Tina Bernabo: Music & Reiki, Subtle Healing Energies
Wednesday, January 11th, 2012
Above is a picture of Tina performing Reiki healing on her cat, Star
Definition/History of Reiki (ray-kee): Reiki is an ancient healing art from Japan that uses hands as the instruments for directing energy to promote well being in body, mind and spirit. It comes from the two Japanese words rei, which means universal and ki, which means energy.
Mikao Usui was an educator in the mid-1800s in Kyoto, Japan. As a Christian minister and then Buddhist who was interested in finding the mysteries behind the ancient art of healing, he became a pilgrim, taking Reiki on foot through Japan, lecturing. He founded a healing clinic in Tokyo.
Before Usui died in 193, he had trained 18 Reiki Masters including a woman, Hawayo Takata, who brought Reiki to Hawaii when moving there with her husband. Takata is responsible for bringing Reiki to mainland US as well as to Canada and Europe. Before her death in 1980, she trained hundreds of people in the healing system including her granddaughter, Phyllis Furumoto now the Grand Master of Usui Traditional Reiki.
My Time with Tina
A few weeks ago in my Sunday morning yoga class, one of the “regulars” offered a free Reiki session. I was familiar with Reiki and thought it might help with my tinnitus, so I said yes. The session was very relaxing and more than one would be needed to make a difference in healing, so I may go back for another to combine with my acupuncture sessions, both healing energy modalities.
At the session, Tina gently laid her hands on my head and limbs and other points on my torso and just held them there. The room in her apartment was softly lit, and her cat Star lounged nearby. At the end of the session I felt totally relaxed and calm. At the session, I learned that Tina has been a piano teacher for about 30 years and recently started training to be a Reiki Master. I wanted to know if there was a connection, so we got together after yoga last Sunday and talked over breakfast.
After providing me the definition and history, which Tina later emailed to me, I asked her more about Reiki. She said that it is considered “subtle energy work,” less dramatic than other alternative healing modalities, such as acupuncture. Reiki is a form laying-on-of-hands healing. (Some Reiki is also done by scanning, with hands held above the body, not on the body.)
To become a Reiki Master, one must go through three levels of certification, which Tina is doing now. AS noted above in the history, Reiki is passed down from Master to student as a spiritual way of healing others. And Reiki can be used with humans as well as animals. The picture of Tina with her cat Star (above) shows Tina giving Reiki to Star.
I asked her why she picked Reiki as a second career and if it was related to the fact that she is a music teacher. After thinking about my question for a few seconds, she told me that Reiki is an extension of her love of music. She said, “Music is sound and sound is energy. Music is also universal and can be used as therapy. Music heals in a subtle manner, as does Reiki.”
I am always interested in interviewing women who take on another career in midlife or beyond and my talk with Tina convinced me that she chose to study Reiki for a specific reason. I like the connection she made between music and Reiki both being universal energies. It makes a great deal of sense tome now that Tina has explained it.
So, if like me you are interested in alternative healing modalities and want to learn more, contact Tina via e-mail (sonatina2@comcast.net) or check out Reiki where you live. And if you go for a session, you may want to ask the Reiki healer to play some soft music for double-time healing!
