Healing With Reiki

Lara Elliott is a Reiki practitioner and master, licensed Acupuncturist, herbalist, certified holistic health coach, certified meditation teacher and certified in cranio-sacral therapy and breath work. Born and raised in Germany, she spent 9 years in New York city working in fashion before starting her work in the healing arts. Now based in Los Angeles, she supports her clients by combining her disciplines and offers integrative healing sessions to access inner peace and self-love.

Her presence is loving, grounded and warm. If you’re in the LA area or simply passing through, don’t miss your chance to work with this magical healer.

Lara shares:

The principles of Reiki and how to apply to your own life
How Reiki benefits breast health
How to clear and move energy
Simple breathwork practices you can use today
Tips to increase intuition

What is Reiki and what are some of its founding principles?

Reiki is the experience of returning home to our true self. Remembering our purity, our light.It is empowerment by living life from our true nature. When we are connected to our truth we understand that our essence is compassion and loving kindness.

Reiki is a spiritual practice created by Dr. Mikao Usui Sensei with its foundation in Zen Buddhism. The frequency this practice carries is that of pure light, the light of higher awareness/consciousness which is passed on from Reiki Masters to students and continuously cultivated and remembered as we practice Reiki.

There are four pillars of Reiki: I. The Attunements II. Reiki Meditation III. Reiki Principles IIII. The “Hands-on” Healing Practice

What does a Reiki session look like? Can people do Reiki on themselves? Can Reiki be received remotely?

My Reiki sessions with clients have some varying elements due my background and education in different healing modalities. That’s why I call my Reiki Sessions “Integrative Reiki”.

I am a licensed Acupuncturist with seven years of academic Chinese Medicine studies (proud of that! ;), an herbalist, certified holistic health coach, certified meditation teacher and certified in cranio-sacral therapy and breath work.

I cannot look at a person/ person’s body without seeing meridians and acupuncture points and therapeutically engage with them in a healing session.

My Reiki students also have vastly varying backgrounds. Some are clients who simply loved their sessions and are curious to learn more about Reiki. Some are practitioners in the medical or wellness world, health or life coaches, doulas, yoga teachers, mothers, fathers, artist, actors…

Through my practice and communication of Reiki, people understand it is by far not only about the hands-on practice and needing to pursue this “professionally”, but its true benefits for anyone no matter what background or career path. So, whoever will be the practitioner some of their very own characteristics will flow and influence a Reiki session.

A session always includes is a check in/ consultation, a guided mindfulness and breathing meditation/visualization (to ground into the body, open awareness to the energetic body, and allow emotions to be felt).

The rest should be experienced this is generally the BEST way to find out what Reiki is, when you feel curious, or doubtful, or drawn to the practice. Receive a session. Experience it. It might be similar but different for everyone, just like meditation.

To me Reiki healing sessions are also a meditation. For both practitioner and client. In a meditation, the illusion of separation is dissolved this is the “secret” to long distance healing (at least the way I see it).

Part of the Reiki training is protocol for hands-on healing for Self. Reiki is first and foremost healing of self (Self Love/ coming home to our true nature), so practice and self-healing is not only crucial but the foundation.

How can Reiki support breast health?

Reiki is a holistic practice, which supports healing of all the parts of a person (physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual).

In our human suit and in daily life we get so easily distracted from all the innate wisdom of how to balance and live healthy. Think about this: nobody I know (including spiritual teachers, yogis etc.), doesn’t need a DAILY reminder to take a deep breath when stress arises—Reiki helps us do this.

Preventative:

Breast health is greatly affected by stress.
Reiki is mindfulness, and allows for a healthy way of managing stress or reducing stressors of life.
Stress, which sometimes is inevitable can arise, but shouldn’t get stuck, accumulated or stored in the body.

Therapeutic:

Hands-on healing on Self or others is a wonderful way to bring the light and love of awareness to parts of our being (including body parts and organs) that are otherwise not being acknowledged, suppressed, ignored, overlooked, neglected, or forgotten about. This is one of the reasons why a very gentle / light touch can sometimes bring about strong emotional release, as we uncover old trauma or memories that may be stored or tucked away in the deeper layers (of our energetic body) or tissues of the physical body.

With another person, we usually touch the “heart chakra”/ sternum/ chest area at some point during the Reiki session, which can relax and bring a sense of opening to the entire chest area as well as emotional heart opening.

When treating Self, we obviously can include our breasts, which for most women are likely in need of the loving, non-judgmental, and compassionate touch of Reiki.

Deeper breaths help us feel more

grounded, stable and calm

Breathwork for emotional unblocking. Emotions such as fear, hurt, pain, and sorrow are often stored in the breasts. Is there a breathwork exercise you like that clears emotions? How does the breath clear energy?

