Interview With Reiki Master Jo Lewins.
{Photo credit: Joanna Lewins}
“When one is attuned into the Reiki lineage, it’s like receiving a beautiful blessing from above, and is done as a short and sacred ritual that stays with you for life. It really is a gift. To be able to tune into this infinite source, to be able to give yourself hands on healing, is truly one of the greatest things you can do for yourself. It allows you to open up as a channel to receive the light to move through you, and ignites your soul. When you work with your energy body, you’re tapping in on a cellular level, that also influences your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies, so it’s all encompassing and connected. It doesn’t take much to have a deeply powerful experience. Yummy, right?” ~ Joanna Lewins, Reiki Master Teacher
Jo Lewins is a British-born Reiki Master Teacher, water healing therapist, and yoga teacher who has bundles of knowledge on crystal healing, massage and shamanic journeying among other talents.
We discussed with Jo, a multifaceted and gentle soul with a deep resonance to Reiki, about her passions, projects and how Reiki and energy healing transformed her life.
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KN: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
JL: What I know for sure is that I’ve had a calling, since childhood, to work in healing and wellness. Even during my London days working as an Art Director, I was always on a course related to healing. After living between Bali and Ibiza the last five years, I decided to base myself in Ibiza, which I really consider to be my spiritual home. Now, I predominantly work as a Reiki Teacher, sharing 1:1 sessions, workshops and training across Europe and online. My passion is to share with anyone that is open to receiving, to bring light into the world, and to offer safe spaces to those that need it. I also love music, adventures, water, and dance!
KN: What exactly is Reiki?
JL: Reiki is a form of hands-on energy healing. Its name roughly translates to Universal Life Force Energy, and although there are a few different lineages, they should all link back to where it originated, within the Japanese lineage, with Usui.
KN: How did Reiki come into your life? Tell us about your journey of becoming a Reiki Master Teacher.
JL: It’s a long story, so I’ll do my best to keep it brief. I was looking into alternative therapies whilst in London, to heal a disease in my body. Reiki came up, and I was immediately drawn to it and got attuned to Levels One and Two straight away. The self-healing journey I then went through was so profound, my life did a complete 180, and everything shifted for me, including healing the disease. After working on myself for about three years, I felt ready to study with a Master, whom I worked with for several months. Again, my life shifted beyond my own imagination in many ways. I never wanted to teach. However, after another year, I felt it was time to share this beautiful offering. It’s been nearly three years of teaching now, and the journey with others and with self continues.
KN: What is the most rewarding part of your passion?
JL: Being able to hold a safe and sacred space to allow for the receivers to go on their own healing journeys. The most rewarding part is when I get to observe their transformations beyond our time together. I don’t like to call myself a Healer. I’m just working as a Channel, facilitating the space for each individual to come back into their hearts and to remember who they came here to be.
KN: As a Reiki teacher and practitioner, you work shamanically, can you tell us a little more about that and what that entails?
JL: Bringing in shamanic elements, for me, is about taking the receiver on a deeper journey, by working with the Spirit realms. I invite all of my guides, masters and ancestors to join us in the space. It may sound crazy, but I have a team of allies that I work with and they assist me. I also use sound. Everything is energy, and a vibration, so sound creates a shift in the space. A medicine drum, rattles, chimes, singing bowls, and music, all enhance the journey and tune in with the chakras that are spinning. I also use crystals to heighten the clearing and healing. And burn sacred smoke to clear and cleanse the aura and spirit.
When I work with clients, I take a very holistic approach to my work, and so you won’t be receiving just Reiki alone, rather a more in-depth method that could bring great awareness and deeper healing than other traditional methods.
KN: Why do you call it Shamanic Reiki?
JL: I’m not teaching you something you don’t already know. It’s innate in you, you’re just remembering. It’s my honor to share space with those that feel the call to receive.
At the heart of my work is true soul medicine. My desire is to connect you back with your true essence, to guide you to be in full acceptance of everything and everyone, to bring you into the present moment, and to bring deep awareness to yourself. This isn’t about healing other people, it’s about being a source of inspiration for others, and to be of service by being in a vibration of joy. It’s a journey in becoming the empowered master. Living in truth, authenticity and unconditional love for all. The transformations that I have witnessed in students and clients is beyond what I could have ever imagined, and it continues to fill me with joy and amazement as we rise together.
Why I call it Shamanic Reiki? As Don Jose Ruiz states, “Shamanism encourages you to find your own truth, to follow your own heart, and to see that the answers you seek are already inside of you.” My teachings are about empowering you to find that wisdom within yourself and to give you the tools to connect deeply, very simply, yet powerfully. We are also sharing the space with many guardians of light, ancestors and angelic beings who are assisting your individual processes. We connect to my Native American tribe, the upper world, the underworld and our middle world. Harmonizing with Nature, realizing that nothing is separate, allowing your inner world to guide you, and following on from your ancestors who guided you here. We connect to the elements, the animal spirits, dream space and deep listening, so that we can remember and then follow the path of the awakening heart.
