Monthly Archives: March 2020

A brief shutdown: COVID-19

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A forest in Abruzzo, Italy.

What a strange world. I’ve never lived through a global pandemic where access to information is immediate. So, we’re living in a health crisis where our friends and family, around the world, are being simultaneously affected. Workplaces and schools are being shut down. Events, flights and holidays are being cancelled. New developments are happening not only a weekly or daily basis, but every few hours.

So, it’s been interesting for me to observe what’s happening and think about how to apply it to Reiki Surry Hills. While I’m hoping that with 300 cases currently, Australia has some control over COVID-19, this is not for certain. Friends on Facebook, many of them health professionals and those who work on social and economic policy, are coming together in consensus that as much social distancing as possible is needed, and non-essential social contacts should be avoided.

This is in the face of unknown risk, that even if incidence of COVID-19 may be minimal, it is best practice and shows community responsibility for us all to do our part right now.

So, for now:

  • As reiki treatments involve prolonged contact in close quarters between myself and a client
  • I don’t have the expertise or desire to interrogate clients that I don’t know about whether they have been at risk of COVID-19
  • While I like to think Reiki is essential, in the bigger picture, it is not.

… I think it’s a wise decision for now, for me, for you and for the community, for Reiki Surry Hills to go on a little break, hopefully only temporarily. Right now, I’ve blocked off appointments until the end of March but I’ll keep monitoring the situation and make decisions according to the information that I have.

So, apologies if you’re trying to get an appointment. I hope to give you a treatment on the other side of this!

Discover the gifts and benefits of a session of Japanese reiki therapy, healing energy from an experienced practitioner. Visit my website or Facebook page for more information and SMS, email, call me or book online if you’d like to make an appointment. Since 2011, I’ve given more than 1,500 reiki treatments.
Clients come to relieve stress, anxiety and for many other issues, or to just give reiki a try to see what it does for them. Folks come from all over Sydney and elsewhere to see me. While it’s easiest to get to me from the CBD, Darlinghurst, Paddington, Kings Cross, Redfern and Potts Point, I’m pretty easy to get to from anywhere in Sydney.

How often should I get reiki?

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One of the most common questions that I get after a treatment is ‘how often should I have a reiki treatment?’

The easy answer is: it’s up to you.

The longer answer is:

After your treatment, pay attention to how you felt afterwards, and that night, and the next day. And if you can, continue to try to notice what changes – energetically, emotionally, physically, spiritually – might have taken place.

Some clients just ‘feel’ the treatment during the treatment itself, and that is enough for them, to feel quiet and relaxed in the midst of their busy lives. Some feel the effects for the rest of the day, and into the next day. Others report feeling the effects for a few days, and a few have told me that a treatment creates a long-term change that can last for a week or longer.

Then there’s the question of why you came for the treatment, and if the treatment had a good effect. If you came in to be more relaxed and centred before a job interview, then unless you have another job interview right away, perhaps your intention can be met in one treatment. If it’s a long-term issue, then perhaps regular reiki is a good way to heal if you found the treatment helpful. If you’ve had anxiety for many months or many years, it’s not realistic to think that just one reiki treatment is going to be a cure.

Then there’s the practical issues which shouldn’t be ignored. Is it convenient for you to come regularly? How can you make the time to do things you want to do? Can you afford the cost and the time?

But I know that people have read online or heard that people should come for multiple reiki treatments. Why is this?

There is one very prominent reiki teacher who advised all of his students to tell clients that if they really want to address an issue, they should have a minimum of three reiki treatments (in about three weeks). He taught a lot of people, so I’ve seen this repeated on many reiki websites.

But unfortunately, I suspect that this was as much about marketing and convincing clients to return than it was about actually finding out from each client what’s best for them. I personally disagree with the idea of telling a client that they need to come back or must come more than once. I think it really should be up to you.

  • Some clients are really interested in what reiki can do for them so come back multiple times.
  • Some clients find that reiki feels good and that they find it useful and helpful to have regular treatments.
  • Some clients find that reiki helps support their other practices, like meditation.

