I recently had a Reiki treatment with Vanessa Marie Dewsbury, Soul Alive Barrie, and I loved it so much. I have always been drawn to alternative health care techniques, but I had never tried Reiki before. I thoroughly enjoyed the Reiki treatment and the benefits that I felt afterward. If you have been considering Reiki, Vanessa shares with us what you can expect, how Reiki works as well as the kinds of energetic or emotional responses that one may have after a Reiki treatment. Thank you Vanessa for sharing with us!

Reiki is described as “a healing technique based on the principle that the therapist can channel energy into the patient by means of touch, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body and restore physical and emotional well-being.” Can you describe a typical Reiki treatment, how it works and what one can expect from a treatment?

Reiki is a gentle, non-evasive form of healing therapy. A Reiki Practitioner is a channel for the Universal Life Force energy to flow through into the patient. I hold space for my clients allowing the flow of energy to move through their body bringing balance back to their energy system. During a session clients are laying down on a massage table while powerful music plays as they go into a nice meditative state, sessions are generally an hour long. Clients can expect at the very least to be left feeling very relaxed however most often people experience visions, sensations through their body and it feels as though a heavy weight has been lifted as a release of stress and emotions take place during a session.

Can you tell me about your journey to becoming a Reiki Master, and how you realized that this was your path? How did you first realize that you had this gift of being a spiritual healer?

I went through several years of health issues and I was always drawn to natural healing methods. It wasn’t until my partner asked me how I always knew where he was experiencing pain when I placed my hands on his back that I started to look into “healing hands.” I posted about it on Facebook and I was told it was called Reiki. So, from there I researched, booked a Reiki Training course and three years later, here I am having treated over 300 clients.

I recently had the opportunity to have a Reiki Session with you and I have to tell you that it was a wonderful experience. From the moment that I walked into your treatment space, I immediately felt welcomed and relaxed. It was like I could feel the calming energy of the room. Do you consciously decorate or place significant objects in your treatment room that would have an impact on the energy of the space?

That’s so wonderful to hear you felt that way Jen! Yes I definitely create spaces with intention. I do this by going within myself and feeling how I would feel in the space around me. I like things to look clean and organized as I feel a cluttered space can cause a cluttered mind, so it’s important to me that I provide a clean, joyful and calm space for others to enter into. I have had young children just step foot in my house and they comment on how much they like our home without actually seeing most of it. I place crystals and Buddha’s in most of the rooms so that always brings a feeling of calm and serenity.

At the beginning of our session, you performed a smudging to cleanse the energy of the room. Can you tell me the significance of this technique and how it works?

I use beautiful White Sage to cleanse the space before and after a client has visited my treatment room. Sage is known to attach itself to lower/negative energy of a room, object or person and the smoke carries the lower energy away and sends it back up to the Universe. The smell of White Sage also brings an instant calm to the space and has the ability to relax a client right away.

After my Reiki session with you, I felt extremely light in the sense that I didn’t have any tension in my body, and my mind was cleared of clutter and I was simply present and content. Can you tell us about how Reiki can positively impact both physical and emotional healing?

We tend to carry excessive amounts of stress with us from the past and from our present life situations and we live mostly in my minds and often neglect the importance of the Mind, Body and Spirit/Soul Connection. When we overuse or “abuse” our minds, our bodies start to send us messages that it needs our attention too. This comes in the form of physical pain, illness, dis-ease (your body not at ease with itself) as well as anxiety, depression and constant stress overload which can eventually affect our organs and we need those working at optimal performance. Stress can also have a very profound impact on a woman’s ability to become pregnant. Because stress affects our Cortisol Level and Hormones, it can put our system out of balance. I have successfully treated five women thus far who have come for Reiki sessions in hopes of Reiki helping them with infertility and all of them conceived and a few of them have already birthed their children. Some were also on IVF treatments and others simply were only using Reiki. It’s pretty amazing. If you can visualize a beautiful and powerful abundance of white light flowing through your body and clearing away things that no longer serve you purpose, that is what Reiki does. It clears away lower and negative energy that is stored in our energy system.

