[00:01:26] Welcome back to the Well Connected Twin Cities podcast. I’m your host Lilly Zaborowski, and in this episode we’re talking about Reiki and energy healing with Christina Gregory. Someone who has studied reiki and practiced reiki for many many years she tells us about how she got into it, what reiki is, and shares some really impactful stories about some of the clients that she’s worked with over the years so let’s get into it…

[00:01:55] I am here with Christina Gregory. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you. It’s an honor to be here. Thank you for this opportunity. Yeah. I’m excited to talk with you about energy healing and energy work. You are a Reiki healer, and you also teach Reiki training. So we’re gonna get into all of that today, but let’s start just by you introducing yourself and telling us about what you do.

[00:02:22] And then we’ll talk about how you got into this work too. Okay. So my background is I was born and raised in Texas, migrated up to Minnesota in 1980 with my three kids and husband. So I was lucky to be a stay at home mom until they were a school age. Then I launched my education career because my degree is in have a bachelor in education and a master’s in educational leadership.

[00:02:48] So I used it in a higher education setting for 14 years, and I actually wanted to be a doctor. Even when I was about three years old, I was trying to treat something on my father’s ear. But in the sixties you don’t have a lot of support for being a doctor, a nurse and a teacher.

[00:03:05] That was it. That those were like the key professions. So I chose. The teacher and education in those days was a backup plan. So if you didn’t go into teaching or to nursing or something of that nature and you were a stay at home mom, which most were at that time education was just your backup plan.

[00:03:27] It was your insurance in case something happened to your husband. So along the way, in this higher education setting, I met two massage therapists who were Reiki instructors, and they did one of these try and see if you like it events. And I liked it. And then I went for treatments and then I decided to Take classes.

[00:03:48] And so the design of Reiki is to do it on yourself every day. The design is to take a class, even if it’s just Reiki one, it will last for your entire life and help you balance and stay in that healing process in a constant kind of way. Also a preventative way. So 15 years of doing Reiki also had a healing touch.

[00:04:13] One class, and that has been very helpful in hospital settings. So I do it at daily on myself and then it’s of course, an honor to do it for other people as well. So then that long launched the opportunity to do 13 years with hospice. I’ still with Fairview now called Fairview accent care and six years as a hospital volunteer with Fairview east bank.

[00:04:40] And you should know that all the twin cities, hospitals have usually some volunteers available who can do energy work for you. And it is wonderful, especially after surgery. And then I left that hospital work. I decided I wanted to be paid. I launched a private practice. So I’ve been in private practice for.

[00:05:02] Five years. Can you explain the difference between Reiki and healing touch? Yes. So all of the energy modalities, like Qigong healing, touch, quantum touch, and a lot of these have the word touch, but they’re, they often are moving energy around. So it’s, it’s putting energy in taking energy out, very similar kinds of modalities and tools, but reiki is a little different in that it is passed down from teacher to student and I believe Qigong would be.

[00:05:39] Would fall all of those Asian energy modalities use this method of teacher to student, handing it down. Reiki is a vibration. So it’s a little different in that way. So those are the differences with energy. Healing in general. I can talk about Reiki specifically. Yeah. Let’s talk about Reiki.

[00:06:01] All right. Let’s talk about Reiki. I hope I can clear up some assumptions and misconceptions along the way. So it originated in Japan. Reiki is rei, which is universal and qi, which is energy. And it, they say it’s discovered well, energy wasn’t discovered that it was just this particular. Way of using it that Dr.

[00:06:25] Usui discovered I suppose in 1900, and this is Japanese. So the lineage is important. It’s important to be able to trace your lineage back to Dr. Usui. And he was very learned person. He studied everything and he, and part of. His Japanese training would be to go on a 21 day fast and go up on the mountain and ask for healing or ask for whatever he’s needed.

[00:06:52] And he was able to, ignite this particular modality. So it is a vibration and that’s the way that’s my elevator speech with reiki is that it’s a vibration you’re vibrating. Every cell, every internal organ thoughts, emotions, when something is stuck, when something is out of balance and which is most of the time in all of us, which is why we do it every day on ourselves.

