We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jeanette Hoelscher a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jeanette, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you recount a time when the advice you provided to a client was really spot on? (Please note this response is for education/entertainment purposes only and shouldn’t be construed as advice for the reader)

After I performed my first Reiki session with a client, they told me that the state of the world had them feeling dejected and downcast and asked if I had any advice for dealing with this. I told them that during my Reiki training we learned how to identify when an energy is ours vs. when it isn’t, and that we have a choice in whether we want to engage with energies that aren’t ours. This can be applied to concepts, institutions, people – really any negative energy that you don’t want. The ability to recognize that an energy you don’t vibe with is actually very separate from you can be very empowering in realizing what we are and what we are not. We all, unfortunately, have to interact with entities and energies that are oppressive, draining, and negative, but I’ve found that getting hung up on the fact that these negative energies exist and that they hold some degree of power over us isn’t as productive as keeping tabs on our own energy. I can’t control the way institutions operate, but I can control MY energy, which can be seen in the way I interact with myself, those around me, and the world. We absolutely have the ability to only interact with less than ideal energies as much as we need to and then turn away from them. I haven’t seen this client since their last session but I do have them scheduled for another Reiki session in the coming weeks – I’ll be sure to ask them if they’ve felt a difference.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

All my life, I’ve known I was sensitive. I cried easily, took things personally, and had a lot of very powerful emotions that I didn’t always know what to do with. When I was laid off from the tech industry this past June, I knew I needed to take a break from corporate – juggling staying in shape, keeping in touch with friends, staying on top of work, and being available for my other career as a professional model had left me feeling burnt out and a little relieved to be laid off.

Soon after my layoff it came very obvious that I did not know how to relax or be still. I would be in a yoga class in savasana and had to try hard to take the tension out of my face. When I tried to fall asleep I felt like I couldn’t get comfortable in my own body. I realized that this was the longest period of time since summer breaks in high school that I’d had to myself, and the thought of not being busy was terrifying.

During this period of time, I booked a Reiki session with my Reiki master teacher, Karen Riviere. For those unfamiliar with what Reiki is, it involves the client lying on a massage table fully clothed and receiving an infusion of positive and loving energy from the Reiki master by means of hands on or hands above touch with the intention of clearing out anything the recipient is ready to let go of. When we are always stressed and on the move, we are in the sympathetic nervous system, which is not the ideal state for the body to heal itself. Kind of like how you shouldn’t lift weights when you’re already sick, you can’t heal when you’re not in the right headspace. Reiki’s gentle and relaxing nature helps clients get into the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our natural state when we are resting and digesting. A Reiki session provides an opportunity for a client to intentionally relax and be still while receiving healing energies.

I’d had one Reiki session prior to this one, and both times I received Reiki I felt immediately lighter and less weighed down. I wondered what it would be like to be able to help others receive the kind of relaxation and release that I’d experienced, and decided to enroll in Karen’s three day Reiki intensive.

Becoming energetically attuned was exactly what I needed – I had finally found a way to use my sensitivity to help myself and others. Since my Reiki attunement, I’ve practiced Reiki on friends, family, and even complete strangers! I love seeing the look of absolute zen on my clients’ faces at the end of Reiki sessions. They report feeling refreshed, renewed, and calm – one friend even told me that they dislocated their shoulder a while back and the Reiki energy popped it back into place, which was a very cool thing to experience in my second or third session ever.

Reiki has completely changed my life. I used to feel ashamed of how sensitive I was, but now I know that it’s my biggest superpower. I’m able to identify negative energies and set boundaries over what I will and won’t tolerate. I can hold space for those who are in need of compassion. Most importantly, I can take the love I have for myself, my clients, and the world and use it to help people feel better in a world that can be so harsh, and that’s something I will never take for granted. I now practice Reiki out of my home in Pflugerville with the intention of helping people heal to whatever level they’re ready to.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Something I had to unlearn was thinking that I had to be busy all the time – I’ve been a busybody for as long as I can remember and I also have diagnosed anxiety and ADHD. This combined with the fact that I no longer had a corporate job made me feel like I had to do something, when in reality what I needed to do was just be. Sitting still and focusing my mental energy felt like pulling teeth when all I wanted to do was feel busy, but I knew that this was my chance to put some distance between myself and hustle culture. So I made a point to be still every day – to sit outside and watch the trees in the wind, to lie on the couch and listen to music, to do my self Reiki and meditations. All of this has helped me achieve a degree of presence and calm that I didn’t know was possible. Growing up, you get told to sit up straight and eat your vegetables, but nobody ever tells you to sit still and watch the clouds go by or to try and listen to the sound of your own heartbeat. Presence is something that’s a bit harder to achieve these days when we have advertisements and notifications coming at us from all sides, but I’ve learned that taking the time to be still is well worth it.

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

I’m still very much building my client base, but so far I’ve had a lot of success through word of mouth. I’m well known in my social circles for being a spiritual gal who knows astrology and can probably tell you what the astrological vibes are at any given time, so I think the addition of Reiki to my offerings made sense to my client base. Many of the clients I’ve worked with thus far have been colleagues from the modeling world who deal with a lot of physical, mental, and emotional stress from the harsh realities of the industry. My services are open to all, but it is such a gift to be able to provide a sense of relief and relaxation for those who go through the same things I do.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeanette_hoelscher/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeanette_hoelscher

Image Credits
Nuru Kimondo