Episode #160 David Roberts From Combat to Calm: A Veteran's Reiki Journey

So I'm Tracy Seawright , and this is Ready Set Reiki .

He is a master Reiki practitioner , somatic skills life coach and he's an Army veteran with roughly eight years of experience in helping individuals regulate stress process , trauma and restore balance through holistic and somatic care . Now , as a master resilient trainer in the US Army Reserve , his goal is to bring a grounded and integrative approach to healing .

He has provided trainings for groups of individuals , to include clinicians at Wayne State's Outpatient Psych Program , lending Western and Western modalities to support deep emotional and nervous system recovery .

Now , if you're looking for an approach that can support and guide your nervous system to be more peaceful and a balanced place , he would love to help you and speak to you about Reiki and somatic skills to help you achieve the healing . So let's bring in our wonderful guest today , david

Roberts . David , welcome to Ready Set Reiki .

So it's a really wonderful and a way of giving back to all the amazing and wonderful things that they have done our military has done for us . So let's begin our journey together . So tell us a little bit about yourself .

But obviously I'm at the unit today , um in my 50s um , but uh , army veteran , I'm still in the active reserves um , I've gone through a couple different job changes , um , but my background is when I was , you know , 18 , I joined um .

It was in the infantry and uh , you know , they told me hey man , we're the war's dying down you're not going anywhere , because I was really scared . I was going for college .

I'm like , oh no , I gotta go for college , I want to get a good education and all that jazz and um , I got to my unit in the infantry and they were like , oh yeah , six months were to point . And I was like what , oh gosh , so went overseas , had um , I guess you'd call it an amazing time , but it was a pretty combat , heavy tour .

And when I came back I just found myself feeling very um , just just trying to juggle , I guess , my , my nervous system . I didn't know anything about that at the time , I was still pretty young .

I just was like , oh , it's okay to be angry all the time , it's okay to be , you know , frustrated , frustrated and sad and depressed , and this is normal , you know . And so , moving forward , I got out of the infantry . I still wanted to keep a foot in , though I was like , oh , I want to keep a foot in the door , I don't want to completely separate .

So I went into the reserves as a civil affairs specialist and sort sort of more like macro social work you work with a population much more peaceful mission , and I was like , oh , maybe this will do it for me , but I still felt like I was on fire .

And when I got out and I was back in the civilian world , I wanted to again pursue college and during that journey I was like , oh , I'll do social work , that'll help me .

and it's still , while it was cool to relate to folks , it still felt like something was missing and I was like just getting curious and I was like , well , you know , maybe I'll I don't know look for some healing modalities , and Reiki popped up for me and around the same time , actually about a year later , I found my current mentor , michael Gillespie , and he's

been a social worker since like the 70s , but he was really blessed to learn really cool traditional Asian health practices from a gentleman named Mr Onishi and Dr Lee , and so a lot of like what I do in my Reiki sessions comes from those gentlemen and they're I guess you could call them Yang Shen skills , or they're little tiny skills that are derived from Qigong

or Kiko , which is Japanese Qigong , but anyways . So now I work . You know , I'm trying to sort of make a whole shift .

I was doing social work , I'm trying to make this holistic shift now and um study reiki for phoenix , rising mental health services , and I teach qigong and uh , yeah , and then of course I do the skills education for wayne state universities , outpatients like program and their clinicians , as well as my mentor , and I train other clinicians too on um platforms for

continuing education credits . But we teach these skills , um , these these traditional age and health practices with the term somatics , so that way people can jive with it in the in the clinical world . So , um , yeah , I feel like that's a lot about me . Um , and you thought you were gonna have a hard time with that one .

So I like how you took that opportunity to see what can you do to heal , what can you do to self-regulate beyond you know what the standards you would think in the army would be . You know , I mean these holistic modalities kind of beyond you know what the standards you would think in the army would be . You know , I mean these holistic modalities kind of .

Oftentimes , you know , people have judgment towards it .

It was just this reflexology point on the side of my hand , on the knife edge here , right in line with the , the heart line , and I remember just feeling like all of a sudden the world was okay for a couple seconds while I was pressing that point and I was like that's wild , and like I was like I could feel the downshift and I was like , wow , dude ,

that's crazy . Our bodies have , like just one point , that much ability , yeah , and that was sort of the the end of it , like I was like I'm , I'm hooked , I'm addicted . You know that . You know any . I was like any human , I'll take it . And I just remember clinging to that one point . So , um , just uh , desperately .

And so I , of course , learned more and was able to really start to build capacity and resilience , uh , which helped me do better reiki sessions for folks too right .

Now you mentioned a little bit in your tell us about yourself , about your Reiki . So would you say that you found Reiki or Reiki found you ?

