Shelter Animal Reiki Association
Healing Animals with Meditation
Gabi, a SARA Practitioner, introduces her teaching memoir: How Animal Reiki Found Me and Other Stories, by Gabriele Annegret.
In her book Gabi shares her journey of awakening through encounters of animals as spirits, message carriers, and healers … Animal Reiki found her!
I meditate with animals. That’s right. Every opportunity I get. Whenever I know I will be in the presence of animals, wild or domestic, I commit myself to being open to whatever experience arises and I set an intention that Reiki flows for the good of all.
When we are peaceful, we can let go of the need to control.
As my county in Pennsylvania began to relax the Shelter In Place orders from COVID-19, we moved into the yellow phase. However, pet groomers are still not allowed to open. It has been several months since I was able to get my two cats groomed. One is part Persian and one is part Angora. I do the best that I can with brushing but they are both timid and anxious rescues. I am not embarrassed to say that my skills are lacking and I appreciate my groomers even more. My attempts to care for my cats have left me with cuts from their claws and teeth as they let me know when they have had enough of my tugging on them with a brush. As expected, my one cat Lulu developed a large mat on her back. This added to my stress over caring for them knowing that it would still be many weeks or months before I can have a grooming appointment. I decided to try reiki.
I’ve been practicing the Let Animals Lead® method of Animal Reiki for about 6 months and had the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the beauty of the practice in the wild. I recently visited two camps in South Africa and went on two safaris per day at each camp. As nervous as I was about the trip, it was soon replaced by the serenity of where we were. Our first camp was Nambu Camp, which is located in the big five Balule Private Game Reserve in the heart of the Greater Kruger, 16.2 km outside of Hoedspruit.
SARA Co-Founder Leah D’Ambrosio leads a beautiful meditation using the 5 Reiki Precepts to relieve stress and bring you strength!
Meet Mandy. She is an elder canine. She was recently welcomed into her forever home. Today was her Reiki session.
With Mandy, I practiced the Let Animals Lead® approach created by Kathleen Prasad of the Shelter Animal Reiki Association (SARA).
Many animal communicators are trained in the system of Reiki and find the two go hand-in-hand, but too often the lines get blurred. What is the difference between an Animal Communication (AC) session and an Animal Reiki (AR) session, and why does this matter in a professional context?
September 2019 is here and I’m ready to put down my thoughts, feelings and examples of personal growth I experienced attending Kathleen’s Reiki Level III and Animal Reiki Teachers Certification course in Sacramento, CA, in October 2018 and want to share my insights with you. It was a profound experience, and like a homecoming has been hard to articulate up to now. My reiki awareness has continued to evolve over time but now after many months it feels like it is bursting out of me!
Distraction can make us miss beautiful moments. We find peace and feel grounded when we take time to listen to animals and the sounds of nature. If we don’t devote quiet time with ourselves and animals, we won’t hear their lessons of loyalty, acceptance, or love. By being too busy, we may also miss their pleas for help.
From the time I was a toddler, I’ve been horse-crazy. I started riding when I was six and was blessed to have a pony in my backyard when I was nine-years-old. Being around horses, especially sharing Reiki with them, opens my heart and heals my soul.
When i entered the cat room during one of my recent visits at the Restigouche SPCA, i noticed a new face, a good looking boy, orange & white in color and he was immediately interested at the presence I brought to the room. As I walked by his space I put my hand against the bars and introduced myself. I explained I was there to offer Reiki, and that Reiki simply was sharing good vibes that can bring peace & calm and helps us feel good.
But that’s not Reiki! A colleague recently mentioned someone said this about the Let Animals Lead® method of Animal Reiki by Kathleen Prasad that we practice. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but the conversation has nagged me since.
Reiki pronounced as ‘ray key’ is a complementary holistic therapy which can be used alongside conventional veterinary medicine. Reiki is an ancient Japanese system of healing, not cure. Rei meaning ‘spirit’ and Ki meaning ‘energy’. As quantum physics tells us, all matter is energy. This energy flows through all living beings.
