Red Pine Reiki

10/22/2026

Fall at Red Pine Reiki. The fairies are tip toeing through the garden, but I see them 🧚‍♂️ ✨️

10/20/2026

🌸 What Stays Without Force Is Meant for You 🌸

There is a beautiful freedom in learning the difference between nurturing something and forcing it. We spend much of our lives trying to hold things together such as relationships, friendships, expectations, and even versions of ourselves that we have outgrown.

Sometimes we confuse effort with struggle, attachment with love, and control with security. What happens when we soften our grip? When we stop trying to make people understand us, convince someone of our worth, or force life to unfold according to our expectations? We create space. Space for clarity, for authenticity, and for peace. Creating space for the things that naturally resonate with who we truly are.

Through the gentle practice of Reiki, we have an opportunity to become still, reconnect with ourselves, and recognize where we may be holding on out of fear rather than love. Reiki doesn't makesomething happen, nor is it about controlling another person's feelings, choices, or journey. The journey is about returning to ourselves. As we grow more comfortable with who we are, we discover that we no longer need to chase what once felt so important.

This doesn't mean meaningful relationships never require effort. Love, friendship, and personal growth all deserve nurturing, patience, and commitment, but there is a difference between lovingly tending a garden and trying to force a flower to bloom. 🌿 What is truly aligned with us should have room to breathe, and so should we. Just for today, perhaps we can loosen our grip, release an expectation, and trust ourselves enough to allow life to unfold.

With love,
Red Pine Reiki LLC 🌲

10/20/2026

10/14/2026

The nervous system responds to emotions and the environment. It responds to physical danger and to perceived emotional threats. Scare someone and watch them react....things are happening in the body. What does it look like, fear? Our nervous system also responds to safety, love, empathy, joy, and compassion. Gush over something/someone? What does that look like? That's the nervous system responding. Our nerves react to perceived emotions, relationships, memories, and our sense of safety.

Our nervous system also remembers patterns of stress. Consider what happens when someone is suddenly frightened. Their sympathetic nervous system activates. Their heart beats faster, their breathing changes, muscles tighten, digestive activity slows and their body prepares to respond to danger. This happens automatically, without conscious thought.

Now imagine someone living for years with emotional abuse, unpredictability, criticism, or fear. Their nervous system may repeatedly activate these protective responses. Over time, some people develop persistent muscle tension, heightened vigilance, disturbed sleep, headaches, digestive symptoms, or chronic pain.

The danger may have passed, but the body can continue responding as though it needs protection. Prolonged stress can contribute to physiological changes that influence pain and well-being.

Where the parasympathetic nervous system comes in play ❤️

The parasympathetic nervous system is part of the autonomic nervous system. It helps regulate heart rate, digestion, and recovery. When we are under prolonged stress, in crisis, experiencing loss or abuse, the nervous stystem has a tight grip. Sustain prolonged abuse and your body might have a tight grip which can lead to physical pain and fatigue.

The analogy of Reiki loosening a tight squeeze captures an important experience: when the body's defensive activation decreases, muscles may relax, breathing can become easier, and the person may feel less physically guarded.

During a Reiki session, people report experiencing deep relaxation, warmth, emotional ease, or a feeling of safety.
Research suggests Reiki can influence these measures of autonomic activity.
A person doesn't have to consciously revisit or even understand the emotional experiences that contributed to their tension in order to experience physical relaxation. They can simply rest.

Our nervous system is continually responding to the world around us, including our emotional experiences. Fear can quicken the heartbeat. Prolonged stress can tighten muscles and influence sleep, digestion, and pain. When the body experiences safety and relaxation, these protective responses may begin to soften. Reiki offers an opportunity for stillness and rest, creating space for the body to move toward a calmer physiological state.

The nervous system also responds to affection, connection, gratitude, laughter, and joy. Just as a plant's roots support its ability to respond to its environment, our nervous system continuously responds to the conditions in which we live.

❤️ 💙 💜
Redpinereiki.com

10/13/2026

"I have noticed a trend in Reiki. We talk about Reiki more than we practice it. There is plenty of discussion about what Reiki is and what it can do, but the Gyosei go unread, the Gokai are not put into practice,Joshin Kokyu-ho, Hatsurei-ho and daily self treatment get set aside. These practices were given to us by Usui Sensei to refine and stabilize the kokoro. They are not extras, they are the system itself.

