Since I was young, friends would share their problems with me and as I got older, strangers would tell me their deepest fears; it was easy to chat with me and they all felt lighter after doing so but I was left drained and tearful. As the years went on, my emotional upsets became more frequent, longer and darker. It wasn't until my mid-twenties that I'd realise I could face the darkness within, release emotions in an active way and develop my sensitivities.
12 years studying German and I move to China.
It's funny where life takes you. If I'd known I was going to move to Shanghai and live there for 11 years I would have studied Mandarin.
A few months into my move to the East, I hit a wall of depression, insomnia and culture shock. This was one of the darkest periods I'd been through. Searching for a healthy way to soothe my mind and body, a friend recommended a small, Japanese-owned centre in the heart of Shanghai that offered traditional Japanese energy healing sessions called Reiki. After receiving a few healing treatments and feeling physically and mentally lighter I went on to study Reiki levels 1 and 2. My understanding of how energy healing deepened and I began to learn how to detach myself from the suffering people released when speaking with me. I was getting less sick and taking better care of myself: I felt as if I'd had a mental and spiritual breakthrough. At the time I was working in the innovation consulting sector as a behavioural trainer co-delivering creativity and innovation courses throughout Asia and in my free time was giving energy healing treatments to willing friends and colleagues.
I left the consulting world behind and headed into the unknown.
Despite enjoying my work, in the winter of 2012 something deep within told me to move on. In 2013 I left my job, took the final level of Usui Reiki Master Teacher studies, gave away most of my possessions, said 'see you in 8 months' to my partner and friends and headed for South America. During my travels I gave healing sessions to fellow travellers, wrote limericks, learned a lot about patience and it seemed I was constantly cleansing and healing.
My final ten days were spent traveling within the confines of my mind at a Vipassana silent meditation centre in Malaysia which was perfectly mind-boggling. I'd been meditating on and off since 2007 but Vipassana was something else. A deeper shift was taking hold and I found more walls and barriers within my mind to break down. Tired from the intense meditation experience, but feeling inspired, I returned to Shanghai where I studied Alternative Medicine, continued giving healing sessions and workshops on the world of subtle energy and taught every level of Usui Reiki to people from all walks of life.
From Shanghai to Piedmont to Paris, with love.
In 2016 I left Shanghai with my partner to travel for 7 months through Asia, Mongolia and Russia. Beyond that we didn't have a plan: we were adamant that we wouldn't be moving to a big city straight away. Craving nature, clean air, rivers, lakes and space we settled for almost a year in the stunning area of Piemont, playing around with permaculture, reading, hiking in the forests and as a dear friend simply put it: living as human beings, not human doings. Leaving the tranquillity of our little nook in Italy and moving to Paris arose from the need to be close to family and reconnect with society.
There is a big awakening that’s taking place in Paris and it reminds me of the one I was witness to in Shanghai. I am blessed to be a part of it again. I launched my holistic practice HEALING WITH GINA and was able to better grasp the language which makes all the difference to my clients, who tell me my accent is très mignon -I don't mind sounding cute. I guess it's because I lack the nasality of a true French voice.
Every day I learn more about myself through the stories of the people I meet. We are connected in ways we can't even begin to imagine.
