We caught up with the brilliant and insightful KishaLynn Elliott a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
KishaLynn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.
Tell us the story of the early days from when you decided to start your own firm/practice to establishing the practice.
In Nov 2015, my father died. Eight months later, my wife gave birth to our son. As a new mom, there was no time to grieve. I stopped running my businesses. I stopped writing. I stopped working on myself. The change was blamed on new motherhood fatigue. But that was a lie. The truth was that I was in a silent depression that lasted two years.
My mother, from 3000 miles away, noticed that I wasn’t myself. For my 37th birthday, she sent me a Groupon for three Reiki sessions. I had never experienced Reiki. By my third session, I felt completely healed of pounds of heavy grief. I could see my goals again. I was back. I started writing again, and published my second book, CHILDish (www.CHILDishTheBook.com). Once I addressed my own healing needs, my focus quickly shifted to deeper learning about Reiki, so that I could share this healing with others.
What were the main steps you had to take?
Mary Sotelo, of Reiki Healing Arts San Diego, is my healer and Reiki Master Teacher. Working with her in 2017, I was attuned in Reiki I, which focuses on self-healing.
After two years of self-healing work, I completed the Reiki II attunement, and began healing clients on the table and conducting distance healing sessions for clients remotely. I named my practice Darash Reiki Healing. Darash is my spiritual name; in Hebrew, it means to search, seek, or inquire, which feels like a perfect verb to describe a Reiki healing journey.
I should probably explain what Reiki is. It’s a form of energy healing that originated in Japan. A Reiki healer flows gentle life force through the chakras-or energy centers-by using hand placements in certain positions on the body until their chakras are open, balanced and aligned. My clients report experiencing immediate relief of all types of physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional pains. Through consistent work over time, we can explore and address the root causes of these conditions.
What were some of the key challenges in setting up your own office/practice?
Getting started as a Reiki healer, the biggest element is being open and allowing those who need you to find you. I don’t actively promote or market myself as a Reiki healer. Most of my clients find me organically through word of mouth. I admit it does take a lot of pressure off that my financial needs are still supported by my full-time job and my other businesses.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t face challenges. The biggest challenge for me was space. I am able to do remote healing, which is just as powerful when delivered by a Reiki II practitioner. I also believe that the ultimate Reiki experience happens on the table through hands-on healing. My in-person Reiki table sessions can incorporate chakra light therapy, singing bowls, crystals, binaural sounds, and aromatherapy. That is a lot of equipment and materials to have at hand, plus space for a table with a client you need to move around in doing the healing work. I started my Reiki practice in our bedroom. Space was tight but I worked hard to get the energy flowing well in the space, setting up and tearing down for each session. Now we’ve purchased a home and I have a dedicated room for healing, which I refer to as The Heart Space.
Another challenge was monetizing my practice. In Reiki I, where the focus is on self-healing, you give Reiki away to others as practice, or it’s donation based. In Reiki II, you feel called to serve and heal more, but you also value the energy you give enough to request a mutual exchange through payment. It’s hard to put a dollar amount on work you would gladly do for free—but I always believe that’s a good sign that you’ve actually found the perfect job or business. I’m not in Reiki to make money, but I am thankful for every client I heal and I am blessed by every dollar I earn in my practice. It all goes right back into the healing work and growing the practice.
Would you have done anything differently knowing what you know now?
I’m in a place now where I’m beginning to be more vocal about my identity as a healer, and Reiki as my modality. There are still many people in my life who don’t even know that I’m now a Reiki Master. I completed my Reiki III attunement in January of 2021. I do wish I had shared the journey with more people over the past five years; I’ve set an intention to do so more moving forward. That’s why I’m doing this interview.
I want everyone, and especially other Black women whose hearts are trapped in grief to know that I’m a Reiki Master healer and I am here to heal.
Any advice for a young professional who might be considering starting their own practice?
The best step towards becoming a healer is beginning to heal from within. Before you try to make Reiki your job or business, you must learn and commit to doing the work on yourself. That’s the best advice I can give: Get healing.
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
What do you think sets you apart from others? Well, there aren’t many Black lesbian Reiki Masters practicing in San Diego, CA, for starters. I find myself introducing Black women to Reiki often. Even though it’s a Japanese healing practice, I think colonization has been more of a barrier to Reiki reaching more Black women than the fact that it’s a practice from the Eastern world. Similar to yoga, which like Reiki, helps balance and align the chakras, representations of healing practitioners are overwhelmingly white. If you Google for images of Reiki healers, you have to scroll repeatedly to find Black people in the results, and Asian practitioners are virtually nonexistent. The same thing happens when you Google yoga instructors. It’s like we don’t exist. I find that problematic. My solution is to continue on my path to becoming a Reiki Master Teacher and learn to attune other Reiki healers of color, especially Black LGBTQ women who want to learn from a healer who shares their intersectional lived experience. That has also helped me build a reputation within the market, and a colorful brand on social media (www.tiktok.com/@coachkishalynn).
We’d love to hear about you met your business partner.
In August of 2020, I collaborated with long-time friend and Yoga Healer CaMesha Reece to co-found the Black Leadership and Abundance Center, or BLAAC (www.BLAAC.life). We are deeply invested in BLAAC’s mission to create physical, emotional, mental, financial, and spiritual healing for ourselves and others through Reiki, yoga, and restorative practices. We have a shared vision of establishing a network of Black leaders who spread an abundance of healing around the globe. CaMesha and I are like-minded master manifesters. When we both stumbled upon our healing journeys simultaneously, it felt only right to put all together, and spread healing by Black people to Black people.
Have you ever had to pivot?
The pandemic, and resulting state shutdown and quarantine, put a serious pause on hands-on Reiki healing at a time when energy healing was needed most. That’s why I am grateful that Reiki is a form of healing that can be practiced and is equally effective when delivered remotely. So I pivoted from table sessions to conducting more remote healing sessions and virtual healing sessions via Zoom. In 2021, my business partner and I joined forces to create “Balance and Flow”, a virtual dual healing session where I deliver Reiki healing to balance the chakras, and then CaMesha leads us through a gentle yoga flow to support deeper healing. Our Balance and Flow clients also receive a customized healing plan after the session with guidance on sustaining life in the flow after the session.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.BLAAC.life
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/coachkishalynn
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kishalynn
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/kishalynn
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/kishalynn
- Other: Visit www.balanceandflow.us to book a Reiki healing session with KishaLynn. Follow @CoachKishaLynn on Instagram and TikTok. Email [email protected] to get connected.
Image Credits
Beto Soto Photo