MACPHERSON'S MILLS, N.S. – When people hear the word Reiki, they usually have one of two reactions, says Kathy Olsen.
“They either dismiss it or they’re afraid of it,” said Olsen, who recently opened a business in MacPherson’s Mills to offer reflexology and Reiki.
But sometimes she finds a third group who know what it is and are really open to it.
Olsen admits she was a bit skeptical, and perhaps nervous, when she first heard about Reiki from a friend, but after having a treatment, she says she became convinced there was something to it and began to learn more.
“I just want people to know that it’s a real form of healing,” she said. “It’s kind of interesting; in Europe there are hospitals that have Reiki practitioners on staff to help people who are healing from surgeries. It actually helps to speed up their healing.”
So what exactly is it?
Reiki practitioners use hands-on healing to transfer energy through the palms of the practitioner to the patient in order to encourage emotional or physical healing.
“Basically, it’s a form of energy healing,” Olsen explains. “We’re all made of energy. A lot of people don’t realize. What we see is the way energy forms. When we see physical things, they’re not really physical things – it’s energy.”
She said sometimes people get blockages in their energy flows, which will show up as emotional problems or physical pain.
“What Reiki does is it helps to dissolve the blockages and it helps to get our energy flowing again the way it should. It also helps to activate our body's own healing responses,” she said. “We have our own healing responses within us, but when we have these blockages sometimes that kind of deters us from healing.”
Olsen is now a registered member of the Reflexology Association of Canada and Reiki Healing Association and hopes to use her knowledge to help people in Pictou County.
Her business, Libelle Wellness, is located at 1075 Fall Brook Rd., in MacPherson's Mills, in Pictou County. Libelle is the German word for dragonfly.
“Dragonfly among other things signifies transformation,” she said. “For me it’s my way of saying I’m here to help people transform their lives.”
Olsen and her husband moved to Pictou County after he retired from his job in Niagara Falls. Olsen said they chose this area because she had visited years ago to see a friend and fell in love with this part of the province.
“It’s very peaceful here. Nature is a big part of what’s missing in a lot of people’s lives,” she said. “When people come out here and they get out of their car and they look around they just breath it in. It’s got a calming effect on people.”
She hopes that through her business she can help people heal, whether it be from emotional trauma or physical pain.
“If I can help people in some small way, then I’m accomplishing something,” she said.
For more information about Libelle Wellness, those interested can call Olsen at 902-754-3204