Client Spotlight: Michel Barta

When we spoke with Shae about how Reiki has drastically changed her life for the better, we thought it would be a great idea to feature her Reiki teacher and client Michel Barta. Michel's story on her journey to become a Reiki teacher can resonate with a lot of us that struggle with burnout, and go through life unfulfilled. During the covid pandemic, increasingly more clients come expressing help for Reiki for anxiety and stress.

Sharing Reiki with myself and others didn't come easily to me. I was a receiver of Reiki for over two decades before my Reiki Master Teacher asked me if I had ever considered learning Reiki. Her question initially scared me. I think that is because I was intimidated by the idea of guiding a process for experiencing energy healing. For all those years, I identified myself as the person who would come and pay for Reiki healing. I've often thought that our greatest teachers are those who pose those questions that stop us in our tracks and create space to consider a new perspective. My inspiration to be a Reiki practitioner came from her question - and the timing for when she asked it. I had reached a tipping point in my professional life where I wanted to have a meaningful livelihood. At the time, I didn't think Reiki would provide me that, I was simply on a quest to heal from burnout and have experiences which genuinely fulfilled me.

To think about the most inspiring story is really hard for me to nail down!  I am in awe and gratitude for each courageous moment a client is willing and ready to allow Reiki healing to experience their goals. There are many different inspiring stories. There have been life changing experiences for clients who have lived with cancer and came for Reiki sessions throughout their treatment period. During this difficult time, uncertain of how the treatment might result, they have found peace, deeper meaning for their situation and hope. Hope to the extent that they felt empowered to move to new homes where they always wanted to live. prioritizing how they feel in their surroundings and living a new life adventure in a new place. Hope to the extent that they came away feeling that miracles in life really do happen.

During the covid pandemic, increasingly more clients come expressing help for Reiki for anxiety and stress. These clients express a deeper connection to inner peace and meaning for what they are struggling with and why. During times of life or career transitions, clients have shared experiences of readiness to move on in a relationship or career, and try something completely new. Going from a place of feeling helpless and burned out, to feeling empowered to make decisions and make a change that feels supportive.

Most recently, Shae Barger's inspirational Reiki story tugged at my heartstrings deeply. Her vulnerability to share the challenges she overcame, she role models how all of us can live our best life with time, attention and effort. Also that the possibilities for being our most expanded versions of ourselves are ever-evolving.

How does Reiki work? In order to share how Reiki works, it is helpful to explain what Reiki is. Reiki is a Japanese word which translates to Universal Life Force Energy. The style of Reiki I share was founded almost 100 years ago by Dr. Usui. It is based on the idea that all living things have life force in order to be alive. This life force is something that we are all connected to, even though we may feel very separate in our own individual bodies and lives. In a Reiki session, the client re-engages with this life force and the result is feeling a state of deep relaxation. When our body and mind are deeply relaxed, our bodies naturally heal. 

Though Reiki was founded in Japan, over the years, it has evolved and incorporated aspects of Chinese medicine, Tibetan and other influences. This is useful to share because I like to incorporate the explanation of chakras in how Reiki works, and chakras are most often referenced in Chinese medicine.

Chakras are the energy centers located in different areas of the human body where our (life force) energy flows. Each chakra corresponds with different organs and glands in the body. They can also correlate with our emotions and mental state. When energy in our chakras is not flowing freely it is commonly labeled as 'energy being blocked'. When energy is blocked, we experience illness, physical pain or achiness or hardship in different aspects of our life. We may feel low energy, uninspired, depressed, have a negative attitude, feel a lack of clarity, feel wobbly in decision making, as some examples.

When energy in our chakras are flowing, balanced and strong, we feel light, healthy, vibrant, hopeful, it is easy for us to feel and share love, we are clear thinking, open to new possibilities, energized.In a Reiki session, the client is receiving Reiki from the practitioner who is a channel for the Reiki. There is nothing for the client to do except breathe, be open and allow Reiki to clear and balance energy. The client may be lying comfortably on a massage table or chair with the practitioner physically present (an in-person session). Or, the client may be in another location receiving Reiki remotely (referred to as a remote or distant Reiki). In either case, the Reiki practitioner is focusing their attention in partnership with Reiki, applying techniques to remove energy blockages wherever it is needed, and most often will focus on the major chakras. In my practice of Reiki, the client and I speak before and after the Reiki session, though when Reiki is being shared we are quiet.

My website offers more about what to expect in a Reiki session, and I welcome the opportunity to speak with anyone interested in learning more. 

Reiki is energy work, how did the pandemic and working remotely affect that?

When we first experienced lockdown during covid, I had to pause my in-person Reiki sessions. However, this didn't keep clients from coming for Reiki, in fact there was a noticeable increase in the number of Remote Reiki sessions requested. Since we were advised to stay in place, this posed new opportunities to explain how effective and practical a Reiki session could be, because clients are in the safety and comfort of their own home. There were - and still are - more clients exploring new perspectives for how to heal and alleviate stress. Clients reached out to  learn more about why Reiki works remotely, which I'll explain here: since Reiki is Universal Life Force Energy, which is everywhere and within every living thing, we all have access to it anywhere, any place, anytime. Reiki practitioners who complete Reiki Level Two class, learn the remote or distant Reiki technique and receive the attunement to be able to share Reiki with anyone, anywhere in the world. Now more than ever, we live in a time in our history where self-care and remaining connected to inner peace is vitally important. Reiki is an effective, non-invasive means to de-stress, heal and maintain the well-being of our mind, body and spirit. You can receive Reiki through sessions or learn how to give yourself Reiki. Everyone can learn Reiki. Through Reiki, we experience a peaceful state of being where we can heal what we need to, removing the energy that isn't serving us so that we can be the most expanded versions of ourselves. Then, we can be a ripple for others to feel inspired to be the same. What greater good can there be than this?

Are you a client with Let Em Have It Salon and want to be featured. Email info@letemhaveitsalon.com