Last weekend, I had the honor and pleasure to re-take Animal Reiki Level 1 with Animal Reiki Pioneer, Kathleen Prasad at Lily’s Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary in bucolic Petaluma, California.
I would like to welcome Cotton Branch Farm Animal Sanctuary to the SARA family! Cotton Branch has whole heartedly embraced the SARA way to support and heal their animal family. Cotton Branch is a safe haven for farm animals in South Carolina. Founded in 2004, the sanctuary is currently home to around 350 rescued farm animals.
As pet sitters, we often encounter animals who are afraid, timid, confused or stressed because they are alone with a stranger in their home. We face emergencies with sick or injured animals when their people are away. We sometimes care for animals who are transitioning while their family is gone. These things are stressful for the animal and for us as pet sitters. There is an amazing balm for these situations: Animal Reiki – specifically the Let Animals Lead® method developed by Kathleen Prasad. This practice has made my job as a pet sitter easier and has decreased stress and anxiety in my animal clients.
A friend of mine owns a small guest ranch here in Montana and, in the spring when their horses are brought in from winter pasture, she has asked me to help evaluate them prior to the season beginning. A couple of years ago she had a new horse that she named Butte (after her hometown here in Montana). She asked me to work with him as he had a habit of tossing his head and not being attentive. So I undertook the task.
How can equine massage therapists benefit from and incorporate the Let Animals Lead® method of Animal Reiki (developed by Kathleen Prasad) into their practices?
I am currently a practicing Reiki Master learning the “Let Animals Lead®” incredible method of Animal Reiki with Kathleen Prasad. In our Reiki II Class we were given the homework exercise of contemplating “The Gifts of Reiki” diagram (above). My background until quite recently was in the engineering field so I naturally gravitated toward contemplating this from an intellectual perspective, breaking the diagram into the following three categories: 1.) The Mind, 2.) The Heart and 3.) The Intuition or what I will refer to as our “Inner Knowing.” Beginning with the mind we will work our way inward with the practice of meditation, navigating through the heart space, and finally arriving at our “inner knowing” or intuitive core.
Recently, at one of our monthly member meetings, SARA had the immense honor of hosting Thea Strom – Psychic Medium, Animal Communicator and Animal Reiki Teacher. Thea spoke on a topic that many of us struggle with: Boundaries. All of us in SARA are givers. Whether we are an organizational member, a supporter, a practitioner or a teacher member, we all are here to give back to others. But if we are constantly giving and never receiving, that creates imbalance and depletion.
A friend who is starting her Animal Reiki business asked how I explain Reiki in a way to pique someone’s interest and share what we do, while staying away from the “woo-woo”. After I shared my thoughts, she suggested I write an article to help others starting out.
Reflecting upon the gifts of reiki through ‘The Gifts of Reiki as a Meditative Practice’ graphic, I can see a place for each of these elements throughout my growing personal practice in animal reiki. First and foremost is the GROUNDING aspect of reiki. With the dry brushing technique (Kenyoku Ho), I feel like I can literally brush off any high energy, worries, feelings and thoughts that aren’t serving me at the moment through that action alone. And then when I add in the hara breathing (Joshin Kokyu Ho), I can start to feel that connection to my physical body and to get centered and grounded in it. Without becoming fully present in my body, I truly do not feel as strongly the connection to the universal love energy that is reiki.
I had the great pleasure this year of attending a Reiki III and Animal Reiki Teacher Training course set within Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary in Essex. Remus isn’t just for horses, the residents are also rescued Shetland Ponies, Donkeys, Sheep and Goats. And not forgetting the cats whom roam the land and kept us company during our 3 days at Remus, together with Ollie the dog.
Every February SARA president Kathleen Prasad teaches Reiki III and Animal Reiki Training at the CARE Foundation in Apopka, FL. I enjoy seeing all the pictures from the classes and especially reading about the experiences the students share with the animals.
