A piece of Reiki history: Hawayo Takata's Hilo clinic

Article and photos by Cymber Lily Conn

Visiting Reiki's Beginnings in Hawaii: Mrs. Takata in Hilo, 1939-1950

Dr. Robert Klein in front of Mrs. Takata's sign. The smaller sign below shows the text in a more readable format.



The classified ad Mrs. Takata ran on March 3, 1941.



Mrs. Takata's home and office, now Klein Chiropractic Center.

The house is tucked away from the road, so look for this sign on the street.

When you are visiting Hawai'i Island to experience the transformative power of Madame Pele's volcano, or taking in the relaxing waves of the Kohala Coast, you might also devote some time for driving to Hilo to visit one of the first homes of Reiki in the West.

Mrs. Hawayo Takata established one of her first practices in Hilo, in a home on Kilauea Avenue (named for the most active volcano on Earth, just 25 miles away). Today the house has been converted to the healing offices of Klein Chiropratic Center, and Dr. Robert Klein invites Reiki practitioners and clients to visit.

Dr. Klein has a small Reiki Shrine on the second floor, where he displays Mrs. Takata's sign and a microfiche ad. He found the sign in his basement when he was renovating the building to become office space. It is a small miracle that the sign still exists since there were at least two and probably three owners of the house between Mrs. Takata and Dr. Klein.

Reiki Comes to East Hawaii

After Mrs. Takata returned from Japan, healed and full of knowledge about Reiki, she moved to Hilo (though it is not clear if she stopped at any of the other islands first). She moved into the house at 2070 Kilauea in 1939 and operated from her home.

From the sign Dr. Klein found, it seems that Mrs. Takata faced some of the same problems we have today in explaining Reiki to a newcomer. Her first sign says "Reiki Massage," but later she changed marketing tactics, and painted over her first sign.

The later sign shows expanded services, while the word "reiki" disappeared altogether. She called her updated business "Hawaii Health Studio" and offered "steam baths, swedish massage, nerve: gland: shortwave treatments." There are Japanese characters, which Dr. Klein believes spells her name.

On March 3, 1941, Mrs. Takata also took out a classified ad in the local newspaper, the Hawaii Tribune Herald (which is still our newspaper). The ad reads: "Massage. Reiki treatments, massage, cabinet baths, Mrs. H. Takata, 2070 Kilauea Ave. Waiakea Homesteads." Waiakea Homsteads is now a neighborhood in Hilo.

Mrs. Takata moved to Honolulu on the Island of O'ahu in 1950, where she practiced Reiki for 30 years, until she passed away in 1980. She started training Reiki students in 1976, so none of her students worked with her at the Hilo location, nor did she teach that we know of.

Reiki in Hilo Today

Dr. Klein is a Reiki practitioner and teacher, and has taught Reiki in his offices. Though he does not give Reiki treatments specifically, he said, "I am always giving Reiki when I am working with a patient." Dr. Klein is also a black bet Aikido instructor. "The Ki in Aikido is the same Ki as in Reiki. It is the energy, the Life Force," he said.

According to the Fall 2009 Reiki News Magazine, it was Duff Cady who recently verified the location of Mrs. Takata's clinic. Sadly, Mr. Cady passed away last summer, and we will remember him as part of the history of Mrs. Takata's clinic in Hilo. Dr. Klein says that Reiki News publisher William Lee Rand has also visited and publicized the location, and since then, a large handful of Reiki masters and practitioners have make the micro-pilgrimage to Hilo. Perhaps you will be among them.

Cymber Lily Conn is a Level II Reiki practitioner and harpist, and lives near Hilo. She creates custom musical Reiki sessions in person or by recording. More information is available at her web site, reikihealingharp.com.

Celeb-Reiki writer segues from fact to fiction

There's no mystery in our naming Stacy Juba this week's Celeb-Reiki: this Reiki practitioner and former reporter is now writing fiction, according to a report in her local newspaper in Massachusetts. Her latest novel is Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, and she has another due out later this year.

Juba may have given up reporting, but she's still practicing Reiki for herself, her friends, and her family.

Referrals, anyone?

We're still doing our best to help students and clients find qualified Reiki teachers and practitioners near them. If you're a practitioner or teacher, have you registered with our Global Reiki Census? And if you'd like to study or experience Reiki, click here to get a free referral to a practitioner near you.

Music we love to practice Reiki by: Ben Tavera King and the Native Flute Ensemble

Native American flute meets 12-string guitar in Visions and Healing, a collection of music often used in healing rituals and ceremonies from Ben Tavera King and the Native Flute Ensemble. Click the button to listen and find out more. Many thanks to iTunes for being one of our sponsors!

