I’ve lived and worked in the Hunter Valley for nearly 20 years, working in various roles in the retail and disability sectors. Holding Joy was started as a way for me to help others with Reiki sessions and training,  and hopefully move towards bringing my life into better alignment with work life balance and purpose.

When I began practicing Reiki quite a few years ago, my initial focus was helping others with the physical aspects of pain relief, mostly migraines, and trouble sleeping. My Reiki practice has evolved over the years to include more spiritual practices as I’ve deepened my spiritual connection through taking part in womens circles, meditations, and helping to teach reiki classes.  Recent sessions I’ve done have not only helped with pain management, but also included energy clearing and unexpected connections. No two sessions are the same, just as no two Reiki Practitioners are the same.

While working in the disability sector, some support workers were helping to offer the best support during end of life care. The dedication and care provided by those staff inspired me to start Death Doula training with Life Options I could see that having someone to provide extra support like reiki sessions and meditation helped the person, as well as their friends and family during an often difficult and emotional time.

My background in the disability sector gave me an understanding of person centered support, reinforcing the need to treat everyone with respect, dignity, and agency.

Within the last few years, after getting my own ADHD diagnosis, I’ve spent a lot of time learning about myself and realising that there’s so many of us that don’t fit the rigid expectations of society, and that if more of us followed our own paths, we can work in our own way to make things better, for ourselves and for each other.