Autumn Awe for my Students
Today is the autumn equinox, a time of awe, gratitude, as well as grief and letting to. A time to slow down as the days get shorter and the nights crisper and cooler. I pulled out my slippers for the first time yesterday (I love slipper weather- I wear them out each year).
I asked Crystal, a long-time client, student, and now very trusted and close friend, to write a testimonial- we have worked together for over 8 years now, and continue to share and practice Reiki together. Her journey and strength is an inspiration, especially for the work she is doing to fight the systems of racism and oppression in our local school system. Crystal Chinn is the co-founder of Education without Oppression, and from first meeting her 8 years ago in a networking group for women entrepreneurs, I would never have imagined this is where she would be. I see how Reiki has supported her in all the phases of the past 8 years. I am grateful to able to support Crystal’s activist journey by listening, sharing Reiki, and attending school board meetings with her, often speaking for families who are scared to speak due to retaliation.
Please check out the work Crystal and her co-founder, Jamillah Richmond (who is currently running for Boulder City Council) are doing at Education without Oppression, fighting the systems of oppression that are rampant in Boulder Valley School District.
If you have a few more moments, please read Crystal’s beautiful testimony- I am humbled and grateful to be part of her life and journey. You can also listen to the Be Rooted Podcast, when I interviewed Crystal, to learn more about her journey with Reiki and sound healing. (Yes, did you know I did a podcast?)
I came to Tekla after three years of fertility struggles and three miscarriages. I was broken and not ready to talk about any of it. Therapy felt out of reach. I did not know what I needed, only that I needed something.
What surprised me after my first session was that I did not have to say a word. I simply laid on a table, and she helped me feel emotionally lighter in a way I had not experienced anywhere else. Reiki has been the most life changing modality I have ever explored. Gentle, non-invasive, deeply relaxing, and it reached places that words had not yet been able to touch.
What I did not expect was that healing quietly in that space would slowly make me ready to speak. Session by session, I noticed I could talk about my losses a little more. And when I was finally ready, I stepped into therapy. Reiki brought me to that door.
Tekla does not guide you toward a mold. She helps you find your own niche, because we all have one, even when we cannot see it yet. I took all of her classes, became a Reiki practitioner, and eventually found my way into sound healing, with her teachings woven into everything I do. Through her guidance I also welcomed two more beautiful children after three years of heartbreak.
Her teachings live in my home now. I share them with my children daily. She has helped me remember how to ground, how to heal, and how to move through hard things with grace and strength.
As a Japanese American, I hold a deep appreciation for the care and respect she brings to this practice and her continuous commitment to honoring its roots.
— Crystal