When I got out and , um , I remember just like looking around and I was like you know , know , I've always been interested in , like japanese , like chinese , like kung fu , martial arts , and I was like , let's find something , because I really want to channel myself , yeah , um , channel myself into something .

And I went on meetup , um , and I don't know if meetup's still a thing , I think it is . But like back in the day , you know , um , I went out there and there was a gentleman , mr andrew anders , and he was like , you know , hey , come do reiki . Uh , it's , it's healing , it's soothing , it's you know , x , y and z .

And I said something just sort of pulled me in that direction and I was like , okay , like I've spent enough time at war , I probably should do something healing . And so I decided , well , you know what , let's try it out . It was , you know , it was like a , a couple hundred bucks .

So I was like I could spare it , you know , all right , and went in there and it was just this really like I don't know like soothing , peaceful sort of experience .

Um , remember , sitting , just , you know , in gashow and and uh , doing the hot kureho and this meditation , and um , I , I didn't even , I didn't even know the names back then , I didn't even honor the names , like I was like whatever , it doesn't matter , infantry , you know , but I just called it the fire hands meditation because it was just like I was sweating

with how much heat there was and I just thought , oh wow , power , this is cool , you know . Energy , it's real . Um , so the reiki sort of found me and I started doing treatments on myself and others , but , um , it certainly . I sort of fell away from my first view . I went to qigong and kung fu and I sort of fell back into the whole power thing .

I was like I need to be strong because of all the trauma , right you ? Know I need to be in control . I need to be in control , and it wasn't till like a little bit , like , I think , right around the pandemic . Uh , my kung fu teacher was like , oh , I'm also a reiki teacher and I was like , wait , what so ?

reiki sort of found me again and it popped up and he was like , oh yeah , and on top of that I know kiko , and I was like what is that ? He's like ? It's going to amplify your rate . You know , that sounds cool . So it found me again and I was able to then start sort of reigniting that passion and being able to use that to help others heal .

And uh , then I I somehow rekindled the connection with my old mentor , the one I first learned with , and now he's an acupuncturist . He's learned so much , he's grown . It's just such a cool thing that Reiki continues to be , even when I start to fall away from it .

It's like , hey , buddy , you know you want to practice a little bit , and then it picks me back up and so it's in my life for a reason . But I would say that Reiki , I sought it at first , but it ultimately found me and it continues to find me , like it almost chases .

. What are they ? What are you finding out there that people are have this confusion about or misconception ?

And I have a much more clinical like I guess not understanding of it because everyone understands it that way , probably too . But my explanation to folks is much more clinical because of my background in social work , my studies with you know the sympathetic , the parasympathetic , the vagus nerve .

You know all the trauma stuff that I've learned through my social work career . And so I think one of the common misconceptions is that it's and not to knock anyone because I love this stuff Like I've gotten treatments where people do crystals and call in ancestors and it's super cool and I'm like what I can't do ?

That Like mine's much more clinical , Like that's legit . But people think it's only those things and it's sometimes it .

I think there's this , this misconception in society that those things are bad or they're looked down on and they're not real healing and I'm like no brother , man , like sister , like you , gotta , you gotta get in on this because it is real deal healing .

I think people they don't realize , they don't know the history of it , that pre-world war ii this was being used in clinics . It was true clinical um , you know , you know a practice and it was healing . And there's documentation that people have found and have documented now from those healings .

I mean there's lists and we have them in the books , but we have , like , there's those like articles that my , my , my , I , my , my . I guess you want to call him master , but my master's giving me and he says , hey , look at all of these things , are these news articles where this guy talked about the healing he's done ?

And I'm like , wow , that's amazing . So when do I get to start healing people like that ? You know , but it's , it is clinical , it belongs in the clinic , in my opinion , and so I think that the misconception is that that's like that's a comfort . It's not even complimentary . They're like that's that's a , a luxury .

I'm like no , this is this is so good it's , it's more than just a luxury . This is true , legitimate healing , and there's science that supports it . Um , so I think the biggest misconception that a lot of people have is that it's just , it's funny foo-foo magic and it's the furthest thing from , in my opinion .

Um , you know , like sometimes I feel like this feeling is more , uh , more real , or more healing than the healing I get from the doctor , where they're like , oh hey , um , you got the sniffles , okay , well , I'll take some ibuprofen , go home and sleep on it , you know .

Or like when I was in the service and I'm like , oh yeah , I'm like I'm pretty sure my ankle broke , and they're like , yeah , run it off , you're fine . Like had I known Reiki back then or had I been seeing someone , I mean the healing might have sped up , it might have been been faster and maybe more increased .

So he was , you know , a physician and had a clinic and he has this very detailed guide that he has for ailments . Nowadays we would go to the hospital right Like a sword wound and hand placements , and it was that clinical where two practitioners were working on you that it did that transition from sitting to lying down .