[00:07:23] But if let’s say that, if I’m shaking my hand to represent anxiety, and my other hand represents the Reiki practitioner, they have a different. Vibration. This is the physics part that modulates whatever’s going on in the body. And the body is on a mission. Its mission is to heal. That’s what it wants to do.

[00:07:49] You have probably we’ve all, some of us have said it and you’ve probably heard my body is failing me or my body’s turned against me. Your body is just sending you a signal. But it’s not turning against you. It’s mission is to heal. That is basically what is happening. It’s the great ons sticker healing touches as well.

[00:08:09] Nurses love it in hospitals because with some medications, constipation happens D blockages happen and it is the great release. It also releases emotions, which often happen on my table.

[00:08:25] All right. So what happens during a Reiki session? What can people expect? they can expect is to fall asleep. That is probably what’s going to happen. That’s what usually happens. Your clothes are on you’re on a massage table. Sometimes there’s blankets pillows. And one of the first important steps is to let the client talk. We don’t do enough of this in Western medicine.

[00:08:51] Doctors have expressed the fear that, oh my gosh, if I let you talk, you might just, talk my arm off. And we’ll never, I’ll never get the visit done quite the opposite is true when they have actually shown the data that if they know ahead that you are going to let them talk, they actually will talk less.

[00:09:10] So that is what to expect where We’re now learning in Western medicine, how important that is. So letting them talk about the issues is not attaching to that issue, but we want that energy to go freely. And this is very important. You don’t have to believe in it in order for it to work. And so that is another misconception.

[00:09:36] This is energy. This is energy. We wouldn’t say that about anything else. But for some reason we, we do in this arena. My best story along that line in the hospital, there was a man with leukemia, very cranky. The nurses couldn’t wait for me to get there, says, just go and see if you can talk him into doing this.

[00:09:57] It’ll calm him down. And so I went in, I explained what I did and. And he said no, I don’t believe in that stuff. I’m not gonna do it. And his wife was there and she said, George, just do it. So George did it. And in five minutes, he’s asleep and in 20 minutes, which was about the time we had, he woke up and he said immediately, he said the weight.

[00:10:24] Of this disease is just lifted off of me. I feel lighter. My perspective has completely changed. I don’t feel so angry about it. So that is my favorite story about you don’t have to believe for it to work. Yeah. That is a great story. Is 20 minutes the typical duration of it, or do you in a clinic setting, a private practice, I do an hour, but pretty close to an hour in a hospital setting when you’re doing like you have five patients to do in an afternoon, it’s usually about 20 minutes.

[00:10:59] Yeah. Did George wanna see you again after that one visit? Actually, he was not there the next time, but he had the experience. I should also say that in a hospital setting, we would track pain, nausea, and anxiety, and. Doing it for four years. I could say that the average, at least two points down on a scale of one to 10 on the pain nausea, anxiety, it would go down two points, many times four points.

[00:11:31] There were a couple situations where it went, the pain was gone completely. They had to put the meds back. Wow. Because they didn’t need, they said I don’t need it. I don’t need. And it was like a 10. It was pretty, it’s pretty amazing. So it’s just going, we say it goes where it needs to go and it does what it needs to do.

[00:11:50] So the practitioner is not directing. It is not hopefully ego driven with it. It’s completely up to that. Person’s body, how much they need. And we don’t have to understand. The source. We don’t even have to know what the source is because we probably don’t know. Maybe the person has a pain in their liver.

[00:12:15] but that may not be the source it could come from a spiritual source. It could come from a, an emotional source and emotions are huge. In, for example, in indigenous cultures and Western medicine is just now really under getting this, that emotions drive many times drive disease. And to, and drive problems with that nature with PTSD very often, the mind body connection occurs in a deeper way and it can be overwhelming.

[00:12:47] So I will not treat someone with PTSD or significant emotional issues unless they have a therapist because Reiki can unstick things and they might need somebody to talk to right away.

[00:13:00] Wow. So it sounds like Reiki can be beneficial for a wide variety of things. Everything. Yeah, absolutely. Everything. And we don’t know what it’s going to hit. Many times people come they may have seen me for a long time, or maybe they’re new to this and they’re laying on the table and they just start to have tears rolling out of their eyes.