The general saying is that we use about 30-40% of our lung capacity throughout the day. In other words, most of us breathe rather shallowly which is a great reason why we are so easily stressed and triggered. Deeper breaths help us feel more grounded, stable and calm.

We also tend to stay with our focus more in the upper body (brain/thinking, sense of sight, hearing, speaking). This is not only a habitual thing, but often times a subconscious way of staying in a seemingly “safe” and “in control” space (of mind) as our body doesn’t seem to be a safe container or vessel, and that again is due to old or recent trauma, or both.

When we begin to take conscious deep breaths (breathwork), we begin to journey with our awareness into our body (which is very important aspect to healing) and given the previous concept of stored trauma/ memory in the body, meeting the areas we’ve been afraid to feel.

To me, Reiki is the container to hold these experiences with the highest love and compassion, creating a safe and sacred space for anything to arise and move.

The breasts and heart are inextricably linked. How does Reiki help to open and calm the heart ?

Resentment and worry are two emotions that can easily be “transferred” into our breast tissue, when we allow it for too long to reside around our heart (space).

When we are connected to our Higher Self, unconditional love and compassion rule, and will transform and dissolve any inner feelings that may cause harm to self or others.

Reiki brings us back to our Higher Self. “Do not Worry” is one of the five Principles of Reiki.

(How) do hands possess healing energy? How can people harness their own hands’ power to heal themselves?

Intention, and trusting their intuition.

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How do you know if you have blocked energy in your body?

Any kind of discomfort or pain we experience is also an energetic block that has manifested in the body or mind.

One of the first texts of Chinese Medicine describes:

“Where there is stagnation, there is pain. Where there is a block, there is discomfort.”

Reiki, mindfulness, or the below practice are ways to “detect” and open or move blocks BEFORE they have manifested physically.

This is one (simple) way:

Lay down and first observe your breath without adjusting it.
Then shift your breath to deep belly open-mouth breathing (inhale and exhale) for some minutes and observe if you:

Have any difficulty to take these deep breath/ any areas of tightness, pain, the feeling of constriction or anxiety
1. Begin to feel any emotions arise (specifically that of anger or resistance)

Chinese Medicine further believes that emotions when held too long in the body can manifest as physical dis-ease. i.e. “Worry knots the Qi”.

“Do not Worry” is one of the five Principles of Reiki.

Is there a simple exercise you’d recommend to help clear and promote energy flow?

Shake your body, rotate ankles, wrists, wiggle your hips – basically dance. Also laugh out loud for a few minutes (silly laughter) – even if you have to fake it.

Who inspires you?

Humble, generous, and kind people. People who smile (a lot) from their hearts. People who support other people without ego. People who love without ego.

What advice would you give to women who might be struggling with their health?

Oh…so much! – that is what I do for work.

Here are a few:

1. Allow yourself to be supported. Find a healthy community, a healthy friend, or “healer” who inspires you and whom you trust, and learn how to receive support.

Many women I know and meet have difficulty to receive (it’s often an old programming).

2. Look at all the areas inside and outside of you that are not serving your true nature, that are not in alignment with your truth. Then like a garden, tend to and grow more and more of the healthy things that inspire and uplift you, and allow the unhealthy ones to leave you/ your life.

3. Remember to breathe deeply every day when you feel stressed or as a mindfulness practice or meditation.

Remember:

There is no one-fits-all way for healing.
Healing is the most intimate and personal journey and it’s all about getting to know yourself. Any imbalance or dis-ease oftentimes is a sign that it’s time to shift or change something in our life we’ve restored to shift/ change.
If you have breast sensitivity you are likely a very sensitive person.
Allow yourself to draw and create the necessary boundaries (use of yes & no and their energetics) to create a life in which you feel empowered through your gift of sensitivity.

If you have breast sensitivity you are likely

a very sensitive person.

Favorite piece of advice/wisdom you’ve ever received?

Be love, teach peace.

How do you celebrate yourself?

With Self-care, rituals, and/or time in favorite beautiful places and spaces – not necessarily by myself, I love spending time with loved ones.

Rituals can be in the way of ceremony depending what “I celebrate about myself or my life” like setting an altar and drumming, or as “simple” as a latte and croissant in my favorite coffee shop on a beautiful morning.

If we think of celebration in the sense of accomplishment, especially since becoming a mother, I feel that every day is an accomplishment, thus needs to be celebrated in some way or even just acknowledged with gratitude, meditation, or prayer.

I feel blessed to say that at this point in my life, most every day feels pretty special.

What does listening to your intuition look like to you? Do you have any practices that help you deepen your connection to your intuition?

To me intuition has a lot to do with trusting myself. Trusting my voice. Trusting my heart. Trusting what I feel, and I feel a lot. Our Intuition becomes stronger the more we listen to her and act upon that/ your inner voice.

If you could leave the read with one thing, what would it be?

Trust your intuition. Trust your heart. You are loved.