This was the second time I visited the shelter to teach a Reiki 1 and Reiki For Animals class and I was greatly looking forward to this return trip. It had been two and a half years since my first trip there.

There were a total of nine students, two who are already Reiki Practitioners, but were re-taking the class. The others were all eager to learn Reiki, certainly for self-healing benefits, but more significantly, for working with the shelter animals. The staff and the volunteers at the Warwick Humane are all dedicated, caring people and it is wonderful that they are open to the holistic system of Reiki.

Since my last class, Reiki HAS been used in the shelter, but now, with additional people taking the class, the reach of this beautiful healing modality will be expanded.

The highlight of the day was when Suzyn, the President of the Humane Society came in with a list of very specific needy animals who could greatly benefit from the afternoon Reiki sessions and encouraged everyone to choose an animals or group of animals with which to work. This would be the first time that most would be offering Reiki to an animals.  So we all spread out through the shelter, letting the Reiki flow for the cats, dogs, bunnies and even a rooster and a duck!

I myself worked with a row of four dogs who were in indoor/outdoor kennels. I sat outdoors, on a nearby ledge outside their kennels. Though they were howling, breathing anxiously and running back and forth when I first met them, within 15 minutes of Reiki all of them were laying down, relaxed and three were actually taking peaceful naps.

When I went inside the cat area, I found a similar scene greeted me. There were four practitioners there, in varied enclosures with different cat populations, but the scene had gone from busy, anxious and pacing to calm and peacefulness with many kitties curled up fast asleep as they enjoyed the Reiki. 

After the sessions were over, we re-grouped and discussed everyone's experiences with the animals. All were so pleased and amazed at how well the sessions went and how well the animals responded to the offering of Reiki.

It was a wonderful day all around and it was very fulfilling to teach a SARA class at the shelter. I do know that many animals will greatly benefit as a result of this class and the newly-trained practitioners!

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Reiki Training At An Animal Shelter

Warwick Valley Humane Society, August 2013

Reiki at Golden Paw Society of Huntington

Sheryl is a Reiki volunteer with a local no-kill cat rescue who rescues some of the neediest felines from municipal shelters.  The Golden Paw Society gets them medical help and rehabilitates them, then finds loving homes for them. The main center is in Huntington, NY but some of the cats are “showcased” at local Petsmarts to give them more visability and chance to be adopted.