Dragonfly Reiki

03/31/2026

Reiki healing taught me that self-care isn’t selfish.

Like so many other women, I was taught to be self-sacrificing.

Family comes first. Friends come first. Jobs come first. Tend to everyone and everything first. Always available and never complaining.

Until the day comes when you’re tapped out.

The tank is dry.

The cup is not only empty, but also overturned and smashed.

When this has happened to me, I’ve experienced bouts of disabling chronic pain and dysfunction. I’ve felt so overwhelmed and irritable that I couldn’t think straight and get the most basic tasks accomplished.

I bet this sounds very familiar to you too.

Life is not going to stop coming at us with its demands and expectations. However, we can prioritize taking care of ourselves and our needs.

Making consistent changes and setting new boundaries feels really hard when you can’t keep your own head above water most days.

So, what’s the solution?

The very first thing that has to happen is YOU decide you are worthy of taking care of yourself differently.

No one else is going to do it for you. And to be honest, some people who are close to you may not fully support the changes that are required if it means less of your energy is being directed at them.

The thing is, the changes you make to take better care of yourself now actually ends up benefiting you and them in the long run.

Change is uncomfortable. Change is messy. Change is also necessary if you choose to commit to deep, radical self-care.

Reiki healing taught me first and foremost that I deserved to offer myself the kind of care I routinely offer others. If I don’t feel inherently worthy of self-care, I will allow it to routinely be subsumed by other people’s needs.

I learned that not prioritizing my own self-care was a type of trauma response that resulted from years of having my emotional and physical needs minimized or ignored by other people.

Developing a regular practice of a Reiki self-healing in the mornings before I even step foot out of bed helps to tune into my needs each day and refill my tank.

Reiki healing reconnects me to a deeper stillness and inner peace than my over-functioning self normally allows. Many of my clients have told me that just receiving Reiki healing regularly has helped them develop greater discernment about how they use their time and energy.

When you’re able to experience deeper stillness and inner peace, a different dialogue begins to emerge in your mind and heart. It will show you the truth of who you are and why you are so deserving of rest, care, spaciousness, and freedom.

Reiki healing offers clarity in the midst of chaos.

I invite you right now to take a deep breath in and out, and envision for a moment what more stillness, clarity, and inner peace might feel like in your body, mind, and heart.

Sit with that feeling for another moment or two, and then ask yourself, what is holding you back from caring more deeply for yourself?

If you need help with committing to more self-care, I can help. I have accompanied many women over the years on this journey, offering support, accountability, and the deep, profound healing of Reiki.

I am here to encourage you to say yes to more life-giving self-care, whether that involves baby steps over time or a big overhaul. I support the pace that is most sustainable and nourishing for you.

Ready to take better care of yourself?

Whether you book a Reiki session, or choose to learn to practice Reiki (or both!) I'm here to support you.

Link in comment for current offerings.

03/22/2026

Grateful for a sunny, warm spring day to take a mindful walk on a nature trail close to home. Mindfulness is not about tuning things out — background noise, random mental thoughts, or physical sensations — it's about being intentionally and curiously aware of the ground of your existence, which includes the mundane, sublime, and occasionally uncomfortable aspects.

One great way for me to practice mindfulness is to be out in nature, paying attention to my breath, my footsteps, the little twinge here and there in my body, as well as the sun, the breeze, the smell of the earth, and plants unfurling out of the soil.

Walking with my dog means plenty of stops for her to sniff the ground, which allows me to pause and pay attention to where we are in that moment, next to a tree or a clump of plants. My mind wanders and I gently pull it back, like I do when my dog starts to wander off the dirt path.

Often, I am mentally chanting the Reiki Precepts in Japanese in time with my footsteps, bringing a part of my Reiki practice with me wherever I go. It feels like a way to carry a blessing with me wherever I go.

What type of embodied mindfulness practices do you do and how does it help you in your daily life?

03/19/2026

This is my 20th year of learning to practice Reiki, and few things bring me more joy than teaching others this beautiful spiritual healing art from Japan!

There's still time to register for my upcoming beginner-level Komyo ReikiDo (traditional Japanese Reiki) at in Stone Mountain Village on March 28-29.

