The Georgie Dept. of Behavioral Health was excited to feature Reiki at their Unspoken Wounds Conference—and we were excited to provide it. Our contributions included conducting a break-out session and offering Reiki demos throughout the three-day event. See below for a photo recap of this wonderful opportunity to introduce mental health care practitioners to the benefits of Reiki first-hand.
Savannah is beautiful and warm in March and the Marriott is right on the water.
These events have been held every couple years, and are now being offered more frequently due to their popularity.
The Reiki Brigade banners were delivered to me just in time to send them down to the Georgia Reiki team. I see the event organizers also wanted to make sure everyone knew about the demos.
The crew offered demos all day Monday before I arrived, and were able to introduce more than 40 people to Reiki on their first day.
These lovely ladies came out to help spread the good word about Reiki. Ellen Blossman, me, Jan Mariette, Trina Pinkney and Mary Ann Connerley. Libby Oxenrider (not pictured) was also a force of nature on the first day.
Mary Ann had received an invitation to speak at the event, but wasn't comfortable in front of crowds. She and I connected and she took over the task of rounding up volunteers for the demos. Obviously she rocked it.
Several of the folks we worked on the second day were return customers, having had such a great experience the day before. Reiki is cumulative, so we were happy to accommodate them.
We were fed very well and took turns eating so our Reiki booth was always staffed.
The conference was geared towards mental health care professionals caring for veterans and first responders, groups more susceptible to PTSD as a result of their service to us. I connected with a Fire & Emergency Services Battalion Chief who told me she came to the conference specifically to hear my talk. She's working in Savannah now but originally from Chicago, and will put me in touch with some decision makers here. See how Reiki works?
Some of the volunteers took the day off work to come help out at the conference. In addition to her private practice, Jan works two days a week as a reflexologist at the Anderson Cancer Institute.
Trina was a phenomenal team player, taking photos, managing equipment, and wearing her Reiki Brigade T-shirt proudly. Several of these practitioners made connections with potential clients through their participation in this event.
The presentation was very well received. I especially liked sharing this new slide listing our nation's top hospitals that have had Reiki programs for years. "How have we not heard about this?" was a common sentiment from the crowd. We can't understand it either.
The river is beautiful at night. We were able to see some sights and take in a delicious meal waterside. Good stuff.