So a lot of people don't know that whole aspect of it . They again think it's that woohoo , yeah , yeah yeah , I think it's .

They have to call something for the insurance , right , um , but they wouldn't be using it otherwise um it didn't work and um , you know , another thing that I'm just about to start doing as well is um volunteering at corwell health doing reiki for cancer patients and it's again .

Why would they have the program at a Catholic hospital too , right , Like with this root being Catholic if it didn't work and it didn't have some ? Merit you know yeah . So that's me nerding out about it .

You're out there being of service and helping so many individuals out there as this master resilience trainer , helping those getting grounded . So what challenges have you faced ?

Um , you know , I'm definitely like a strong believer and is like , as the reiki flows through me , kind of a vibe right , it's healing me too . Um , and I , and I want to say now that I look at myself , now that I've really squared away a lot of that mental health , my physical health , um , I'm in a much healthier space , mind and body .

My treatments have actually increased as well and they become more effective , and so I think one of the biggest challenges in the beginning was just this constant battle within my own mind . I think , too , one of the biggest challenges for me was I was so well ingrained into Western sort of science and things I was like .

Well , my initial response to a lot of these things is , while it seems amazing , I always had that voice of doubt in the back of my head . You know , is this really working ? Are you really doing something for yourself , or is this just placebo ?

You know , and so a lot of my challenges and struggles came from my own mental health , my own doubt , and I think just at some point it's like when do you just sort of throw all those cares to the to the wind and say , obviously something I'm doing is working , regardless if it's a placebo or not , because I feel better and it's not just my emotions , but

it's how I behave and it's how I interact with others , when I don't feel like there's a fire in my chest anymore , right , and I can take a deep breath and I can feel grounded and really feel the chair supporting me , like there's something to that , and so I could probably say that's like one of the biggest challenges . Challenges

, um , I think too , something that always sort of kept me from continually pursuing this is just uh , you know not again sort of emotional , but like not feeling like I'm good enough because when I came back I was just on fire and so so like I , my family relationship , suffered , I couldn't keep a partner to save my life , like , luckily now , like I love my

wife to death , like you know , so blessed , um , but those were things that really , I guess just sort of uh got in the way of pursuing these things sooner and also , uh , with more like zeal and passion . Um , I would say maybe the .

The other thing I can think of is , you know , it's been a rough ride , you know , coming back from the service , like I was not in a good space , and so there's like times I'd like lost jobs because like I was either too impulsive or I was too angry or I was too something .

And uh , again that behavioral aspect like getting along with folks is so difficult , oh my gosh . And Reiki has changed my life dramatically . Now I have this very , I feel , like white energy . It's just playful and it's I'm curious about life again as opposed to being so miserable and stuck in the idea of my shortages .

And you know , living in that land , living in the land of curiosity , is so much more beautiful . So I would say that , like , those things are probably some of the biggest things I've faced in my healing journey . And I think that the journey continues . Yeah , some of the biggest things I've faced in my healing journey and I think that the journey continues .

I think that the journey will always continue and there will always be new phases of that healing in my life , and I think it's one of the most beautiful things about anything like Qigong or Reiki or these somatic resets , the Yangshen and Kiko , is the more that I do them , the deeper I can go , the more I realize and I go wow , there's so much more to this

than just I place my hands in this position , you know . Or there's so much more than , oh well , I just tap across the collarbone and I'm better now . Like it's just there's so much depth and just gold , gold in the practice . So , yeah , I would say that myself , myself , was my biggest , my biggest boundary .

You know it's a bippity , boppity boo , but it isn't . It's cumulative . It takes time and you may not see it right away , and it may be a year or two years later and something that maybe would have triggered you five years ago . You react a little softer to it yeah , absolutely .

In a sense I think it's cool like we actually produce like hurts from our hands , like super , super sick . But , um , he was , like you know , traditionally she recommended four to five sessions in a row , you know , because we wanted to be able to slowly peel back layers .

I love he said it's like a push pop , so like all that crud is sort of on the bottom , you pushing it up , so finally it exposes itself . And

I think this is like very common in a lot of like traditional asian health practices . But you might not feel something at first . Next session , all of a sudden you feel a little crummy . By the third or fourth , all of a sudden it's like , wow , everything's better .

It's this idea of like things might get worse before they get better because I have to sort of purge and get all that nastiness out and then I can tone it , then I can really put in this solid , beautiful , white , golden light energy , whatever you know , you see , um , but yeah , I get to , I get to really heal with this reiki at that point .

So I love that like reiki , like sort of does a combo deal in my opinion , like it's it's smoothing the energy out , it's sort of slowly sifting through all the bull crap and pulling that up while like continually healing you with goodness . It's like this both , and it's a dialectic , if you will .

