Geordie Numata, New York, NY

What does Mainstreaming Reiki mean to you?
As Reiki practitioners, I think we all have a desire to share the gift of Reiki with our families and communities. We want everyone, without exception, to have the opportunity to learn about Reiki and experience its benefits. Thankfully, we live in a time when there are abundant opportunities to share Reiki in a wide range of settings in our communities and we can do this as volunteers, Reiki teachers and professional practitioners.

Where have you practiced that you would consider mainstream?
My practice is based in a very busy midtown wellness center where a wide variety of services, classes and events are offered. Many of the clients are partaking of our services as an adjunct to their medical care, often on the advice of their doctors.

I have also been providing Reiki and ear acupuncture at the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center for five years and I am the Reiki team leader for the monthly free clinic for recovery from addictions at Third Root Community Health Center in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn.

In addition to this, I am one of the founding members of Healer2Healer, a group that has brought acupuncturists, Reiki practitioners and body workers to Guatemala and Peru where we have have provided under-served indigenous populations with free community clinics and training in Reiki, ear acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

To mainstream Reiki, what steps can you suggest to the Reiki community?
In order to mainstream Reiki, we need to find venues in our communities where the need for and value of Reiki is both recognized and welcomed. The opportunities to do this are increasing exponentially as more and more people from all walks of life experience the benefits of Reiki. This is happening in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, hospices, wellness centers, community clinics, private treatments, Reiki circles and Reiki classes.

What do you see on the horizon for Reiki?
I see a bright future for Reiki and I am especially excited about the prospects for more abundant support and funding for holistic and integrative low-cost community clinics as we shift into a more benevolent economic paradigm.

Ginny Mackles, Westchester County, New York

What does Mainstreaming Reiki mean to you?
Mainstreaming Reiki means bringing the practice of Reiki into expanded public forums. Continuing to demonstrate that Reiki is a viable support to all in every walk of life.

Where have you practiced that you would consider mainstream?
I am grateful to be practicing Reiki every day of my professional life. As a Psychotherapist, holding a license in Mental Health Counseling, nearly 80% of the clientele in my private practice receive Reiki as part of their session. Clients report relaxing with Reiki at the end of a session helps them integrate the insights gained from the work. I witness that they are typically able to move through life’s challenges with much greater ease and less time then with traditional talk-therapy approaches. Most ultimately choose to learn Reiki.

As a speaker at the annual After Loss Conference in Stamford, Connecticut I demonstrate Reiki as a support during the grieving process. We have an entire room of volunteers offering Reiki to those experiencing grief. I have presented Reiki at the Global Community for Integrative Medicine Conference in Tuscany, Italy as well as numerous television appearances, most recently on “Your Health Today”.

I’ve also extended my practice into the mainstream by creating a CD, The Reiki Journey: Guided Meditations for Mindful Living that is available to practitioners globally, and also serves as an introduction for those new to Reiki.

To mainstream Reiki, what steps can you suggest to the Reiki community?
Stay in your integrity. Build credibility for the Reiki Community by being credible in your words, actions, and promotions. Be clear about the facts of what Reiki is and the research that supports it. Uphold a positive and professional example as a Reiki practitioner. Educate and offer Reiki to those open to it. Share how Reiki has supported you in your life.

What do I see on the horizon for Reiki?
Our local Northern Westchester Hospital offers Reiki readily to patients and I am inspired to see many hospitals doing the same. I believe we will see more healthcare providers becoming Reiki attuned. More therapists in my area are asking for Reiki training. Reiki will continue to spread.

Louisya Graves, New York, New York

What does Mainstreaming Reiki mean to you?
Mainstream Reiki to me is Spiritual Activism in practice. When I offer Reiki in community settings, I witness the gratitude of those who receive Reiki. My body, heart and mind becomes renewed, I find my networks expanding and I develop deeper, more loving relationships with the communities I offer sessions to, and find myself completely blessed and peaceful.

Where have you practiced that you would consider mainstream?
Integral Yoga Institute NY and Third Root Community Center in Brooklyn, NY. Both places are very active in community service. Integral Yoga provides discount services and classes for people with Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, 9/11 1st responders, HIV, Veterans, people who lost their jobs, Children. Etc. Third Root strives to thrive and achieve social justice and community wellness by providing holistic, collaborative care in an accessible and sustainable manner. Both places provide me with loving support and show me how necessary and welcomed Reiki is in community settings. I am a Reiki practitioner at Integral Yoga’s Wellness Spa, and a Reiki volunteer at Third Root one Saturday a month.

To mainstream Reiki, what steps would you suggest to the Reiki community?
Volunteer to give Reiki in every type of community service where you live. Schools, hospitals, community centers, senior citizens centers, police stations, churches, veterinarian hospitals, shelters, block events, health fairs, etc.

Allow yourself to be known by people who live and work in your communities, not only just as a Reiki practitioner but as a person who truly cares and can be relied upon in times of need. Share of yourself and your life and allow people to share their stories and their lives with you. Become a social advocate of Reiki, compassion and love.

What do I see on the horizon for Reiki?
I see Police and Fire Departments offering Reiki as part of their training. Reiki being taught in every grade in schools. Doctors, nurses, ministers, social workers and counselors attuned as Reiki practitioners. Parents giving Reiki to their children and children giving Reiki to their parents. Reiki everywhere, loving everyone and everyone loving Reiki.

Linda Gnat-Mullin, New York, New York

What does Mainstreaming Reiki mean to you?
Mainstreaming Reiki means recognizing that nearly the entire population can benefit from Reiki, and removing the barriers to providing it. In the corporate world, every individual in a company who meets the public can influence a consumer’s perception of the total company for better or worse. The same applies to Reiki.

Where have you practiced that you would consider mainstream?
New York City Hospitals (staff and patients); Cancer Care, Inc.; The New York Medical Examiner’s Office after 9/11; Packer Collegiate Institute; Doo-Wop Rock & Rollers at Madison Square Garden; Fortune 500 Companies; The New York Consortium for Youth Development; the United Federation of Teachers.

To mainstream Reiki, what steps can you suggest to the Reiki community?
I would suggest paying attention to the person in front of you and seeing how you can truthfully present yourself and Reiki in a way they can understand and appreciate.

For my Reiki Level I class, at times, I have hired actors who have experience portraying “standard patients” at medical schools to portray a mainstream individual such as “Susie in Accounting,” or “Arnie in Finance” and let my students learn to present themselves as practitioners.

Also, read the studies available on Reiki on the NIH site and be able to quote some outcomes. This is helpful to certain people and may make them more mentally and physically receptive to your work. And, think of new places to introduce Reiki. There are many new opportunities now in health care, particularly, as hospitals are becoming more accountable for patient satisfaction. In addition, we Boomers are all aging.:)

What do you see on the horizon for Reiki?
In my own experience at Cancer Care, Inc., where I’m on the Visiting Faculty, my students have gone in a little over a decade from: “What is this thing called Reiki? How do you pronounce it?” to “Yep, we’ve all had Reiki. We like it.” Everybody gets what it’s about.

I see in the next five to ten years that potentially Reiki will be as well accepted in the health care community as acupuncture is now. The time frame really depends on the individuals involved in the field and how we present this beautiful modality. It’s really up to us.