…continuation of “Welcome Home” post

 A couple of weeks ago, at that time not knowing what my life would look like now, I booked a Reiki appointment with my lovely friend and massage therapist, Anna Kiepke. This was the second-ever Reiki session I had done. The first one being a great experience, as I’m open to the vulnerability, the methodology, and belief that we are all spiritual beings in a material world. Knowing that God, my higher power, instills wisdom all around. 

The session came in perfect timing. I went into it with an open mind and an open heart, knowing I could use some help and guidance on a subconscious level to start healing. Simply taking baby steps, since I had started connecting the dots and began to see a host of things differently in my life (and not for the best). All the while, trusting intuition and the overall health of our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual energies.

For those of you that are not familiar with Reiki, here’s a little background:

Reiki is a healing technique used to rebalance and clear blockages in the chakras (energy centers). Practitioners go through each of the seven main chakras and remove energetic debris by honing in on imbalances. These imbalances can come from daily stressors, lack of a mind-body connection, built up emotions, etc. and are often sited as physical pain/ailments. By freeing the old perceptions, outdated patterns, and emotional tension/pain, it makes room for a new awareness of who and what we are. 

Each block is emotional in it’s source and represents a feeling that has not been fully processed. Individually, we all embody an innate wisdom (whether we tune in or not). During a Reiki session the client is the true healer as the practitioner is the facilitator. The client takes as much or as little as is needed to provoke and instill healing within their own body by tapping into their innate wisdom, Higher Power, and truest self. 

    • Vaguely based on the network of energetic lines that move throughout the body
    • Chinese tradition: meridians (used in acupuncture)

**As I explain my version of the session, I want to preface that Anna knows my life story in pieces, but did not know what had been recently transpiring on a daily basis. When the 90-minute session was over and she and I connected about what was felt by her and by me, I was comforted. Laughing and/or crying, of course, at how accurate it all was – because holy buckets! does the Universe work in crazy ways. 🙂

There are 7 basic chakras within the body. This is simply my experience with each and how it parallels to my life at this particular moment in time. (Work, a man, an uncomfortable situation, and the next steps of my journey.) 

Crown: connection to the Universe, trust in life, spirituality. 

    • blockages show fear, anxiety, chronic exhaustion
    • I didn’t feel a reaction here; my practitioner stated it was hard to get through the “outer atmosphere” and could tell I was dealing with quite a bit overall, but once through there was a sense of calm. 

Third Eye: connection to intuition, awareness, inner guidance

    • My mind began racing with thoughts and never stopped during the session, flitting from subject to subject or situation to situation. There would be things that made sense, and others seemed fleeting. 
    • It became a little more difficult to breathe the deep, methodical breaths at this time. Blockages showcased the need to listen, be open to, trust the assistance from my Higher Power as I innately know the answers to some questions I’ve had about my future…now it’s just time for action. This being reinforced after the session, when my practitioner told me she kept hearing “just go…go.” With a visualization of sweeping hands/arms and a soft loving push forward symbolizing the voice that was saying to her “go to Colorado”.

Throat: connection to communication, holding secrets, self-expression, speaking your truth to the world, creativity, and dreams.

    • My throat was tight most of the session and became very poignantly constricted while my practitioner was over this chakra. I kept visualizing and hearing the word “voice…”voice, voice, voice”…almost so loudly that I felt heat, tightness, emotion build to a point where it was very uncomfortable. My thoughts were so consistent – “don’t loose your voice, you’ve lost your voice, you need to use your voice…empowerment.” The physical feeling I had in my throat, the constrained, suppressed tension, makes me believe I’m not speaking truth; there is a true blockage here and I believe it to be true in a few situations currently playing out in my life right now. An area I will continue to bring light to in order to clear space and allow an optimal flow of expression. 

Heart: connection to quality of love, joy, and compassion; past loves, future loves.

    • I don’t remember any pertinent physical sensations over this chakra. When we connected after the session, my practitioner stated almost immediately that she felt she “needed to put a band-aid over my heart”. The blockages here come from resentment, grief, distrust, hurt. I was not surprised by this comment or by the need to personally work on the chakra of love – free-flowing and open to receiving from those who choose me. There is heartache and I will gladly accept that band-aid. 

Solar Plexus: connection to power, control of your destiny, self-worth, confidence

    • Both times I’ve done a Reiki session, there has been a cool sensation, a light breeze swirling and surrounding the solar plexus and sacral area (the entire mid-section of my body). I believe the physical sensation and the extra time spent in these areas trying break blockages is due to a scattered feeling, a sense regarding loss of power, a detour from my true sense of purpose which very much brings up a confidence or self-worth issue in certain areas. 

Sacral: connection to sensuality, intimacy, desire, relationships, money, living your passion, making dreams a reality.

    • Along with the cool sensation I experienced, my practitioner observed a male figure, of the past, who made himself very apparent in the space (without knowing who, what, or why). I wasn’t surprised by this energetic presence, as the mind brings people into your space during a session. I believe the practitioner can help pull apart the rapid thoughts bringing potential clarity (but definitely not certainty). In this case, it was very likely one of two men whose presence continued to show up for me. 
    • The sacral and throat chakras are greatly linked by concepts of creativity, and imagination. The constriction of my throat and the sacral blockages of emotional instability and fear of change regarding relationships, intimacy, and passion all link to the same ideal: I shall allow space for what makes me happy, for better opportunities. In my world, joy and excitement fall in line with passion and imagination – all of which can very easily be linked to relationships. It’s time to release the attachment, become fearless once again, in the pursuit of what sets my soul on fire. 🙂

Root: connection to security, grounding; is the life you are living a safe and enjoyable space?

    • There are two areas here that drew attention, physically. The knees and soles of my feet, which one could say (from my research) are part of the grounding region. There has been a heaviness to the knee area during both of my Reiki sessions. A need for more attention; some muscle twitching surrounding the knees. Maybe a blockage linked to the idea that there is a need to be boosted back up, a need to be supported – probably due to a feeling of inadequacy or loss of confidence. 
    • I also had such a large physical reaction when my practitioner was working at the soles of my feet. No joke, I immediately felt my forearms flare up, start to tighten and get ridiculously tense. I had to move my wrists to release something…I felt like I was going to explode, to break open. My mind kept coming back to this image of myself in a cage, trying to escape – I wanted out, I was trapped and needed a release. The sense was so urgent. Everything inside of me was saying “I’m done; get me out of here, I want freedom” – physically, mentally, emotionally I have been trapped. I’m stuck.

This was the culmination of how I have been feeling with circumstances in my life. I’m not being heard and I’m suppressing truths (voice/throat), at times I feel uninspired or as though I’m breaking (band-aid/heart), I’m not filled with joy, great laughter, passion, or intimacy at the moment and know I’m worth more and accept the change that recently took place (male/sacral); I shouldn’t be filled with such judgment, malice, and conflict about situations (root/release), but rather see the highest good, my true self ahead, in a different place, living it all in action with love (intuition/third-eye and solar plexus). It’s all connected. It’s so weird and all so great. It’s a day at a time. It’s faith. That’s my security.