As the newest member of The Reiki School staff, I am unable to tell you about my years upon years of experience as a Reiki teacher and practitioner. I can't tell you that I've been practicing for 10 or 20 years, nor do I have a plethora of degrees and certifications. I can tell you what is possible through daily Reiki practice and dedication to healing. I started my first Reiki 1 class three years ago and through deep practice, dedication, the support of the Reiki School community and the divine timing of things, I have become the new School Director. I've experienced immense growth that completely changed the direction of my life.  I know that sounds very dramatic, but it is true. With all of that being said, I would like to share a little bit about my journey.I received my first Reiki session about 13 years ago from a friend who offered it to help me with a bad sinus infection. To my amazement, it worked!  I eventually lost touch with this person and over the next ten years, often thought, "I should really check this Reiki thing out."  I was always too busy.  I was working as a nanny and a musician during those years and could never seem to make it happen. My band broke up and I found myself in therapy and on medication for depression.  I felt completely lost and defeated and had become a stranger to myself. This was the absolute lowest point of my life and unfortunately, it lasted a few years. At some point, Reiki began popping up in my dreams. Not long after the dreams started, it came up in a conversation with a stranger. That's when I finally decided to sign up just to see what it was all about. I googled "Reiki School" and the first place that popped up was The Reiki School and Clinic and it was in Philadelphia. That was good enough, I was sold.In September of 2011, I enrolled in Reiki 1 at The Reiki School and Clinic. Laurie Elder and Michael Murphy were my teachers. I immediately fell in love with the them, the rest of the staff and my classmates. There was such a sense of support and eventually trust, which was not my strong suit at the time.  As class progressed, I began dreaming of dead relatives and sometimes had premonitions of events that would actually happen in my waking life.  As I practiced my self sessions every night, I would get such insight on my life and what was really happening.  I think my first 2 years of practice were spent peeling back layer upon layer of sarcasm, sadness, shame and various forms of bullshit. I began to emerge. I felt more like my true self than I ever had before. The insomnia that plagued me since my college days disappeared.  I became mindful of my self deprecating sarcasm and other ways that I was hurting myself, and other people.  As class ended, I figured I had to keep going to see what happened next. I continued on to Reiki 2 with no intentions of moving past that level. I just needed to understand what was happening.  As my practice deepened, and my intuition kicked into high gear, I knew at the end of Reiki 2 that I needed to continue.  I took Reiki 3 with my mentor, friend, and founder of the Reiki School, Kim Fleisher. It was during this class that everything shifted. I was guided to learn Shiatsu Massage and strengthen my intuition. I studied various shamanic practices with Sophia Hoffer-Perkins who would also become a friend and mentor. Through Reiki and Shiatsu, I learned to listen deeply and track subtle changes in the body. I studied intuitive development and received further guidance from one of my new co-owners, Alexandra DiFilippo.  I was on a crash course, sucking up every bit of information I could on holistic healing, macrobiotics, sound healing and Crystal Resonance Therapy.  I did all of this while receiving big support from the community of healers that have become my family. I worked with Christel Alberez and received her wonderful CRT sessions. Danica Arizola, now a fabulous co-owner, supported me with her amazing massages.  I received mind blowing sound healing and Reiki sessions from Michael Murphy and game changing Shamanic Healing from Sophia Hoffer-Perkins. Simultaneously, I was learning from one of the most wise, nurturing, academic and knowledgeable Reiki teachers, Kim Fleisher.   Kim taught me how to be a responsible, caring Reiki practitioner, a better communicator and listener. Later, in Reiki 4, she taught me how to hold space and teach this simple, beautiful,  life altering practice to other people. I am so honored to be the new School Director.  I'm so grateful for Kim's trust in us to take the helm.  I'm amazed everyday by our staff and the dedication and love that they have for this place, me and each other.  I'm so thankful for all of our students and their trust in me.  They teach me so much and it's such an honor to watch everyone grow together.  I'm looking forward to this new adventure and bringing you along for the ride!If you'd like to book a session with me, I'm offering 20% off for new clients starting in September and running through the month of October. I offer an intuitive integration of Shiatsu, Reiki, sound healing, myofascial release and consulting. I can offer any of those on their own as well.  I'll be teaching Reiki 1 and Reiki 3 starting this week and will be a permanent fixture at the school. Please stop by say hello!Love,Stephaniestephanie@thereikischool.com