Reiki. Just the word seems to conjure up confusing, mysterious and skeptical thoughts. I have seen the faces that people can make when I say “I am an Animal Reiki Practitioner”. That look of “you must be one of those weird airy fairy new agey people”…..ugh. Those who know me, if asked, wouldn’t use any of those words to describe me. The truth is I love animals and I am crazy about cats! What can I say, except they are my passion. They have brought both fulfillment and a wonderful career into my life. Ok, so back to the Reiki subject. It’s because of my love for animals that Reiki is now a part of my life. I am a volunteer at a local animal shelter and have been a cat sitter on and off for many years. I have seen young cats, old cats, healthy cats, sick cats and love them all, but what I really want is to have them all be as happy and healthy as possible. I wish this for this for the ones lucky enough to be in happy homes and for the ones waiting in shelters too. So, how could I help? I could tell them I love them, comfort them, play with and feed them, but that just wasn’t enough for me. Could I got back to school and become a vet or vet tech? Nope…..that whole blood thing is just too much for me. No, thank you. So how could I make the lives of these animals better and mine too? Now here is that mysterious word again, Reiki.
First I found an amazing teacher (Tanya, Unity Healing House) for my Reiki Level I and Level II training which got the journey started. Then I took the Animal Reiki for Reiki Practitioners class, met my SARA (Shelter Animal Reiki Association) teacher Leah and everything just clicked!! Whoosh…..a shift in my life happened. The “A-ha” moment. That time when doors start opening and your path becomes very clear. This mysterious Reiki had started a change that I had never expected. You know when they talk about “finding your bliss” or “if you do what you love you will never work a day in your life”? I never understood that. I guess 25 years of retail will do that to a person. So here I am now. I am an Animal Reiki Practitioner. So, what does that mean? To simplify it…. I meditate with animals. Meditation is wonderful, right? It’s so peaceful, relaxing and restorative. It’s also very healing. So now imagine an animal that is dealing with stress, illness or the difficulties that occur with aging. What if you could create this beautiful space that would allow that animal to find their way back to their true nature? That perfect state of balance. That is what Reiki can do and as a Practitioner what I can facilitate. It’s not magic and I am not a healer, but the cats that I am currently working with seem very happy to have Reiki in their life.
So if things like happiness, peacefulness, contentedness or fearlessness seem like things you would want in your life and in the lives of the animals you love, then Reiki is for you. I hope that this takes a little of the mystery out of what I do and starts a new way of looking at Reiki. There are many wonderful resources available to find out more about Reiki for animals (I have listed one below) and I encourage you to read them, reach out to me with questions or to book a session for your furry family member.
“In the energetic space of healing all possibilities exist.” – Kathleen Prasad Co-Founder SARA
Author: Sally Williams, SARA Practitioner
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