Laura Smith from Reiki Coaching Therapy highlights some of the therapies she offers and describes how she works with her clients.
How does the word ‘change’ resonate with you and what importance does it play in our lives?
As a Health and Wellness coach, change is something that I am passionate about. For me, and many others, change triggers a reaction of fear. I think for the majority of people in the Western world, we are very happy in the comfort zone where we feel cozy, safe and secure, and so the thought of change can resonate fear. However, where there is fear, there is excitement – these are two emotions which are hard to separate.
Change is important because if we don’t feel fear and we stay in our little bubble, then ultimately what can happen is that boredom sets in. All sorts of emotions can then come into play: regret for not having made the change, resentment towards yourself and/or others…
Change is incredibly important within our lives. Change is never easy and is not meant to be comfortable. We should focus on the positive result of change – what will the benefits be, where am I going and what is that going to give me? If the answers to these questions are positive, then the change should be made regardless of how uncomfortable it is.
What therapies are available to your clients?
I do all sorts of Holistic therapies that are tailor made to whatever my clients needs may be. These can include deep tissue or sports massage with a little Reiki, Reiki for cancer patients, reflexology for fertility, and of course my life coaching.
Life coaching, I would say, comes in two different forms. Classic life coaching is change-based which is more about motivation, inspiration and supporting and guiding the client to take action on reaching their goals. The other part of life coaching, which is more about change therapy, looks at limiting beliefs and childhood trauma that triggers memories and behaviors.
I also teach Reiki and Yoga and I plan to start retreats and events here in Scotland and abroad. I have my first retreat coming up shortly.
In conclusion, there is a certain amount of spirituality within all the treatments that I offer my clients.
In your opinion, why do we ‘lose our way’ or ‘lose control’ of our lives and why is it so prevalent in these modern times?
In Western society, we lead incredibly busy lives which tend to be ruled by the ego. We all strive to be more, to do more and to have more and this can create a lot of stress and unnecessary anxiety.
It is quite easy to lose our way and forget what we were trying to achieve in the first place. For a lot of us, we no longer take the time to sit back, relax and practice self-reflection. Self-reflection is a hugely important part of anybody’s healing journey because we can not change what we are not aware of. We lose sense of all direction.
We need to slow down and integrate self-reflection into our lives so as to find our purpose. This will bring clarity to direction, help define our values and will bring more peace into our lives.
Do you believe that reducing stress levels is the first step towards living a healthier, more fulfilling life?
I do but I believe stress will always be present. Life for us humans will always be filled with challenges and obstacles but it is how we respond to that stress and how long it carries on for. A little bit of stress can sometimes be healthy and exciting but it is something that can not be maintained for an extended period of time. What is important is flipping that stress around and restoring peace back into our life.
Do you always focus on mind, body and spirit while working with clients, even if life coaching?
Always. I always do an intake session with my clients where I take about half an hour to chat to someone before embarking on a professional journey with them. We then both decide if we are going to work together as I might not be a match for someone who doesn’t have any spiritual beliefs, for example.
