximum wellness, creativity, and happiness.

This special is a new creation, designed to offer the support that is currently in high demand in my practice.

The focus of this treatment is on clearing out blockages that prevent optimal capacity for self-compassion, experiencing joy and receiving love.

Not what you expected, eh?

In my experience, folks who are drawn to Reiki are already pretty well-practiced at sharing love. Often to the point of imbalance.

Opening up to receive love, from the universe and other beings, and generating it from within to fill our own tank seems to be a skill set that many of us could develop further.

Hence, this month’s special.

A 60 minute remote Reiki treatment at a reduced price.

$88 when booked by the end of February.

Remote sessions are the bomb! They are among the most powerful treatments I’ve given and received over the years. You get to stay in your comfy, cozy space and soak up the healing energies without any effort whatsoever.

Sweet!

We begin with a brief phone call to discuss your needs and wishes. Whether you have specific goals, a vague sense of feeling depleted or stagnant or anything in between, Reiki can help.

Then we disconnect so I can focus without the distraction of technology. I’ll follow up with an email with any suggestions that may have arisen in the process.

You’ll be amazed at how empowering and energizing it can be to connect to the flow of love in the world and within your own heart. The effects will ripple out into your work, your relationships, your projects, and your health.

Give yourself the gift of some healing support today.

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February 2024 Reiki Special

Heart Chakra Clearing Remote Reiki Session Reiki is an energy healing technique that infuses the recipient…
There are loads of reasons you might be experiencing, or teetering on the edge of, burnout.

Doing all the things without support from society or family or the workplace is a common source of depleted energy.

Chronic stress is exhausting. And insanely epidemic.

Avoiding our emotions takes an extraordinary bite out of our reserves. Consistent worry and attempts at controlling life or other people are heavy drains on our batteries.

Feeling like you’re lost and alone in a hostile world is another factor that saps energy.

These issues slowly (or not so slowly!) drain life-force over time. If it’s not replaced on a steady basis, the body, mind and spirit suffer.

I think of my life-force energy much the way I do money. I want to have more deposits than withdrawals. I want to spend wisely and curtail all waste. I want to invest in ventures that bring the greatest returns.

It sounds simple, right? Maybe. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. Some obligations are non-negotiable, no matter how draining they are. Some phases of life require a hefty expenditure of energy with delayed benefits. Sometimes the perfect storm hits us out of the blue and catches us off guard.

Don’t get me started on menopause!

Many of the remedies our society points to are not helpful at all. Scrolling on social media, alcohol, binge watching trashy TV and comfort foods might bring momentary relief but don’t actually nourish us in any meaningful way.

If the problem is a deficiency of life-force energy, then deposits of the same are the only true medicine. These can come from time spent in nature, connection with uplifting people, joyful movement, creative projects, and pleasure.

Sadly, these activities might not seem accessible from the vantage point of burnout.

Which is where Reiki comes in. Reiki is a holistic healing technique that bathes the recipient in spiritually guided life-force energy and stimulates the body’s innate abilities to restore itself. It’s the easiest, safest, most powerful strategy I’ve discovered in over 25 years of exploring the journey of healing.

If you need to start making some deposits in your life-force account, look no further. To make things even easier, you have the choice of staying in your fuzzy pajamas and receiving an infusion without leaving home. Or coming to my office in your fuzzy pajamas. 🙂 No judgment here.

While I provide sessions year round, for the month of January, I’m offering 24% off all in-person and remote Reiki treatments. Book by the 31st to take advantage of this deal and get started on the road to recovery.

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Reiki for Burnout

There are loads of reasons you might be experiencing, or teetering on the edge of, burnout.…
Happy New Year!!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been sitting with the question: what monthly special can I offer that will be most supportive for the most people?

A lot of ideas have come through, but mostly from my mind. I’ve been waiting for a response from my soul, which has proven itself to be the wiser guide.

Finally, my instructions have arrived.

Make it easier. Offer a discount for Reiki sessions.

A 24% discount, to be precise, in honor of the new year.

If you find yourself feeling depleted, overdrawn, fatigued, anxious, overwhelmed, underwhelmed, stuck, weighed down, disconnected or otherwise different than how you’d like to feel, Reiki can help.

Book a remote or in-person Reiki session by the end of January 2024 to receive $24 off the normal rate.

(This does not apply to massages or Reiki-massage combinations. Those are more physically demanding and I am carefully navigating a sustainable work load for this body of mine.)

