Category Archives: Reiki Surry Hills

What do I feel? (What do you feel?)

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I am trying to teach my cat to give me reiki…

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One of the common questions that I get after I give a reiki treatment to a client is: ‘What did you feel?’ or ‘What did you pick up?’

In fact, I think almost half of my last clients asked this.

My answer these days is that it’s not important what I feel, it’s important what you feel, during and after a treatment.

I do know that there are many reiki practitioners and other clairvoyants and healers who give lots of specific advice. I had a client come because a random stranger came up to her and told her she had bad energy. I’ve had many clients come because someone has told them that they have a blocked chakra that needs clearing.

But now that I’ve been doing this for a long time, I really question how useful it is to tell clients something of the sort. The thing is, I’m not sure whether people really feel these different types of energy, or if it’s their egos talking. And more importantly, what does it mean? Is it useful information? The very first reiki treatment I had, a proper session rather than a ‘taster’ at a psychic fair, was in Rarotonga of all places. I asked my healer after the treatment what he felt, and he said that I was imbalanced and had more energy on one side of my body. I think I probably leaned to one side for the next few days! But seriously, what use was that information? What did it tell me in a way that helped me? Nothing. Sorry.

Similarly, if someone tells you that your heart chakra is blocked, unless you are committed to researching to find meditations or visualisations that might help with this, what are you going to do about it? You might end up going to a healer who says they can fix it! Or buy a crystal! Or wander around worrying that your heart chakra is blocked. And then: how do you know that what the person told you is true?

I also feel that the analysis mode of our brain is a different mode than the healing part. My work is to tune into the healing energy of reiki and facilitate you to do so as well. I would do a poorer job if I am trying to analyse what I’m feeling from you and then remember to tell you. And what my reiki teacher would remind me is that the real aim is oneness, to be at one with the energy and at one with my client. Giving an analysis of what *I* feel from doing a reiki treatment on *you* actually emphasises a division between us, rather than a oneness.

I really believe that our body’s energy is mysterious. Who knows if a bit of energy at your knee is actually a way to help you feel more focused at work! Or if your broken heart will feel better not by having my hands near your physical heart but at your shoulders or the top of your head. Often, what I feel is not what you feel during a treatment. So, what use is it to tell you that I felt warmth at your stomach and you didn’t? You may think that something is wrong with you that you didn’t feel the same, and spend too much time wondering about what it means to have warmth at your stomach.

I get it though! It’s a part of our human nature, to want to know something about yourselves, to try to get some useful insight. And as I said, I used to ask my reiki healers what they felt too! But these days, I tell clients that I don’t tell them what I feel during a treatment.

If you really, really want to know what I felt during your treatment,  and I have to give an answer, it will be this:

It’s different for every person, and it’s different each time, even if it’s the same person. Sometimes my hands are drawn more strongly to a position or a body part. Often it feels warm, but there are so many variations of warmth: a gentle heat, a light warmth, a more intense, hot sensation. Sometimes I’ll feel a sensation that’s tingly and a little electric. Other times, I might feel something larger, not just in my hands, but a general feeling of peace or relaxation.

But mostly, I try not to notice what I feel. As advised by my reiki teacher Frans, I aim to just keep my mind open and not analyse or interpret.

What’s important is not how I feel but how you feel, both at the time of the treatment and as the effects unfold afterwards, the same day, that evening, the next day and into the next week. If you feel positive or energised, or if you feel that the treatment addressed the reason you came: that’s the important thing.

If you really are looking for answers, then there are other types of practices – kinesiology, clairvoyance, counsellors, therapists and medical doctors – that might be able give you what you want.

If this blog felt familiar, I wrote a version of it in February 2017. But it was time for an update!

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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 text, email, call me or book online if you’d like to make an appointment. Since 2011, I’ve given nearly 1,400 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.

 

New postcard!

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I never knew much about marketing, and it’s been fun, over the last eight years, to learn a bit, in a relaxed way, where I’m not desperately trying to get people to come for reiki treatments. Many years ago, I made my first postcard to give away. I actually did a letter-box drop in the neighbourhood. And I think I received zero clients from it. I thought potential clients would find it good to know that I’m close by, but I’m not sure the interest in reiki is enough, and I think people really hate receiving flyers in the mail these days! It was also not easy to find places to leave the postcards, and I eventually just handed them out to my clients, and sometimes, clients would take extra ones for their friends.

I think this has been most effective, as it reminds my clients, who have already hopefully had a good experience, that I’m around, and hopefully they kept the postcard up somewhere where they can see it.

I finally ran out of my old postcard, and the design was so old that I discovered it wouldn’t be easy to recreate. As you can see below, it used the old concept of a ‘Word Cloud’, which was fun at the time but I think had its moment.

