It’s a common question. “So what do you do?” Honestly it has always driven me nuts and I have been a little facetious at times and said things like “Oh you know, I eat, I sleep, I go swimming and sometimes I enjoy long walks in the mountains”. Sorry! But I know that usually what people are actually asking is “What do you do for a living?” “How do you make money?” “What’s your purpose?”
When I made the switch from English teacher to Reiki practitioner I noticed quite a difference in the way people responded to what I do. “I’m a Reiki practitioner” is often met with an awkward silence followed by an “Oh”. I only realised just how misunderstood and misrepresented Reiki is once I started practicing and teaching it professionally. There’s a lot of hogwash on the Internet and it’s given Reiki a bad name. So it got me thinking. How can I present what I do without using the word Reiki? And wouldn’t it be nice if everyone expressed what they did for a living in a way that made people understand what they actually do as opposed to what they’re called.
So what do I do?
“I help people to move towards balance and wholeness by using a simple relaxation technique which activates the body’s natural healing response”.
That sounds awesome. I’d try that.
“I guide people to reconnect with their inner magic”.
Image by cocoparisienne
I’m intrigued. I’d like to know more!
“I help people to realise that they are so much more than a physical body. As they begin to understand themselves as multi-layered beings a beautiful journey inwards begins and this depth of experience brings great meaning and purpose to life”.
Wow! That sounds incredible. How do you do that?
As you can see there are so many ways to present your profession and it can be enjoyable to be creative in your explanations. Conversations about what we do can be really interesting.
So instead of being rigidly identified with the name of your profession -Reiki Master, Finance Manager, Accountant, Housewife – why not try and describe how you help. What you do is valuable in so many ways if you really think about it.
Be passionate in your sharing. Be proud of how you contribute, no matter how small you think that is. People respond well to passion because it is authentic. As a Reiki practitioner and teacher I have found this to be a wonderful way of letting others know just how much I love Reiki and what people can achieve through regular Reiki practice.
How would you describe what you do without mentioning your job title? Do you practice Reiki for a living? How would you explain what you do without using the word Reiki? Why not share your descriptions below to spread some ideas around our community. Your enthusiasm may even be contagious!
Article by Taryn Walker
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Taryn Walker
Taryn Walker is a traveling Reiki Master Teacher who wishes to inspire people to realise that they are miraculous! She believes that Reiki can reveal our natural ability to heal ourselves and this empowers us to take responsibility for our lives. She works a lot with distant Reiki and loves the way it allows people to experience the illusion of separation. Taryn is grateful for being able to connect with her Reiki clients even while traveling. She usually lives on a little island in Thailand, where she practices and teaches Reiki, but finds ‘home’ wherever she is. Taryn enjoys yoga, nature, creating art, cooking and finding magic in “ordinary” places. Follow her here: reiki-alchemy.com, and alchemyhealing.
Totally agree ..
thank you 🙂
Thanks for connecting Vedant :)))
I love to say that I help people feel better, relax and release the pain in their body and mind. That’s what I feel like I really do!
Thanks for this Angie 🙂 It’s always great to be able to be authentic about what you do.
Great ideas for an amazing elevator pitch!
Absolutely Ani! Thanks for connecting 🙂
Nice idea!
Thanks for sharing your views…
Thank you Namrata 🙂
Wow loved it!! I will definitely say these next time ppl ask about my reiki practice.
Thanks for connecting Shwetha 🙂
Getting ready to move from Colorado to Washington DC and know this article is posted with perfect timing for me. Thank you, Taryn!
Thank you Alicia. All the best with your big move Xx
Great article !! Loved it !!
Thank you Piyusha 🙂
U r doing a gr8 job Taryn. While travelling u could connect many people n spread divine reiki on large scale. I have tried the same divine work but every time I ended with sickness. Tried lot of techniques of taking protection n shielding but each time I ended with ill health. Can you please guide.
Don’t think of it as “illness” but rather it is a “purging /cleansing ” phase. Reiki and Divine work helps us to release that which no longer serves us. Your body is “getting rid of the nasties”. This is also known as “healing crisis”. I like to end my sessions by asking that the healing be gentle to try to minimize discomfort.
Great article! People are always reticent when they hear about esoteric things, like “Reiki”, “Shamanism”, “Crystal Healing” or other specialities in this domain. Every time someone wants to know about what I do, I try to explain what happens when I do what I do, without mentioning the name of the method used, and people become more interested about it. I am a Level 2 Reiki practitioner, a Shaman Master and I also use Crystals in my work.
Advice for “Nivedita”:
If you feel sick after doing a Reiki healing session, it means that you are not using Reiki the way you should. This does not necessary needs to be your fault, but can also be your master’s fault when he or she has teached you. If you want more information, leave me a reply here. I don’t know if I am allowed to post my email address here.
Thank you for the article and great ideas. I will use them and share them with my students too. As more and more people experience the benefits of reiki and other healing modalities, the concsiousness of the earth rise higher. If we all keep practicing with integrity and love, we strenghten the goodness in this world. Angels of Love and Light!
