2020 has brought the stress out in millions of people thanks to COVID-19. Many have sought ways to relieve any kind of anxiety they are feeling when it comes to both their personal and professional lives as a result of this worldwide pandemic.
One of those methods is known as Reiki, a Japanese technique for stress reduction that also promotes healing. Scott Holman, a self-proclaimed “Reiki Daddy“, is an expert in this field who has helped all kinds of people with the goal of them living a much relaxed life as a result.
Scott chatted with us exclusively about what Reiki is all about, how COVID negatively and positively affected his career and why he thinks this is something that should be in your every day lives moving forward.
Can you tell us more about what Reiki is and how it benefits your daily life?
Reiki is a centuries-old mode of energy healing that originated in Japan and is literally translated as “universal life energy.” Reiki energy flows through us, around us, and is what causes us, and all things, to be alive.
As a practitioner I act as a conduit for this energy to flow to a client to promote emotional and physical healing through hands-on or remote methods. It’s a simple belief… if a person’s life force energy is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stressed. If their energy is high, then they are more capable of being happy and healthy. We’ve all had those moments when we feel run down because of stress or whatever, and we end up with a cold or the flu. So, if we can release that stress and ground our energy, it can help to keep us healthy.
Reiki is also helpful for physical ailments and generally works best in conjunction with another mode of treatment such as physical therapy. Reiki practitioners are now common in hospital settings for general wellness to promote healing. Everyone responds differently, but across the board, clients have told me that they feel lighter, de-stressed, motivated, grounded, and inspired after a healing session.
How did you get involved in doing this and did you think it would turn into a full blown career?
I was going through a period of major life change and transformation, and at one point I started seeing a man who I jokingly and affectionately call “the Guru.” At the time, I was kind of a mess, emotionally all over the place, and felt powerless and spiritually wiped. I felt I needed something different from traditional therapy.
The Guru’s process was a spiritual combination rooted in transformational coaching coupled with bodywork that I eventually came to understand was Reiki-based. I proceeded to go through a roller coaster of releasing and self discovery. It was personal transformation on the fast track. The way I saw myself and my behavior changed — it was both challenging and exhilarating. It changed my life.
Part of the changes I was going through was searching for a different career path. I had been a graphic designer/creative director for many years and I wanted work that I connected with on a deeper, authentic level. So after researching and then training, I eventually receiving my certification in both Reiki and transformational coaching. I found both came to me naturally and from there emerged a desire to help people through a similar process that I experienced.
Have you found an increase in clients as a result of people’s anxiety over COVID or general fears that this past year has brought on?
COVID and the state of the world in general has been almost everyone’s common factor towards why they came to me for a session. People have been sensitive to all this energy that has been bombarding us… social/political upheaval, the election, global pandemic. Every day it felt like something else messed up was going to happen. They felt worn out and anxiety ridden. Many of these clients were Reiki virgins and were looking for balancing, grounding, and release from the fear, anxiety, and uncertainly many of us have been carrying around.
Because of COVID and social distancing, my client load has been up and down, and I haven’t been doing heavy promoting. But I’ve learned many people are not familiar with Reiki and don’t have an understanding of what it is, how it works, and be beneficial. It’s my mission to make it a more familiar and important mode of healing.
Speaking of, what has been the peak and pit of your career since this pandemic began?
Let’s start with the pit! I moved to Los Angeles in mid-February 2020 to build my Reiki/coaching practice and start a new life chapter. Then one month in, shutdown happened. Needless to say, I couldn’t see people in person, so I had to accept that, sit back, and wait to see how COVID played out. I was doing a handful of remote sessions which is great, but not near what I wanted to be building.
At this point, I can’t really say there has been just one peak… just waves of ups and then leveling off moments. But the time has given me the opportunity to further developed my coaching skills and I have been working with a few people and am looking forward to more. Eventually, I started to see a handful of Reiki clients in person by referral or word of mouth and it has been great to have that direct contact. Since I work with energy so much, I also took this time to look at what I had to offer to the world by being a healer and how I can contribute by being someone who can be a part of making the world a better place. But, I still feel like I’m riding those waves and waiting for the day I can really push and build my practice.
You do in person and remote sessions. Can the same results happen for people who choose one or the other?
Yes, results can be the same. Most people prefer in person for the direct contact. It can be a mind leap for people to understand how the remote sessions work. If the belief is that we are all connected by the same energy, then the energy that is with me in Los Angeles is the same energy that is with someone down the block or the other side of the world.
Through visualization and connection with the Reiki energy, I can still direct that energy to the client so it flows to them as intended just as if they were on the table in front of me — it does work. With me being in Los Angeles, I’ve done remote sessions as far away as New York City, Montreal, and Kuwait. I love doing both in person and remote of course, but the remote sessions always feel like magic to me. it’s crazy and I’m continuously amazed by it!
You also do transformational coaching. Can you explain more about what that is about?
In essence, transformational coaching is generally a shorter term, proactive process where my role is to listen, encourage, understand, and give clients a gentle shove in the direction of living a more authentic existence. Sometimes we reach a point in life when we feel the need to grow and evolve, but find that there is something within ourselves that holds us back. We may feel that need to grow is greater than the desire to stay stuck in old patterns of behavior. This is where I can help as a coach.
I work with a client to look at issues that may be contributing to detrimental behavior, where that behavior may have originated from, and offer tools to shift the thinking around actions that may stop a person back from actualizing their goals. People may come to me with a specific issue or goal, but I believe that issue is part of a bigger picture of limiting behavior that influences all areas of the clients life. So if I can help them shift their behavior, then the positive impact trickles down to all those other areas to help the client lead that authentic life.
Overall why would you recommend people choose Reiki to better themselves in the near future?
I believe the world is in a major transition. So much has been brought to the surface this year. We have been shown our interconnectedness by a global pandemic; we’ve had to retreat into our homes and look inward to take a hard look at who we are; we’ve had social, political, and racial upheaval that inspired protest; we’ve endured a national election that made us hold our collective breaths, and much more. We’ve had to manage so much emotional uncertainty, change, and fear while holding onto hope and faith.
All of that is a reflection of the energy that is not only swirling around us, but what we are putting out into the world. So if we can release fear and uncertainty and replace that with a greater, positive connection to life around us, we can make a difference. Reiki can be a part of that. Transformational coaching is a part of this as well. Reiki can work to release, balance, and ground energy and coaching can alter the energy of our behavior by shifting our thinking and focus. Both can be a powerful way towards personal transformation. I like to think that healing is not just about something within ourselves, but it contributes to healing the world outside of us. When we enact positive change within ourselves, we can inspire others to live with integrity, kindness, authenticity, and interconnectedness.