I guess it's really beautiful right right practice , practice , practice , practice .

He actually has a picture of it , painted over the word reiki and putting that on there because she had to shift and change what was going on . You know . But you know we accredit her for keeping reiki going .

So yeah , that just shows you you know how you need to shift and change is a little bit as our out there being of service yeah so when it is time for you to get an energetic tune-up , what qualities do you look for in a reiki practitioner ?

Um , and again , I mean I think about , like from a western perspective , like the vagus nerve and mirror neurons , right , like if you , if someone walks into the room and they have some stuff going on and and no , not knocking them at all but I think that someone can feel that there's a resonance .

And so I look for a practitioner who can really separate , you know , when it's time to heal from their personal lives .

I think it's really , really , really important , because there was a point in time I could not do that , so my treatments were you know , when it's time to heal from their personal lives , I think it's really , really , really important , because there was a point in time I could not do that , so my treatments were not as effective .

And so I look for someone who is that still calm water , because I want my biggest nerve , I want my energy , I want my chakras , I want my , all my stuff , all the goodness right . I want it aligned and I want it to be smooth , like , like a placid lake you know , and so I think of someone like that .

But I also enjoy it Like , and I totally welcome like bubbly personality , like I'm I'm a goofball , so I want people to have good energy and , um , you know . But I look for someone who just takes care of themselves .

Um , when I think we take care of ourselves and again I'm , I'm , uh , definitely what's the word I'm looking for I guess I can say that there was a point in time , like I said , I didn't take care of myself , like I'm guilty of it . That's the phrase I was looking for .

I'm guilty of it not doing that and , at the same time , right coming back and doubling down , and so I just think someone who takes care of themselves is really , really important . Again , from my own experience , like not having taken care of myself and try to do these things .

So , yeah , someone who embodies the precepts , takes care of themselves , can be that sort of still water for me and , yeah , I would say that those are probably the things that I look for in a practitioner .

I personally enjoy more traditional treatments and , at the same time , like I've had it where my master that I'm still apprenticing under you know , um , because in this lineage , um , you know , he does acupuncture , so like he'll put . He'll put like a . He was like do you have a ? He was like read my pulse , he goes . Do you have a cold heart ?

I was like what ? I was like what are you talking about ? He's like do you have circulation issues , man ? I'm like , how did you even pick that up ? He's like , well , I got a man . He's like the Reiki told me , the energy told me . So he's like let me put a , an acupuncture needle in your arm here . You know I was like okay , cool .

So like you know , he's putting something in Shen Men and my heart line . And all of a sudden it's like this warm rush of heat and soothing to my heart . So I also welcome a combination of treatments as well . I think it's fascinating . I've only ever received one thing or the other , so when people can find things , I find it super fascinating too .

Definitely not knocking that . I definitely want to experience more of that . So I look for creativity too , I'd say , and a practitioner .

we talk about different ways that people bring in modality , that there really is no wrong way to do it as long as you have that intention , that it's your intention . That is what's important with that . So our next question we have for you is what advice would you give someone who's just entering spiritual work ?

Um , if you know that energy healing in general , or reiki or aerobatic medicine , or just tcm or acupuncture , reflexology or tweena or anything right like any of those healing modalities . If they are calling to you , I would say pursue it with your whole being . Like we get one of these bad boys , like these lives right .

And I want to chase things that are like a vocation for me , that really are just singing to my spirit , my heart , you know , make me feel accomplished and purposeful in my life , and so I would say , like get curious , stay curious , don't just get hung up on one thing .

But also to like collaborate right , like I think it's really hard to and I think I still struggle with this too like getting uh clients and things and getting people to sort of buy in and like don't be afraid to collaborate with somebody , like get a part of like a cohort almost right , and then it's like a community too , so like there's a communal aspect to

that . My teachers always said , like the most important three teachings are the Buddha , the Dharma and the Sangha . Right , like your inner Buddha , like the teachings themselves and then like the community . I think that can like the teachings themselves and then like the community .

Um , I think they consider a lot of spiritual based things , right , but community is so important , yeah , so if you're looking to get involved in the work , make , make friends , yeah , get your name out there .

Um , find a mentor , find somebody who has been in the field longer than you and you really resonate with I I see it a lot like in the different facebook groups that I'm a part of . It's just there's a lot of I was just talking to my wife about this the other day I feel like there's a lot of gatekeeping .

I feel like there's a lot of like these are my clients , these are my clients , and there's not a lot of sharing or referrals and maybe that's just my experience . I'm sure that there's places where that happens all the time , like referrals and things , but I feel like it's just like building a community is a really important part of that .

So that way you can get in , you can network , you can , you know people can say you know what ? Actually , I really know David . He's a really cool dude . You're going to jive with him . You actually , I really know David . He's a really cool dude . You're going to jive with him .

