What can you expect? Well, there is no “typical” session, and that is part of the beauty and mystery of Reiki. It is a experience that begins as soon as you arrive and it unfolds exactly as it is meant to unfold into your own intentional, sacred, and beautiful healing.
Your session will usually begin with a few moments of checking in, seeing what is up, sign disclosures, and set a healing intention. The table is set up and there is an altar space specifically arranged with plants and crystals for the day. The room has been smudged. Water glasses are out. A candle burns. Light music may be playing.
Photo credit: Naomi Boggs
After the check in, the session takes on its own life. It might be all Reiki or it might include botanicals or some other modalities. That would be determined by both practitioner and client and can/would change from session to session.
All sessions include time on the table and an opportunity to drop in, relax, breathe deeply, and allow the nervous system to realign. They could be one hour or an hour and a half in length.
On occasion, I will reach for a goddess or animal card deck and randomly select a card from it. One client came and felt the card that was pulled in advance held a message specifically for her and we celebrated and sat in the mystery of that expression; one woman felt excited by the way the candle melted and felt that a message had been given; another person had a sore finger and had a loving connection to the plant that we wrapped around it.
It really doesn’t matter what you are intending, but that you are open. There are times when you can leave and not feel the warmth in the touch or anything, but have a sense that something is maybe different and that is also great! It can be unlike other bodywork sessions–it is a time for deep nourishment for the soul.
I encourage an attitude of “no agenda-no expectations”. When working with spirit and Reiki energies, I/we work in linear and non-linear time and we often have the sense that there are more energies than just mine working when we call on the lineages and the plant allies. Whatever comes up in the session is confidential. You are in sacred space.
The Reiki energy is a simple one–one that is available to all and involves opening up our heart. The effectiveness is in the way the client opens to it and draws that energy into themselves. Reiki practitioners have been attuned to this powerful energy and our job is to simply step out of the way and become the hollow bone or channel for it to flow though us for the highest good of the person receiving. Again, not fixing, but allowing for the client’s inner wisdom to be the guide.
Having the healing space in the home has certain advantages. Hearing the birds, dogs, chickens, neighborhood children at times is healing. Nature is a great healer! After one session, a coyote walked past the door. Another time, after working with someone’s animal totem– bear–, we had a bear coincidently that night visit our bee hives. Animals love the Reiki energies too and may come close–often you will see deer, squirrels and other wildlife nearby.
I have been a student of the Reiki energies for a number of years now, and I am grateful to be able to share this healing with others. I love the reassurance and sense of calm that I receive in a session. I found found this work to be very profound and has come in handy during these highly intense times. I have a daily self-care practice. Reiki can do no harm and the practitioners benefit and receive as they give–a win-win!
This fall I will be offering a Reiki 1 attunement class and workshop, as well as offering personal Reiki and earth-centered bodywork sessions per request. Stop by the Farmer’s Market in Boulder for more information, or just contact me to schedule a time.