using reiki in the kitchen
My reiki journey and how I infuse reiki into every bite & sip
Hi everyone,
I’m baaaack! It has been an absolutely packed month of celebration and travel. Consequently I’ve neglected the blog for a couple weeks, but I hope you’ve been vicariously enjoying the food with me on Instagram.
With a full heart and so many new memories, I’m happy to be back home in Charleston (with no travel on the immediate horizon) and to embrace some full 5-day work weeks, yoga classes and more time in the kitchen.
Today, I’m really excited to share with you my reiki journey (which formally began last November) and how reiki has transformed my relationship with myself, my health and my cooking.
I was first introduced to reiki when I was about 19 years old at a wellness fair at Stonehill College. I impulsively sat down on a folding chair for a 10-minute mini reiki session with a local practitioner, volunteering her time for (likely) skeptical college students. In all honesty, I didn’t feel much in the way of heat, tingles or other bodily sensations that a reiki session can evoke. Nor did I see any colors or images in my third eye space. I did, however, feel a slight bit calmer despite the chatter in the room and my looming to do list. When she finished, she told me, matter-of-factly, that my heart chakra was blocked and that I could schedule an appointment to “work on it” with her. I politely accepted her business card and thanked her for her time, but on my college budget, I figured my heart was just going to have to unblock itself. As I was leaving, she told me she saw me becoming a reiki practitioner in the future. My face lit up for a moment as I felt a spark of intrigue, but a voice in my head quickly took over, considering that this may just be a marketing ploy.
In my twenties, I found my way back to reiki several times, with each session becoming progressively more electric, emotional and life-altering. Last summer, I was gifted an “intuitive healing” session with a reiki practitioner whose sessions are informed by her ability to access images and messages from her clients’ past lives (take that as you will). This session had me laughing, crying, relaxed, energized, speechless and exuberantly rambling over the course of the 90-minute appointment. After this session, I knew reiki would be a powerful healing modality for the rest of my life, and that I must become a reiki practitioner.
Fast forward a few months, a found a local reiki teacher with whom to pursue my Level 1 Usui Reiki certification. In this course, we students learned all about the history of reiki, how it is used and how to conduct a reiki session. We were then attuned to the reiki energy in a sacred ceremony conducted by the Reiki Master (our teacher). I quickly followed up with my Level 2 Usui Reiki certification, in which we learned the sacred reiki symbols, how to use reiki on specific organ systems and chakra centers, and how to provide distant reiki. We received another attunement from the Reiki Master, in a similar manner as the first. Since then, I have been reiki-ing my friends, family, workplace, car, food and beverages, and of course, myself.
If you’ve never heard of reiki, or don’t really know what it is, it is commonly defined as a form of energy healing that is derived from the universal life force, or qi (“chi”). A reiki practitioner serves as a channel for this energy and directs the reiki into their client, generally by placing their palms on certain body parts or energy centers of the body. However, reiki can also be performed hands off or from a distance (which I understand can be difficult to wrap your head around). I consider reiki a complimentary healing modality to Western medicine, acupuncture, physical therapy, mental health services, and other healing modalities. Even if you don’t believe in reiki, the still and relaxed state one enters into when receiving reiki can help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which promotes healthy organ function and overall wellbeing. The way I see it, reiki does no harm even if you don’t understand or aren't open to its healing energy.
Other ways I use reiki:
As I have been blessed with very good physical health, I have used reiki on myself mostly to address any emotional struggles I am having, or to promote a sense of ease, wellbeing and confidence in life. I send reiki ahead to my places of work before I walk in the doors, with the intention of promoting harmony with my coworkers and patients. I send reiki ahead to social gathers, meetings, parties, dates and family reunions as a way to welcome in connection and joy. I have yet to find an instance in which reiki isn’t helpful to channel, even if I don’t see or feel the benefits immediately.
Reiki in the kitchen:
I love to keep reiki running through my life and body by channeling it into nearly everything I eat and drink. It’s as easy as hovering my palms above my food while I’m cooking or before I eat, calling in the reiki, and intending that it run through each ingredient and that whatever I eat or drink nourishes my body and spirit.
If you’re wondering if this actually does anything, I don’t know. I can’t see it working, I can’t tell you if my food would taste any different if I hadn’t reikied it, or if my body is responding to the meal any differently. We definitely don’t have any solid, imperial evidence showing that reiki-treated food affects the body in any particular way, like we can show that eating a cup of broccoli impacts blood sugar differently than eating a donut. What I can say is that taking this time to pause before I eat does allow me to be filled with gratitude for the abundance of food I have access to, my cooking abilities, the joy of eating delicious food, and all the nutrients in my food and how they will be supporting my body. Last time I checked, gratitude feels really good.
I sometimes take this practice a step further (towards kitchen witchery, if you will) and place specific intentions into my food or drink. If I’m alone, I’ll say it out loud, but other times I keep it in my head. Depending on how I am feeling that day, I will call upon certain energies that I am desiring to embody. For example, a common workday mantra I speak directly into my coffee — after reiki-ing the beans and water (and whole machine actually) — is something like: “this coffee fills me with steady energy, confidence, clarity and abundant joy.” Does this work? I would say yes. Intending to embody an energy certainly helps me remember how I want to feel and take steps towards feeling that way. Could just I say it to myself, without speaking it into my cup? Of course, but I find kitchen rituals fun.
You can do this too (without any formal reiki training)
Yes, completely, one hundred percent. There is no gatekeeping when it comes to allowing love, divinity and healing energy to flow through you. So, I’d encourage you to try it on for yourself, if it feels resonant. This isn’t dark magic or anything occult or paranormal. It can be as simple as:
Pausing before you eat to have a moment of gratitude for your food and its nourishing properties
Thanking yourself for preparing a healthy meal
Speaking intentions into your food such as, “this meal gives me energy and nourishes my body”
You may do this once and realize that ain’t for me, and that is totally okay. I find these practices to enrich my life and improve my overall happiness, so I wanted to share to see what would resonate with you all. Or, if you find that asking God to bless your food or another more traditional meal blessing more fitting, that is beautiful too.
Lastly, if you are interested in a distant reiki session with me, you can email me and I’ll be happy to schedule an appointment via phone or zoom. If you have any questions about what reiki is, please reach out!
- Haela
Love the daily reiki kitchen practices. Makes it very accessible. ❤️✨