So what would I do? I wanted to use one of my own photos and found one from our trip, a number of years ago, to Torres del Paine, a national park in Patagonia in Chile, one of the most beautiful places that I’ve ever been to. The photo brings me a feeling of peace and beauty and gratitude, so I hope it works for others too. Then, rather than a Word Cloud, I thought I could just make a little list.

Technology is really amazing these days, and to be able to design the postcard using www.canva.com, for free, and have it look so professional and pretty: I’m very happy with it. There’s just no way I could design that a few years ago with the technology available at the time. I always found Photoshop extremely difficult to use!

In any case, hope you like my new postcard, and I hope I can give you some at your next reiki treatment!

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 1,350 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.

Reviews from Bookwell

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How wonderful! In the last period, I received a whole bunch of really great reviews, on the Bookwell site, on Google and on Facebook. I thought I’d start by posting the ones from Bookwell (my booking service, that allows you to choose your time online and if you wish, pay in advance by card). I can see I haven’t shared these since May! Thanks to my clients for sharing their experiences.

Emma ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
visited November 2019

Was a very healing session, in a beautiful space. It is obvious that Andy is very balanced and offers a very authentic and powerful healing experience. Very grateful I found my way there. Would definitely recommend to others.
Carole ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
visited November 2019

I aways have a great healing with Andy. I was pleased to find annoying pain in my body, heal and it’s gone and hasn’t come back.

Aaron ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

visited October 2019

Amazing experience with Andy, who was very accommodating and generous with all aspects of the Reiki session. Provided a perfect environment and his professionalism was without fault. He followed up afterwards and made himself available for any further inquires, which for a person new to the experience, was very helpful and appreciated. The session itself was magical in the truest sense of the word. Something wondrous did occur and to try and define exactly what transpired would do the process a disservice. Would highly recommend Reiki with Andy. He is someone who understands and respects the tradition and delivers it in the most respectful way in an environment which is comfortable for the client.

Amy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

visited September 2019
Andy is Magic. I’ve had several sessions recently, whilst experiencing varying degrees of turmoil, and each time I have left with a profound sense of calm, clarity and a softening towards myself and others. A gentleness. It’s hard to articulate but somehow Andy has been able to deliver exactly what I needed in the moment. He puts you at ease instantly, and his peaceful space and beautiful music adds to the experience. Thank you, Andy.
Fay ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
visited September 2019
Patricia ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
visited September 2019

Very relaxing and calming. Walked out of my session refreshed and at peace. Great session!

Luhana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
visited September 2019

Andy has a wonderful energy! I really recommend this experience

Alice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
visited August 2019

I feel very fortunate to have discovered Andy, a highly intuitive and gifted healer. My session was impactful and profound. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Vipasha ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

visited August 2019

Norah ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

visited July 2019

Jodie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

visited July 2019
Matthew ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

visited July 2019
Andy is awesome – would highly recommend!
Vanessa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

visited June 2019

The experience with Andy was great! Highly recommended.

Tiffany ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

visited June 2019
Emilio ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
visited May 2019

Incredibly relaxing experience, got to levels of relaxation I have not achieved through meditation alone.

✨ ✨ ✨

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 1,350 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.

The latest Reiki newsletter

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I’m back from my wonderful holidays in Italy in late September and early October, and am back into the swing of things. I had a lot of enquiries about reiki while I was away, and nicely, a number of them followed up and came as soon as I got back.

One of the things that I’ve managed to do is send out a newsletter. I try to send these out every three or four months, but usually I manage to only send out two a year! I think it’s a good way of keeping in touch with my clients and reminding them that I’m here, though with email these days, I’m not sure whether they actually reach all my clients, or go into their spam folders, or just get ignored, because we all get so much email these days.

It’s also a nice way to report on my practice or share new learnings, hopefully of interest to my clients.

If you didn’t see the latest newsletter, it’s here.

The last newsletter already had the desired effect. I’ve had two clients already who came. Both had been planning to come for a little while and the newsletter was a nice nudge to do so.

Do you need a nudge?

I invite you to get in touch and book an appointment. It would be good to see you and I’m at your service.

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 1,300 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.

Cope with anxiety: 5-4-3-2-1

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Of course, there’s always gelato.

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Because the most common issue that clients come with is anxiety, I am always interested in hearing about new ways to deal with it. While I hope that reiki can help, especially if it’s a long-term problem, reiki may only be one of the tools in your toolbox to help you. I often recommend a therapist if you’re not seeing one already. A good therapist will tackle anxiety in two ways: by looking for the root causes, which could be an issue from the past (and may not be evident), and by giving you techniques you can use right away, in a practical sense.