People often have varying emotional or energetic responses to Reiki treatment, which can also include seeing visions. Recently you shared on your Facebook Page, Soul Alive Barrie, that several clients had described seeing a single eye during their treatment. Can you share with us what one can expect to feel after a Reiki treatment, the types of emotional responses or visions that can occur? What is the significance of seeing a single eye?

Yes, the Third Eye vision is pretty interesting! I’ve had several more clients see a single eye since I mentioned that. When treating a client I work on the Third Eye Chakra which is located in the centre of the brows and is purple in colour which is why that most clients see the colour purple when I’m working on that area. It is connected to perception, intuition, knowledge and mental organization. I believe that clients are seeing the single eye because I’m setting the intention of activating their Third Eye and enhancing their intuition. The visions people see are very random and they literally pass by you very quickly at times and soon enough another “random” and odd vision pops up, it’s almost like you’re just laying there watching a movie but you’re not understanding the significance of it. It’s kind of like when you have a dream and certain parts of the dream symbolize something else so I believe that the visions people see are symbols of stored emotions being released. Some people do see visions that bring them great clarity and they can connect it with a current of past situation. I also see people who have passed away and who are alive, I can describe them right down to the suspenders and types of shirts they always wore to the pretty tea cups Grandma liked to collect. I believe I am tapping into their energy and I can become so connected that I can see loved ones as well as past events that may have been traumatic for them because the energy of the emotion is still very present in the energy system and has not yet been released or dealt with.

I am very inspired by the content, inspirational quotes and personal insights that you share on your blog and social media. You have a very positive message of healing, self-care, and personal growth. What inspires you to share your story, your insight and positive messages of growth with the world? Can you tell us about the book that you are writing?

I choose to wear my soul on my sleeve so to speak because I believe that we are here to be of service to others. To inspire, motivate and help others on their healing journeys. My passion truly is my purpose. My intention is to help bring joy and Love into the lives of others. I am writing a book which I plan to release in October 2017. Currently, it’s called “Magic, Miracles & Manifesting” Affirmations and Words Of Empowerment for Personal Growth, Relationships, and Business. The name could change when I finish however I am partial to the name at this stage of my book. Affirmations were life changing for me, rewiring my unconscious mind and “reprogramming” it with positive words made my self-esteem and confidence go from about 4 to a 9, there is always room for improvement! I wanted to write a book sharing my words of inspiration as well as Affirmations to help others re-wire their past unconscious conditioning and to help change how they view themselves and even others by dissolving limited beliefs. I am also a huge believer in the Law of Attraction and I have manifested a life that I love, I share insight in my book on how others can manifest happiness, joy, and success into their lives so that they can live their best life. Change your thoughts, change your life!

I recently had the pleasure of joining you in your first group meditation that was held early this summer at Sunnidale Park. It was a lovely experience. How can group meditation affect one’s personal meditation practices, and how is it different than solo meditation? Will you be offering more group meditation?

Meditation definitely helped change my life. I wanted to provide an opportunity for people who were interested or curious about Mediation to experience it in a group setting with other like-minded people who choose to live a positive life or who are on a journey of seeking a more balanced, mindful and peaceful life. Group Meditation can be powerful like anything in large numbers can be. Sitting in a space with people of like intention and connecting with them, and their energy can be very powerful as you become One in that moment of unison and connectedness. It’s beautiful. Solo Meditation is just, well amazing! I listen to Meditation every single day, it helps begin my morning and taper off my day as I drift off to sleep.

Can you share with us how one can learn the practices of Reiki natural healing techniques? Do you offer Reiki Training and Certification?

Anyone can learn Reiki, as we all have the ability to heal ourselves and assist others in their healing. I don’t view myself as a healer however, I see myself as a helper of healing. A person has to have a desire to heal themselves otherwise their mind won’t allow them to be healed. I’m a facilitator of helping bring change in others. I do offer Reiki Training and Certification and I have an upcoming course coming this September 24th. Details for that can be found