What is Reiki and What Can You Expect in a Session?

I get asked those questions a lot.  So I thought I’d address them here.

WHAT IS REIKI AND HEALING TOUCH?

Let’s say you bumped your knee on the living room coffee table. What would you do? You would probably reach for it with your hands (while at the same time crying out “ouch!”), right?! Or your child falls down and goes “boom”. What do they want you to do? Most likely it’s “Mommy, will you hold me?” Right? Why? Because it feels better! Your body instinctively knows what it needs. We all have healing energy in our hands and have the capacity to heal ourselves, whether we realize it or not. The only difference is that as a practitioner, I have been trained in techniques to focus that energy in an intentional way.

Both Reiki and Healing Touch are a form of energy work using the hands to act as a conduit for what is referred to as Life Force Energy. It uses gentle, light or near-body touch to clear, balance, energize and support the human energy system to facilitate and support healing for the whole person: mind, body and spirit.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT IN MY SESSION?

The goal of Reiki/Healing Touch is to restore harmony and balance in the human energy system, thus creating an optimal environment for the body’s innate tendency to heal itself.

All sessions take place fully-clothed in a zen-like, peaceful space. The whole idea is to induce a deep state of relaxation, and so I do what I can to create a quiet, spa-like atmosphere where you can relax fully.

If it is your first visit, there will be a short intake session to discuss any health issues or concerns you may have, to clarify my role and your expectations. Subsequent visits include a shorter intake to bring me up to speed on any changes in your life status and your experience since our last visit.

If you like essential oils and don’t have an allergy to any, I will both diffuse doTerra essential oils (such as Lavender or Citrus Bliss or Serenity) into the air as well as use them on my hands to enhance the experience with a bit of aromatherapy.

Usually, you will lay face up on a massage table, with your shoes off, a bolster under your knees and a light blanket on your feet and legs if desired. From there, the session will proceed using my own unique combination of Reiki and Healing Touch techniques designed to allow you to enter a deep state of relaxation, which is where the body does what it wants to do naturally – heal and regenerate itself.

I usually start the session at your feet, taking a few moments to both ground myself and you. I then move to various parts of the body and, with your permission, place my hands on different energy centers such as the knees, torso, heart, arms and head. I hold them there, sometimes for moments and others for as long as a minute. Where I go has a lot to do with our discussion prior to the treatment and your stated issues and where I feel “lead” to go. It really is a joint partnership with you and your stated intentions. I cannot control where the energy flows, it will go where the body most needs it, but I can certainly focus extra attention on specific areas.

Many people enter a sleep state fairly quickly, some even snore! I take that as a compliment! To me it says you trust our relationship and the process.Each session ends back where I started, at your feet.

If you have to return to work after your session, please let me know so that I can end the session with a technique which will give your adrenals a little kick of energy. Otherwise, you will leave alert but relaxed.

HOW DOES ENERGY HEALING WORK?

Energy therapies focus on removing energy “congestion” that forms in our energy fields (aura) and energy centers (Chakras).  It re-establishes healthy energy flow through opening, connecting and balancing the human energy system.

CAN IT RELIEVE PAIN?

Although I am not a doctor, do not prescribe for any condition nor can I make any guarantees, I can say that many clients experience relief from a variety of issues, some temporarily, others permanently. Research has shown that some of the benefits include:

• Reduces Pain
• Relieves Stress & Depression
• Reduces Anxiety
• Provides Support during Chemotherapy
• Strengthens the Immune System
• Relive Insomnia
• Reduces Headaches/Migraines
• Deepens Spiritual Connection

Our local Sharp  Hospital also uses it in surgery support (to reduce recovery time), and in their hospice program to assist with and ease the dying process.

Sharp actually requires (and pays for) all their RN’s to attend the first level Healing Touch course (there are five levels). To me, that is a huge testament to their belief in the effectiveness of the work.

The VA also offers it to their soldiers as one of their alternative healing modalities to help them with PTSD.

You can schedule your session using our online calendar here: Online Scheduling

Questions?  Please let me know!  I am here to support you in your desire for wellness.

Gemstones and Your Energy Centers

As you may have gathered, I love gemstones!  And not just the semi-precious variety.  I love river rocks, beach pebbles and even the raw granite that is so common here in our California mountains.

It is my belief that one of my roles on this planet is to be a teacher and to share my love of gemstones and how we can use them as a tool to help balance and heal our Chakra (energy) centers.  Because of that, I am launching a number of new projects, including:

1)  A new Chakra jewelry line.  I debuted the first piece in the line called the  Helix Healing Chakra Pendant at a recent art show and almost sold out of them!  The reception to it has been a wonderful surprise!