Long before Reiki, I trained first in Kyokushin Kai Karate under Soshu Shigeru Oyama, with his son Shihan Tetsumori (Ted) Oyama as my primary teacher. When Soshu founded World Oyama Karate I continued my training there.

One might ask how a full contact martial arts path known for its severe discipline could inform a Reiki practitioner.

Reiki and Oyama Karate are both Dō, a spiritual path meant to refine the spirit and kokoro of the practitioner. The training looks different but the purpose is the same.

The answer to most questions in Oyama Karate was "Just sweat." The questions were answered through basic technique practice, kata and free fighting. There was no magical formula other than hard and consistent practice. No amount of lengthy philosophical discussion would make you a better karateka. I saw that proven year after year on the dojo floor.

I would argue Reiki requires the same. Most of the answers are found in the practice and not the conversations. Read the Gyosei and sit with them. Put the Gokai into practice today, not someday. Practice Joshin Kokyu-ho and Hatsurei-ho. Give yourself self treatment every day the way Usui Sensei's students did.

Through consistent daily practice the questions are answered. We steady, we learn to get out of our own way and let the Reiki do what needs to be done, we surrender to Reiki and do not force it. Reiki knows what needs to be done. Our work is to become a clear and stable channel, and that comes from practice, not from talk.

Miyamoto Musashi wrote in the Go Rin no Sho (The Book of Five Rings) that when you truly attain one Way you begin to see it in all things. From one thing, know ten thousand things. Musashi refined himself so completely through the sword that the refinement carried into his calligraphy, his ink painting and his sculpture, arts he pursued with no formal teacher. Refine one Way deeply enough and you have refined the practitioner, and the practitioner carries that into everything he does.

This has been my experience moving from the dojo to Reiki. The years of kihon, kata and kumite taught me nothing about Reiki technique. They taught me how to practice. Show up whether you feel like it or not. Trust the basics. Sit through the plateaus. Let the Way work on you instead of asking the Way to bend to your preferences.

In karate the advanced practitioner is not the one who knows the most techniques. He is the one whose basics are so refined that everything built on them holds. Reiki is no different. When we commit to practicing the basics and build a strong foundation, the rest flows, easily.

So when the questions come, and they will, my answer is the one my teachers gave me.
Just Sweat (practice). The rest takes care of itself." - Mark Straubel
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*"Just Sweat" is a trademark of the World Oyama Karate Organization. This article reflects the personal views and experiences of the author. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as an endorsement of, or affiliation with, the World Oyama Karate Organization, nor does the World Oyama Karate Organization endorse or sponsor this article, its author, or any services offered by the author.*

10/13/2026

The other day I read a wonderful article by Heather Plett called What it Really Means to Hold Space for Someone. Here is a quote from the article:

10/13/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DJrfHNMYc/

1.HEALTH ANXIETY
Survivors may become highly focused on physical symptoms due to prolonged stress.

2. INSOMNIA AND SLEEP DISORDERS
The mind often struggles to rest when it has been conditioned to expect danger.

3. ANXIETY DISORDERS
Constant fear, criticism, unpredictability, and emotional instability can overwhelm the nervous system.

4. PANIC DISORDER
Years of emotional stress can trigger panic attacks and persistent fear responses.

5. DEPRESSION
Long-term emotional abuse can gradually lead to hopelessness, sadness, emotional numbness, and despair.

6. BRAIN FOG
Difficulty concentrating, remembering information, and making decisions is common after prolonged abuse.

7. OCD-LIKE SYMPTOMS
Chronic uncertainty can contribute to excessive checking, reassurance-seeking, and rumination.

8. DISSOCIATION
Some survivors mentally disconnect from emotions, memories, or surroundings as a coping mechanism.

9. COMPLEX PTSD (C-PTSD)
Chronic psychological trauma may cause hypervigilance, emotional flashbacks, trust issues, and fear.

10. STRESS-RELATED PHYSICAL ILLNESSES
Chronic headaches, digestive issues, muscle tension, fatigue, and other stress-related symptoms may develop.

Narcissistic abuse affects more than emotions.

It can impact the brain, nervous system, body, relationships, and overall well-being.

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