You might have jived with my treatment , but I guarantee you he's got this skill set and you're going to love that . So hit him up . Or you know , I have friends that you know . They definitely they network with different acupuncturists in Ann Arbor , ipsy and stuff in Michigan , and so they're sending clients back and forth and I think it's so cool .

So you know , yeah , make it a vocation , have fun , stay curious , collaborate , network , be friendly , get out there , share the wealth . I think that sharing is caring . And I think that even just sharing a couple of clients with somebody , even if it's just a couple of times , they really light their fire .

I think it's just find people that are going to keep you motivated , because it can be a burnout too . Again . Go back to taking care of yourself . That would be one more thing . If you're going to get involved in this stuff . Take care of you . Do it on you . Do your treatments , Do your qigong . Do whatever you do . Do it for you . Do your treatments .

Do your qigong do . Do whatever you do . Do it for you .

I went back to do those medications and things that were in the manuals to reset . It's okay to pause in your journey and say , Okay , you know what , I'm not taking anybody right now . I had somebody and I had to refer them . I'm like I just don't . I don't have it in my schedule right now .

Right , I don't think I'm my element where I can be of service . But here , here's one of my students . You're more than welcome to this , you can be of service to me . Here you go . If you want to wait for me , that's great , but it's okay to pause .

It's okay to go back and say , let me redo this , Let me work on myself , you know , and that's kind of where that ego is put to rest instead of I'm a master , I don't need to take steps back .

Just for today , just for today , absolutely , you know . I might have to sit there for a little bit . Yeah . But we're human right , we're having a human experience . Yeah .

I think they're really cool and I have read a couple , um , so yeah , I've only like read a couple reiki books , um , but again , you know , I think the ones I read were great , because again , I'm more , I guess , like clinical in my practice , anyways , like I want to know those things .

So like the original Reiki handbook , you know , of Dr Mikawa Usui , and then Hayashi's Reiki manual , and then the other one that I read was the Japanese Art of Reiki .

I think it's a friend , shaina , which I thought was really cool , his his interpretation of things like just really being about cultivation and peace and self healing and stuff like is like just really being about cultivation and peace and self-healing and stuff like , oh , dude , I was like preach , you know , because that's what I needed when I first came back and ,

uh , really , of course , what sung to me was the , the self-healing aspect of it you know , being able to do teate or hand allowance and put my hands on someone else and heal them , like that's cool , I love that . But for me , like I was like really just wow .

So if I put my hands like this , if I do this , if I'm like this , if I have like , I was like wow , you know .

So I love that and I love the clinical aspects that those other two books on the hi Ashi Ricky manual and the original handbook of dr you see the , the clinical aspects they bring to it as well , based on my background with social work and the vagus nerve it just those really resonated strongly with me . Yeah , yeah . Otherwise I've only read like a lot of .

I think the philosophies go together but like different , like Taoist texts or Buddhist texts

. I think the thing that got me really on this whole journey of East Asian kind of health practices originally was and I highly recommend this book for anyone actually who just wants to read it is by Osho and it was . I think it's called Encountering with Nothingness or it was like the Empty Bo with nothingness .

Um , so if you , just look at osho , look up osho and look up empty boat . Like it'll probably pop up , but definitely one of the most amazing books . I felt like he was talking around in circles , though , and I was like , oh , this is all too philosophical , this is too crazy .

Um , but it was such a good introduction to uh , that eastern philosophy , um and uh , just his interpretation of what you know . Shang tzu and lao tzu are trying to say uh in their writings . So , like I , I loved it . I was like , wow , this really broke it down for me . If I can be that still water , that empty boat , then I .

When I devoid myself of everything , then I'm full of everything , or it's like a conduit , and I was like oh man and it tied right into Reiki for me . I was like oh wait , what ? Like , let's go .

So that book too I guess I would also recommend , because I think that's a really great lesson , if not , if not even just for Reiki but just for like your own personal life , your own emotional regulation , your own relationships . So , yeah , all right so what other services do you offer ? Do you do classes ?

Yeah , yeah , so , um , I haven't stepped into like the whole like teaching role yet .

I'm like I'm not sure if I'm ready for that you know um , and reason being so , like my teacher michael , that I learned from original or um that my second mentor still my mentor to this day , like with kung fu and all those things , um , his school of thought from mr onishi when he learned this back like in the 70s from this gentleman , was um , you know ,

it was very much more about self-cultivation . It was like traditional , like shorinji monks from japan , and they were very in line with the shaolin , so shaolin , shorinji um , but a lot about cultivation , self-cultivation . So that's a little breaky . We never learned , we never had attunements . It was all about self-cultivation .