Rest in Peace

Reiki practitioner Stephanie Carlene Weigand Muir, 51, Needham, Massachusetts, Nov. 28, 2009.

Reiki practitioner Beverly White, Honolulu, Hawaii, November 30, 2009.

Reiki Master Janet Mills "Jan" McPherson, 42, Graham, North Carolina, December 11, 2009.

Reiki practitioner Phillip Konrad Craft, 56, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, December 15, 2009.

Reiki Master Anna R. Smith, 60, Hillsboro, Ohio, December 27, 2009.

Reiki practitioner Mary (Kahontineh) Swamp, 64, Ganienkeh Territory, Altona, N.Y., Dec. 27, 2009.

Reiki Master Carol R. Asha, Quincy, Massachusetts, January 3, 2010.

Reiki Master Teacher John William Weatherby, 83, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, January 4, 2010.

Reiki Master Nicole Phillips-Ashley, Marston Mills, Massachusetts, January 15, 2010.

Reiki Master H. Allen "Bud" Bergh, 73, Palm Harbor, Florida, January 18, 2010.

Reiki practitioner William L. Deyoe, Sr., 79, Freedom, New Hampshire, January 22, 2010.


Click here to see all obituaries published in The Reiki Digest since 2006.

The weekly waka

Training

Calm and assertive,
My head held high with respect,
My energy good,
I begin training my dog
But end up training myself.

By budo adana

(Waka wanted! While we are grateful to budo adana for his contributions, we'd love to add some more voices to the mix. If you'd like to contribute a waka to our regular series, check out these guidelines, write your waka, and email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.)

This week's specials

Many thanks to our advertisers for these great offers, and thanks to our readers for shopping via our links. A share of every purchase you make goes to help us cover some of the costs of bringing this publication to you free each week.

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Usui in Context: The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923

By Janet Dagley Dagley, Editor

As we all send healing energy as well as financial help to the suffering people of Haiti in the wake of this week's devastating 7.0 earthquake, we are reminded of the story of another earthquake, in another time and another place, in which the founder of Reiki and his students did their best to help the desperate victims.

From the Mikao Usui memorial stone (translated by Hyakuten Inamoto):

"In September of (1923), there was a great earthquake and a conflagration broke out. Everywhere there were groans of pain from the wounded. Sensei (teacher), feeling pity for them, went out every morning to go around the town, and he cured and saved an innumerable number of people. This is just a broad outline of his relief activities during such an emergency."

Right there, written in stone, we have evidence that two of the most widespread myths about Reiki -- never do it in an emergency, never do it for free -- are just that: myths.

The earthquake was the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, which destroyed Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa, and Shizuoka. At 8.3 on the Richter scale, it was more than 10 times as powerful as the Haiti quake, and it was almost immediately followed by firestorms and a typhoon. It left more than 100,000 dead, and it changed the course not only of Japanese history, but of many people's lives, including Usui's.

The 1923 quake was also one of the first natural disasters to be documented by photography in a rapidly globalizing world, as numerous photographs available online illustrate. The devastation and desperation then were much the same as today, only in black and white instead of high-definition color. For example, here is the Tokyo metropolitan police station after the earthquake:



Here is a collection of photos of the earthquake aftermath. (Warning: the bodies of victims are visible in many images because they were everywhere.)

There's another connection between Reiki and the Kanto earthquake, aside from the energetic first aid Usui provided: the man who led the rescue and reconstruction effort was Usui's former boss, Goto Shinpei (or Shimpei in some transliterations):


Goto Shinpei (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Goto Shinpei was, among other things, "the seventh mayor of Tokyo, the first Chief Scout of Japan, the first director of NHK (the Japanese Broadcasting Company), the third principal of Takushoku University, and the Home Minister and Foreign Minister of Japan." Before that, he had a couple of foreign appointments, including director of the South Manchurian Railway and director of civilian affairs in Japanese-occupied Taiwan. In addition to all that, he was a doctor and head of a medical school (finally -- someone in Reiki history who actually was a doctor!)

And for a time, according to some Reiki historians, Mikao Usui was Goto Shinpei's personal secretary. We don't know exactly when that was, but it must have been before the earthquake, since by then Usui was in business for himself, teaching the practice we now know as Reiki.

Two years after the earthquake, Usui's dojo had so many students that he had to move to a larger location. And just over a year after that, in March, 1926, Usui died on a teaching trip.