I make people laugh and smile, bring a little bit of sunshine into their day. I help people when I can. I help out animals as much as I can, physically and prayer warrior. I am unemployed right now. I have been told by many I make them laugh…at ordinary mundane things. This is my nature, I do not try to do this. I am a Reiki practitioner, not professionally, but I am OK with that now. As long as I use it to help people and animals then it doesn’t matter if it is my profession. Where I live now, most people would not understand anyway. I share laughter and knowledge through my blogs, too. While I grow each day, I am sending out love and kindness each day, which I believe is everyone’s purpose.
Great article – I like using the explanations! I would however still use Reiki in the description “I’m a reiki master, I ——-“. By not using reiki or crystal healing ect it seems like we may be embarrassed of it. I always find its a wonderful opportunity to open people up to new ideas!
Thank you Taryn, I love your ideas to be creative in explaining … Will use and create some of my own. Love, light and blessings
Great article thank you! This is my description of my work: I help people relax, de-stress, unwind and find peace on a mental, physical and sometimes spiritual level depending on the person’s needs… I am also also a massage therapist so this works for both Reiki and Massage!
that explanation was awesome! Thanks for sharing!
I empower high achieving individuals towards transformation and holistic balance by using stress releasing techniques which enhances the body’s natural healing response.
I like to tell people that Reiki is a relaxation technique and somewhat like an assisted meditation and that by helping the body and mind relax, healing can begin to take place.
I explain that this treatment is a natural and non invasive technique that allows the body and mind to rebalance. I think it reconnects us to what we already know and optimises self healing x
Very helpful article. Sometimes I have a hard time expressing what I do. I will use your suggestions. Thank you.
I tell people ” I channel the universal energy that connects everything together; and pass it on to them, so that they may heal physical, mental , and spiritual issues that need healing.
One incident that really shook my reiki master teacher confidence,was a recent bank robbery news on TV,in which it was claimed that robbers used reiki for successful robbery.Even my husband was asking,is reiki is used for such ….Purpose.
I had no answer or explanation
Preeti, that’s ridiculous. Reiki is a Divine energy, thus can only be used for good, never harm. The news segment you describe sounds like a hit piece (smear campaign) against Reiki as a healing modality, which is often employed by the conventional medicine and pharmaceutical industries when they feel threatened by the alternative medicine industry. It’s a dirty and unethical tactic.
I would encourage you (and others) to dig deeper when you hear/read stories like that.
I’m totally late in the comments, sorry.
I am a South African and can say that the news thing was a language nixup. Recces, the South African Special Forces (Wikipedia) sounds like,”wreck-ees”. they ‘scope out’ before acting.
preeti, i also faced similar question many times after news that accused did reiki before hand,my answer after talking with relevant authorities is such Reiki is not the reiki wehealers are connected with ,that Reiki is an army term that means robberers thouroughly investigated the place and situation befor doing the crime.Languages have some similar words with same spellings but different meaning.
I feel they may have been meaning Reconisance (pronounced reki for short)
I too want take up reiki healing wholy.
I always feel lost when I get the puzzled look! Next feel like I need to stand there and give someone an introductory Reiki class? Some other supposedly relious people act offended! Then I’m asked about some cases that I’ve helped, which makes feel uncomfortable! Some others get insulted, when I tell them your body does the healing with the help from God! If you deny Devine intervention, then you just have a hand placing method! Thank you for writing and posting this article! Great advice! Love and Light
I am a 2nd degree practitioner.Initially I was benefited by my practice on my family members’ ailment.In fact my wife is also a 2nd degree practitioner and she also use it on herself and our child. Naturally, I happily shared my positive experience with my friends.
But, my child’s recurring respiratory ailment has bothered me a lot and I have stopped saying to others how reiki has helped us giving our child respite.
I doubt if we are doing reiki correctly and sufficiently.
His problem starts with swelling on the mucus membrane of either of the nostrils and progresses to throat leading to cough resulting in much distress and long absence from school. The whole home become hell during his episodes.And this happens frequently.
We are taking proper medical treatment as well as homeopathy treatment too.We hoped reiki would enhance the result of the ongoing treatment. But now doubt has started creeping in my mind and I have stopped talking about reiki.
Abhijit do a lot of aura cleaning,then send reiki to ur child visualizing light orange light,as it will dissolve mucus.Do some karma cleansing healing also,as when small child suffers a,a lot of karmic connection is there and most important thing is while giving him reiki do not connect emotionally with him like a parent ,think him as a patient .do not stick to see the result ,do healing and surrender to reiki.result will definitily come,with reiki energy healer i witnessed many miraculus results ,i channelled reiki nd reiki healed many cases where surgeries were advised by the dr.s.So have faith in divine light reiki.I love reiki.
Thank you so very much Taryn,
This is a huge help to me. I am just building my business and starting a website. Having a answer to what is it that you do is imperative. As soon as I read share your own this came to me. It is similar to one of yours. “I help people get in touch with their natural ability to heal themselves through relaxation, meditation, and touch therapy”
Thanks again for making me think on this.
Very good article for the social recognition problem we as reiki healers feel.My introduction is i spread HHP eg.Happiness ,
Health and Peace
I tell people that I’m a natural holistic healer.
Nicely put & perfect timing for me too, as our alot of your posts.
Sounds awesome idea!! Thank you!
Gratitude 🙏