So we did a lot of kiko or qigong to cultivate that energy . So it was a very different kind of um reiki , if you will . There is hands-on healing in kiko . There's a couple different practices or a couple different schools of thought , but they have like brushing of meridians and things .

So you know , while it's not explicitly Reiki that part of it , the rest of what he taught us was and so I'm a master teacher in that lineage but I was like I don't know , it's just not . A lot of people are probably going to want to sit there and cultivate energy .

They sort of want to just have that lineage passed down kind of vibe yes , I'm tuning you into this frequency as opposed to I have to tune myself in and cultivate all this qigong and qigong . If people are into it , I'm willing to teach it .

And then in the other lineage , with Mr Anders , I'm only okuden in that , so I don't have the training in that regards to give an attunement as of yet . Hopefully , sooner rather than later , I'm really excited to continually apprentice under him . But so you know , that's the Reiki side of the house .

I can give a bomb treatment , but I don't want to teach as of yet , unless someone's willing to do the cultivation of energy and I could teach Kiko at that point , which is really fun and really really cool . Um definitely amplifies my reiki sessions . Um , I do teach qigong at lucky flow acupuncture . Um , that's in livonia , michigan .

So if any of you michiganders are listening , um , but livonia , michigan , uh , lucky flow acupuncture is thursday evenings and we're looking to expand that um to like a teacher program as well . So , like that way we can , we can sort of certify teachers and pass these arts on . So yeah , so I do teach Qigong as well .

And then with Phoenix Rising Mental Health Services , we're still rolling out this holistic programming . But you know I do ? I have done skills coaching for folks as it pertains to Qigong and Qico and how can that help them with their own emotional dysregulation , anxiety , sleep issues , eye strain , just general fatigue .

So you know , those are some other services that I definitely offer and then , hopefully in the future , I'm getting medical , medical qigong certified as well . So providing medical qigong therapy for folks as well would be really fun . Um , that's like probably within the next year , so hit me up in a year , uh , for that service specifically .

But yeah , so those are the other things I do currently in the holistic realm and that I really love to do for folks . Um , teaching qigong has been such a joy and just to see people you know heal and be like , oh , I slept so good or wow , I really felt the energy , like that was way , that was way cool .

And I'm like , bro , we're just on the surface , Like let me tell you , you know , but even the surface level practices , the basics right , are so foundational and so life changing you know so been really , really fun . I love doing it , but those are some of the other services that I offer and I currently do for folks .

It was all like hands-on , which I was like oh , hey , that's cool , but Mr Anders is very like no , this is very real and I've experienced it from . Hey , that's cool , but Mr Anders is very like no , this is very real and I've experienced it from . Like across the room , like it's super .

I was like you didn't even have your hands anywhere near me , bro , and he was like yes , that's the power , so probably like in the next couple of months or so . I would imagine I'm going to start offering things online as well . I didn't buy into it . For the longest time I was like that's the bunny foo-foo stuff , nope .

But then when I felt it for myself , I was like , oh wow , that's wild . Like my headache is gone and you never even touch me . So in the next couple months , absolutely Probably be offering things online for Reiki .

We're looking at creating an online platform as well for Lucky Flow Qigong , so that'll eventually be available and people are also just more than welcome . Just to hit me up as well , and I can definitely just do like , like a consultation with somebody . Like do you want to learn qigong ? Do you ? Do you want to learn some kiko ?

Like , do you want to learn some somatic practices to help with your nervous system that are , you know , they're steeped in and really come from traditional Asian health practices ? Like I got you , that's too easy . I would love to provide that for folks .

, um . And again , you know I operate the somatic skills coaching , qigong coaching through them that I could also probably do online through that , through that practice . Luckyflowcom is where I do . Luckyflow acupuncture is where I do the Qigong classes on Thursday evenings . Again , we'll be expanding that .

Or you can just call them too For those of you who are in Michigan sorry for those of you who are not we will expand it to Zoom eventually . I'm trying to talk into it , but that's 734-724-5867 is their number . Again , thursday nights 630 to like eight . Roughly , it's pretty fun , roughly , it's pretty fun , uh .

And then , uh , if you wanted to , you could reach out to me at my professional email , which is just d , and then my last name , roberts um , at phoenixrisingmhscom . Hold on just one sec , I apologize , um , but so d roberts at phoenixrisingcom . And then my personal email , droberts4317 at yahoocom . So those are all the ways to pretty much get a hold of me .

Please feel free to reach out to me . I would love to just spread all of the knowledge and train and teach and heal .

We can be very , um just almost bullheaded about some things , and I can say that because I am I can say it too , because I'm married to one but it's , it's , it's this truth , right ? so , um , you know , but we all come from different walks of life , um , it's a volunteer , it's all volunteer service , right ?