As he dealt with the earthquake's immediate aftermath, Goto Shinpei realized that Japan needed not only a way to deal with the short-term crisis, but plan for long term to make the reconstructed Tokyo and other cities better able to withstand future temblors. His reconstruction plan called for many parks and wider roads. Although only part of his plan was implemented, today Goto Shinpei is credited with designing modern Tokyo and preparing Japan for many earthquakes to come.

Usui in Context is an ongoing series. Prior articles in the series include:

August 15, 1865
Christianity in Mid-19th-Century Japan

Referral requests pour in following Dr. Oz's endorsement of Reiki

Has the wave of interest following Dr. Mehmet Oz's enthusiastic television endorsement of Reiki reached its peak? Or is it just building?

Since Dr. Oz featured Reiki author Pamela Miles on a program about alternative remedies in the first week of January, our web traffic here at The Reiki Digest has skyrocketed. Because we've been covering Dr. Oz's Reiki connection here since 2007, many who searched online for information about the show found their way here. We mobilized immediately to offer resources for those potential new clients, students, and practitioners by setting up a free referral service, drawing upon our database of what was then more than 400 teachers and practitioners who have responded to our Global Reiki Census. Now we have more than 800 practitioners in that database, with dozens more practitioners registering each day. (Practitioners who have completed our online Reiki Update Training and passed the final exam get top priority for referrals.) All the referral requests gave us a reason to start tweeting frequently, so you might want to start following us on Twitter as well.

If you're among the many looking to experience or learn more about Reiki, click here to request a free referral to a Reiki teacher or practitioner near you.

We know that Pamela has been very busy as well since her TV appearance, but we're glad that she's taken the time to add some valuable resources, including videos, to her web site for anyone curious about Reiki.

Here's one on how to find a credible Reiki practitioner. Pamela has generously given permission for us -- and for you -- to use the YouTube video on your own site. If you can't see the video below, click here to watch, or here to see more videos, including the actual Dr. Oz endorsement.



We plan for the new referral service to continue as a free service with the support of advertising, and we hope to help as many people as possible make their own Reiki connections.

As we develop this service, here are a few tips on how to help us do so efficiently:

If you're a practitioner and you'd like to be included in our database, please add your information to our Global Reiki Census, rather than calling or emailing us. We're doing our best to keep up, but it will be a while before we'll be able to add your information manually.

If you've registered with the Global Reiki Census before but you want to change your information, just fill out the form again and note that you're updating your information.

If you registered before and you chose not to make your information public, you will not get referrals because we're still keeping that promise. If you'd like to change that, just update your information here. And if you left out information on your location, or if you simply put "information available on request," we won't be able to refer clients to you, either.

Finally, if I owe you a reply to an email or phone call, my apologies and I'll get back to you very soon. And to current Reiki Update Training students: Another repercussion of the Dr. Oz Reiki endorsement is that I'm reworking the final class, and the final exam, so thanks for your patience and look for more information soon.

Billions and billions

This news was released more than six months ago, but we only just discovered it, thanks to an alert reader in Ohio. Apparently these 2007 figures are the most recent available: Did you know that Americans spent more than $33.9 billion out-of-pocket for complementary and alternative medicine in 2007? According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, $22 billion of that was for products, classes, and materials, while $11.9 billion was for treatments by practitioners.

This week's edition...

...has been delayed due to a computer crash. Thanks for your patience, and look for our next issue on Monday.

The precepts, recited and explained by a Celeb-Reiki

Singaporean television host Jojo Struys was the first person ever to earn the Celeb-Reiki designation twice back in 2006, but we haven't mentioned her in awhile. This week we happened across a YouTube video of Jojo reciting and explaining the Reiki Precepts, so she's a Celeb-Reiki all over again in 2010:



If the YouTube window doesn't show in your browser, click here to watch.

In this week's edition...

In this week's Reiki Digest: Earthquakes, now and in Reiki history, plus referrals and the Oz-inspired wave of interest. Coming Saturday.

And if I owe you an email, please be patient: I've been swamped with the inquiries about Reiki coming in after the Dr. Oz endorsement. I'll get back to you as soon as possible, but I've been giving priority to helping clients and students find practitioners ASAP. Thanks for your understanding.

Music we love to practice Reiki by: Thunderstorms and Rain

This week our favorite music isn't music at all: it's natural sound. In this instance, it's the sound of rain, with some thunder and bird songs as well. And this may be the longest album name ever: "Natural White Noise - Music for Meditation, Relaxation, Sleep - Thunderstorms and Rain: Healing Nature Sounds for Sleep, Relaxation, Meditation."

