Jacobs HealingOrganizing Healers, Moving Chi

Greetings friends, students and clients!

I wanted to let you all know that the schedule my Sunday, December 16 at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki has changed slightly.  Due to low enrollment I am cancelling the f0llowing:
“Healing Angels of the Energy Field”
“Yoga & Reiki Group Class”
“Power Animal & Angel Dance Off”

For future offerings of “Healing Angels” in the Philadelphia area, please visit the IET website (http://learniet.com/) and click “Find a Class”.  Due to these changes I have more availability for trades, private sessions and attunements which you can book online here: http://seanjacobsinphilly.eventbrite.com/#

At the moment, I am available at 8:00am, 1:00pm, 2:00pm, 7:00pm & 8:00pm (no walk-ins please!)

If you would like to trade sessions or if you have specific questions, please email me: jacobshealing@gmail.com

I look forward to seeing you in Philly!

During my time as director of Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki I gained perspective on  a world I never thought I would be a part of.  I got excited about Yoga and the next thing I knew I was helping people heal with my hands, channeling angel energy and connecting with my Spirit Animals through Shamanic Journeying.  I was thrust into a leadership role in the healing arts movement and I literally did not see it coming.  I started to teach people how to take care of their bodies and how to be healers themselves.  I got all spiritual and shit!  It is a privilege to sit where I sat and learn the things that I learned at the steering wheel of a new community of yogis and healers.  Little did I know the biggest lessons were ahead and the best was yet to come.

Today I am living an ocean away from that budding group of healers in South Philly.  I am just beginning to see the fruits of my labor take shape.  What a delight it is to watch from afar as new leaders step up at Hawthorne and shine their light for a city which so desperately needs to see it.  In some ways I feel as though I’ve gotten more out of my first month away from Hawthorne than I did the entire time I was there.  I’ve had some very vivid dreams lately, some deep meditations and some crystal clear moments with my Angels and Spirit that have left me dumbfounded and in awe at the beauty of this world.  I’ve had the luxury of time and space to do the self healing I so deeply needed to do.

One of the things that stands out to me within all this self realization and reflection on my days in Philly is the reality of suffering.  Over these last few formative years of my life I saw a lot of suffering – in the city, in my clients, in my body.  I felt like it was sitting there waiting for me at almost every turn.  But I was lucky because somehow that suffering never completely took hold of me.  It never completely became mine.  Sure I had my moments.  My left hip and my right knee continue to heal from old injuries.  I still have trouble with teeth grinding and sugar cravings.  I still feel the pain of old debt coupled with new debt.  I mean who doesn’t have bills to pay?  But that stuff is all so temporary.  The suffering I’m referring to goes much deeper.  A part of my life’s purpose and possibly a big reason I did what I did in South Philly is this: I learned how to sit with suffering.  I learned that healing spontaneously takes place when you sit with suffering, watch it until its roots are exposed and slowly pull these roots out until the suffering looses its hold on you or your client.  Sitting with suffering is a bit like a meditation and there is no time frame for the process.  It may take an hour, it may take years but healing will eventually happen if you want it to.

One of the major points we cover in Reiki training is how to not take on people’s energy.  It does us no good as healers to experience what our clients and students are experiencing.  This doesn’t help you or them and it certainly doesn’t help the greater healing good of the world.  What will help us heal is the fact that we are compassionately sitting with ourselves as things “surface”.  In my time with Reiki and IET clients I need to sit with their suffering but at the same time honor and protect myself.  It’s been a lot easier for me to see this truth since I closed the most recent chapter in my life.  During my time as director of Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki I was giving, giving and giving.  I was giving for so long that I forgot the most important thing: number one.  I neglected my body for the sake of others and that was foolish.  I sacrificed myself for a “movement” but the movement continued with or without my “sacrifice”.  I was warned about not becoming a “Reiki martyr” as my Reiki teacher Danielle Stimpson said in my first Reiki class back in 2009 and now I see so clearly what she was talking about.  The healing or service you do for yourself is just as important as the healing and service you do for others.  There’s just no need to be a martyr for yourself, your clients, your students or your “cause”.  You’re too important for that.

