The Energy Practice That Helped Me Face — And Eventually, Overcome — My Burnout

Reiki is a profound energy healing technique of Japanese lineage. Rei- means "universal" and -ki means "life force," making reiki a universal life force energy that is used for healing the energetic body.

When one receives the healing energy of reiki, they can expect it to break apart and evenly release the stagnant or blocked flow of chi (energy) in the body. This has a direct effect on the energetic body, so you may feel deeply relaxed or completely revitalized after a healing, depending on what energy you needed. And because our energetic body is connected to our physical body, reiki can also be helpful for relieving physiological imbalances.

Reiki masters did not traditionally use the chakra system for healing. The chakra system comes from the ancient wisdom of the Vedas, originating in India. The beauty of the world we live in today is that we have access to all ancient traditions of healing. We can honor each lineage individually and combine these knowledge systems for radical, collective healing.

I received my first reiki session during a time of my life when I was very burnt out and exhausted. I was balancing a demanding full-time job as well as starting my own business and attending Ayurveda college.

I was so tired that I fought to stay awake on a daily basis. At the time, I held strongly to the belief that my worth was in my work. The more education I had, the more worthy I would be to serve others. The more hours I worked at my job, the more worthy I would be for promotion and recognition. The more people I healed in my 1:1 consultations, the more worthy I would be as a human. I had lost my identity completely in my career because I thought that was what a soul-purpose-dharma meant.

I played this charade for a while—and then that first reiki session woke me up. The session actually started with an Ayurvedic consultation and then ended with a quick reiki session. The Ayurvedic consult told me I had a vata imbalance, which comes as no surprise since I was going 100 mph on a daily basis.

But, then, what happened in the 15-minute reiki was totally unexpected: I could feel billowy waves of healing energy pour into my energy centers, specifically my solar plexus chakra. It felt like it was almost on fire when the practitioner was focusing on that energy center. My whole body became warm with a blazing sun at the center of my body.

I practically floated out of the session absolutely mystified that 15 minutes of someone waving their hands over me could bring me this much aliveness. I had the most energy that I'd had in months, and most importantly, I felt connected to who I was again.

Of course, one session wasn't going to heal my adrenal fatigue (the adrenals are not so coincidentally located on the backside of the solar plexus chakra) or completely shed all my limiting beliefs about my self-worth, but it served as a catalyst for me.

With balanced flow swirling through my solar plexus chakra, I remembered how bold and authentic I really was. How I didn't have to feel ashamed for being drawn to spirituality and esoteric practices like reiki. This guided me to take the risks on my spiritual journey that my soul had been craving.

The summer of that year, I enrolled in reiki II training and again my world radically changed. It was just the beginning of my spiritual awakening, and I have the reiki energy all to thank.