Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy Stein. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Amy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I had a baby at the age of 40 and each day that I walk with my child, I feel the responsibility to be my authentic self. Just before my daughter turned one, we found ourselves on an outing around town and to escape the cold, we walked into a boutique for a cup of tea. The space offered me something that I can only explain as a feeling and three visits later with the owner, I found myself with a treatment room for my Reiki services and the opportunity to grow a business. Unplanned in the moment, I wanted to provide support to individuals in the same way that I myself needed support years ago.

A few months into my journey, I was informed that the space I was renting was closing. With no clients and financial concern, I realized that what I initially viewed as another challenge was actually a gift in disguise. By jumping into an idea too quickly, I had forgotten that Waking Rain, my business and practice, was more to me than a room rental with a table. I needed a place to bring together all of my pieces so within a few weeks, I moved into my own space and Waking Rain had its own home with less cost and more room for growth.

I have always been bothered by rising costs in the wellness community. The space I am creating will be focused on affordable sessions, accessible learning and creative services for practitioners. As a design professional, I work with philanthropic organizations to express their initiatives and I bring this experience and knowledge into my approach for Waking Rain. To welcome more individuals into supportive care, we need to work to bring costs down and we do that by also supporting practitioners.

When you take a risk, you will inevitably face challenges but on the other side, you will inevitably find your authenticity.

Amy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Throughout my life, people have often told me that I’m too sensitive. I was a curious child growing up and observed things around me that I didn’t always understand. Now, with time behind me, I am able to recognize that what I was feeling all along was energy and that my work with Reiki began at an early age.

I am a design professional by trade and in struggling to meet the demands of a creative career, I became unbalanced. Facing the challenges of autoimmune disease, loss of loved ones and trying to maintain healthy relationships, my body fell into a state of trauma and needed support beyond traditional care. It was then that I turned to spiritual practice for guidance and discovered a gentle technique called Reiki.

In Japan, the kanji symbol symbol for “Reiki” translates to “spiritual or universal life force” and has been practiced since the early 1900s. It is said that Reiki was born when a Buddhist monk, Mikao Usui, created a system of spiritual development while fasting, meditating and praying with Sanskrit symbols on a mountain for 21 days in an effort to find enlightenment. From this experience, he developed the tools and techniques we now honor in the West known as the Reiki System of Natural Healing.

My personal approach to practicing Reiki aligns strongly with the Eastern philosophy that vital energy, known as Qi, travels through the body along 14 specific pathways. As we move through daily life, Qi is in a state of continuous flux and can sometimes stagnate in our bodies causing blockages. Through nine years of practice, I have learned that we can attune to and affect these subtle energies with focus and discipline.

In the treatment room, all of my sessions begin with a brief chat to set intentions based on an individual’s needs. The client then lies, fully clothed, on a massage table while I work to guide energy blockages and tension back into a state of harmony. The Reiki System is non-invasive and utilizes a soft, light touch on or above the body to focus energy within the client’s field. The use of crystals, flower essences, and essential oils may also be added to compliment the treatment.

I believe that the task of healing oneself is deeply personal and requires inner work. At Waking Rain, my offerings combine Eastern philosophies with a Western perspective to help support clients through mental, emotional and physical challenges. The pillars of the practice include individual sessions, workshops for small groups and private mentoring for adults and youth that blend ancient rituals with Reiki and mindfulness techniques.

When we lose connection with body, mind and spirit, Reiki can guide us in rejoining our fragments. It is the space we live in, the space we breathe in and a place to observe and experience oneness. Reiki is inner work. It is support. It is love.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Before I started my Reiki practice, I carried a digital design career with me for over 15 years. In 2006, I finished art school and immediately became a graphic designer working behind a screen in numerous companies between Boston and New York City. I was in my 20s and I was able to make creative things for a living and form friendships with my colleagues. Life was good.

I arrived into my 30s with tired eyes, burnout from the pace of New York City work culture and a lack of spirit for what I was making. It is also relevant to know that I am small framed person and have always found it difficult to buy clothes. Taking those things into consideration, at the age of 35 I enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Technology and not knowing that I would fall in love with sewing, I completed an Associate’s degree and solved my problems of always being in front of a computer and needing to be able to make things that fit me. Life was good again.

To keep up with paid work and my evening/weekend classes, I likely harmed my body with bad eating habits and lack of rest. Add to that the passing of my father and it isn’t surprising that health challenges and an autoimmune diagnosis came along. My late 30s were a turbulent time and once traditional medicine was able to stabilize me, I discovered spiritual practice and Reiki as a tool to rebuild myself. Life was better.

Where I stand today, I could easily say that I wish I would have gone to fashion school first or I wish I would’ve started practicing Reiki sooner but the reality is, those things never existed for me before I found them. You land where you land in life because past experiences always create the present and build the future.

So, would I choose the same profession again? Yes.

.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Relying on social media has gotten me nowhere in trying to establish my practice on a local level. After spending countless hours creating and curating little squares with no reward, I realized that the only way for people to get to know me and build trust was to go out into the community, demonstrate what the heck I do, answer questions and share a smile with folks. In doing so, I made myself vulnerable.

As I’ve mentioned previously, my day job is designing for philanthropic organizations so it was only fitting that I made my way into the community by offering Reiki for free. I have successfully hosted two clinics at local markets and in response, individuals have booked sessions and workshops with more confidence in the practice and me.

I still design little squares for Instagram because it, for me, is a public space to express my knowledge, interests and creativity. It’s just another place for people to get to know me but to grow with clients, I believe you have to step out from behind the screen and give your time in a different way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wakingrain.com
• Instagram: @waking_rain
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amylstein