I just arrived in my new apartment in Ifrane, Morocco this past weekend.  My wife Laura accepted a job here as Assistant Professor at Al Akhawayn University (AUI).  We are living on a cozy campus (pictured here) tucked away in the Atlas Mountain region of northwestern Africa.  I’m looking for a place to teach Yoga classes and possibly find a few Reiki clients in the area.  For now I’m getting acquainted with my new home, spending some time reading and writing and catching up on my self-healing.

Laura and I have started a blog so you can share this amazing adventure with us.  Please check it out when you get a chance: http://becauseweremarriednow.blogspot.com/

While I’m excited about the future I’m also deeply grateful for where I came from.  I loved my time in Philadelphia.  I loved organizing a new community of healers, teachers and students.  I loved the amazing people I met and I’m forever honored by those who inspired me to move forward.  I’d like to say thanks again to the folks at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki.  Emily Lenhard took over as Director of the studio immediately following my departure.  I wish her and everyone at the studio the best of luck.  I’ll be sending Reiki and supporting the Hawthorne vision from afar.

On August 31, 2012 I will be stepping down as Director of Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki.  New leadership will be announced shortly.  Here is my official farewell message to the Hawthorne students and community:

July 25, 2012
To: Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki Students and Neighbors
From: Sean Jacobs
Re: Changes at the Studio

In the summer of 2008 I was working as an event planner and teaching Yoga at a few places around the city.  I had left my full-time job and I was adjusting to life as an independent contractor.  At that time a good friend convinced me to open my living room in south Philly and offer pay-what-you-can Yoga classes for the community.  Two Yoga teachers quickly turned into 5 and we had a small kick-off celebration in September 2008.  We offered 7 drop-in Yoga classes per week and a variety of weekend activities.  Within a few months we were enrolling our first Reiki class.

Fast forward to March 2009 and the grand opening of Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki.  Our mission was simple but how we would get there was not.  The studio was opened with one goal in mind: Protect the affordability of Yoga and Reiki classes and expand access to a wider audience.  This vision became my personal mantra and it has carried me all the way through to today.  I know it will be part of my life’s work no matter where I am.  I have the students and teachers of the Hawthorne studio to thank for this.

If success is measured in numbers I’d say we achieved it at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki.  We’ve offered thousands of affordable Yoga classes, trained over a hundred Reiki practitioners and several dozen Integrated Energy Therapy® practitioners.  Numbers don’t really tell the full story though.  We have raised the vibration of 1241 Carpenter Street, the Hawthorne neighborhood and the city of Philadelphia.  We’ve brought Yoga and Reiki to people who didn’t think they could afford it or didn’t think it was their “scene”.  We’ve transformed peoples lives, helped people through difficult times and watched small miracles take place on a daily basis.

What an honor it’s been to share the past 4 years of my life with you all.  I can’t wait to hear your stories as you continue to grow, heal yourself and deepen your practice.  Please stay in touch: jacobshealing@gmail.com.  I will also maintain my Facebook and Twitter accounts.  For more of my personal stories of life as director of Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki, please visit my blog Jacobs Healing.  I would like to offer a special note to the following people.  I could not have done this without you.  Thank you to:

My family for putting up with my antics and patiently supporting me no matter what.

Francesca Gangi for convincing me to take the plunge and follow my heart.

Danielle Stimpson for teaching me Reiki, supporting me in my darkest hours and raising the bar for Reiki practitioners across the city.

Jadee Klinger for igniting the Vinyasa Yoga program at Hawthorne and setting such high standards for the Yoga teachers at Hawthorne.

Steve Krupnick for offering your building to us, going to bat for us on many occasions and having confidence that we would succeed.