Very relaxing, even sleep-inducing, so if you're practicing on a client while using this as background, keep your eyes open and stay alert. The thunder sounds are very subtle so they won't wake the client. Still, make sure your client isn't afraid of thunder or water before you begin the session. Click the button to listen and find out more. And many thanks to iTunes for being one of our regular sponsors. A small portion of each purchase you make via our links goes to help us cover some of our costs.

The weekly waka

Earthquake

Amidst the rubble
Common folks become heroes,
Working together
After the worst has happened,
Building hope out of ashes.

By budo adana

(Waka wanted: If you'd like to contribute a waka to our regular series, check out these guidelines, write your waka, and email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.)

Help for Haiti

Messages with the suggestion to "send Reiki to Haiti" are pouring into my inbox.

But just as Reiki isn't a substitute for medical care, it also isn't a substitute for clean drinking water, emergency food supplies, medicine and trained disaster relief workers. So as you send healing energy to that devastated and desperate nation, please consider sending more tangible support via this link to the Red Cross International Response Fund:




Thank you!

Reiki practitioners and teachers needed immediately!

Dear readers,

In the wake of Dr. Oz's enthusiastic endorsement of Reiki last week, our new free referral service is inundated with requests from potential clients and students looking for Reiki practitioners, teachers, and events.

If you are looking for have not already submitted your information to our Global Reiki Census, please do so as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, at the moment need for practitioners and teachers in these areas:

Ajax, Ontario, Canada

Austin, Texas

Carmel, New York

Ft. Myers, Florida

Cary, North Carolina

If you are a Reiki practitioner in or near those areas, please contact editor@thereikidigest.com ASAP.

We have requests in other locations as well but we have already found practitioners for those.

Unfortunately we're having some difficulties with our Reiki Events Calendar, but we're trying to work them out as soon as we can. If you are Google-savvy and willing to volunteer to help us debug our calendar, please contact us.

This is a free service for clients as well as practitioners/teachers.

We will give priority to practitioners/teachers who have done our online Reiki Update Training and passed the final exam.

Thanks for your help, and your patience while we get this system up and running.

'Try Reiki,' Dr. Oz tells millions on TV

Dr. Mehmet Oz, a renowned cardiovascular surgeon and host of the third (or possibly second) most popular syndicated television program in America, this week introduced millions of viewers to the natural healing practice of Reiki as part of a program on alternative and natural remedies. The Dr. Oz Show included not only a segment featuring a demonstration by Reiki author Pamela Miles, but an emphatic recommendation to "try Reiki" as the #1 "Oz's Order" at the show's conclusion.

In a related (and unsurprising) development, the audience member who received a brief Reiki chair session from Miles told Oz and his viewers (an estimated 3.5 million people) after only a few minutes of Reiki that her headache was going away.

By week's end, the Reiki segment of the show had made its way to YouTube, where it found even more viewers. Click here to see it for yourself.

Oz, whose wife, Lisa, is a Reiki Master, called Reiki "my favorite treatment that could change the future of medicine forever." Reiki was the last of an assortment of featured alternative remedies, including mud baths, herbal remedies, aromatherapy, yoga, saunas, and cupping.

"If we put cupping in the hybrid category between biomanipulation and energy," Oz said as the Reiki segment began, "It provides me with a good segue to what I think may be ultimately the most important alternative medicine treatment of all. And we are embarking on this whole new vista of opportunities, it broadens dramatically the spectrum of where we might be able to go in our bodies, and this is the area of energy medicine." At that point, the camera pulled back to reveal Pamela Miles and the audience member.

"And joining me today is Pamela Miles," Oz continued. "Pamela has actually been to the operating room with me where we have done Reiki. He pointed out that, like Pamela, "my wife Lisa is a Reiki master, so when the kids get sick, or when I'm out of sorts, she actually comes by, I can't even tell when she's treating me, sometimes she secretly treats me, if she thinks I'm in a bad mood" -- everyone laughed -- "and I see hands moving around, but I actually feel the heat."

As the session began, Oz asked Pamela to explain a little about Reiki.

"Reiki is a balancing practice," she said. "And so rather than addressing the headache or whatever else is the problem, what it does is it influences the person's overall system toward balance, and then as her system becomes more balanced, symptoms tend to fall away. Then over time, for example, if you get headaches, you may find that you get them less frequently."

"Do you feel anything?" Oz asked the Reiki recipient.

