“Because [protein] receptors [on the cell membrane] can read energy fields, the notion that only physical molecules can impact cell physiology is outmoded. Biological behavior can be controlled by invisible forces, including thought. as well as it can be controlled by physical molecules like penicillin, a fact that provides the scientific underpinning for pharmaceutical-free energy medicine.”
— Bruce H. Lipton, M.D., The Biology of Belief

One of my clients in my other line of work (freelance writing) recently asked me, “What is Reiki?” I found it interesting because his own daughter does Reiki. I gave him my stock answer, and it seemed to satisfy his curiosity. But then I got to thinking: what’s a better way to explain it? Reiki is Energy, but what does that mean? What is it really about?

Reiki is about Alignment. Not physical, bone-crunching spinal adjustment, but energy alignment. Clearing and opening the flow of energy. When your energy is aligned, the cells in your body “talk” to each other, as Bruce Lipton’s book The Biology of Belief so aptly explains.

Energy alignment means your digestive system organs are all communicating with each other and working together (you know what it feels like when they’re in opposition). Your immune system is smoothly coordinating all your body’s defense mechanisms. Your natural sleep rhythms are restored.

Beyond your physical body, energy alignment brings you in tune with the natural environment. You are in balance.

What Reiki isn’t is a “quick fix.” i wish I could say that one Reiki session would restore balance for the rest of your life. But as we all know, things go out of balance all the time. Reiki is one of many methods of restoring balance. How often you might want a Reiki “tune-up” depends on how out of balance you feel. And how in touch you are with how you really feel. Some people might be in the flow for months at a time; others change from day to day.

One excellent way to bring yourself into Alignment is to learn how to do Reiki. The teachers who taught me, at anaturalpath.org, will be starting Level I Reiki classes early next year. I highly recommend them.
If you can’t wait that long to get yourself back into balance, give me a call.

If you're like a lot of people I know, you're holding out till the last minute to finish and file your tax return with Uncle Sam. How stressful! That's where both Reiki and Reflexology can help.

Reiki is ideal for helping you get your stress level under control. It helps you relax and get back in touch with your natural body rhythms. And Reiki can help alleviate:

• Nervousness and anxiety
• Insomnia
• Headaches and migraines
• Depression
• Fear or excessive worry

and much, much more.

Similarly, Foot Reflexology combines gentle stretching and compression  to help reduce stress, improve circulation and move lymph -- your body's natural detoxifier. Reflexology creates relaxation almost immediately -- just ask my clients! It improves blood flow to the feet, brain, kidneys and intestines (some of the places that absorb excessive stress). Reflexology, like Reiki, helps alleviate pain and headaches, depression and anxiety.

Both these healing techniques are excellent for moving "stuck energy" to help bring your body back into balance energetically. As you return to balance, this opens a window for self-healing. And that's a real "after-tax" benefit!

Introductory offer ends May 1

New to Reiki or Reflexology? Take advantage of this special introductory offer: book your first visit in either technique, and your second visit is FREE! You can also make an appointment to try both Reflexology and Reiki in one session and get two for the price of one! But remember, this offer is good through May 1 only. So please don't hesitate -- call 404-406-5204 today!

Why A Spring Tune Up?
My car might need one, you might be thinking, but why do I? 
Well, everything in nature is getting ready to burst into leaf and bloom. If you're feeling a little sluggish, a spring tune-up can help you get into balance with the season. Here's how it works.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Spring is the time of the Wood element: sudden growth and rapid expansion, irresistible movement and unpredictable change. Nothing's going to hold it back. In our bodies, we feel this impetus in the Liver -- not that lobe-shaped organ, but what TCM calls the Liver System. This system governs muscles, ligaments and tendons; the eyes; and the regular, rhythmic release of digestive enzymes, among other duties. And that's just the physical component.
In TCM, Liver imbalances can show up as muscle tension and spasms, sciatica, headaches, seasonal allergies, insomnia, menstrual problems, skin eruptions, blurry vision and floaters, digestive problems and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), a tendency to form cysts and fibroids, and, of course, liver diseases.
The good news is, these problems can be addressed by a knowledgeable herbalist, acupuncturist or naturopath. And many of them can be alleviated through Reiki and Reflexology. If you'd like to find out more, please get in touch with me.

Just a couple of days ago my Reiki studio landlord told me that he can no longer afford to carry me at the generously reduced rent he'd been offering. For someone like me, just beginning to build a practice, losing my space could be a death knell. But it isn't. In fact, I see all sorts of opportunities arising.
First, the fact that the landlord is getting "lots of calls" about renting office space is encouraging. We are bouncing back from the economic recession -- maybe not as quickly as we'd like, but steadily. As inexorably as the daffodils and crocuses that are popping up in my back yard.
Next, I have at least three options for relocating. Each one will involve some adjustment in sharing space (and I was getting very used to being able to come and go as I pleased at my current location). At the same time, there are unexplored opportunities for synergy: I can reinforce an existing Reflexology practice, help a newly minted Reiki master build a practice, or infuse new energy into a chiropractic clinic. And of course, each one involves brushing up on all those marketing skills I've honed over the last 25+ years. (A whole different kind of energy.)
No matter which option plays out, there is movement -- and that's exciting! The essence of energy medicine is returning to balance -- unblocking the meridian channels and chakras that have been stopped up. But arriving at balance is not a static thing. The body, just like the earth and the entire cosmos, is always changing, so we are always fine-tuning our sense of balance.
And Energy Dancing in Balance will soon be dancing in a new dance hall.

Today marks another round on the wheel for me. And I'm torn -- part of me wants to celebrate my birthday, part wants to pull the bedcovers over my head till the weather warms up. This is the season for rest and renewal, yet we're acculturated to starting the new year with a burst of energy. Where does that energy come from? Not from the Earth; the Earth is sleeping right now. If we're generating it out of our own finite resources, is it any wonder that it runs out so quickly -- and so many of our well-meaning resolutions fade before the end of January?
If we were really plugged into the seasons, we'd sleep longer (even if it means going to bed earlier!) and give those seeds of good intentions time to germinate. Then, when spring comes, let all that pent-up energy burst forth!
(Maybe that's why I used to send out my Christmas cards in April . . .)