I have known AllisonJoy for a couple of years now, and she graciously offered me a place in her home when I first transitioned from Chicago to New Jersey/New York. While living in her home, she offered me a Reiki session several times. Whenever we tried to schedule one, there was always one reason or another on my part as to why we couldn’t coordinate it. I believe that everything happens for a reason, and I now know that I just wasn’t ready to receive the Reiki healing at those times. Finally, after more than half a year later, I was ready.
Prior to my first Reiki session, I had had three holistic healing sessions at different times in my life whenever I visited the Philippines. I was forced to attend these sessions under my parents suggestion, because I was either physically sick or they were worried about my lack of appetite in the environment. These sessions were administered by different healers in the local province where my parents were from. The sessions were all intimidating, abrupt, and unpleasant, since I was forced to sit in silence as the healer placed their hands on me.
My Reiki experience with AllisonJoy was, in fact, the exact opposite to these previous experiences. When we were finally able to hold the session, I was in a place in my life in NY where I was dealing with homesickness away from my home and family and a variety of other challenges from the transition. I felt like AllisonJoy’s warm energy, professionalism, and genuine love for healing others in her community made her a perfect guide in my healing process.
My Reiki treatment was a great stepping stone toward my personal healing through this very difficult time. AllisonJoy prepped me every step of the way—and it was extremely important for me to fully understand the history of Reiki and all of its components and the exact steps she would be taking to administer the treatment. I felt extremely comfortable and well-equipped to have my treatment. AllisonJoy has a wonderful, comprehensive, accessible/user-friendly website with a lot of great resources and all of the information I needed to feel confident in taking steps toward a treatment with her. Prior to the treatment, AllisonJoy sent me this information and made sure to check-in on me with questions around my well-being and things to think about going into my session. When I arrived, I felt instantly comfortable in the treatment space, as the environment was calming and filled with a peaceful energy. AllisonJoy sat and talked to me more about the treatment, and we talked through a lot of the personal healing I was seeking in the session. She answered all of my questions and made sure I was comfortable and ready before we began. The treatment itself was calming and necessary. AllisonJoy made sure to consult me about physical boundaries and gave me a choice as to whether or not I wanted her to physically place her hands on me, and if so, where on my body I felt comfortable with this. This was an extremely important and reassuring conversation, as the healers in my previous experiences were not as conscious of my comfort level and did not offer me choices. My body felt much more relaxed, and I was conscious of certain areas feeling stronger energy during the treatment than others. After the treatment, AllisonJoy and I talked about the areas where I felt these pulls, and she shared that her hands were pulled to the same areas. The whole session was extremely clarifying for me in forward thinking about my own self-care and ways to heal and release a lot of the tension and stress I hold inside.
AllisonJoy and I talked about how as women of color, we often feel guilty for taking part in acts of self-care, and healing practices like Reiki treatments seem too indulgent or like a luxury we can’t validate or make time for. These are the precise reasons why AllisonJoy’s practice and approach to community work are so important. She shared with me a gift that she offers to those in her community—the opportunity to heal instead of feeling like we have to hold the weight of our families, friends, partners, and communities on our bodies. I am excited by her vision to offer these treatments at community-friendly rates and some of her other programs (like sponsoring another sister) to allow the rest of the community to partake in something that shouldn’t be seen as a mere luxury—but rather, our own basic rights to self-care.
Making the time for this type of healing is not always easy. As a woman of color, I feel like I’ve been socialized to think about self-care in very specific ways, and healing through the body and spirit is still something I struggle with. I am currently working through and exploring self-healing in a variety of ways. I would highly recommend Reiki sessions with AllisonJoy because of her great care for those she is treating, her professionalism and sensitivity throughout the whole experience, and the strength that this practice will continue to bring to our communities.
Thank you, AllisonJoy!