In this class, you will learn about the history, cultural, and spiritual concepts associated with the development of Usui Reiki Ryoho (Usui Reiki Healing Art) as well as traditional meditations and hands-on healing practices for balancing and harmonizing your body and vital energy.

For more information and to register, see the link in my bio or visit:

www.dragonflyreiki.net/reiki-classes

03/16/2026

A lovely throwback to March 2012, when I hosted my Komyo ReikiDo teacher here in Atlanta for a Komyo ReikiDo intensive training. 🙏

What a wonderful time we had that week, especially because I remember how happy he was to see the cherry blossoms 🌸 in bloom while he was here! There is no better way to welcome a Japanese teacher than with beautiful sakura blossoms!

03/10/2026

Celebrate Spring with Reiki! 🙌

Now through March 30, my self-study courses — including "The Spiritual Medicine of the Reiki Precepts" — and "Self-Love, Self-Care with Reiki" guided healing meditation series are 25% off in my Patreon shop.🔖

Reiki is more than just a hands-on healing art. It is a complete system for spiritual spiritual growth and transformation.

My self-study courses and videos are a great way to go deeper into your own Reiki practice, being guided through some of the traditional Reiki teachings and meditations in an easy-to-follow format.

I've designed these self-study courses and meditations for those who are "Reiki curious" while maintaining respect for the closed teachings and traditions reserved for those who are formally initiated into Reiki practice. 🙏

For just a few dollars, you will have on-demand access to teachings I have shared exclusively with my Reiki students over the years!

Visit www.patreon.com/dragonflyreiki/shop or see the link in bio to purchase this specially discounted content! ✨️

03/09/2026

Deep gratitude for Mikao Usui on the centenary of his meinichi and for the gift of Reiki that he shared with the world. 🙏💜✨️

03/09/2026

Happy International Women's Day!

Today, I am honoring the two women I consider to be my "Reiki Grandmothers": Hawayo Takata and Chiyoko Yamaguchi.

I am trained as a Reiki Master in The Usui System of Natural Healing, the practice that developed in the West based on the teachings of Hawayo Takata. I am also trained as a Shihan (Reiki Teacher) in Komyo ReikiDo, a system of traditional Japanese Reiki, whose lineage traces back to Chiyoko Yamaguchi. Both Mrs. Takata and Mrs. Yamaguchi were trained by Chujiro Hayashi, who was Mikao Usui's successor.

Hawayo Takata is well-known to all who practice Reiki healing here in the West. Chiyoko Yamaguchi is lovingly respected by practitioners of Komyo ReikiDo and Jikiden Reiki, both of whom share her in their practice lineages.

Both women were profoundly important to the development and growth of the system of Reiki. I cannot overstate how important Takata and Yamaguchi are both to me personally, and to the practice of Reiki as a whole.

Takata, of course, was known for singlehandedly bringing the practice of Reiki over from Japan to Hawaii and rooting it in the West. She was a trailblazer and very influential woman, especially at the time she was practicing and teaching the system of Reiki. She was bold and assertive, yet always reminded her students to "let Reiki teach you."

Yamaguchi is important because she was one of the "flamekeepers" who continued to practice Reiki in her family and within her community long after it had almost been forgotten. She did not teach Reiki publicly until much later in her life, when Westerners came to Japan to learn more about the roots of Reiki history and practice. They found this humble and kind woman, and also uncovered a brightly polished gem.

We need both the trailblazers and the flamekeepers in our lives and communities. As part of our Reiki practice, we remember and honor the Reiki teachers/ancestors who have come before us to light the way and inspire us.

As a teacher, I am always turning to Takata's example on how to cultivate and sustain my Reiki practice, to encourage my students to be diligent and devoted to their work, and follow the spiritual teachings of the Reiki Precepts.

As a mother, wife, and member of the community where I serve, I am inspired by Yamaguchi's example of caring for her own family and friends with hands-on and distant Reiki healing. She was a compassionate and comforting presence to her sons, my teacher Hyakuten Inamoto, and all who knew her.

