I’ve learned over the years that clients usually come early. This makes sense to me, as if you’ve never been here, you might not know how long it will take to find me. Or to find parking. Or to follow my somewhat detailed instructions on how to find me! And, from personal experience, I know that public transportation can also be unreliable in getting you where you want to go at a certain time.

I try to be ready 20 minutes before the official start time of an appointment, though I don’t *always* manage that.

Communication is so easy these days. It continues to surprise me. So, while I generally keep my phone to silent, I’ll be monitoring my phone for your calls if you’re coming to a treatment. If you arrive really early, don’t hesitate to text or call me to find out if I can take you early. I just might be able to do that, and I don’t want you waiting for no reason, particularly if it’s hot (or cold) outside or otherwise uncomfortable.

The same thing if you’re going to be late. Please let me know so I don’t wonder if you won’t show up or if we’ve made a mistake in the booking. While these things rarely happen, they *have* happened in the past, so it helps me out to know what you’re up to.

And finally, while I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: call me if you’re lost or don’t know how to get here. I’d much rather try to figure out where you are and direct you to me than have you wandering around lost in the neighbourhood, which can be stressful, and not the best state of mind to arrive in for a treatment!

I’m just a text or phone call away!

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 over 1,800 reiki treatments.

Clients come to relieve stress, anxiety and for many other issues, or to just give reiki a try to see what it brings them. Folks visit 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.

I think we all feel sometimes a little like Grumpy Cat here (a friend of Maneki-neko, the Lucky Cat). But actually, I’m quite grateful to clients who complain, even though I’m sorry that there was something to complain about.

In fact, I’d like to thank all my clients who got lost getting here, which has encouraged me step by step to figure out how I can try to prevent that. I’ve put up a photo of my building’s entrance on the ‘contact’ page of my website. And I’ve changed and reworded the instructions I send out by text many times. And most clients these days are telling me the directions are very clear!

I would like to thank my client who at the very end of the treatment, when I asked her how she felt, she admitted that her hair had been digging into the back of her head the whole treatment, and it was uncomfortable! I’m sorry she didn’t say something earlier, but now I’ve gotten into the habit of making sure all my women clients who have their hair tied up in a bun or ponytail make sure that they take it out, or adjust it before the treatment so they are perfectly comfortable.

I also have to thank my client who admitted that the ticking of my wristwatch, when my hands were next to her head, was loud enough to prevent her from relaxing! It is weirdly loud, my wristwatch. So, I never wear my watch during a treatment.

No one has actually complained yet about it but I apologise for anyone who has heard my phone ringing during a treatment when I didn’t set it to airplane mode. Every once in a while, it happens again, but I try not to forget this. Also, sometimes I have problems with the sound system, either because I’ve forgotten to charge it up, or (and this I haven’t solved yet) the speaker seems to try to connect to someone else’s phone rather than mine!

Lastly, I need to thank the client who was disappointed that the room wasn’t dark enough for her, as when she had a reiki treatment in a spa in Bali. Even when I draw the blinds, when it’s sunny and during the day, the room can be relatively bright. The other thing is that I wasn’t sure whether my clients wanted that feeling of being in a completely dark room with a stranger! I wondered if my women clients would feel more comfortable in a dark but not completely dark room. So, it took me a while to figure this one out, but now I offer my clients a cover for their eyes. For hygiene, in these days of COVID-19, I put a folded tissue over the client’s eyes, and then an airplane mask (but without attaching it completely around the head, as one client told me it was uncomfortable as the strap dug into the back of her head) and then on top of that, an eye pillow. I’ve found so far that my clients are about half and half. Some prefer to just close their eyes and might find the covering distracting, and others like the darkness! It’s up to 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 over 1,700 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. 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. A recent client told me she found me by googling ‘Best Reiki Sydney’. Come see for yourself. 

What a strange time for the world. I’ve never experienced or witnessed anything like it in my lifetime, where friends and family around the world are all living through the same crisis: affected in different ways, certainly, but most people are directly affected in some way, whether they are being asked to wear a mask, exercise social distancing, or are even on the frontlines, as some of my friends are who are healthcare workers. I feel very grateful to be living in Australia, this island nation, relatively protected from infections. Though Melbourne is in a harsh lockdown that is continuing at the moment, our numbers are really so small compared to the rest of the world.

They were also strange days at the beginning of the epidemic, trying to find out what was happening and what I should do in terms of my reiki practice. I closed down a few days before we were officially required to do so, and then cancelled any appointments that had come in for the lockdown period. My online booking service, Bookwell, put everything on hold. I still got enquiries occasionally, as well as notes from clients who said to contact them as soon as I opened up. It was the longest period that I’d not given reiki treatments since starting Reiki Surry Hills, but it was not something to worry about, in the grand scheme of things.

I was surprised, when I was allowed to open, after three months of being closed, that it took a while for clients to return, and none were in a rush to come back. It felt like we were all cautious about how to reengage with the world, and how much time to spend outside our homes. I think the biggest change that I noticed, which has continued, is that people are not planning far into the future. I have a much higher share of clients than before who book just the day before, or even the day of an appointment. When the news about COVID has been bad, with a higher number of cases, I have noticed that clients have been staying home. I’ve also had a higher number of clients who have requested the student or concession rate, and I’ve been more proactive about offering this price if I find out a client might be struggling financially.

Overall, I’m impressed with how clients are coping with these strange days. There have definitely been clients who have come in because they are dealing with COVID-related change and stress, moving back to Australia from overseas, living in circumstances that may not be ideal (such as unexpectedly living with family members), and stress about keeping, changing or losing a job. I gave treatments to at least two clients who had just come out of hotel quarantine. I think the biggest hardships have been for clients who are from overseas, and unsure of whether to ride out the epidemic here in Australia (with uncertain employment) or go back home (and cut short their plans of being in Australia for a period, and then be unlikely to be able to return to Australia to work on the same visa). Other clients have been separated from their loved ones, or unable to travel home for a celebration or a funeral, which is heartbreaking.

And yet, what can we do in these unpredictable times? Generally, I see clients living more in the present moment and accepting the uncertainty. Recognising when they are feeling stress or facing difficulties, and being proactive about seeking support, like a reiki treatment. Perhaps because we are so lucky in Sydney with a limited number of cases of COVID, I think it is generally possible for all of us to try not to worry about what we can’t control, but then be proactive about what we can do: take care of our mental health and be compassionate to ourselves and others.

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 over 1,700 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. 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. A recent client told me she found me by googling ‘Best Reiki Sydney’. Come see for yourself.