So, there’s a huge variation of how often clients come.

  • I’ve had a few clients who have come every week or two, for a period of time (maybe a few months), and then take a break or stop.
  • I have some semi-regular clients who come about every month.
  • I have one client now who tries to come up to three times a week.
  • Many clients I see once, and then not again for another six months or year.
  • Lots of clients I see once and never again (though maybe they will try reiki with someone else).

The only however that I have is that I have heard back from clients who know that a reiki treatment was beneficial to them but then get caught up in their busy lives or stress and anxiety, and don’t make the time to come in for a treatment. I hope that by keeping in touch with my clients by newsletter that I can remind them to come back sometime! If you know that it helps you, especially at times when you’re feeling low energy, anxious, sad or not quite in balance, do try to make the time. You’re worth it!

Anyways, if you’re still reading (I do go on, sometimes, don’t I?), as I said, it’s up to you how often you come for reiki treatments. I’d really prefer you to practise asking yourself, ‘When would I like another treatment?’ and then listening to yourself!  And when you’d like another treatment, I’m here! I look forward to seeing you.

Discover the gifts and benefits of a session of Japanese reiki therapy, healing energy from an experienced practitioner. Visit my website or Facebook page for more information and SMS, email, call me or book online if you’d like to make an appointment. Since 2011, I’ve given more than 1,500 reiki treatments.
Clients come to relieve stress, anxiety and for many other issues, or to just give reiki a try to see what it does for them. Folks come from all over Sydney and elsewhere to see me. While it’s easiest to get to me from the CBD, Darlinghurst, Paddington, Kings Cross, Redfern and Potts Point, I’m pretty easy to get to from anywhere in Sydney.

 

Part-time reiki

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Reiki is not a full-time job for me. My other work is as an editor, mainly of reports, for United Nations agencies and government bodies like the City of Sydney.

It’s a great combination for me. As I work from home, when I have a reiki treatment, I swap rooms from my home office to the reiki room. It gives me a break from my editing work to do something completely different. I get to be in a quiet, meditative state during my work day. Very occasionally, I’ll have to limit the reiki treatments so I can meet deadlines for my other work.

I’m not sure if there are many or any folks in Sydney who manage to survive as a full-time reiki practitioner. I think some people combine giving treatments with teaching and then also offer other services: massage, crystal healing, clairvoyance, counselling or more. But even though more and more people are learning about reiki, I think it’s not mainstream enough in Australia in the big cities to support reiki practitioners full-time. Maybe in places like Byron Bay or Bali, it’s more popular.

This suits me fine. If I had to rely on reiki for a living, it would really change the nature of my whole practice. I’d have to be more aggressive about trying to find clients. I’d have to try to convince clients to come back more regularly rather than whenever they feel called to have a treatment. I’d have to charge more. And I’m sure it would cause some level of stress and anxiety, which runs counter to the whole idea of a reiki.

So, I feel lucky that I can offer treatments from my home, where I don’t have the extra costs of renting a space, and that I can be happy with the number of clients I get and not worry about whether I have enough clients to survive. At the same time, I’ve found it enjoyable to learn aspects of running reiki as a business: how to provide a good service, how to seek feedback and reviews, how to promote my services. The treatments are all the better and more professional because of it, instead of thinking of reiki just as a hobby or as a favour that I’m doing for someone.

I’m grateful to have reiki as a part-time job; in fact, I’m quite proud of it too!

Discover the gifts and benefits of a session of Japanese reiki therapy, healing energy from an experienced practitioner. Visit my website or Facebook page for more information and SMS, email, call me or book online if you’d like to make an appointment. Since 2011, I’ve given more than 1,500 reiki treatments.
Clients come to relieve stress, anxiety and for many other issues, or to just give reiki a try to see what it does for them. Folks come from all over Sydney and elsewhere to see me. While it’s easiest to get to me from the CBD, Darlinghurst, Paddington, Kings Cross, Redfern and Potts Point, I’m pretty easy to get to from anywhere in Sydney.