[00:13:24] They’re not actually crying per se. But something is releasing. And I can say that my first two treatments, that’s what happened. And sometimes it’s like a complete surprise. Like where did that come from? We don’t need to know. We just don’t need to know in order for something to release and heal. We don’t always need to know.

[00:13:46] Yeah. Yeah, it is wild. The first few times I had any kind of energy work done. I had the same experience where it was just like, where is this coming from? I don’t know. it is okay to say. Yeah, but I feel better afterward. So for people with like acute concerns, pain or something more urgent feeling, what does a typical treatment plan look like for that situation versus maybe someone who.

[00:14:22] Just wants to explore Reiki, healing and do more kind of maintenance. You mentioned once you’re trained in Reiki, one, you can do it on yourself every day. . But just trying to understand, what’s typical when people start getting Reiki, healings, like. How often do they see you?

[00:14:40] Yeah. So I wanna back up just a little bit it’s advertised as a relaxation technique. It is not a relaxation technique. It is far more than a relaxa that relaxation is just the benefit. It’s just. The joy of it all, but that’s not what it is. So a person could, and it’s also advertised very often.

[00:15:02] When you try to Google a Reiki practitioner, it somehow gets messed mixed in with spa treatments and things of that nature. I don’t know how that happened, but it is an actual healing, modality and. People can come in and try it. They may not like it for whatever the reason I don’t need to know.

[00:15:24] We don’t have to explore it unless they want to. And I don’t do energy therapists don’t have treatment plans per se. . Because the person is going to change and come back to you and life is gonna hit them. And they’re gonna come back to you. So they’re always in flux. I do go down the chakras, although chakras were not part of original Reiki, I.

[00:15:51] It’s Japanese that entered when Tokata, who Mrs. Tokata, who was a student and a patient of Dr. Usui went to Hawaii and then she went over to California, introduced it in California in the sixties. Of course, California in the sixties, the yoga influence the stones, the crystals, the chakras that entered into Western version of Reiki, but that was never in the original.

[00:16:20] So I do go down the chakras, but I’m not trying to. I’m not trying to balance them. They will balance on their own, according to what that person’s body wants. I don’t use a pendulum to see if they’re open or if they’re closed, because when you come back to me the next time. It may be completely different.

[00:16:42] And once again, the person’s body is the dictator. That’s the treatment plan. The person’s body is the treatment plan. I just invented that. So I’m going, I’m gonna use that again. I love that I have a PTSD client. I have seen for four years every week. Sometimes twice a week he’s been able to manage it without medication. He’s doing other things as well, such as neurofeedback TMS. He does EMDR. He does it all and he works on himself. That’s a very important piece of this, of not looking to somebody else to fix it.

[00:17:23] But let them help you as you work on yourself as well. I have a client who has a pretty stressful job. I see her every month, kinda like a tuneup. I see have four clients that way that want a tuneup. Some of them have become students and doing it on themself every day. And that’s where the life changing.

[00:17:48] Things happen. That’s when, for example, with women, I often see their voice, their throat chakra is just really closed up. Things are stuck. I have high intuition because I am using Reiki every day and it does increase your intuition. So I’m able to intuit. I don’t see anything, but I can intuit when.

[00:18:12] Locked up sometimes there’s ribbon around it or rope or all kinds of strange things. The best story I have with that is a woman who had surgery, was staying with her family. Did not feel like she could speak freely. And it was really a mess and intense says S and in 10 session.

[00:18:30] She had no need at all of Reiki at that particular spot, she was talking freely. She was being herself. And I see that with some of my PTSD clients, they speak so softly because of the, what has happened, the trauma that you could hardly hear them sometimes, but that helps to open things up.

[00:18:51] You mentioned that it’s important for people to work on themselves too. And I’ve also heard from other energy healers that. When someone is open and ready, things make a lot easier. Than if someone’s like I think about George, where it’s like very closed off

[00:19:10] it still worked on him. But have you noticed any kind of a difference in people and how it works? Yes. If the person is. is approaching it like a spa treatment. I probably won’t see them again. They’re not. Ready yet. And another point about that is that not everybody wants to be healed. They may go from person to practitioner in method and method because some part of them does, but deep down they don’t.