With endless gratitude and love, each day I bow and give thanks for the life, practice, and ongoing legacies of Hawayo Takata and Chiyoko Yamaguchi. May their great bright lights shine for an eternity.

03/05/2026

If there is any recurring conversation I have with my clients and students, it is about being the light-bringer in our families and communities during these chaotic, uncertain, and challenging times.

We really don't have to possess special gifts or powers. Being a helper, a listening ear, seeking out gratitude and joy for big and little things, and looking out for our neighbor goes a long way towards keeping the lamps of hope and compassion lit.

What can help us sustain our light are practices that keep us grounded energetically and spiritually expansive.

The spiritual healing art of Reiki reminds us that we are the bridge between the energies of Heaven and Earth. When we remember our True Self, our lamp always remains lit and the warmth of our light can be felt even during the darkest of times.

There is no bigger joy for me as a Reiki Teacher than to see my students' inner lights grow brighter. Like a rheostat, their Reiki practice increases their innate luminosity.

My Reiki students glow with this compassionate, abiding spiritual energy and they do wonderful things in their homes and communities with the healing gifts and loving presence they've cultivated.

Reiki calls each of us in different ways to live and be our more authentic self. If you are feeling called to learn this simple, elegant, and transformative practice, I am offering a beginner-level Komyo ReikiDo training the weekend of March 28-29 at in Stone Mountain Village.

For more information and to register, see the link in my bio.

02/21/2026

Thank you Justin B. Stein - Reiki Research for offering important historical context on Hawayo Takata's use of the term "Master" and how it aligned with her understanding and experience of Japanese spiritual practices, particularly Zen Buddhism. 🙏

On this date in 1938, shortly before returning to Japan, Hayashi Chūjirō went to a notary public in Honolulu with the following typewritten certificate certifying his student, Hawayo Takata, "as a practitioner and Master of Dr. Usui's Reiki system of healing, at this time the only person in the United States authorized to confer similar powers on others and one of the thirteen fully qualified as a Master of the profession."

This text, likely composed by Takata herself in consultation with Hayashi, appears to be the earliest extant source of the English-language term Reiki Master. There has been some discussion recently about the appropriateness of this term, with many feeling more comfortable with terms like "Reiki teacher" for various reasons, including a feeling that "mastering" Reiki is a lifelong journey, and being uncomfortable with the term's historic association with slavery. While I sympathize with these arguments, I thought I could also provide some historical context for why Takata may have chosen to use the term herself.

Contemporaneous documents indicate Takata saw Buddhism, particularly Zen, as the philosophical foundation of Reiki, and "master" was a very common English expression to describe Zen teachers. In an interview recorded in a July 1938 article in the Japanese-language Hawaii Hochi newspaper, Takata recounted how she had declined to teach Reiki to a group in Chicago because they were too rooted in a Christian mentality and needed to understand Japanese Buddhist thought, so she gave them an English book about Zen (see Alternate Currents, 111-112). It is unclear what this book was, but D.T. Suzuki had published several books in the early 1930s, with his 1934 Introduction to Zen Buddhism being especially popular. In this book, the term "master" appears ten times more frequently than the term "teacher."

The prevalence of the term in this context had to do with the pedagogical relationship between "masters" (shishō 師匠) and disciples (deshi 弟子), terms used in traditional Japanese arts. Takata very much had a relationship like this with Hayashi during her training in Tokyo, practicing daily in his clinic, reporting to him about house calls she made, and even living with the Hayashi family as an "inner disciple" (uchideshi 内弟子). I believe that by using the term "Master" to describe herself, she was trying to translate something of that training (and the respect it deserves) to American audiences. The reference to "[imparting] to others the secret knowledge" on this notarized certificate is another reference to the shishō-deshi relationship: the training one receives from a shishō cannot be taught in books but is passed directly from master to disciple.

As I see it, some of the trouble with the term "Master" came in successive generations, as individual Reiki Masters chose to make Third Degree (or Master) training more accessible, decreasing the time of apprenticeship, training fees, and other barriers. Shishō generally use discretion choosing their deshi and put them through long periods of training and numerous trials before authorizing them to teach themselves. Once a shishō recognizes their disciple as ready to start teaching themselves, there may be another period of apprenticeship before they are ready to set up their own branch of the school.