I just stumbled on a technique that I was unfamiliar with. It was attached to a New York Times article that advises parents to stop shaming their kids who have tantrums by posting videos on Instagram! But that’s how the internet works, right? One thing leads to another, and suddenly here’s a new technique to manage anxiety.

In a post from the University of Rochester, it advises that if you catch yourself feeling anxious, or if you know you’re going into a situation that will cause you anxiety, to focus on the present moment, your breathing and then your senses. It starts by saying: notice five things around you that you can see …

Check it out if it might help you! And report back in the comments section if you’ve tried it and find it useful (or not).

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 1,200 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.

Reiki and chakras

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One of the most frequent questions that I get is whether I work on a client’s chakras during a treatment.

Accordingly to the traditional Japanese energy systems, there are three centres of energy, at the third eye (or forehead), at the heart, and at the hara (a few inches below the navel).

My teachers, Frans Stiene and Bronwen Logan, call these the Three Diamonds, and encourage them as a focus for meditation.

The system of seven chakras that came out a few ancient Indian traditions is a different system. However, when reiki was popularised in the West, primarily in North America, in the 1980s, it was at a time when a lot of people were interested in the Indian chakra system, and the practices sort of converged. So, many Western reiki practitioners do like to use the system of chakras, and talk about reiki in terms of them.

I don’t.

It’s not that I don’t believe in them, it’s that I haven’t found them useful for my practice. Since energy flows in all parts of our body, I believe that a treatment should facilitate energy and healing everywhere, not just focused on or limited to the chakras. For example, some reiki teachers encourage a series of hand patterns that only cover the upper part of the body (as there are no thigh, knee and feet chakras). But as taught by Frans, I always work at the feet, and clients sometimes tell me this is where they feel the most energy, or they feel energy entering or leaving from their feet as it connects and flows to other parts of the body.

My other issue with all this talk of chakras is that many healers use them to tell clients things that I think are not useful or not correct. Does it really help to be told that your chakras are out of balance? Is it true? If someone tells you that your base chakra is blocked, what can you do about it? The prescription is often to buy a crystal, or to pay for a healer that believes they can unblock that chakra.

A few clients have come after being told or feeling that their heart chakra is ‘blocked’. But to me it seems more realistic that the person has suffered an emotional hurt, recently or in the past, and that they have access to the solutions themselves: practising self-awareness and self-enquiry, meditation, a good therapist, getting more sleep, eating better, exercise, spending time with friends and family, and learning to manage anxiety and stress. I think people have a much greater power for change and healing if it is something that they can do themselves and that is more easily understood, than, say using a rose quartz crystal to try to bring healing to the mysterious heart chakra.

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 nearly 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.

My last seven clients (and a really nice review)

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I often have clients, at the end of a reiki treatment, ask me ‘what’s normal to feel?’ The answer, as in much of life, is that there is no ‘normal’. As human beings, we are a remarkably diverse group.

By giving you an idea of the experiences of my latest clients though, it can show you the range of experiences you might feel, though of course, you might experience something completely unique.

This will be a mix of feedback from follow-up emails and observations at the time, and of course, spoken in general terms to not break confidentiality.

1. My latest feedback was from a client who is exploring issues from their past, and wanting to move on from them and heal. They said ‘Since the treatment I’ve felt great. I’ve noticed that I’ve felt relaxed and at ease.’

2. Another client was still hopeful that their second client would be as useful as the first, where they didn’t feel a lot at the time of the treatment, but noticed in the days afterwards that it had really helped what they had come for: grief at losing a close family member.

3. One client had a frustrating set of physical issues, somewhat mysterious, possibly the result of glandular fever. Their first treatment gave them a ton of energy. The second treatment made them feel both relaxed and really emotional. They’re still experience pain though, so there’s more to go for the healing.

4. One client received a treatment for their birthday! They felt calm after the treatment, and also a sense of ‘letting go’.

5.  Another client had extreme anxiety before some major travel: they felt dizzy and a ‘bit lost’ after the treatment, but in a good mood. They slept really well the next two days and felt more confident and relaxed.

6. A client reported that the treatment was “exactly what I needed”.

7. Another client (in fact, more than one in the last period) reported feeling sensations that they’ve never felt before in their body, so unfamiliar that they didn’t really know how to describe it. They generally found the treatment relaxing and calming, and enjoyed it, but also found the treatment strange and different.