Kelly Morton for teaching me Integrated Energy Therapy®, building the IET® program at Hawthorne and sitting with me when I needed help.

All my Yoga teachers for sharing the joy of this timeless practice.

All my students for sharing their time, energy and money.  I was able to make a living doing this because of you!

My spirit guides, power animals, angels, ancestors and higher self for hearing my every need and delivering time and time again.

So here’s my ode to Philly.  Philadelphia.  The Ill-adel.  The city of brotherly love.

I love this city.  I love it so much.  I love the people I’ve met.  I love the lessons I’ve learned.  I love the experiences I’ve had.  I love the work I’ve done here.  I love that the Phillies won the freaking World Series while I was living here.  That NEVER happens!  Philly is the kind of city where you go from blight and blown out to bright and blinged out in just 2 blocks.  One minute you are tripping over tourists and the next minute you’re getting busked by a musician, pan-handled by a Vet and bullied by a drunk guy.  It’s a tough city.  It’s a dirty city.  No, that just doesn’t do it justice.  We invented the word grit.

It was such a challenge adapting to the culture of the city 8 years ago but I’ve grown so much in that short time.  In many ways Philly has allowed me to embrace and conquer the American Dream.  I bought my first home here but lost it after the bubble burst.  I opened a successful business here during the biggest economic slump of my generation.  But it wasn’t easy.  It stung.  Like Rocky sending a knock-out punch, this city smacked me so hard in the face it hurt.  At times Philly reached up and caught me when I fell.  This city challenged me to do more  when I was feeling apathetic and it gave me down time when I needed to go inward.  Philly lifted me to my highest potential and sent me shaking down to my roots for many reality checks.  My friend Danielle likes to say that opening a sliding scale Yoga and Reiki studio in South Philly was a bit like cutting my teeth on steal.  That pretty much sums it up.

I love the breadth of experience I’ve had here.  In Philadelphia I helped get voters out on Election Day, I helped build interest in Earth Day, I discovered Yoga, I discovered Reiki and Integrated Energy Therapy.  This city gave me a lesson in gender, class, race, religion and food.  Of course if you don’t live in Philly you’ve probably got a pretty f—ed up impression of who we are and what happens here.  The media will have you believe that it is crawling with murderers, rapists, drug addicts and corrupt politicians.  Of course we do have a bit of that, as any major city does, but it’s blown out of proportion in the news.  We also have some of the best ideas and most inspirational people. We are a real city with real people.  You don’t get very far here with extra degrees, letters after your name and a long resume.  You get ahead by building relationships, looking out for people, doing favors and hanging out with your block captain.  It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.  Yup, that’s Philly all right.

Here’s a few reasons why I love Philadelphia:

1)   It’s Affordable

I’ve now lived in 4 very different neighborhoods in Philly and one thing is clear to me.  You can get by on very little if that’s your thing.  There is a huge supply of affordable apartments and houses here.  I’ve had situations where I paid as little as $300 a month for a room, including utilities.  I’ve gotten by on as little as $100 a month for food.  We are lucky to have Trader Joe’s, the Italian Market, large asian grocery stores and half a dozen other affordable grocery chains.  There were times where I couldn’t even afford a bus ride but it didn’t matter because I loved riding my bike (and it was usually faster than SEPTA anyway).  Philly is really good at supporting a non-traditional path and the simple life.

2) It’s Green

Talk about the buzziest of buzz words.  Philly is greening faster than you can say “Go Green!”  Philly’s got your eco-friendly lifestyle covered: car sharing, composting, recycling, thrift stores, bike lanes, farmers markets, trees, brew pubs, organic cafes, food co-ops, public transportation, green events, smoke-free bars and restaurants.  We also have the largest urban park system in the United States.  Philadelphia has some of the most innovative ideas for environmental activism and sustainable development.  The city has improved SO much in the short time I’ve been here.  I can only imagine what’s next.  To keep up on the latest local green news look no further than GRID Magazine, a highly successful monthly publication based right here in Philly.

