Reiki has been a part of my life for almost 20 years now and I have been so grateful to have this wonderful healing ability literally in my hands.  It gives me such joy to be able to teach others and see the joy it brings to their lives too.

I was born in Coventry and grew up there and in Birmingham.  After taking a degree in English Literature and Philosophy in Hull, I followed my love of theatre and in particular, mime to study theatre in Paris.   I came back to Birmingham in 1986 (a bit depressing after 2 years in Paris!) and started my own theatre company.  Shortly after that I began learning Tai Chi and met my future husband.

I first experienced Reiki in 1987 after spraining my ankle during rehearsals and realised its true potential when I received further treatment after the sudden death of my father.  I found Reiki comforting and that it also helped me to heal old emotional issues.

Having discovered that it was as simple to learn as it is to receive, I took a First Degree Reiki class in 1989 with Martha Sylvester, moving on to Second Degree with her later that year.  I think she recognised my passion for Reiki, so she invited me to become a Reiki Master.  At the time I didn't consider myself to be 'spiritual' enough to be a Reiki Master, but I had a strong desire to help others with Reiki and saw that being able to teach them would make this more possible.  After a year's apprenticeship, which included lots of Reiki practice, I became a Reiki Master at the end of 1991.  I taught my first class in the December of that year and have been teaching regularly ever since.

In my Reiki Dojo  giving Reiki to my husband Alec.

From 1992 to 2004 I worked as Administrator for The Reiki Association and saw it grow from a small group of 200 practitioners to an community of 1,000 members.  Being so involved with the Reiki community, both in the UK and internationally, through this job gave me wonderful opportunities to learn more about the practice of Reiki in all its forms. In 2004 I left the job because I realised that I was not at peace in my work/life balance and needed more time to devote to my Reiki practice.  This has given me time to develop my Reiki practice and gain more experience in giving treatments.

"If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our society, will benefit from our peace" Thich Nhat Hanh

I continue to be involved with The Reiki Association, including representing them in helping to develop National Occupational Standards for professional Reiki practitioners.  I was also The Reiki Association representative on the Reiki Regulatory Working Group (RRWG) until June 2007, when I changed places to represent the Reiki Alliance instead.  I am also a part of the Deepening Practice Network, a voluntary group which is part of The Reiki Association and organises events to support Reiki practitioners - click here to visit our website.

I am also a member of the Reiki Alliance, a community of Reiki masters committed to teaching Usui Shiki Ryoho in its defined form.

I have a particular passion for the public practice of Reiki, wanting to see people able to find a reliable practitioner and for the practitioners to be confident and supported in what they do.  This comes from my early experiences as a Reiki practitioner and also my belief that Reiki should be enough on its own - by which I mean that Reiki practitioners should be able to earn their living just with Reiki, without having to learn another complementary therapy to survive.  I do not mean that Reiki should not be used alongside other treatments - it is often very good for supporting conventional treatments.  I also have great faith in Reiki's ability to improve people's well being, whatever problem they are facing in their life.

In 2005 my interest in helping horses and fascination with non-verbal communication led me to learn Animal Communication with James French - also a Reiki Master.  James was featured in a Channel 4 documentary "I Speak Animal", broadcast on on 20th March 2007.   If you would like to view the programme it is currently on 'You Tube': click on the following links:

"I Speak Animal" Part 1
"I Speak Animal" Part 2
"I Speak Animal" Part 3
"I Speak Animal" Part 4

After taking the initial course and finding that I had a natural aptitude for the method he was teaching I decided to do the practitioner course and was pleased to qualify in the summer of 2006 as an Act 2 Practitioner.  The training included examinations, which involve doing communications for 4 animal professionals, including a vet.  A high standard is required to pass. To visit James' website click here.   If you would like to know more about what I  offer please click here.