Finally, I’d like to share with you a comprehensive review that a client, Laila, left on the Bookwell site:

Andy has supported me with his Reiki treatment during challenging times when I was seeking some stress relief and needed extra support, beyond my regular daily meditations. Even after seeing Andy my very first time and first time trying Reiki, it provided me a calm support and outlook that remained with me for two full week, despite having a really stressful week at work with new responsibilities and chaos. Normally I would have ‘freaked out’ a bit and stressed a lot, but somehow I managed to deal with it all so much better than I could imagine. I do really think the Reiki helped me cope with work. I have since then encounter further challenges and internal turbulences to work through and have found doing Reiki with Andy at those moments when I need extra support has provided relief and provided space to deal with things better. What I really appreciate about Andy’s approach and style is that he is very neutral and asks very simple yet powerful questions that makes you reflect on your experience. Andy provides a spot-on-summary after each session that captures the sentiment and experience perfectly without putting any opinions or trying to influence. I prefer this over someone telling me what to do or giving me advice based on their subjective experience. I appreciate Andy’s work and objectivity, and it is good to know there is this support availability for future challenges or if I just need to relax.

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 1,200 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.

A few dates that I’m away

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If you’re feeling like a reiki treatment in the next few months, heads up! I’m going to be away or unavailable during parts of August, September and October! So, if you try to book through Bookwell and it says I’m unavailable, that’s why!

I’m happy to take your bookings in advance for when I am in Sydney. Just get in touch. Otherwise, to let you know, I’m not available:

20 to 30 August: I’m going to a wedding in Vancouver
9 and 10 September: I’m hosting a friend from overseas
25 September to 15 October: I’m on holidays in Italy

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 1,200 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.

 

Reiki hurts!

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It has surprised me to learn over the years that sometimes a reiki treatment is not completely pleasant, nor are its after-effects. And sometimes, it even hurts!

Clients report that a treatment sometimes will activate old injuries and they’ll feel energy there, an itchy feeling or pressure or even a bit of pain.

Some report feeling a bit of a headache.

Others have reported feeling pressure, sometimes unpleasant, at a part of their body, usually their chest or throat area.

I even had a period where I was feeling sensations of pain in my arms or legs or elsewhere and then after the treatment, the client would tell me they had felt pain in the same places. Spooky! I told my reiki teacher who said that it made sense: as the whole point of a treatment is to achieve oneness, to be in the same healing space with a client and not feel a separation (or duality), so it’s actually a good sign if we’re feeling the same sensations.

After treatments as well, clients don’t always feel great. I think the most common unpleasant feeling that I’ve had reported is fatigue, feeling really, really tired the night of the treatment, or the next day or even longer. A few clients have felt emotional (one said her boyfriend was really worried about her). One client felt so out of sorts he snapped at his partner!

And yet, during or after a treatment, any negative feelings are temporary and clients feel better than before afterwards. My teacher, Frans, gives the analogy of a wound where the process of the scar forming might not feel pleasant: itchy, irritated and even painful. But it’s a necessary part of the healing.

I’ve found that clients like to know what they can expect from a treatment, and that those who are most disappointed are the ones who have very specific ideas about what will happen, and whose expectations are not met. So I do try to let people know: not all the time, and maybe never for you, but for some people: reiki hurts!

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 1,100 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.

Falling out of practice

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I fell out of practice of doing regular blogs and articles.

I was doing so well for a while!

However, it really did make me question one of my assumptions. I think I saw a few times that when I posted blogs that I was getting clients booking in for treatments. I had also heard that blogging is a basic building block for a social media presence and website. It keeps your website alive with new material, and so it’s supposed to help with your page rankings (basically how high up you’re found on a google search).

The thing is: I didn’t put up a blog post for about six weeks, and yet during this period, I had one of my busiest months ever (matching my record of 51 treatments during a month).

So, I think it’s a good thing to challenge my assumptions and beliefs, and it can be good to get out of practice.

Now, I think there are some things which we will have learned, over time, really are good for our well-being when they are done regularly, and it’s not really good to stray from the practice. For you, this could include eating well, getting enough sleep, exercising, meditating and getting regular reiki treatments!

But there may be other routines which we could alter, or take a break from, or drop all together. My family loves vitamins, so I’ve been a pill taker for years: Vitamin C and fish oil, vitamin D and multi-vitamins. And more, on and off. But I’ve seen so many articles that say there just isn’t evidence of any real health benefits of taking vitamin D and fish oil regularly, so after a few years of taking these daily, I’m going to stop!

I also used a fitness tracker daily, and while I found it interesting to know how many steps I walked, I’m not sure in the long run whether it’s encouraged me to walk more. Plus: the latest studies say we need to get our heart rate up, and not just walk. And I miss wearing my colourful watches. So, for now, I’m going to give that routine up (after I think three years!)

I could go on. I don’t know why exactly, but it feels like a time in my life for changing and challenging my routines. By doing so, if I find that there is something that I should NOT be giving up, or doing more regularly, I can set my intention to do that.

How about you? What in your life would you like to do more regularly? What are your habits, good or bad, that you would like to take a break from? Are your beliefs about what’s good for you and what’s not true? Are these beliefs helping your overall well-being?

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 1,100 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.