August 20, 2011

Reiki is a form of energy work (chi gong) that promotes balance among body mind and spirit, and is gradually spreading around the world as a powerful tool for relaxation. On July 21, the Peninsula Spa by ESPA at the Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong, announced that it will provide reiki treatments for $1000 HK ($128 US) per hour, “to activate the natural healing process to restore physical and emotional imbalances caused by the stresses of day-to-day life.”

For those interested in experiencing reiki first-hand for free in New York City, SPARK’s next free reiki event will take place in Manhattan on Saturday, September 10, 2011 from 11:00am to 3:00pm at the second annual Lower East Side/Chinatown Community Resource Fair in Sara D. Lawrence Park.

Hosted by the Pace University Community and Volunteer Mobilization (CVM) AmeriCorps, the event commemorates the 10th anniversary of September 11th, and is designed to help community residents connect with local organizations and agencies that provide local services.

Sara D. Lawrence Park is located at the intersection of Chrystie and Broome Streets reachable by taking the M15 bus to Allen Street and the M103 to Bowery. By subway, take the B, D to Grand Street or the F, J, Z to Delancey and Essex Streets.

The CVM AmeriCorps program was founded at Pace University in 2002 as a response to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. In the efforts to revitalize and rebuild the Chinatown and Lower East Side communities, the program provided services in the areas of adult ESL, computer education and public health.

In addition to the fair, as a special tribute to the 10th anniversary of September 11th, CVM AmeriCorps will also be organizing several small service projects in the nearby area and will be inviting community residents to participate.

This past Saturday, August 20, 2011, SPARK volunteer practitioners provided free reiki (chi gong) services in Manhattan’s Chinatown at the Annual Chinatown Family Health Day held in Confucius Plaza. Over 40 people received twenty or thirty-minute treatments over the four hours. What made this event so special was that six of the eight volunteers had attended SPARK’s February and June donation-only reiki workshops in Chinatown.

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.