3) It’s the Perfect Size

Philadelphia is too big but also too small.  It’s too big to do everything and see everything.  It’s too small to hide from your past and burn bridges with people.  Philadelphia is also big enough and small enough.  It’s big enough to have several options no matter what your field of study or work.  It’s small enough to walk or bike from one end to the other.  It’s a manageable city.  It takes time to get in tight with the lifetime residents but once you do you are in for good.  I love the different neighborhoods of the city.  They all have such unique character.

4) It’s Full of Art and Artists

You want art?  We have that too!  Check out the Mural Arts Program, the Avenue of the Arts, Philadelphia Open Studio Tour, First Fridays, Philly Fringe Fest, the multiple art schools, the many music venues, film festivals and theatre companies and the new Barnes museum to compliment the other art destinations along the Ben Franklin Parkway.  Philadelphia is artsy fartsy.  We love our art and we support our artists.  There is a huge appreciation for art and the artist’s lifestyle in Philly.  There is a general acceptance that artists live among us and they are an important part of the community.

Please join me on Tuesday, July 3

9:00pm to 10:00pm

@ a NEW LOCATION: 13th & Carpenter Park near the Hawthorne studio.
$10 suggested donation
No Registration Required!

Enjoy a special outdoor Yoga class under the full moon!  Please bring your own Yoga mat and layers in case it gets windy or cold.  Bring a friend, celebrate summer, Independence Day and the moon!  The full moon Yoga series will continue through September.  Location varies.  Contact Hannah for more details: nakedfeetproductions@verizon.net

I took my first Bikram Yoga class this past February at Philadelphia’s only Bikram studio on Sansom street between 15th and 16th (http://www.bikramphiladelphia.com/).  I was pleasantly surprised by the relaxed atmosphere, paintings of deities and prayers to Hare Krishna on the wall.  The teacher and front desk staff gave me a warm greeting as I arrived.  I walked into the studio, rolled out my mat and laid a towel across it.  The room was hot but little did I know it would get even hotter.  The teacher did a really good job of explaining things and adjusting me when I was doing something wrong.  I was feeling light headed within a few poses but also feeling very relaxed and supported by the heat and the group energy.  It was an odd combination.  I was frightened of what might come up for me emotionally as I moved through the sequence but loving the change of pace from my world of Reiki, divination, jogging and Yin Yoga.  I had to sit out a few poses, especially towards the end of class, but I made it all the way through.

I have to admit I had mixed feelings coming out of that first Bikram Yoga class.  I had all sorts of questions.  Is stretching the body in a 100+ degree room good for you?  Why these 26 poses the same way every time, every class?  Why is there a huge mirror across the front wall?  Why, as many Bikram instructors say, is pain good and why are modifications bad?  The answers to these questions and more would all clear up in time for me.  I went back again for another round and it grew on me.  I went back again and I was actually starting to love it.  I started to check out other instructors and how it felt to take the class at different times of day.  I also experimented with combining my days with a Bikram class followed by acupuncture, a Reiki self session or a Yin Yoga class.  After my trial membership expired I decided to take the plunge and get a 10 class card.  I’m glad I did it.

I continue to be amazed at the diversity within the many styles of Yoga.  We all approach this universal art of Yoga in a different way.  We can all access the many benefits of the practice if we take the time to find the teacher, pose, meditation or breathing exercise that works for us.  That’s what I love about Yoga.  It is literally for everyone!  Bikram Yoga however is not for everyone.  Right now it’s good medicine for me.  It works for me.  Let me explain why:

1. It fits my body type.  I am a water sign (Cancer baby) according to my astrological chart and I think the heated room is quite calming for me largely because of that.  If you are a more firey person with higher energy I don’t know if Bikram would create the same sense of ease and relaxation it has provided me.

2. It cuts through my bullshit.  I am managing a business, dealing with many life changes and managing stress on many levels. I find the Bikram sequence cuts through my fears, doubts and apathy like nothing else.  Not everyone would agree.  Their unique sequence stirs all my junk to the surface.  Not everyone is ready for that.

