October 30, 2010

Reiki is a form of energy work that promotes balance of body, mind and spirit and is becoming increasingly popular in the United States as a means of stress relief. A traditional reiki session involves the gentle placement of the practitioner’s hands on the body with either a very light touch or no touch at all depending on the preference of the recipient. The price of a one-hour reiki session can range anywhere from $40 to much, much more.

A free reiki program is now available outside of New York City in New Paltz, NY provided by Hudson Valley Community Reiki (HVCR). The staff at HVCR considers their service not as a class or a clinic, but as an opportunity for an individual to experience a reiki session for twenty minutes with an experienced practitioner. If you are new to reiki and want to try it for the first time, the staff will be able answer your reiki questions. Anyone is welcome to attend and sessions are provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Reiki events take place on the third Saturday of every month from 11:00am to 1:00pm. The next two scheduled Saturday events are November 20 and December 18 and will be held at the New Paltz Community Center, which is located at 3 Veterans Drive, behind the Town Hall off of Route 32. For more information, the contact number is (845) 616-1219 and the website is www.hvcreiki.org.

On Saturday, October 30, the HVCR group will also be providing free reiki from 10:00am to 1:00pm at SUNY Ulster's first Veterans Showcase on their Stone Ridge campus at 491 Cottekill Road. All veterans and their families and friends are welcome, as well as anyone else who would like to experience reiki.


Dave Gorczynski is president of SPARK, a non-profit organization that has provided free energy work sessions and workshops across New York City since 2002. He writes a regular column about energy work and meditation for the Compact News in New York City's Chinatown. E-mail him at dave@sparkenergy.org.