[00:19:41] And very often, not every time, but very often it’s that I do not feel worthy of. good health And sometimes I have asked that question. In fact, there are some very good integrative doctors who’ve asked my clients. That question. And then they hear me ask that question and then they start thinking about, do I feel like I’m worthy?

[00:20:06] We talk about doing some mirror work, where you look in the mirror and say, I love you. And I have suggested to some clients and they absolutely almost freak. And so they’re just not ready to do that, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t come and do energy healing that it’s going to help with all of those issues.

[00:20:28] Eventually it’s going to help in that feeling of unworthiness, especially if they’re doing work with a therapist or other modalities . Wow. So you mentioned a little bit of wanting to clear up any confusion or um, things that can get misconstrued with energy work. Is there anything else there in that bucket so I don’t know if I mentioned that I’m not putting anything into you. Because that is for some people that is a big deal.

[00:20:58] And so it’s not a spot treatment. It’s not putting something into you. I’m not directing it. I’m not a reader. There are some people. Come to Reiki practitioners and say, I, I’m excited to see what you’re gonna say. what you’re gonna read or what the spirits are gonna tell you. And I don’t tell them that.

[00:21:22] Yes I’m not a reader, but I have high intuition. And some, so sometimes the things that I pick up, I tell the client and sometimes I Don. Sometimes I don’t feel like they’re ready for it. Or if with their particular, especially if they have these feelings of unworthiness to hear that you’ve got a bunch of energy goop in your solar plexus, that’s not helpful, that’s just not helpful.

[00:21:44] So what I would like to talk about is just briefly is how energy can be. Energy can be sent. Why? Because we are all connected. We say that a lot. Oh, we’re connected. I’m connected to the tree. I’m oh, see, they’d be over there. I’m connected to him. We’re connected to each other with light.

[00:22:05] But then for some reason, it all falls down. When you say you can send energy to somebody that feels like it’s woo, woo. Or it’s something of that nature. It’s quantum physics in a sense, the physicists can manipulate the molecule way out in space and we can send our thoughts, our emotions to another person.

[00:22:34] And so there is a particular ritual. But healing touch can send. And I don’t know what their particular setup is, but it’s pretty much just connecting, relaxing. Your mind. Meditating meditation is really huge as a practitioner, quiet the mind. That’s what I’m trying to get the, my clients to do on the table is shut the mind.

[00:23:00] Off for a while. So there is a particular ritual, of calling in that person’s essence and I can feel their essence right in front of me. And I can say you’re gonna be this big, usually about a foot long, and then I can do Reiki on them. And I can feel their energy and how much they need. And I can’t crank up more energy.

[00:23:22] I can’t crank up more Reiki. If I find an area their body’s gonna do it. So I just let it go. And that letting go is, I think really important in, in this work as a practitioner, because then you don’t have ego attachment then you don’t feel as a practitioner, I’ve gotta make this work. their body’s gonna do it.

[00:23:44] And if it doesn’t, then it’s not ready to do it. So I’m able to feel their energy. There was another practitioner, she and I would exchange Sunday afternoons for four 30 minutes and she would send to me and I would send to her. And you, it was just like she was there. Wow, absolutely. Like she was there and I’ve done.

[00:24:03] I do a lot of sending and during COVID three of my clients sent me checks. People don’t send you checks. This is not working. So I would do Reiki on them as needed sometimes weekly, depending on what was happening or monthly, but usually weekly. Wow. So it works. Quick little story about sending and how it can work.

[00:24:27] When I was in higher education, one of my instructor’s wife was going through chemotherapy and she was still childbearing age and it of course threw her into instant menopause and. Severe hot flashes and fever and everything. So he said, could you do something? And I offered to come see her. And he said, no.

