​Whether we are looking for healing, personal development or spiritual growth reiki a great place to start. Of course I would say that, I am a reiki master/teacher after all. But that’s not why I feel qualified to make such a statement. I say this because of my personal experience of how reiki has helped me.

I truly believe that reiki is just as valuable a resource for us when we are well as it is when we are unwell. It supports us in maintaining our well-being and even building on it opening us to our highest potential.
Here’s a snapshot of the benefits that I and my clients have put together through conversation about our direct experiences with reiki. At the end I’ve also added some information about the benefits of being attuned to reiki and using self-reiki as well.

So here are some physical benefits of having reiki treatments;

• It balances our energy levels by working with the body’s natural desire to be in a homeostatic state.
• It reduces physical tension and is well known for promoting deep relaxation.
• It promotes improved sleep which has many roll on benefits such as a clear mind and less fatigue.
• It helps to clear toxins from the body, improve circulation and support the immune and nervous systems.

 
Some of the emotional benefits are;

• It promotes a sense of calm.
• It is very relaxing for the mind and can help us to put our thoughts in order.
• It encourages emotional release of unwanted or negative emotions that are being held in the body.
• It is soothing when we are in emotional distress. Reiki supports the energy centres and helps to release blocks and encourage better energy flow.

 
Spiritual benefits can be things like;

• It assists us with difficult challenges. Reiki can support our intuition and also strengthen the heart centre so we can address issues from a balanced and loving perspective.
• It helps us to be connected to a higher power (whatever that may be for you). Our spiritual energy centres respond well to reiki energy as there is a natural resonance. “Like attracts like”.
• It can help us to gain new perspective. This may be something as simple as becoming responsive where before we were reactive to something deeper such as releasing attachment to people, things and outcomes.
• It can also help us to let go of the past and release us from patterns and blocks that hold us back from living wholeheartedly in the present.

 
I think you’ll agree that we could all use a little of something from the above points in our lives. Creating balance, calm and clarity will help us to move forward in our lives a little more easily and reiki can help that to happen.

Now I just wanted to add a little about how daily self-reiki can also have profound effects. If you’ve been to my website you may have read how I found reiki (or reiki found me) at a particularly difficult time in my life and it was the beginning of a period of profound change, growth and expanded perspective.
After feeling the connection to love that reiki provided, I wanted to know more about the body, mind, and spirit dynamic so I decided to learn how to do reiki myself. As I learned more about it I believe I'd been gifted a key to a deeper, richer life and I truly did feel lit from the inside like something that was always hidden in there was suddenly brought into light.

And that was just the start of my healing journey. I went on to share reiki with others as a practitioner/teacher and still feel a sense of awe and excitement when I do.
By being attuned to reiki you too can share this gift, not only with your family and friends but with pets, plants and even your food and water! By practicing reiki on yourself daily you will notice changes that begin on the inside and then radiate out. This can then have a wave effect on other people, relationships and spaces in your life.  

So all I have left to say really is that it was a turning point in my life and I know many others who have experienced profound life changes from bringing reiki into their lives.
I invite you to close your eyes for a minute, take some nice deep breaths and imagine how reiki could support positive changes in your life.
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How does that look?

​Authenticity has become a bit of a catchcry of late with businesses and marketing guru’s throwing it around willy-nilly. Sadly, it seems to have muddied the waters of what it means on a personal level to be truly authentic.

​Art therapy can be a wonderful modality for working through and understanding anxiety as it has the ability to calm the nervous system by its very nature. Focusing on and engaging in creative activities shifts our attention from the negative thought patterns that we can play over and over in our mind giving the nervous system the opportunity to move back into a homeostatic state. Doreen Meister, a mindfulness-based expressive art and depth psychologist in California, states that we can process more difficult experiences once our nervous system begins to regulate and allow more access to the rest of our brains, thoughts, emotions, empathy and compassion.

​I don’t know about you but I have heard from quite a few people recently that they are feeling overwhelmed. Overwhelm doesn’t have to be around big issues, it can be small stuff and it doesn’t necessarily have to do with a particular issue. Sometimes it’s a combination of things that we are aware of or maybe unaware of.

When I studied for my Art Therapy diploma I was unprepared for the unfolding that was about to occur. The stripping back of layers and delving into the shadowy places to get a better understanding of who I was as a person and the external influences throughout my life that shaped me, and in some cases damaged me. I think the power of the creative processes and the importance of the therapist providing a safe space is misunderstood in Art Therapy. ​

​Throughout a lifetime we experience loss in many different forms, whether it is a relationship breakdown, the loss of health through disease or illness to the death of a pet or loved one. I think we’ve all experienced at least one of these losses and it is tough.