2)  A Chakra workshop where I and a colleague of mine will go through all the Chakras, their role and purpose, how to recognize when they’re out of balance and how to use gemstones, sound, yoga movements, and more, to help rebalance and energize them.  I am so stoked about this and the information and healing it will provide you!  Stay tuned for dates and more info.

3)  And last but not least, I will be providing you more information via my BLOG about the energy of stones as well as the stones used in my designs.  Soon, you will see a description of the healing properties of the stones along with the designs listed for sale.  I am a firm believer that we are drawn to certain gemstones for not only their color, but for the energy that they have for us.  So perhaps by having this information available when you go to purchase a design you’ll better understand your attraction to it — it may be more than you think!

In the meantime, check out the latest addition to my website – a Gemstone Dictionary.  This dictionary will grow and evolve over time, so check back often and use it as a resource for your own personal awareness.

Some of you may be asking, what the heck is a Chakra?  I’ll be expanding on that topic more later, but for now think of Chakras as wheels of energy or vortices that emanate at certain points in the body, starting from the base of your spine to the crown of your head.  Wikipedia actually has a pretty darn good definition of Chakras, so check that out.  I also have some books and other information on my Resources website page.

Since I just launched my Chakra jewelry line, the next BLOG series will focus on each gemstone that is said to help balance, open and heal the Chakras, starting from the Root Chakra.

With lots of great energy~

Debra

Me and My Muse

Hi friends!

It was late one night last week and I was trying to unwind  before bed by watching a recorded episode of  HGTV’s Color Splash.  I love David Bromstad’s creativity and his ability to tap into each client’s unique tastes and wishes.  I also would love to be able to so easily (or so it seems) paint such beautiful paintings.  But, I digress!

As I watched, both of his design assistants were sporting these long earrings, which sparked a design idea in my head.  But I was too tired to go into my studio, and, after all, I was trying to unwind so I could go to sleep!

The design danced around in my head for a couple of days.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Friday morning after breakfast I couldn’t wait to go into my studio and bring the design to life.  It didn’t take long before I ended up with these:

Circles of Light

I love them!  They’re fun, they sparkle, have movement and color and they tinkle in my ears, reminding me I am wearing something special.

Here’s the thing though, they aren’t the design that was in my head!  I had clearly pictured something completely different!

My creative Muse is like that.  She’s like an uncontrollable child who smiles at me coyly, batts her long eyelashes and says “Yeah, yeah, yeah.  That’s fine, but I wanna do THIS!”  She then goes on her merry way, dragging me along on her expedition to explore something I had NOT envisioned.

That’s half the fun of it for me actually, the not knowing where we’re going and what will show up.  Sometimes it doesn’t work, but most of the time it does.  That probably has more to do with how willing I am to go along with the flow and not control the process.

I had some appointments that day.  No time that morning to try my hand at the design that was still in my head.

All day I reflected on how that had happened.  “How does that work?” I still find myself asking.  I mean, I had had a very clear picture in my head!  I had even assembled them in my mind numerous times, visualizing how all of the pieces would go together; what chain and stones I intended on using.  And yet somehow, in the middle of the process I had gotten off track and created something completely different without even consciously realizing it.

Again, I couldn’t wait to get home Friday afternoon to go back to my studio and make those earrings.  It was driving me crazy!

And so I did, and here they are:

Elegant Chain Crystal Dangle Earrings

I love these too!  They’re light as a feather, have a subtle hint of color and they sparkle even through my long hair.  Notice though how different they are from the first pair!  No comparison!

So there you have it, the creative process of me and my Muse.  It isn’t often I start out with such a clear picture of what I want to design.  Usually it’s more like I have a strand of beads that appeal to me and I sit down with them and just begin playing with mixing them with other beads or chain until something “pops”.  It’s a very intuitive process, kind of like being on a treasure hunt.  Maybe that’s one thing I like about it.  I love surprises and I am frequently surprised at what comes out with a simple strand of beads.

Until next time,

Debra

P.S.  My marketing manager, if I had one, would probably konk me on the head if I didn’t at least mention that if you like either of the designs, I’ll probably have some available for purchase at the Talmadge Art Show this weekend for $29 each.  If you like ’em and can’t make the show, drop me a line at Debra@YOUniqueGems.com for your own pair.