This is more than Reiki, this is elemental embodiment, energy medicine, transformation and evolution. A daily practice of awareness.
Level One is predominantly about self-healing and the foundation teachings of the Reiki lineage. You will receive an attunement into the lineage, learn techniques on how to work with Reiki Energy, and how you can improve all areas of your life, not just energetically, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, through the method of self-healing and self awareness.
Level Two is about becoming a practitioner of Reiki so that you can start to share with clients in a professional way. The teachings deepen with the use of sacred symbols and the use of other elements that will enhance your clients’ experience. Some students choose this level simply for themselves and their own practice, you don’t have to share with others if you don’t feel the call.
KN: You also offer Water Dance Healing called Watsu. What is it, and how did you become a practitioner of this?
JL: Water healing, alongside Reiki, is one of the most profound healing modalities I have ever received and given. As soon as I saw it for the first time at Bali Spirit Festival in 2016, I got shivers all over with a full-body Yes to that. I stayed in Bali until I found a teacher to train with. I have been training with incredible teachers and sharing for the last three years in Bali and Ibiza. I really would love to create a water temple one day for all to experience this.
Water therapy/Watsu/Wataflow/Water healing dance are all forms of healing in the water, in which the giver holds the receiver, weightless, and glides them through the water. Sometimes head above the water, and if you’re ready, under the water too, which is a whole other world. As I’ve shared, it’s one of the most healing and transformative therapies I’ve had the pleasure of receiving and giving. Why? Well, when was the last time you were held, so unconditionally, and weightless in the water? Probably in your mother’s womb, right?
Created initially for those who struggled with mobility and required healing through more mechanical movements in the water, this modality has molded and shaped into many other variations over the last few years. Further styles have become more of a dance, a flow, between giver and receiver, as they almost merge as one in the water. Mostly done in warm, natural water pools, and also, the sea. Now, that’s a whole other world. Held and supported by the femininity of the sacred waters.
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KN: Have you had any unusual but beautiful experiences when giving Reiki or an Attunement?
JL: Absolutely, and every session is unique in its own way. Although, I wouldn’t say unusual, rather exactly what needed to happen. To me, it’s all beautiful. When doing group attunements, the receivers have had deep journeys, sometimes out-of-body experiences, and have felt guides and angels in the space with us. That’s pure magic to me.
KN: What advice would you give to someone starting out on the path of Reiki practitioner (and possibly teacher) one day?
JL: I believe that Reiki finds you when you’re ready. So notice if it’s coming into your life, and how. If it stirs something within you, trust it, and follow the call. It’s quite simple: if it resonates, then go for it. And most importantly, find a teacher who really feels good for you. The energy has to feel good and in harmony.
KN: Do you recommend any Reiki-related books that you enjoyed?
JL: There are so many. Without a doubt, my most favorite book is Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss. She’s amazing, and I really should be on commission with her, as I’ve recommended her book to hundreds of people.
KN: Tell us a bit about upcoming and future projects.
JL: Most of my teachings are shared in London, Amsterdam and Ibiza, with the odd trip to Bali or workshops in other parts of Europe too. All future dates are on my site. I also do 1:1 training online for those who are far away.
I hosted a beautiful retreat in Ibiza last October with a dear sister of mine, entitled Sol & Tonic. We offered so many beautiful things, such as daily yoga and meditation practice, sound healing, Reiki, breathwork, cacao ceremony and optional day excursions and activities around the stunning island of Ibiza. We hope to host a retreat together, so let’s see how that unfolds.
My next retreat entitled Inner Wisdom will be held from June 27th to July 4th. I will create a safe and sacred space for you to receive, heal and be. This retreat is to empower you to find your own internal compass and the wisdom that lies within you. We will dive deep into the seven chakras, the seven elements, over seven days.
777 represents our connection to the Divine, and is a sign of internal wisdom.
The retreat will include Shamanic Reiki, Kundalini, conscious movement, singing, and various other practices to connect in.
Writing a book is also a dream I am manifesting. It’s something I’ve been working on for years, it’s in process, so one day!
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Magic is within, and all around us. Joanna shows us, through the practice of Reiki, how to be open and connect with this magic, and also how to make use of it for us to heal so we may bloom. Jo truly is a magnificent soul and a guiding light to all who meet her.
If you wish to learn more or attend Joanna’s teachings or retreats, please connect with her via her website, Instagram or Facebook.
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Katie Ness is an Ayurvedic Yoga teacher for all ages, Reiki teacher, Women’s Circle facilitator, belly dancer and artist from the UK. As a traveling yogini, she has visited over 20 countries and hopes to facilitate international Yoga and Sacred Feminine retreats in the near future. She spends her free time illustrating in her nature journal, reading an absurd amount of books, playing with her tarot cards, or crafting dream-catchers. At present, she is studying herbalism, floral design and botanical illustration. She can be found practicing yoga and writing poetry in woodlands and by the sea. You could contact Katie via Instagram.
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