[00:24:49] I said, okay, I can send it to her. So I did. And the fever went down immediately. He came to school the next day. He said the fever’s completely gone. And I said, I can keep doing this while she goes through chemotherapy said, okay, that’d be great. several months late. I just. I just did it on a regular basis and he came in my office several months later and said, I don’t know what you did, but Kristen’s pregnant.

[00:25:15] You don’t become pregnant going through chemotherapy, especially when you’ve gone through that severe menopause. And the doctors tested her three times, three different doctors. They could not believe she had gone through chemotherapy. and pregnant. She had a healthy baby girl, and that’s one of my favorite stories about sending

[00:25:39] And I don’t even think at the beginning, she was a med, they were both medical, she was a nurse. He was a medical assistant instructor and chair of the department. I don’t think either one of them believed it. It was gonna work at all. So there’s another case of does it, do you have to believe in order for it to.

[00:25:57] I love all of your stories. You were just, oh, I was just thinking, I probably should do some kind of book or something you should. Is there anything else that you wanna say about Reiki in general or energy healing in general, before we talk about your training?

[00:26:17] Just that it is such a wonderful tool. If you just do it once a month is cumulative. So the more you do it. The more your body responds. So my PTSD client who came with some really strong need now his body just turned around very quickly. In fact, all of those who are clients, but now students, I noticed that they’re cha that they’re able their body’s able to make the switch into healing mode a lot faster.

[00:26:49] So when people go through training, I think a lot of us think about trainings like this as like I’m only gonna do it if I wanna become a Reiki healer, but you’ve no on yourself. So do you wanna talk a little bit about Reiki level one? Sure. And I just wanna say this it’s a lifetime guarantee once you’re attuned.

[00:27:10] So it’s called atunement or initiation. And. So Reiki one is that it’s all about you. It’s learning how to do it on yourself, becoming attuned to Reiki one so that you have that healing vibration. I should also just mention that Reiki can also be used through your fingers.

[00:27:32] and through your eyes and through your breath. So sometimes I wish I had a third hand. Maybe I’ve been in one area and I wanna go to the next area, but I wanna stay somehow in the previous areas. I can just look. Not stare. It’s not aggressive. It’s just letting the energy flow from my eyes. And for me, that’s when I close my eyes, that’s how I can feel how much that person needs my eyes buzz, but everybody’s different.

[00:28:01] And it switches started out in my head. Then it’s now it’s in my eyes. Who knows what’s gonna happen next . So that’s Reiki one it’s about you. And then Reiki two is learning how to send it to others. You’re attuned to all three. Those particular symbols that are used. But I don’t have to use symbols in order for it to work.

[00:28:22] Unfortunately some of I know of one student that said I just don’t do it on myself anymore. Cuz I can’t remember the symbols. That is, you don’t need the symbols in order to just put your hands on your body and just let her rip . Reiki three is master level. And I just finished a class this weekend with six students at that level.

[00:28:43] And then there’s the fourth level, which is instructor, if you wanna teach it. So that takes a little longer. Okay, great. And how often do you offer Reiki? One? It’s an as needed basis. I am trying to avoid winter classes for the obvious reasons. So I’ve packed in quite a few. Fortunately this summer and fall is really, are really For Reiki classes, I have a Reiki one coming up on June 26th. I could use some more students and a Reiki, two July 24th. And these are all at the clinic where I work. Okay. And what clinic is that? Therapy and healing arts. So it started out just as a group of a clinic with just psychotherapists.

[00:29:29] And now it’s been opened up to acupuncture, body work and energy therapy. Oh, nice. Nice to have that, all those different modalities in what clinic yes, absolutely. And we refer to one another. I should say that I especially like to get referrals from psychotherapists because we can work together as a team with that particular client.

[00:29:54] And I created a brochure with these hands holding each other. That’s the team that the client needs. Yeah. Beautiful. Thank you so much for being on the podcast. What is the best way for people to get in touch with you if they want to experience a healing session, or if they’re curious about trainings?

[00:30:13] Sure. All of it’s on the website. So www.energy healing universe. One word.com. So the services, testimonials classes, everything’s there contact information. Love it. Thank you so much for being on the show. Oh, thank you. It was so much fun.

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