Touched by angels
Words: Suzanne McNamara
Photography:
Suzanne McNamara experiences the Radiance and Resonance package at The Healing Room; a soul-nourishing, dual practitioner experience that combines the ancient art of Gua Sha with the intuitive healing of Reiki.
I am trying hard to stay awake, but my deeply relaxed state gets the better of me. I drift off and then let out an embarrassing snort, enough to startle me into wakefulness, but seconds later, I slide back into the calm and drift. Is it sleep or a serene retreat?
The Healing Room has a cocoon vibe, deep green walls, lit candles, and a smell of the natural world from the botanical oils. I am swaddled on a beauty bed, while Jess Pearson and Iris Bellve work their magic on me. And it's not magic in the metaphorical sense. This is the real deal. They are both masters of Reiki and are channelling healing energy throughout the chakras (energy centres) in my body.
I'm blissfully unaware of everything; my well-being is firmly in their gentle hands. Iris's soft hands provide a soothing facial treatment. She is a beautician as well as a Reiki master and Tarot card reader. Iris says the combination of skills came from following her different passions during her career path, and she merges them all together. "That's what The Healing Room is; we're not just doing beauty or healing, we're bringing all the spiritual aspects together with wellness and skin care".
Oasis Blends, an exclusive range of botanical oils and skincare for The Healing Room, is used in my facial treatment. It's a small-batch, high-quality, minimal-ingredient skincare, and the fragrance wafts up through my nostrils, creating a further sense of bliss. Iris uses a Gua Sha stone, which is a traditional Chinese medicine tool that supports the flow of Qi, blood, and fluids throughout the body.
While the beauty treatment is underway, Jess Pearson conducts a sound bath, where sound is used to transport me into a dream- like state. Using bowls and chimes, Jess creates an intense, harmonious sound. It takes me to another place - like a meditation, but where I am bathed in sound. Even though it's loud and vibrating, I am so deeply relaxed that it feels like I am asleep. My touch, hearing, and smell senses feel stimulated and conversely soothed at the same time.
The Healing Room is Jess and Iris's collaboration, where Reiki lies at the heart of what they do. Jess explains how Reiki works: "We channel through from the Reiki source, the energy comes through the crown and it filters out the heart and then through our hands. So that's why it feels nice to receive hands-on Reiki healing, but you don't need to be touched during a Reiki healing. You can get the practitioners to just hover across the body."
I opt for the touch, and it is gentle, barely there. I might have even been asleep while it was happening. I'm in the middle of moving and renovating; fight-or-flight mode has been activated over the last few months. Jess picks up on this and explains at the end of the treatment over tea and chocolate. "During the session, we worked to gently re-anchor your energy, allowing the Root Chakra to find balance. There was a feeling of shifting from uncertainty into trust, as I saw a lush, green New Zealand rainforest towards the end of your healing".
They both have clairvoyant abilities and explained what they could see and sense during my session. Iris observed some light leaking out of my Solar Plexus Chakra, indicating my energy pulled in many directions. Moving house will do that. Jess's observation was a feeling of shifting from uncertainty into trust. Months of travel and being without a home could explain that. After six months of being a nomad, I am keen to ground myself in one spot and unpack the storage unit.
To finish the session, they each pull an Oracle card for me. It's the last piece of magic for my visit, and it's a fun way to end the session. They read and interpret the cards and explain the cards' messages to me. This is further detailed in the follow-up email I received the next day, with a written session summary.
As I bid goodbye to the two angels, I feel grateful for the powerful healing energy they have bestowed on me.
I am trying hard to stay awake, but my deeply relaxed state gets the better of me. I drift off and then let out an embarrassing snort, enough to startle me into wakefulness, but seconds later, I slide back into the calm and drift. Is it sleep or a serene retreat?
The Healing Room has a cocoon vibe, deep green walls, lit candles, and a smell of the natural world from the botanical oils. I am swaddled on a beauty bed, while Jess Pearson and Iris Bellve work their magic on me. And it's not magic in the metaphorical sense. This is the real deal. They are both masters of Reiki and are channelling healing energy throughout the chakras (energy centres) in my body.
I'm blissfully unaware of everything; my well-being is firmly in their gentle hands. Iris's soft hands provide a soothing facial treatment. She is a beautician as well as a Reiki master and Tarot card reader. Iris says the combination of skills came from following her different passions during her career path, and she merges them all together. "That's what The Healing Room is; we're not just doing beauty or healing, we're bringing all the spiritual aspects together with wellness and skin care".
Oasis Blends, an exclusive range of botanical oils and skincare for The Healing Room, is used in my facial treatment. It's a small-batch, high-quality, minimal-ingredient skincare, and the fragrance wafts up through my nostrils, creating a further sense of bliss. Iris uses a Gua Sha stone, which is a traditional Chinese medicine tool that supports the flow of Qi, blood, and fluids throughout the body.
While the beauty treatment is underway, Jess Pearson conducts a sound bath, where sound is used to transport me into a dream- like state. Using bowls and chimes, Jess creates an intense, harmonious sound. It takes me to another place - like a meditation, but where I am bathed in sound. Even though it's loud and vibrating, I am so deeply relaxed that it feels like I am asleep. My touch, hearing, and smell senses feel stimulated and conversely soothed at the same time.
The Healing Room is Jess and Iris's collaboration, where Reiki lies at the heart of what they do. Jess explains how Reiki works: "We channel through from the Reiki source, the energy comes through the crown and it filters out the heart and then through our hands. So that's why it feels nice to receive hands-on Reiki healing, but you don't need to be touched during a Reiki healing. You can get the practitioners to just hover across the body."
I opt for the touch, and it is gentle, barely there. I might have even been asleep while it was happening. I'm in the middle of moving and renovating; fight-or-flight mode has been activated over the last few months. Jess picks up on this and explains at the end of the treatment over tea and chocolate. "During the session, we worked to gently re-anchor your energy, allowing the Root Chakra to find balance. There was a feeling of shifting from uncertainty into trust, as I saw a lush, green New Zealand rainforest towards the end of your healing".
They both have clairvoyant abilities and explained what they could see and sense during my session. Iris observed some light leaking out of my Solar Plexus Chakra, indicating my energy pulled in many directions. Moving house will do that. Jess's observation was a feeling of shifting from uncertainty into trust. Months of travel and being without a home could explain that. After six months of being a nomad, I am keen to ground myself in one spot and unpack the storage unit.
To finish the session, they each pull an Oracle card for me. It's the last piece of magic for my visit, and it's a fun way to end the session. They read and interpret the cards and explain the cards' messages to me. This is further detailed in the follow-up email I received the next day, with a written session summary.
As I bid goodbye to the two angels, I feel grateful for the powerful healing energy they have bestowed on me.