3. It corrects my mistakes.  I like having the mirror in front of me during class because I am several years into my Yoga practice and it’s neat to see the subtle details of my posture and alignment.  I know many people however who wouldn’t dare enter a Bikram studio due to body issues, eating disorders or mental illnesses.  The mirrors would do them more harm than good.

4. I’m ok with skin.  I am comfortable in my body so practicing without a shirt in my tight little Yoga shorts surrounded by half naked people is just another day at the office for me.  Again, many people would run screaming in the other direction if they knew this was the status quo in a Bikram class.  Seriously, my first Bikram teacher was in a bikini!

5. It grounds and balances me.  I teach a class where I combine Yin and resorative Yoga poses, meditation and Reiki.  I also lead IET and Reiki trainings.  This is my primary occupation.  Well, that and 20+ hours a week on my computer.  Bikram Yoga is about as far removed from all that activity as you can possibly get.  I have strayed away from Vinyasa Yoga the past few years.  It just stopped working for me.  Since then I have been focused so much on the passive energy of the “subtle body” that I became unbalanced in many ways.  Bikram balanced me.  I can see how it might not be that simple for others.

6. It heals my old injuries.  I have been dealing with chronic pain in my left hip for over 5 years and nursing a right knee injury for about 2 years.  I have tried so many different things to heal the pain in my legs.  I would get an acupuncture or Reiki session and it would help but not nearly as well as the Bikram sequence.  There is something about moving and pushing myself in that intense heat that just works.  It gets into my bones and joints.  It’s an incredible experienice and the more I do it the longer I go without that pesky leg pain.  If you have old injuries and you are looking for answers this might be for you.

So there you have it.  Bikram Yoga fits for me.  It’s magical medicine for some, poison for others.  If you are curious and want to give it a try I would suggest not eating for 2 to 3 hours before class, drinking plenty of water before and after the class and keeping an open mind.  Take longer breaths and center yourself every moment of down time in the class.  Enter the studio with caution, bring 2 towels and a big jug of water.  Don’t judge it after your first class.  It’s supposed to challenge and frustrate you at first.  Get out of your head!  Give it a few weeks and try different instructors, maybe even different Bikram studios.  It might just work for you.

In the summer of 2008 a friend from my Yoga teacher training group was complaining that there wasn’t a space in Philadelphia that had regular affordable Yoga classes.  There was an occasional free class at a community center or Yoga studio but it usually didn’t last.  Free Yoga classes happened around the city but there was often less of a commitment from either the teacher, the student or the venue.  The place that hosted it would lose interest, the funding would run out, the students would get distracted by other life priorities or the teacher would find a paying job at the same time somewhere else.  In other words the “too good to be true free Yoga class” usually had an expiration date.

We decided to do something different.  What if, instead of hosting an occasional free Yoga class, we created a space that could sustain a regular offering of affordable Yoga classes and other healing arts services?  Not long after that conversation 4 summers ago I connected with Danielle Stimpson.  She had a very similar philosophy but was coming from the Reiki world.  She saw the incredible need for affordable Reiki services in Philadelphia.  Before we knew it people with backgrounds in nutrition, ayurveda, reflexology, Integrated Energy Therapy® and other forms of bodywork were joining in our effort.  We had caught on to something.  There was an interest in organizing a working class healing community and building a network of healers to serve this community.  The best part is we were able to build this community without putting other studios out of business and we were able to turn a profit without any grants or outside funding sources beyond our student base.

