Meet Judy: Reiki Master and Cancer Services Volunteer

Judy Alonso has volunteered her time and expertise at Cancer Services of Greater Baton Rouge for nearly a year, coming in weekly to provide Reiki sessions for interested clients.  For those of you who haven’t met Judy or experienced a Reiki session, here's a little background on Judy, and how and why she came to be a Reiki Master.

“In 2005 after 4 1/2 years of my husband battling throat cancer, some friends suggested that we should go to the Reiki Center in Hollywood, Florida, where we lived for 20 years, and talk to the Reiki Master.  They felt she could probably help him with pain since he was done with his radiation and umpteen chemo sessions, and wasn’t going to do anymore.  Nothing to lose at this point for sure with only a 10% chance of survival.

We did not even know how to pronounce Reiki, let alone what it was.  The Reiki Master, Myrna Farbiash, was in that day (hmmmm, what a coincidence) and spoke with Al first and then took a look at me and spoke with me.  She told me there was a Level 1 Reiki class a couple of months or so down the line, and it was already full, and if I wanted to be in on it to go tell the Reiki Master at the counter to put someone out if she had to, but to make room for me.  Being the kind person she was, she did not put anyone out, and not knowing if Al would even still be with us then, I enrolled us both in the class.

As it turned out, he was still with us, and that was the last thing we did together.  He struggled to get there each day for the 2 day class, but he made it.  A week later, the Lord called him home.  The Lord put me on my path of Reiki through Al’s illness.  Maybe, otherwise, I would not have been able to recognize His road sign.

Funny, in the mid 60’s I had 2 dance schools which I thought I would be doing for the rest of my life.  Then, as life went, I worked for the Postal Service for 30 years and retired a year after my husband passed away, Whew!  During that year, I completed my Level II Reiki Class, Reiki Master Class and finished all of my teaching requirements before moving back home to Baton Rouge.

I had already begun teaching my classes and doing my sessions when I received the Cancer Services Bulletin in the mail and noticed you all were offering alternative methods of body, mind, spirit; and Reiki was one of them.  I immediately called and asked for an appointment to bring my cards, brochure, copies of certificates and ministry and asked to “SIGN ME UP!” This was my chance and my honor to give back to the very thing that put me on this journey in the first place—the wonderful people still battling this disease called CANCER.

What is one of the most important things I have learned in life, you ask?  It is said so many ways but this is one of my favorites:

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD

Difficult moments, SEEK GOD

Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD

Painful moments, TRUST GOD

Every moment, THANK GOD

And, when you feel you have come to the end of all you know, and are about to step off into the darkness, trust and have faith in God that he will either give you something solid to stand on, or wings to fly.” 

Love, Light and Angels,

Judy Alonso

Reiki Master Teacher

Baton Rouge, LA

Reiki: The Japanese practice and its role at Cancer Services

Cancer Services began offering Reiki to our clients a year ago. It started with one volunteer practitioner and a few clients twice a month. Now three Reiki practitioners see 7-9 clients each week. But what exactly is Reiki? Even Martha Novoa, a Reiki master who sees clients at Cancer Services, has trouble explaining it, citing that “it is a different process and experience for each person.”

Reiki (pronounced “raykey”) means “universal life energy.” The word is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means “God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power” and Ki which is “life force energy.” So, Reiki is actually “spiritually guided life force energy.” Though it is spiritual in nature, it not a subscribed part of any religion or dogma. The practice bases itself on belief that energy is channeled through a Reiki practitioner to help a person through correcting their energy balance. A practitioner places their hands on or directly above the person who may be experiencing pain or in need of relaxation. Clients leave their sessions feeling relaxed, and one Cancer Services client even reported being able to drop her five different pain medications because, with Reiki, she didn’t need them anymore. Even after 14 years of practicing Reiki, Novoa still feels a sense of awe when a client describes how, thanks to Reiki, their pain is no longer there. She explains: “Everyone has energy in their bodies and when something good happens your body produces good energy but when something bad happens, your body responds with negative energy. It is my job to get out of its way and simply direct the energy where the person needs it.”

Reiki has been practiced in the US since 1937 and has recently gained popularity. The medical community is still studying its true efficacy, but many of our clients swear by Reiki and its effects. Karen Farris, who was diagnosed with CML leukemia, appreciates how Reiki relaxes both your brain and your body. She shared, “Once Reiki is done, I leave with a sense of confidence that I can respond appropriately to any situation I may encounter.” Though she admits it can “sound a little voodoo-like,” Karen found that Reiki “helps me relax in a way that I would not at home.” As a cancer survivor, she finds that Reiki can play a special part in her treatment and recovery. “When you get diagnosed you can have a mindset of, ‘get it done’ or it ‘doesn’t matter.’ But Reiki helps me ‘be’ and accept, with hope, where I am in my treatment process.” Karen encourages other cancer survivors to give it a try before dismissing it.

Cancer Services is fortunate to have three volunteer Reiki practitioners: Martha Novoa, Dee Dee Poullard and June Berry. For more information about Reiki and its role in cancer treatment, or if you are a cancer survivor and interested in having a free Reiki session, call us at 225-927-2273.