So you know , from all walks , and some people come in and they're very spiritual already , so they're very open to those conversations . Um , some people are more religious and so they're like oh , I'm gonna so you know , and then some people are just like I drink , like let's be real , like that's what that's their coping .

So when I you know , I pray that they change that . But that's like that dark army humor , right , they're like that's how I cope with my things . And so a lot of times I try to approach it from the viewpoint of the Western science attunement right or a somatic reset , um , or I'll say uh , it's teate , which opens up the conversation .

Well , what does teate mean ? Oh well , it's a hand allowance , it's a hand healing right and they're like you know , and that opens up . You know sometimes funny doors and you know goofy jokes , but it's a way in to then say yeah , and if you're interested , right like this could help with these things . It helps adjust your nervous system .

So you know , common issues for veterans are we can't sleep we're wired , um , you know , or we wake up periodically throughout the night , uh , every hour , or whatever it is right which leads to emotional dysregulation , anxiety , panic , like ptsd , stuff , right from , like what if they were at war ?

Or you know , just honestly , the military is enough to give anyone PTSD , sometimes regardless if you went to war . And so really , sort of capitalizing on those key points and saying this treatment that I can offer will help you to adjust or reset your nervous system so you can finally find rest . And if you don't believe me , then just try it .

Like what's the harm , truly , um , what's the worst that happens ? You , you know what , what's the best that happens ? You get the best healing of your life and what's the worst that happens , you , you know , just , I invested in my relaxation . That's pretty cool , you know , um ?

so even if I don't feel anything , at least I got to be able to relax , and so I keep it at sort of that more western clinical mindset when I talk to veterans about it , just because a lot of them that I've encountered don't really get the spiritual stuff or they go right back to that misconception that it's all woo , woo , fuzzy baloney and then it ruins my

credibility .

You know , I'm like , ah snap , I'm no longer clinician david who provides reiki , I am now just crazy reiki guy , and so you know , there there is sort of that juggling act , but I would say I always stick to calling it somatic resets and then eventually , when I , when I've warmed up to them , I will then tell them , um , that it is that yeah it's the same

thing with yoga too .

So , again , the school of Reiki that I really had originally learned from was more about cultivation practices , and so even with the cultivation , it's helped my own health and well-being , my own um , my own sort of wellness , and so when I'm practicing these kiko skills or these somatic resets and I'm relaxed , it allows , personally , I feel , energetically for a much

more open conduit , so there's much more energy that's able to flow , um , and so another thing that I think it sort of helps with too right is , um , I don't just do them for myself , I also offer them to my clients , and so the clients , you know , because I do them myself they usually experience a little bit more energetic flow , which is nice , um , and I

would say that whatever they usually come in for , or whatever I pick up on during session , I'm like oh you know I think you could use this , would you be open to it ? And then usually they're like , oh well , yeah , heck , yeah , man .

So I'll teach them a couple of different skills to help them regulate you know , their nervous system and really just honestly , keep the energy flowing between sessions . Right , I think it's very common that you know , if you have a consistent client , they might come once a week , and that'd be really really great .

Or they might come once a month , and so I want to give them things between sessions that's going to help improve their energetic flow and continue the process of healing . So the Kiko , you know , qigong or Yangshan , those little resets are great to give clients .

They're easy to do , they're quick , they're simple , efficient , they don't take more than 60 seconds and they're extremely effective . There are deeper protocols that are three to five minutes , and I would say this for clients that are really into this . So I always try to gauge it too . If it's a newer client , I'm going to give them something really simple .

If it's like a client that's continuous , or like one of my friends that I've been healing for a long time , then I'm like , okay , try this bad boy out , you know , and I'll go over that whole movement sequence with them and they're like Whoa . So it helps myself and it also helps amplify the energetic flow in general and keep them steady between sessions .

Number three can you share one particular technique that you recommend for individuals who are currently serving or who are retired from the military Sure ?

So when I was thinking about the skills to share because I have like a 40 page document like each one has like 10 skills on each sheet , so there's a lot right , and I'm still learning , you know , which is crazy but I picked out three that I thought were pretty dang good , and we've also taught some of these at Wayne State University for folks that are

struggling with things like anxiety , sleep , grief , which is again very common for veterans as well . Even if we don't know , we're grieving and it comes out as anger .

So the first technique that I'll do is I call it the typewriter or chest tapping , and I'll open my blouse just a little bit so you can see like underneath the collarbone here right , there's a couple of meridians that run vertically right , and so what I'll do is I'll take my opposite hand to that side , so I'm creating bilateral stimulation to sort of tone the

vagus nerve , and then I'll tap from the inside , underneath the collarbone of my chest out towards the shoulder , and when I hit where the chest and the shoulders sort of meet , I will then reset myself that's why I call it the typewriter and then I will continue to um , tap out , and so I can just do this , maybe 60 seconds or so , and this really , or I

can , you know , do it as much as you want , and then I might switch sides too and do it on the other side , but I would say that that one is really good for anxiety . It's really good for sleep . A lot of us get anxiety before sleep . Even so , it's something that not only could you do for veterans , you could do for yourself too , which is nice .

