Reiki and TTouch with Eliza: Listening, Feeling, Building Trust

I was called to work with Eliza because she is beginning to show imbalance in her kidney function.

Reiki can help the body to remain in optimum balance, can help to stimulate the appetite, and can promote a general sense of well-being.  So it is affecting the body both physically and emotionally.  TTouch can also help in a similar way, though it is a different approach.  With a kidney imbalance, I most often primarily focus on Reiki, but I usually bring some TTouch into the session as well.

Eliza is a beautiful black cat with lovely green eyes.  She is very sweet, and she and her person Randie have an amazing bond - they are so connected with each other. 

Eliza is wary of strangers -- Randie said she has some feralness in her -- so I wanted to approach her particularly gently and gradually.  At the first appointment, she was in the closet.  This was actually completely fine for our session.  Reiki does not have to be hands-on to be effective, and particularly for cats it is often best to do it at least a bit hands-off, especially at first, unless the cat guides you to putting your hands on.  Cats are extremely sensitive beings, and the energy can be too intense for them if you have your hands too close.

I sat outside of the closet, offering Reiki to her, telling her silently that she need only take as much or as little as she wanted.  At first her eyes were very big and scared, but they started to relax as I continued with the session.

Each session, Eliza has become a little more comfortable with me.  At first she was remaining in the closet or under the bed for the session, but little by little she began coming out from the hiding place.  Sometimes it was just to go get some food or water from the kitchen, but then she started to be comfortable staying out for at least part of the session.  Randie is usually at her desk, so Eliza will often go to sit down near her chair and get a few pets from Eliza.  This is a safe place for her, so I decided to see if I might touch her as well, or at least move a little closer and have her sniff my hand etc.  Initially I just sat near her, still sending Reiki from a short distance away, but once she became more comfortable I had her sniff the back of my hand and just did a stroke or two with the back of my hand.  Initially she was a bit scared of this, but one day she actually started leaning into my hand a bit, so I was able to do some TTouches using the back of my hand (this is a more gentle feeling than using the front surface of the hand).  I have found that slow zigzag TTouches, which help to connect the body, are helpful for her (she has some arthritis as well).  I have found that llama TTouches, which use the back of the hand, are also comforting for her.  After becoming comfortable with the llama TTouch, now she is comfortable with the lying llama and abalone TTouches (which use the front of the hand).  I do these TTouches using the "snail's tail" at the end, which give an extra release. You do the regular clockwise circle and a quarter of a regular TTouch, pause, and then release counterclockwise for a quarter of a circle. Below are two demos. For the Lying Llama TTouch, I am actually seeing that my fingers look a bit stiff here.  Remember to keep your fingers feeling soft and flexible, even if they are not moving a lot.  For more, please have a look at my youtube channel, http://youtube.com/sarahsuricat.

Eliza also enjoys contact around the sides of her face and under the chin, so I often will offer my hand and let her rub into it as much as she is comfortable doing.  It is so important for the cat to feel that you are not forcing anything on them.

I generally will do TTouch with her for a short while, as I don't want to overwhelm her.  Then I resume the Reiki session, sitting near her and offering the Reiki with my palms upturned, rather than placing on the body.

That is, until the session two weeks ago...

It was getting near the end of our session, and Eliza had settled in several different places during the course of the session, which is quite normal.  She was laying on a table and I was sitting nearby.  I had been doing some TTouches with her, and at one point I just held one of my hands very still, offering Reiki (actually, I think the Reiki is flowing the whole time through my fingers, just more consciously so when my hands are still).  I felt her settling into the warmth of the energy, and felt the energy being absorbed by her.  I decided to stay with my hand there for a while.  We remained very still and she continued to settle into the energy.  My hand felt as though it was glued there, feeling her absorbing the energy on a deeper and deeper level.

After we finished, I thanked her, as I always do, but this time, it felt like an even greater honor than usual, as though we had gone to another level with trust with each other.

I saw Eliza this past weekend, and when I came in, she was out on the bed, and very cozy there.  I very quietly sat down near her.  I had recently completed Level I of Healing Touch for Animals, a form of energy work with a more clinical approach to it.  I was eager to give it a try with Eliza.

Shortly after I sat down on the bed with Eliza, she moved so she was actually closer to me, right next to me.  I began to do some TTouch to initiate contact, and with some zigzag TTouches discovered that Eliza was emitting a lot of heat from her lower back, which makes sense, as she has some arthritis in the base of her tail, as well as having the kidney issues (corresponding chakra is in this area).  It was clear that area was too sensitive at this time to be directly touched.  I began the HTA Chakra Balancing process, though I did it with my hands off, so she would feel comfortable.  She completely relaxed into it.  It was lovely to be sitting right beside her for this whole process, and that she had wanted to be closer to me from the beginning of the appointment.  Each time I moved my hands towards a different area, she relaxed more into it.  When I began working near the front legs, she stretched them out.  And at the moments when I was working on the two shoulders and later the two hips, I really felt her absorbing the energy.  So hopefully this will help her be a bit more comfortable walking.  Randie had said she had noticed her walking a bit more gingerly lately.

When I was done with the Chakra Balancing, she went to get a treat from Randie, and then briefly settled again, laying on her side for a bit of Reiki, just having a peaceful connection with her for the last moments of the session.

