From sceptic to believer: My first experience with energy work and Reiki.

I first heard of Reiki when someone told me that an individual who rented their house to us as a location for a video shoot was a “Reiki Healer” and charged $900 an hour. Not sure what you got for that, I wasn’t interested.

A few years later a friend of mine said she was running late for a Reiki session, she was finally getting relief for a chronic health condition that she had been struggling with for years. Unlike the former practitioner I had heard of, this was extremely reasonable and she could afford to go once or twice a month if needed. I asked for this Reiki energy healer’s number so I could find out what it was all about.

Thus began my first encounter with Jessica Banks; Yogini, Reiki Master, and Energy Healer.

I was interested in Reiki healing. After being introduced personally to a “Higher Power” about a decade ago, I have become comfortable with all kinds of things I would have considered “metaphysical” and “unreal” in the past.

Even if you’re skeptical about a “Higher Power,” no one can deny how much better everything seems to go when you have a good attitude. What is an attitude if not some unseen power of the mind? Besides that, my attitude sucked. I’d been through a hurricane, relationship break up, and my home was over 95 degrees inside because of unfinished repairs. I was pissed, broke, and lonely.

I needed a kick in the attitude.

Jessica Banks, energy healer, Yogini, reiki master, explains how to perform a simple “Mudra” using the left hand.

Close all fingers over the thumb in a fist; palm facing down on the upper thigh. Calms and relaxes the nervous system.

Here’s what happened at my first Reiki session with Jessica.

image of man holding a baby for testimonial blog post by client Jessica Banks Energy Yogini Reiki Master Psychic Healer — Testimonial by James Braun

First of all, I am a dork, and I googled: “How to prepare for your first reiki session.” I read some stuff about cleansing and other holistic practices. I wasn’t going to get to any of it in the next couple of hours before I was scheduled to show up for my Reiki session. I also read something that referred to Reiki as “pseudoscience.” However, after my experience in 12 step programs, I have learned to go with my gut and my experience.

When I arrived, I met Jessica. She was younger than I imagined, super laid back, and I felt an immediate awareness of how tense I had been, as I started to relax spontaneously.

I unloaded my back story, gave her the elevator pitch; what I was dealing with, and how I wish it could be different. I just spilled, it was kind of weird like I was talking to a younger, smarter sibling. She gave me some competent counsel, nothing “earth-shattering,” but core principles I need to remember about meeting tests, going with the flow, staying clear of fear, etc.

Then the cool stuff began.

image of Jessica Banks of healing children with her Reiki gifts. Jessica Banks. Yogini, Psychic Reki Healer, Energy Worker — Image provided by Jessica Banks. Jessica regularly works with children performing Psychic Reiki Energy Healing

First, Jessica “smudged” me with some burning herbs, and invited “Reiki Energy” to enter into this session and heal me.

Then I laid down, she stood behind me with her hands an inch or two away on either side of my head, I closed my eyes, and after a couple of deep breaths, she told me that she felt a word coming through. (I will omit the word since it was personal) When she said this word, I had an immediate emotional reaction.

Then, she asked me to concentrate on the color purple. I began “seeing it,” in my mind. I could see dark images swirling around my head and into my chest cavity. It seemed to collect into a dark concentrated cloud. Then there was a feeling of released tension as she seemed to draw all this darkness out.

Then she told me to concentrate on the color green. She said it was a healing energy and to visualize a green environment and breathe in the color. I felt all this colorful energy drawn down my body and out of the bottom of my feet.

Then I felt the colorful energy pushed back through the bottom of my feet, as bright golden light that spread all over my body all the way to the crown of my head.

I could still feel it being pushed through my feet when I opened my eyes to see her still standing overhead in the same place as before. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t moved to the other end of the table. I was amazing. I had such a powerful experience.

After that, she performed a body scan, which seemed to reveal to her where to concentrate. She seemed to cleanse me energetically. I am not sure how that sounds, but the feeling of life force seemed to become more apparent. I have to emphasize that, for me, this was a unique experience.

Whatever was happening, it felt good.

After that, there was a tarot-style session with cards I drew for myself from an Archangel Michael deck and advice lifted from the cards I drew and action steps to retain and improve the effects of the energy healing.

Since this experience, both my daughters have had sessions as well, and we return on a semi-regular basis to continue to receive the benefits of this style of treatment.

Reiki healing is like no other, and the benefits are too numerous to describe. They seem to be universal, but also unique to the individual.

I think even a skeptic might find a benefit. Since starting Reiki, I have noticed a vibrational quality to certain people, places, and foods I never knew before as well as new ways to improve my moods and thought life, my physical body seems healthier too. I do not know how to quantify my experience, but I plan to keep going back for more.

–James B

I discovered that there's a lot to learn from old, even ancient understanding of natural science. Why the body can experience chronic illness, or health and wellbeing, depending on how this energy is encouraged to flow or is restricted, causing diseases and other ailments.

Energy Medicine is more common than many people think. From Donna Eden’s book Energy Medicine: “People who “see energy” can describe with some precision the anatomy of the energy body, and their descriptions tend to corroborate one another. These descriptions are now backed by electromagnetic measurements, and they also correlate with descriptions of subtle energies found throughout the world, understood in each culture’s own terms and concepts. The meridians, chakras, and aura are three terms that have entered our language, but other energy systems have been identified as well. One of the individuals known for being able to “see” or clairvoyantly read the body’s energies.”

Many cultures have depictions of similar energy pathways in the body. Early models of the life force known as “qi” or chi, or dao, spirit, aura, and the energy body. This power, or current flows through the chakras, or meridians.