But I think it's an easy one , it's accessible and it's not too far-fetched , because I can pitch that as well vibration tones the vagus nerve Pressure , and touch tones the vagus nerve . It shifts us from sympathetic to parasympathetic . So , yeah , I would say that that is an easy skill . Um , and then I have two more . Is that okay , cool , awesome .

You know , for those of you who can see these things , um , if you're not listening to the podcast now you , you're watching it . So this next one is really fun .

This is actually from Hiko , so this is like it's almost like an extended kenyokuho or like the dry bathing Really neat , and it combines some elements of pikua in it Pikua , pikua , pikua-chan , or , you know , kung fu-chan .

So I will start by pressing the backs of my hands together , not super hard , just enough to where there's pressure , and I might breathe in like a couple times here , two or three , and then when I'm done I sort of let them fall to the sides , sort of really trying to feel for that drop , that gravity .

So there's a sense of embodiment here that's happening , and then I'll just come up and do my dry bathing One , two , three , one , two , three . At the end of the third I then breathe in and I pull the hands behind and then I breathe out and I push the hands out , creating a barrier .

So from the side , after I've created this barrier , I'll then breathe in and cross the hands in front of me , like this I'll then stand up , creating boundaries and space , and breathe out , breathing back in , then down , breathing out , then breathing back in , and I turn to the left , looking over my left shoulder , and I push the palm out , so I'm creating space

. If I was doing it this way , behind me and in front of me , then I come back to center and then I go to the right and I do the same thing . And I come back and I just settle , and so that is a little bit more of an involved skill .

That's something I might teach a veteran who is struggling with their boundaries and struggling with , you know , grief , releasing grief because , too , this pushing and stuff , this breathing , opens up the heart and lung space and the lungs hold on to grief , and so if I'm using this breath work and I'm pushing and extending , I extending , I'm releasing that as well .

Um , so that's number two . That's sort of like , again , super , you know , uh , I think you know super dry bathing in a sense , right , really creating that sacred space around me . Um , cause , also , we tend to struggle with our boundaries , as veterans too .

You know , keeping my boundaries and then also like not saying no to somebody , or , you know , always saying yes or always saying no , whatever the case might be , our relationships can suffer . So this one's really good for that too . It teaches a physical sense of what is a boundary you know , this is my space , this is safe for me .

So it's very grounded um . And then the last one is very simple . It's just um , I call it the karate chop , and we literally just knock the sides of the hands like 36 times Don't worry about counting , though , because that sort of puts you in beta brainwaves and that's like we're stressed anyways and so I just want to feel the vibration .

I want to be able to just notice the sensations in my body , and this one's really good for anxiety and overthinking , and I combine it with if I were to stand up and do this .

Once I'm finished that chop , I might bring the hands to the side and then I would breathe in , and then I physically touch my sternum and I guide the energy as I breathe out down and off of the hip , and I would do the same with the left hand down and off the hip . So there's a sense of and again , I might do that like eight to ten times .

It just depends on how much you want to really bring that energy down . When I'm guiding energy down , I'm grounding . When I'm raising energy like this , I'm getting hype right , so up that center line . So that's the practice . The third one I wanted to share . I think all three are really effective .

We've taught all three at Wayne State University and we've had great effects from it . We've had letters of effects from it . You know , we've had um letters of recommendation from , like , their assistant director .

He's like this these guys are , they're crazy , they're cool , so , um , really cool things to share with your clients who are struggling with even just normal trauma or anxiety , and then clients who are veterans , right um , and ? And we're going to have very similar um potential issues um that might not be had , might not have been resolved .

So yeah , so that's , that's all my um , my skills I wanted to share . I think I got a , I got a lot of mo ? Um and I'd love to share them . I would love to , uh , have people consult with me or have people just hit me up . As it's a small world and I'm trying just to network with anyone I can you know I love it . I love the work .

So please , if you have a gift , please help you know , please get out there , get passionate , get on fire about something and put your passion to the test . Ignore all the , as Arnold would say , ignore the naysayers .

Ignore them because there's going to be naysayers , there's going to be people who say this doesn't work and there's going to be people who say you're goofy and you're dumb or whatever else . Don't listen , don't let them get you down . Continue the good work . Continue to fight the good fight in the most peaceful and healing way beautiful .

If you would like your question featured on Ready Set Reiki , reach out wwwreadysetreikicom . I'm Tracy Seawright and this has been Ready Set rake in .