That idea dreamed up in 2008 is today known as Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki, a studio with one of the most innovative business models among Philadelphia’s healing arts scene.  Our studio is a mix of sliding scale and pay-what-you-can classes, workshops and trainings.  Aside from filling an important gap in Philly, Hawthorne is a great example of quality over quantity.  That’s a hard concept for many of us in the United States.  We are trained that more is better and to be a good citizen is to be productive which means profitable. You know, work for the sake of working.  Join the Rat Race and you’ll be fine.  Rebel and you’ll regret it!  The classes and trainings at Hawthorne are small, usually 5 to 10 students and many times smaller depending on the time of day or season.  This is in sharp contrast to New York City’s model for affordable Yoga.  I am referring to Yoga to the People ( http://yogatothepeople.com/) which features huge classes on a donation basis.  I thought this is what South Philly wanted.  I was wrong.

I am at a point where I need to get back to basics, ground myself and put into words what’s important to me.  I need to speak my truth and hopefully inspire others to do the same.  Here are some priorities for me right now:

I would rather teach you how to heal yourself than teach you how to depend on me to heal you.  I am not in the market of creating co-dependent students and clients.  I am in the market of organizing healers and building working class healing communities.  There’s a profit there but it’s not done in a traditional way.  Instead of selling you a commodity or widget I want to show you a few basic healing skills and hope that your experience is good enough that you will tell a friend.  While many teachers in the healing arts industry would have you buy the “fish” I would rather just teach you “how to fish”.

I would rather struggle to make ends meet while building an innovative community of healers than work some job I don’t care about so I can have more disposable income on the weekends.  It’s kind of an obsession for me.  Where is the challenge?  Where is the struggle?  If it’s not right in front of me I tend to search it out.  I am forever an organizer and will continue organizing people for the greatest healing good.  It’s what I love.  People will always be in pain, always be manipulated, always looking for healing and support.  I hope to offer solutions to a world in need.

I would rather teach you how to organize your community than own a chain of businesses. I learned this the hard way in 2011, a year of pruning for me.  I tried to expand the vision at Hawthorne to the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.  To some extent it worked but it was not sustainable and i spread myself too thin.  My intentions were good but that studio did not come from the ground up like Hawthorne did.

So please take one from the Hawthorne play book and remember that what works in South Philly may not work in your neighborhood.  I will be offering a series of classes in the Fall of 2012 which will serve as training grounds for the continuation of, as my friend Michal puts it, “Community Based Yoga.”  Healers of the world organize and unite!

Riding my bike through west Philadelphia’s UPenn campus I see flags hanging from streetlamps.  They read “MAYA 2012″ and feature the official logo of the University of Pennsylvania.  So the obsession is officially mainstream.  Our very own Ivy League school has embraced what we’ve been hearing from the fringes for so long.  Don’t get me wrong.  I haven’t actually been to the new exhibit at the Penn Museum.  See for yourself:

MAYA 2012: Lords of Time

(http://penn.museum/upcoming-exhibits/995-maya-2012-lords-of-time.html)

For all I know this exhibit is as historically accurate as it is folklore.  Either way I’d like to check it out assuming I can find the $22 for a ticket.  I thought this place was endowed enough to afford a $10 admission to the general public or at least a pay-what-you-can day!  Oh well.

It’s 2012 and there’s a shift taking place.  There’s a “shift” taking place every year but this one seems especially shifty due to the obsession over the Mayan culture and its rapidly extinguishing calendar.  How severe and how dramatic a shift is yet to be seen.  We’ve heard so many predictions of doom and gloom at the end of the Mayan calendar.  The naysayers and the doomsdayers are out in droves.  Watch out as everything from your favorite fast food restaurant to Hollywood to the local newspaper cashes in on 2012.

I’d like to offer a moderate alternative to all the hype.  Aliens are not about to defeat The humans.  World War 3 is not starting.  We are not about to spin off our axis or drown in the rising seas of the post-global warming era.  We are not splintering into a dual society of higher or lower vibrations. We are simply evolving and healing.  No fireworks here folks.  This is going to be a slow process and it won’t make for good TV.  Can you imagine? Reiki and Shiatsu practitioners slugging it out for the top prize on the new hit: America’s Top Healer.  Hardly.

