Mind and Body, Reiki Healing.
- Mar 30
- 5 min read
Written By: Jen Nolan, Oncology Nutrition Consultant, Reiki Master, BS, MS, ONC, TAP
Hands, Heart, and Healing.
Why Reiki found me and why I believe it can find you, too.
There are things that happen in your life that you can't explain with a chart, a blood panel, or a nutrition protocol. Things that land somewhere deeper than the body, in the space where grief lives, where fear hides, where hope quietly decides whether to stay or go.
Reiki found me in that space.
I came to Reiki because of my mom. And I am forever grateful.
My Mom, My Daughter, and Susan
When my mom was diagnosed with cancer, she turned toward healing in every form she could find. Art. Meditation. Traditional Chinese Medicine. She explored, she experimented, she stayed open. And somewhere along the way, Reiki found her. So much so, she became a Reiki Master, and I was lucky enough to learn and receive from her.
She is no longer here in the physical. But when I give Reiki, and when I receive it, I feel her. She is there as a guide, a presence, and a comfort. I don't need to explain that to anyone who has loved someone and lost them. You get it, I’m sure.
My own Reiki journey has been guided by Susan at Reiki Colorado, whom I trust and honor completely. Becoming a Reiki III practitioner is something I am genuinely proud of and love bringing into my work at Remission Nutrition and personal life every single day.
And then there is Ruby, my remarkable and intuitive daughter, who also trained with Susan. That she chose this path fills me up in ways I don't quite have words for. Some things you hope to share with your kids. This is one of them.
What it Means to Give Reiki
People ask me what it's like to be a Reiki practitioner. Honestly? It's one of the greatest honors of my life.
To work with someone's energy is a gift every single time. I get to witness people soften. Release. Transform. Process. It’s beautiful and powerful.
Here's something most people don't know: when you give Reiki, you also receive. A practitioner isn't the source of the energy. We're simply the conduit. We hold the space, we help set the intention, and we get out of the way. The energy moves through us as much as it moves to the person we're working with. It's incredible. If there is energy needing to move away that is stuck … we work that direction too.
I also work with crystals. Yes, we're going full woo-woo here! Crystals carry their own energy. I use them to help move what feels stuck, or to bring in specific frequencies like love, compassion, protection, and clarity. When I use crystals in a session, I always share with the client which ones I used and why. It often opens the most beautiful conversations. People light up. I love that.
What is Reiki?
Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is a Japanese healing practice developed in the early 20th century by Mikao Usui. The word combines two Japanese concepts: rei (universal) and ki (life force energy), the same energy known as qi in China and prana in India. Different name. Same ancient knowing.
The idea is simple: when life force energy flows freely, we heal more easily. When it's blocked by stress, grief, illness, fear, or trauma, we suffer. Reiki works to restore that flow. Not by adding something foreign. By supporting what the body already knows how to do.
During a session, a practitioner channels this energy through their hands, placed lightly on the body or hovering just above it. In a distance session, visualization takes over, and an imagining that the person is right there with me in the room.
What does it feel like? People describe warmth. A deep release. Tears they didn't see coming. Peace, they forgot they knew. Every person is different. Every session is different. That's part of what makes it so remarkable.
What it Can Help With
Stress and anxiety: Reiki activates the parasympathetic nervous system. It pulls you out of fight-or-flight and into genuine rest. Your body remembers how to do this. Sometimes it just needs permission.
Cancer-related fatigue and treatment side effects: Research increasingly supports Reiki as a complementary support during cancer treatment, with documented reductions in pain, nausea, anxiety, and fatigue. It belongs in integrative oncology care. Full stop.
Grief and emotional processing: Illness carries grief with it. Reiki doesn't bypass it. It creates space to move through it.
Sleep: Most people report sleeping deeply after a session. Some for the first time in months.
Reconnecting to your body: After a diagnosis, the body can feel like the enemy. Reiki is one of the gentlest ways I know to begin feeling at home in it again.
General well-being: You don't have to be in crisis for Reiki to matter. Every human being carries energy that benefits from this gentle work.
On Distance Reiki
Energy does not know time and space. I know this to be true, not because someone told me, but because I've felt it. I've given it. I've received it from a thousand miles away.
Distance Reiki works. The heart produces an electromagnetic field that extends well beyond the physical body. Scientists have been measuring the human biofield since the 1960s. We are not closed systems. We are not separate. And healing intention, focused, practiced, trained intention, has a massive reach.
For many of my clients, managing the realities of treatment schedules, fatigue, and geography, distance sessions offer a wonderful reprieve. And for me as a practitioner, they’re often even more powerful. I feel a stronger connection to the energy. There are no barriers to break through because the client is in their own space, comfortable without distraction.
"You lie down. You set an intention. You receive. That's it."
Why I Offer Reiki at Remission Nutrition
Because I have never believed that cancer is only a body problem to be solved and treated.
Food is medicine. I believe that fully. But the whole person is what heals. And the whole person needs tending.
When I sit with a client who is exhausted, or terrified, or grieving the life they had before their diagnosis — I want to offer them more than a nutrition plan. I want to offer them this.
You don't have to understand it to feel it. You just have to be willing to be still for a little while.
Join Me For a Birthday Reiki Session- April 14th
On my birthday, I want to do what I love most: share healing. I'm hosting a group distance Reiki session on April 14th, and I would be so honored to have you there. Whether you've experienced Reiki before or you're completely new to it, you are welcome here. Oh, and remember that bad ass daughter I mentioned? She’ll be there too…working beside me as we give and receive Reiki together. Join us!
All you need is a quiet place to lie down and an open heart.
With love, Jen
Research references: Key studies include work published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (2025), the Oncology Nursing Society (2019), and peer-reviewed systematic reviews on Reiki for pain and anxiety published via the National Institutes of Health. Full citations available upon request.