Reiki is a holistic healing modality that promotes stress and pain relief and cultivates optimal wellness by flooding the recipient with life force energy. Not just any ole life-force; spiritually guided life force.

One client describes it as a spiritual hug.

Most people report feeling deeply relaxed and restored and more like themselves.

If you’re wondering if Reiki can be helpful for whatever you’re going through, very likely it can. I use it in my own life for healing injuries and reducing pain (both physical and emotional), connecting with my intuition and creativity, metabolizing stress and the sense of utter dismay at the state of the world, cultivating hormonal balance, digestion and quality sleep, and maintaining my sense of humor along with impeccable discernment as a mature woman navigating the dating scene and urban traffic. It’s the foundation of my spiritual practice and the balm for everything that ails. It’s the primary reason people so often comment on my calmness even amidst the perfect storm that life often cooks up for me.

It is not a magic pill and will not miraculously cure a long-standing, deeply rooted imbalance in the course of an hour. Let’s be real. Nothing can do that! It can, however, break an stress/pain/suffering cycle, help motivate you to take steps in the direction you wish to go and give you the extra oomph to get started.

It works fantastically as a maintenance routine, but also serves as an emergency remedy when the sh*t hits the fan.

It’s my hope that this discount will provide an extra nudge for anyone who has been sitting on the fence considering a session or perhaps the means to do so.

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January 2024 Reiki Special

Happy New Year!! For the past few weeks, I’ve been sitting with the question: what monthly…
A new friend asked me the other day how I unwind.

It took me several moments to realize that I don’t. Or at least I endeavor to not need to unwind.

My response was unexpected, so I took a few moments to gather my thoughts. I have come to realize that my thought process is rather unusual, and wanted to provide a gentle introduction to someone who didn’t yet know my kooky ways. They were expecting me to say something like guided meditation and aromatherapy, both of which I enjoy, but not for the purpose of unwinding.

My strategy is to prevent myself from being wound up in the first place. I am not always successful, but I do make an effort to keep myself from getting too tense or overwhelmed. I find prevention is much easier than recovery.

I’ve noticed that the feeling of being wound up or stressed out is highly unpleasant. I don’t like it. Not at all! And I know from experience that I tend to make unwise decisions when in that state, looking for relief that can often be unhealthy, due to sheer desperation to feel better. A distraction. A numbing out. Delaying the unpleasantness and adding undesirable consequences.

Prevention is not only more enjoyable, but also more effective. I don’t have to deal with the uncomfortable body-mind state or the aftermath of the coping mechanisms that just postpone the inevitable.

I’ve learned that when I spend time in the mornings getting my desires and actions harmonized with the day’s agenda, I have smoother sailing than when I don’t. When I set myself up with a hearty breakfast and move my body in ways that feel good, when I pay attention to my needs and emotions, I start off with a full tank and a clean slate. I have more clarity and the means to move in the direction I desire to go.

Granted, I’ve built a life over the past several decades that is centered around having this luxury of a morning ritual. It’s what works for me and I’ve strived to give it to myself most days. I get that it isn’t for everyone. It’s not the specifics of what I do or how I do it that I’m championing. My way is uniquely mine.

What I’m here to suggest is a simple shift in perspective.

If I could propose just one thing to everyone whose path crosses mine, it would be to get proactive. Conjure up some courage and motivation to get off the merry-go-round of repetitive behavior patterns and do something differently if you want to experience different results.

You might need to experiment a little (or a lot!) to figure out what you need and how to provide it in a way that makes sense for your personality, circumstances, and resources. Even a quick 10-minute breathing/stretching/dancing/walking/journaling session will be effective if tended to consistently.

Find your thing! Know that it will evolve over time. It may even be different on a day-by-day basis. It’s the act of committing to doing something, anything really, for yourself on a consistent basis that will help you stay unwound and free you up from the more challenging task of unwinding in a healthful and productive way.

What’s just one thing that you can do today? I bet you already know what it is. Take that first step and you just might sense the universe meeting you halfway. When tomorrow comes it will be easier to take the next step because you’ll have the knowing that you can do it and that you’re on your path to creating a more enjoyable future for yourself.

If you need some support getting started, check out my December Reiki special. Clearing the chakra system is one way to jumpstart a new habit.

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Chakra Special

Unwinding

A new friend asked me the other day how I unwind. It took me several moments…

remote Reiki

Heart Chakra Clearing

Remote Reiki Session

Happy New Year!!