The joy of Reiki
There is no doubt that Reiki saved my life. I had been suffering depression, PMS, disordered eating and anxiety for a good while by then and had run the London Marathon in an attempt to change things.
The running had certainly helped, but now my body was a mess and so I sought yoga, on the recommendation of a friend. The yoga was life changing in many ways, so too the nutritional therapy I also undertook with Carol Champion in an attempt to shift my perspective on food and appreciate that ‘we are what we eat’.
But it was Reiki that really changed things. I had started attending an ‘escape from stress’ meditation group, led by a lady called Ali from the yoga group and it turned out that she was a Reiki Master and used Reiki to help lead intuitive life coaching sessions. I didn’t put the two together until I came across a flyer in the kitchen at work advertising her services. Whether I saw it as a sign or not I can’t remember, but there was something about it which caught my attention so I took the leap and booked in.
As Carol has already told me, people spend more on their cars than on their health and this has always stuck with me – we undervalue our health and wellbeing and I wasn’t prepared to do that anymore, after all we only have one chance at life as we know it and I didn’t want to live an unlived life.
The session involved lying down fully clothed on a treatment bed while Ali laid her hands on me. My mind was very restless at the time, I had a tendency to over-think to the extent that the unrelentless nature of my thoughts were tortuous at times. As with yoga, the Reiki offered me a momentary break from my thoughts and I disappeared into what I now call a liminal space of neither being here nor there, which is a very healing state and restores the mind as much as the body.
Reiki also helped to lift my spirits and it was this especially, which I have found so helpful with Reiki as it offered me a shift in perspective and I started to feel hopeful for the first time in years. The Reiki also connected me to a part of myself that I had neglected and with Ali’s help I started to make positive changes in my life as she fed back to me her findings and helped to validate how I felt, also helping me to see that there is more than one way to view a situation.
Following a course of regular Reiki intuitive life coaching sessions with Ali, and becoming attuned to Reiki myself, life changed. I finally gave up the permanent finance job, which had caused so much of my angst, and I started to believe in my dreams again – even recognising that I had dreams changed things. This to the extent that I sold my house, left my boyfriend and went travelling on and off for a few years immersing myself in yoga around the world, and training as a yoga teacher in the process – this before the explosion of yoga in the West.
I set up Beinspired in 2006 to help share my passion for yoga, Reiki and Ayurveda, which I had also now discovered and adopted as a lifestyle choice. I was keen to share all I had experienced so that others may benefit. I finally managed to publish a couple of books too, my latest book, From Darkness Comes Lightshares my journey with depression, while the earlier one, Dancing with the Moon, shares my IVF journey and Namaste, my experience of trekking to Everest Base Camp. I also published The Family Yoga Book, to help families practice yoga at home.
During this time I have also attuned hundreds of people to Reiki, many of my students going on to set up in practice and offering Reiki to others, helping to spread the light and hope.
One such student, Natasha, who now offers her Reiki through Beinspired, said, “Reiki came into my life due to curiosity, not because I was in pain, and that's how my journey through spirituality has started, however it became an amazing support during the dark times, where I've expanded my knowledge and studies on it. Having this tool to support my body through stress, burn out and grief became paramount to my self-care. It gave me the opportunity to meet my Self and to learn about love and care to self, which eventually I was ready to share from a secure and loving place in my heart. Meeting Emma has been a gift and it's a treasure to be a student and a friend.”
Another student, Grace, who also offers her services through Beinspired and manages this very website (thank you Grace!) said, “Reiki has enabled me to live a more conscious, loving and authentic existence. This has supported me through life’s challenges, providing clarity and comfort when needed most. It’s like a warm hug!”.
It is incredible how life can change if we open to healing and other ways of perceiving our reality. I am keen to do all I can to help others in this regard and as well as offering Reiki treatments and attunements, I also offer Spiritual Life Coaching to help people as Ali once helped me.
To learn more please see here.
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