As an animal gets to know and trust me, I feel them absorbing the energy on a deeper and deeper level, and they often are more comfortable with closer or more direct contact, which is so sweet to feel.  

Thank you Eliza!  It is a pleasure working with you and feeling a closer connection every time.  I look forward to our next session!  xxoo

Reiki with Chloe: Coming into her Own

Chloe is a beautiful, graceful, gentle cat.  I first came to know her because I was working with her brother Max, and as time progressed, I began to work with her as well, as she has kidney issues, as well as a mass that is close to her bladder.  Thankfully, at the moment her appetite and energy is good, so she seems to be in a stable holding pattern.

Sadly, her brother Max passed away in March, after battling a number of health issues.  Max was a brave, strong soul - his wonderful people (Debbie and Jonathan) did everything they could to help him, and I know he remained on the earth as long as he could for his people.  I am honored to have worked with him and to have known him - he was such a unique and delightful personality, and truly a warrior.

Though Chloe often appeared irritated by Max, there was still a bond there, and it has been an adjustment for her after his passing.  He was a huge presence, even when he was ill.  I know that she, as well as, of course, her people, felt the empty space that was left when he left the earth.  I felt it as well, even though his spirit is still very much around, and I have seen it/felt it a number of times during the Reiki sessions with Chloe after his passing.

Over the weeks, Chloe does seem to be adjusting though, and really coming into her own.  She seems to be getting more confident, as well as more affectionate, every time that I see her.  And with that trust, as often happens, it feels like the Reiki goes to a deeper and deeper place. It often is a very trancelike state in the midst of the session, like being in a dream although you are awake, and I can see and feel waves of energy as they move in between us.  I have also been able to do more hands-on TTouch with her, as she is much more comfortable with direct contact, and seeks it from me.

And Chloe has also started to do a few things that Max used to do.  One of them is leading people to where she wants to go, by walking a bit, looking back to see if you are following her, etc.

Every once in a while she will sit up very straight and look you straight in the eye, which is something Max also used to do.  There is also a quiet sense of humor which seems to have been coming forward more and more, which is delightful to see.

One of our recent sessions was particularly powerful.  Chloe let me into the bedroom, which was cool, as the air conditioner was going in there.  Chloe seems to be a cat who prefers cool places.

She wanted to stay on the bed the whole time.  From time to time she slightly shifted her position, getting closer til she laid into my hands.  I always start with my hands slightly off her body, and let her guide me as to how much direct contact she is comfortable with.

I felt my hands guided to a place on her lower back, which makes sense considering where her issues are.  During this session, Chloe was comfortable with my hands directly on her body.  I felt my energy merging with hers like my hands being pulled inside of her body. Her feet were touching my hands and my arms, and I felt energy going back and forth there as well. I felt the energy going thru my hands into her like light, as I was visualizing her being healed, and her mass going away. At some point in the session, I though I saw a glimpse of Max, as though he peeked around a corner at us. 

As I continued, my energy merged with Chloe's, like my fingers going inside her body, energy going deeper and deeper.  She didn't want me to stop, and I went on longer than usual.  And as I have felt with other animals, I felt like I was experiencing her true self, her spirit, which is so much larger than her body.

When I finally did end the session, I felt that she was a little sad, but I didn't want to overwhelm her, as the session had been so powerful.  I quietly ended the session, thanked her and left the room. 

A few minutes later, as I was speaking to Jonathan in another room, Chloe quietly came in, as though she wanted a few pets before I said goodbye. 

Thank you Chloe, it is a pleasure and honor working with you (and your people), and I look forward to our continued work together.  And thank you for reminding me of the power of that quiet connection.  When one is truly inside of that moment with an animal, when nothing else exists, that is when the most powerful experiences are able to occur.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Cody

 

Cody has been at BARC Shelter a very long time, he is one of the animals who lives there, running loose in the cat loft, and he is very well-loved.  He is an older cat, and has been through a lot during his life – he lost an eye and had his ear mangled by a pit bull, and now in his advanced age he has kidney issues.  But he is a trooper, and a character – he definitely has a humorous side to him.  If he is resting on top of a cage, he may want to use your shoulders to help him to get down!

He is a rather quiet, yet powerful presence - a kind overseer. 

I have been spending more time with him lately, as I feel that Reiki is so helpful for cats with kidney problems.  And of course, I feel a great deal of love for this dear pirate cat (that’s how he feels to me, a weathered pirate with a sense of humor).  He is a very loving cat, and readily will come onto your lap.

Cody often rests on top of a table, where I will sit with him for Reiki, or if he's in the mood to come in my lap, we do that.  Sometimes my hands are directly on him, sometimes not, whatever feels right.  Often my hands are slightly off him as the energy feels too powerful to have direct connection.



 

It feels such an honor to connect and work with any animal, but it is a special type of honor to connect with a cat who has had many years of existence, and you feel in the energy connection with them something about all that experience.  It is not possible to put it into words, but it feels like tapping into a quiet wisdom that exists inside of the cat.  I feel the years of that experience somehow traveling into me, not in specific thoughts but somehow energetically.  The energy passes back and forth between us. 

I treasure these moments, and am grateful, too, for all the love and care that Cody and all the other animals receive from those at BARC.  It is a special place!! xo