what is reiki?
Reiki is a gentle, ancient, hands-on practice that helps move stagnant energy in the body. For the science-minded, it works by activating the parasympathetic nervous system—the part of our physiology responsible for rest, repair, and regulation. It signals to the body that it is safe to soften. For those who experience energy more intuitively, it can feel like warmth moving through you. A quiet release. A sense of something unwinding that you may not have had words for.
I often think of Reiki as a way of giving the body a voice. When we are cluttered with feelings, emotions, stress, and constant input, our bodies can only hold space for so much. Reiki helps release what was never meant to be carried indefinitely. It allows space to open again.
It was my own experience with burnout that led me to Reiki. After years of constantly giving, I realized how disconnected I had become from my own body. Reiki helped me reset. It helped me remember what it felt like to be present with myself again. I began offering Reiki as part of my haircut service because I realized—you’re already here. These few extra minutes are an opportunity to tune out the world, reconnect inward, and leave not only with good hair, but with a renewed sense of self.
If you feel called to experience it for yourself, you can book a Reiki-infused haircut here → Book your session
There is a lot of conversation right now about acceleration. The Year of the Fire Horse. The rapid emergence of AI. The sense that everything is moving faster, shifting, evolving. It’s exciting. It feels like standing at the edge of something entirely new.
But for me, I’ve learned that my magic doesn’t live in constant motion. It lives in the pause.
When I take time to slow down and tune into how I actually feel—before reacting, before pushing forward—I find clarity. I find power. The pause isn’t falling behind. It’s where alignment lives.
We can’t pour from an empty cup. Supporting our families, our communities, and ourselves can’t happen when we’re running on fumes. It requires presence. And presence only exists when we allow ourselves moments to breathe.
This is why I created Sense of Self.
Finding my own sense of self in a forever-moving world is necessary for my own being. SOS was born from that need—for a place to pause, to reconnect, to remember. Not to escape the world, but to return to it more fully.
My Winter Pause ritual is one small expression of this. Lighting a candle. Warming your hands. Taking a breath. Listening inward.
My hope is that SOS can be a place where others feel safe to pause along their own journey. A place to take a breath. A place to reconnect with themselves before stepping forward again.