Reiki for Mindfulness & Relaxation

We continue #BeatStress November with Sandra Lepholtz, Reiki Master. She is a close family friend and also worked very closely with my late-husband, Robert, while he was undergoing cancer therapy. Sandra works out of The Healing Place in Oakville, Ontario offering Reiki Treatments and Training. She also providing Mindfulness Meditation and Guided Meditation Workshops. 

Sandra, Reiki Master

Do you find yourself focused on the past or the future; perhaps you are not enjoying life’s simplest pleasures?  Are you stressing about situations that have yet to occur?  Overanalyzing situations in your mind?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your mind is likely filled with clutter.  But the question remains, where does this clutter originate?  Take a deep breath; recognizing these matters is a great place to start.  Mindfulness Meditation is a tactic used to help guide you through the development of eliminating this clutter.  This technique can help you to reduce your stress, improve sleep patterns, promote healthier eating habits, develop happier relationships, and improve personal growth.  This practice has the ability to positively change your life.

I asked my daughter (fourth year university student at UBC) to explain how mindfulness resonates with her; she described to me this; “when I think of mindfulness, I think of thoughtful awareness.  I believe anyone can be mindful, however, in most cases it resonates from the development of our values.  Mindfulness allows us to live in the moment, avoiding dwelling on the past, or focusing too much on the future.  I find this notion to be something that most of society takes advantage of.  It is human nature to think in different tenses, but it’s interesting to further investigate how we tend to focus on the future or the past. Reflecting on my week I noticed myself focusing on frustrations from projects or time management leading up to today.  I also find myself planning for the future to compensate for focusing on the frustrations of the past to get more work done.  Unfortunately, what is lacking here is the ability to focus on the present, the task at hand.  What I need to focus on is not either of these things.  What I have realized is how these tenses work as distractions from the present.  Instead of getting everything organized and doing it, I find myself drifting in thought with regard to what I have to do and why I didn’t prepare myself for a previous lecture.  I also find myself excited about an upcoming event, which I build up in my mind; usually once the event arrives I get so caught up in remembering things I need to accomplish next, the moment moves by at a high speed.  This is something I am working towards improving; I am working on directing my energy towards being more mindful of living in the moment.”


The notion of living in the moment has become an essential aspect of our being.  Mindfulness Meditation fosters this ability allowing us to be aware of our surroundings, and acquiring an appreciation for the present.  Further, this concept facilitates recognizing these moments to fully enjoy what is actually taking place.  Sometimes, it is the little things in life that work as kind reminders to achieve eternal happiness.  It is often we let these moments slip by, without even noticing.  Mindful Meditation is a kind reminder to value these special moments to capitalize ones ability to maintain happiness.  

Mindfulness Meditation enables us to become aware of our habits of thinking and reacting, eventually leading individuals to constructing wholesome changes towards a less stressful life.