Certain things are dying off.  Other things are trending and replacing them.  For instance, plant-based plastics are replacing chemical-based plastics.  We can’t possibly recycle our way out of this one.  Buildings are becoming more efficient.  Our communities are shrinking to sustainable levels where we can govern, feed ourselves, fuel ourselves and heal each other on a smaller scale. (Act locally.  Think globally.)  For all the hype around 2012 prophecies, this year is probably going be similar to last year.  The economy putters along, pop culture and mass media rule the airwaves and social networking sites rule cyberspace.  The Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements will just move to the next phase.

Whatever your thoughts about the future remember the power you have.  There is more than one power center on Earth.  The military, political, money and religious power centers will continue to hold their pieces of the pie.  What is rising to take a larger share than ever is the energy power center.  We are all working with this power and some of us have dedicated our lives to controlling and directing energy for the greatest healing good.  It’s true that our intentions can be trumped by random events and natural disasters.  However the message we broadcast to the Universe is always heard and always takes shape as we want it to.  We are ultimately in control of our realities.  We dream and we watch the dream unfold.  We can manifest whatever we want in 2012.  Be careful of the messages you surround yourself with – they rub off.  For a short while this is your planet so dream up a good one!

I am now enrolling Basic Level Integrated Energy Therapy® training.  I have 3 options this summer and more dates coming in the fall!  Sign up today: jacobshealing@gmail.com

~

I had the privilege of meeting and studying with the founder of Integrated Energy Therapy®, Stevan Thayer this past month.  I was one of roughly 30 practitioners at the IET® Master/Instructor training in north Jersey.  What an incredible experience!  The energy in the room was something I’ve never experienced before.  It was inspirational and motivated me to bring it to others.  For those that are new to this healing modality, IET® is a channeled energy therapy which accesses the Angelic realm to facilitate healing on the many layers of the body: physical, mental, emotional and karmic.  Healing takes place as the practitioner places their hands on 9 pairs of integration points to release blocked energies.  For instance you might be experiencing physical pain or discomfort but the actual root of that pain may be held in a deeper place.  During an IET® session these blocked energies are brought to the surface for clearing and a new energy is imprinted to take its place.  We release anger and imprint forgiveness, release threat and imprint support, release stress and imprint ease and so on.  For more information on this modality, please visit the IET® page on this website or go to http://www.learniet.com/.

My IET® journey began in 2009 when I started receiving sessions from my friend Kelly Morton.  She was one of the regular Yoga students at the Hawthorne studio I started in South Philly.  One day we got to talking about energywork and she suggested I trade sessions with her: I would give her a Reiki session and she would give me an IET® session.  I immediately felt the results of the practice and wanted more.  I was healing things I didn’t know I needed to heal.  I quickly fell in love with IET® and became more and more curious about Angels, integration points and how and why I was feeling energy in certain areas of my body.  I was excited to learn more so I (and a few other Reiki practitioners at the studio) pushed Kelly to start teaching.  She agreed and in the summer of 2010 we hosted the first IET® at Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki.  So begins my IET® practice and the IET® program at Hawthorne.  The rest as they say is history.

I remember the moment I was able to distinguish the energy of IET® versus the energy of Reiki.  There is some overlap but there are many differences between the 2 practices.  For instance, Reiki is a hands-on healing modality developed in early 1900′s Japan by Mikao Usui, a Tendai Buddhist monk.  It accesses the abundant supply of life force energy around us to facilitate healing.  IET® is also a hands-on healing modality but it was developed in the 1980′s in the United States by a certified Reiki Master and channel for Angel Ariel, Stevan Thayer.  It accesses the Angelic realm to facilitate healing.  Reiki is more intuitive in that the practitioner moves the hands across the body when the energy pulls them to do so.  IET® is more structured in that the practitioner works on 9 pairs of “integration points” to place their hands.  Both are forms of energywork and work equally well depending on the client’s personal preference.  The results for both are very similar.  The way we achieve the results is very different.