Takata's training followed this pattern closely. Hayashi first refused to teach her, but relented due to her persistence, a personal reference letter from a distinguished surgeon, and a sizable fee (for which Takata said she had to sell her home in Kauai, see Alternate Currents, p. 80). The Japanese-language Shinpiden certificate Takata received in 1936 (which I believe may have only authorized her to teach the lower levels) refers to her five months of training as a short period of time to achieve this level, but because she proved herself "under [his] direct guidance" (chokusetsu yo shidō no sh*ta), he "recognized her as most suitable" and chose to give her the "secret transmission reiju method" (shinpiden reijuhō). The 1938 English-language certificate, given after another period of apprenticeship, where Hayashi and Takata taught 14 classes together over a period of nearly five months, says that she "has passed all the tests and proved worthy and capable of administering the treatment and of conferring the power of Reiki on others." It is only then that she became a "Master," and head of the Hawaii branch of Hayashi's organization.

I am often asked for my opinion as a historian of the practice to weigh in on "best practices" in the field, but I generally try to avoid being prescriptive. As I do not initiate students into Reiki myself, I feel that those who do (and especially those who have done so for decades) have a much better perspective on these things. However, I hope that some of this context is helpful for those contemplating the utility of the term "Master."

Incidentally, I am participating in a fundraiser webinar in a couple of weeks for Reiki Home, on the republication of the famous "Grey Book" through which this certificate appeared and became known to the Reiki world. All registrants will receive their own copy of the reprinted Grey Book (which masterfully resembles the 1982 original, edited and published by Takata's daughter Alice). I will put a link to the registration information, as well as a link to the Grey Book website, which offers a variety of resources in twelve languages, in the comments below. Hope to see some of you there :)

02/20/2026

Self-Love Self-Care with Reiki is your own 25 minute on-demand retreat, where I offer you simple energy balancing and healing meditation practices to help you feel more balanced, harmonized, and grounded. 💗

This month's video features a guided visualization to help you let go of worry thoughts, and a hands-on self-healing meditation to support your body and balance your energy. 🧘‍♀️

At the end, you will receive Reiki from me to gently send you back out into the world with a more peaceful heart and mind.

🔖Paid Patreon subscribers can access this and my other Self-Love Self-Care with Reiki videos as part of your membership.

Subscriptions start at just $2.22/month and include exclusive content like these guided meditations, and lots of other perks (including discounts on my Reiki sessions and intuitive readings!)

See the 🔗 in comments to learn more and sign up! You deserve some self-love and self-care today!

02/20/2026

I've started Community Care Offerings this month on my as a way to share healing support and mindfulness practices to my subscribers via videos that can be watched anytime, on demand.

My Self-Love Self-Care with Reiki for February drops tomorrow, and as a sneak preview, I'm sharing the short guided visualization my Reiki clients know and love as they settle into their session time with me. 🎈

This guided visualization is part of the Self-Love Self-Care offering, which also includes a gentle healing meditation 🧘‍♀️ to balance and harmonize your energy.

Patreon subscriptions start at just $2.22/month and offer access to lots of exclusive content, including guided meditations, monthly and seasonal readings, self-study courses, and other perks. I'm planning lots more for 2026! 🎉

Your monthly support enables me to devote more time to my community offerings, as well as to my creative endeavors (spiritual writing and the ongoing development of my oracle card deck.)

Join me today! See 🔗 in comments for more details and to subscribe!

02/17/2026

Gong hei fat choy! 恭喜发财

Wishing you happiness, good health, peace, and prosperity as we celebrate the Lunar New Year and welcome in the Year of the Fire Horse! 🧧🔥🐎

The Year of the Wood Snake was about shedding and releasing what no longer served you and felt stagnant. Something long-held is ready to give way so you can grow into the next version of yourself.

The Year of the Fire Horse represents freedom, momentum, and the clarifying heat of transformation. The Fire Horse arrives only once every 60 years, which means its energy is accompanied by a level of intensity that requires you to stop holding back on what matters most to you.

If you take action on a dream or decision, take the reins with passion and commitment. You are meant to go far, so be courageous!