"Yes, my headache's going away," she said.

"Let me show you why I think energy has been overlooked," Oz continued, turning to reveal a large microscopic image. "This is an image of a cell. And it's beautiful, isn't it? You see that cell there, and it looks colorful, and look at the blue pattern on the outside. That's the membrane of the cell. That blue area on the outside differentiates life. Because it separates no energy on the outside from energy that's present on the inside. So if you think about it in that way, if the membrane of a cell keeps an energy balance between inside and outside, which is what defines life, if we put those cells together, into an organ, shouldn't the organ have energy? And if you put those organs into a body, shouldn't our bodies have energy? And so many of the ailments that we suffer from can be treated through energy therapies, which will become become much more prevalent over the next few years."

At the show's conclusion, Oz did his usual "Oz's Orders" segment: "Here are the three things I want you to remember from today's show. First off, try Reiki. This alternative medicine treatment can manipulate your energy and cure what ails you." And he recommended that viewers boost their metabolisms and check their blood pressure. "Those are my doctor's orders."

As word spread via the Internet across the global Reiki community, web traffic here at The Reiki Digest increased tenfold, and hundreds of new readers subscribed to our email edition. To accommodate the many inquiries coming in from people seeking Reiki treatments, training, or more information, we set up a free referral service to help clients and students find qualified practitioners. We urged Reiki practitioners who have not already done so to add their information to our Global Reiki Census, which has developed into a database of more than 500 practitioners. And during our local broadcast of the show, we offered live Twitter coverage as we watched.

In Columbia, South Carolina, Reiki Master Margaret Self contacted her local Dr. Oz Show affiliate to offer a "local angle" feature for the evening news, and in Seattle, Reiki Master Rose De Dan issued a press release headlined, "Dr. Mehmet Oz Declares Reiki as His #1 Alternative Medicine Secret."

Meanwhile, Pamela Miles herself responded to the wave of interest with several new informative YouTube videos on Reiki. Pamela is also creating online training materials for Reiki practitioners -- to find out more, you can sign up for her monthly Reiki Update here. Practitioners in the New York City area may be also be interested in her Jan. 24 Spiritual Self-Protection class.

This wonderful exposure for Reiki gave us a chance to take another look at some of our previous coverage of Dr. and Mrs. Oz and their Reiki connection, and offer some quick hints to Reiki teachers and practitioners on getting the message out to even more potential students and clients.

Of course, there had to be at least one person who didn't approve of Dr. Oz's mention of Reiki -- though it took some doing to find that dissenter, a lone tweeter who so far has gotten not a single response to his claim that "Oz lost any cred he had."

Video of Pamela Miles demonstrating Reiki on Dr. Oz Show

The Dr. Oz Show featuring Reiki with Pamela Miles has now made its way to YouTube:



Stay tuned for more on Saturday in The Reiki Digest!

World's 1st pro cycling race of 2010 won by Celeb-Reiki

Our Celeb-Reiki of the Year for 2009 is already making headlines in 2010. New Zealand's Hayden Roulston, who credits Reiki with his recovery from a life-threatening heart condition and subsequent athletic success (not to mention a calmer, happier life), has won pro cycling's first stage race of the year. Roulston won both the second and final stages of the Vineyards race in Nelson, NZ, by a one-second margin.

Music we love to practice Reiki by: Sambodhi Prem

Our first featured artist this year is Sambodhi Prem, whose relaxation music includes three albums with the word "Reiki" in the titles: Reiki Ocean, Reiki Forest, and Reiki Mountains. Click on the button to find out more. Many thanks to iTunes for being one of our sponsors. When you buy music at iTunes via out links, we receive a small portion of each purchase to help cover some of our costs.

The weekly waka

Oz

There is no wizard
Other than the little man
Or little woman
Standing behind your curtain
And pulling the strings of life.

By budo adana

(Waka wanted: If you'd like to contribute a waka to our regular series, check out these guidelines, write your waka, and email it to editor @ thereikidigest.com.)

Specials for the New Year

Our advertisers are wishing you a Happy New Year and offering some help in keeping your New Year's resolutions:

Easy online Reiki referral form

If you're among the many who'd like to follow Dr. Oz's order to "try Reiki," we're happy to help you find a practitioner or teacher near you. Just click here to use our easy online referral form.

Dr. Oz show live Twitter coverage

We're providing live Twitter coverage of today's Dr. Oz Show featuring Reiki throughout the day.

Looking for a Reiki practitioner or teacher? We can help!

