News Archives

July, 2004

I hope you all had a safe and fun 4th of July Holiday. I certainly did and took some much needed time off. June was so busy that I wasn't able to keep up with my work at the Friends of Animals Foundation shelter, but I am planning on getting back on a regular schedule with them this month. For those of you who are visiting my site for the first time, I volunteer at a local no-kill shelter and I go in and do massage and reiki therapy on the injured or disabled dogs.

The project that I am participating in called Reiki Hugs is ending this month. The results of the initiative were not great, but I'm glad that I was able to be a part of the study, regardless. Stay cool this summer!

June, 2004

Happy Solstice! I hope you are all doing well and staying cool this summer. As you can see from the top of my page, I have started an e-mailing list.

Amber, one of the dogs that I've been working on at the shelter was adopted last month by another volunteer. Yay!

I've written some tips on how to manage acute and chronic pain, check that out if you are suffering from pain.

Lastly, I found a great explanation of the benefits of massage therapy for those suffering from arthritis, in the book, Mayo Clinic On Arthritis, 2nd Edition. I think the benefits they list apply to anyone who has a massage, here is the direct quote: “This ‘healing touch’ reduces your heart rate, increases circulation, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion and increases production of endorphins, which can relieve pain and anxiety. Massage is effective at relieving stress, depression and anxiety. It can also increase alertness and decrease pain perception. It has been shown to reduce arthritis pain.“

May, 2004

I don’t have any new projects this month, the work I’m doing at St. Mary’s Hospital and the animal shelter is keeping me very busy. The Reiki Therapy program at St. Mary’s is going very well. If you live in Long Beach and are interested in receiving treatment through the hospital, please see the info listed in the April news below for details. Have a great May, hopefully the heat wave will end soon, stay cool!

P.S. Good luck to all the Loyola Law students taking final exams!

April, 2004

I have some very exciting news. Daisy has been adopted! Last month I participated in a documentary about the Friends of Animals Foundation and during the filming, a woman who saw us on the street inquired about Daisy and she wound up adopting her.

Starting April 5th, I took over the Reiki Therapy program at St. Mary’s Hospital in Long Beach. The program is currently being run through the Senior Center. I will be there every Monday from 10 am to 1 pm. If you live in Long Beach and want to schedule a Reiki treatment at the Center, please call 562/491.9811.

March, 2004

People often ask me why I got into massage therapy and reiki. The answer is that I suffered from chronic pain and I realized that I want to help people by using the knowledge I gained from my experiences. I've posted a list of things you can do to alleviate chronic pain and what has worked for me. I recently re-injured myself and I give a complete account of what I did to recover.

I'm continuing my work at the shelter. I've taken on another dog in addition to Daisy that suffers from arthritis. She is an older dog named Amber and she's very sweet. I've mostly been doing massage therapy on her and she seems to be responding to treatment. I've only worked on her a couple of weeks now, so I'll have more to say next month. Daisy is doing well and seems to be in good spirits.

March 15, 2004 - Hot Off The Press - Read my latest article about my approach to healing chronic pain.

February, 2004

I am participating in a study on the effects of distance Reiki in a project called Reiki Hugs. The project is focused on children, for more information see January news. I was assigned my child in late January, he is in Wisconsin, so I am anxious to see how he responds since I'm in Los Angeles. I will be getting feedback every 2 months. Wish me luck!

Daisy is also doing really well. Daisy is the dog I'm treating at the Friends of Animals Foundation shelter. I've been combining massage therapy and reiki therapy to treat her injured elbow. She has already shown more stamina on her walks, last week I literally had to jog to keep up with her. She doesn't tire as quickly and she seems to have more energy overall. She seems to really enjoy her treatment, especially the massage. I will also be working on some of the other injured dogs at the shelter this month as well.

As for my Valentine's Day plans, my husband and I have a tradition of ordering in pizza and having wine. Cheers!

January, 2004

It's new year, a chance to make a new start and this year my resolution is to eat less fried foods.

One of my projects for the year will include doing some volunteer work at a local no-kill animal shelter. The shelter is called Friends of Animals Foundation and it's run on an all volunteer basis. I am going to do Reiki on the animals there and my first challenge is to help Daisy, a beautiful, sweet black lab with an injured elbow. I am going to use a combination of massage therapy and reiki for her treatment. My other project is to take a class in Craniosacral therapy.