If you're looking for Reiki, you've come to the right place.

The Reiki Digest and The Reiki Dojo now offer free, personalized referrals to help you find a Reiki practitioner or teacher near you. Our database includes more than 400 Reiki practitioners and teachers in the United States, Canada, and many other countries.

And if you'd just like to know more about Reiki, we can help with that, too. For starters, check out this backgrounder on Reiki from the National Institutes of Health.

To get a referral or more information, click here to use our easy online referral form, email info@reikidojo.net, or call 917-512-1330.

If you're a Reiki teacher or practitioner and you'd like to make yourself available for free referrals, click here to add your information to our Global Reiki Census.

We will give priority in referrals to those Reiki practitioners and teachers who have completed our online Reiki Update Training Class and demonstrated their knowledge by passing the final exam.

Many thanks to Dr. Mehmet Oz (whose wife, Lisa, is a Reiki Master) for including a segment on Reiki with Pamela Miles on today's show!

And speaking of Pamela Miles, she has added some great videos to her web site to help those who are interested to choose a practitioner, and she's given us permission to repost: Here's more from Pamela on how to choose a credible Reiki practitioner:

Breaking news! Reiki on the Dr. Oz show this week!

For the first time in our history, we're sending out a special breaking news email bulletin, because this news just can't wait until our next edition.

Reiki will be featured on the Dr. Oz show this week as part of a segment on alternative medicine. As most of our readers in the United States may know, Dr. Oz has a huge and devoted following thanks to his appearances on Oprah the past few years, and his wife, Lisa, is a Reiki Master. Reiki author Pamela Miles, who has worked with Dr. Oz in the operating room performing Reiki during surgeries, is a guest on the show (taped a few weeks ago) and she does a brief chair Reiki session on an audience member. Here's more from Pamela:

"Mehmet saves Reiki for the last, saying, 'The next one I'm going to talk about is one of my favorites. We've been using it in the Oz family for years.' Then he mentions that his wife is a Reiki master and that he and I worked together in surgery; then I demonstrate chair Reiki. (The audience member told me her headache improved but that's not on the show.)

Even though the segment is short, this is huge mainstream exposure for Reiki. The producers keep track of the viewership for different topics. If there is a large audience for this show, it signals them that the public wants more, so please tell your friends around the country. "

We urge our readers not only to record and watch the show, but to be prepared for the wave of interest in Reiki that is likely to follow this mainstream media exposure.

The Dr. Oz Show airs twice a day in many cities on Fox affiliates, with the afternoon show repeated the following morning. Here in the New York City area, for example, the show featuring Reiki will be on at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 6, and again at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 7. Click here to check your local listings.

Public relations consultant Jonna Rae Barges has this great suggestion:

"Contact your local station that airs the Dr. Oz show, and pitch them a local angle of the Reiki story by demonstrating how Reiki works. Dr. Oz gives Reiki great credibility, and you can give it the local practical application." That's a great idea, but act fast to give your local station as much notice as possible.

Other ways to prepare:

• Tell friends, family, and others to watch the show.
• Make sure your web site, and contact information, are up-to-date and correct.
• Offer to give a talk on Reiki at your local bookstore, community center, or other venues in your area.
• If you haven't already responded to our Global Reiki Census, do so as soon as possible as we will be using that information to help clients and students find qualified Reiki practitioners and teachers near them.
• Polish your elevator pitch: An "elevator pitch" is a quick description that can be delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator. Be ready with a brief, clear answer for friends, co-workers, neighbors and others who may be interested in finding out more about Reiki after watching the show. If you need help refining the way you describe Reiki, check out this backgrounder from the National Institutes of Health.
  
• Focus, focus, focus: When you talk about Reiki, stick to the subject. While Reiki can work well with other modalities such as aromatherapy or massage, including references to other natural healing practices may only confuse rather than inform people who come to you with questions.
• Take the ball and run with it: As every politician knows, when a reporter asks you a question, any question, it means only one thing: it's your turn to talk. So if you get questions from reporters, friends, or the general public, use that turn wisely.

To find out more about Dr. Oz's Reiki connection, check out these articles from our archives:

Dr. Oz mentions Reiki on Oprah (Feb. 2007) -- Dr. Oz says, "The next big frontier is energy medicine."

Mrs. Oz joins Dr. Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen for the "It's all about YOU!" tour (Aug. 2007) -- Mrs. Oz leads a crowd of 1,500 in a traditional Reiki meditation.

We'll have complete coverage of the show and its repercussions in our regular Digest edition later this week.