The Reiki Hugs initiative is also underway. The study was initially targeted toward children with cancer, but it is now open to children with any illness.The original doctor they were going to work with backed out, but they were lucky to find a Pediatrician to take their place. So far, I have sent distance Reiki to a young man in England that is suffering from autism, deafness, and cerebral palsy. I expect to be adding more children in the near future. If you know of a child that needs healing, or anyone that needs healing for that matter, please let me know and I will send them distance reiki. If you are interested in participating in the Reiki Hugs project you can get more info from their website.

Happy New Year! May you enjoy a peaceful and prosperous 2004.

December, 2003

Since I've been updating my 'Latest News' every month, my home page has started to get too long, so I've created an archive. Please see the link to it below. I will be out of town for the holiday and will post the dates big and bold at the top of this page before I leave, but until then, I'll list them here. I'm spending the holiday in New Mexico this year and I may even see some snow. I will be gone from December 22 - 27. I will be scheduling appointments up to the 21st and again on the 28th.

November, 2003

I am in my new home, please note my new phone number on the left. The new office looks and feels great, I look forward to seeing you at my new lovely space! Once I get settled in I plan on looking into doing some volunteer work with cancer patients. If you know of an organization that would be open to Reiki please let me know.

October, 2003

I was approached by AMTA (American Massage Therapy Association) about printing my article on TMJ disorder in their November e-newsletter! Other than that, I'm focusing on packing up, we will be moving sometime in November. Don't worry, I will still be in the Los Angeles area, in Beverlywood which is south of Beverly Hills. Happy Halloween!

September, 2003

I now offer In-Office Chair Massage. In-Office Chair Massage is a short massage intended to relax and rejuvenate. In-Office Chair Massage has been proven to improve morale, increase productivity and decrease sick days. Please contact me for rates and availability.

If you want to meet me in person, I will be in Pasadena at the Body, Mind & Spirit Expo doing Reiki Healings on the 20th and 21st. Info is as follows:

Body, Mind & Spirit Expo
Pasadena Masonic Temple
200 S Euclid
September 19 from 4pm to 8pm
September 20 from 10am to 8pm
September 21 from 11am to 7pm

Admission: $10 for the weekend

For info see their website: www.bmse.net

You can find me at the Reikiwear Jewelry booth #110. Reiki Healings will be $10 for 10 minutes. If you've been curious about Reiki, this is a great opportunity for you to see how it feels and learn more about how it works.

I just completed a new article about how Massage and Reiki Therapy can help manage TMJ pain. The article is going to be published in National Chronic Pain Outreach Association newsletter and possibly on their website. The article will also appear in various e-newsletters and websites, when I have more info on that, I'll post it here.

July, 2003

New Addition to my site! I am pleased to announce that I have added some new navigation on the left side of this page. I now have a case studies area and I've put the articles I've written in one place. I'm very excited to announce that my article on Reiki was published this month in Awareness magazine! If you have a copy the article is on page 22.

Newest Article. I've written an article on the benefits of Pregnancy Massage. Aside from the relief of physical discomfort, learn how to avoid varicose veins.

I will be donating my time at the John Wayne Cancer Institute's fundraising event on July 13th called Salon Sunday. I will be providing 15 minute chair massages. The donation for a chair massage is $5. They will also have haircuts and mini-makeovers. No appointment necessary. All proceeds benefit the John Wayne Cancer Institute. The event is at Platinum Salon, 17460 Ventura Blvd, Encino. Hours are 10am - 6pm. For more information call 310/ 315.6111.

The Reiki Hugs project has been postponed until September and it's on shaky ground at the moment. They are having trouble finding doctors that are interested in participating.

I am working on a proposal to try to get Reiki Therapy into hospitals. It is an overwhelming task, especially in regards to convincing doctors that Reiki does work and will benefit their patients. I am compiling research studies, testimonials, how Reiki will benefit the hospital and as much info as I can about Reiki Therapy in the kit. If you would like to receive the Reiki Therapy proposal please let me know.

That is all for now, stay cool and have a great summer.

June, 2003

I now offer Pregnancy Massage. Please follow the link to learn more about the benefits of this wonderful massage for mommies to be.

Also, I am going to be a participant in a study involving distance Reiki. The study is called Reiki Hugs and it is targeted toward children with cancer. The study is based through Shands Children's Hospital at the University of Florida. I will be sending distance Reiki to a specific child every day for 6 months. The parents have consented to the study, but are not telling the child. They will have periodic reports on how the child is doing and once the study begins, I will share some of the results with you here on my site.

I was recently invited to join a group of Reiki practitioners in an effort to bring world peace. Anyone can participate in this effort, even if you don't know Reiki, you can send prayers. If you are interested in getting 'attuned' so that you can participate in this group, the moderator will help you out. If you want more information here is their link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Reiki_for_the_worlds_Peace/.