In a typical ranch-style home in Gresham, Amy Haffner practices the not-so-typical ancient healing methods of Reiki.
Haffner is a Reiki master practitioner. She combines the techniques of Reiki with Native American healing practices and Irish healing lore in her business, Inner Wisdom Healing and Massage.
Reiki has its roots in ancient Japanese healing practices and is considered a form of energy healing.
It is a gentle, non-invasive healing practice. Reiki practitioners act as a conduit for what is called the universal life force energy. They believe that they can channel the energy and encourage its movement through a client’s body to help create a healthier environment within the body and mind.
Although there is no current scientific data to prove this energy, Reiki is being integrated into some health care settings as a complementary therapy.
Haffner said that during a regular Reiki session, her client will lie on a table to relax.
“I connect with them and have them breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth three times,” she said.
She then feels their energy center and aura surrounding them. Reiki is typically a hands-off approach. The practitioner hovers their hands just above the client, using a series of hand positions.
“No session is the same,” Haffner said.
People often say that Reiki brings them a state of relaxation and calm.
Haffner is also a certified massage therapist. Adding a massage therapy certification was a way to enhance her ability to practice Reiki, she said.
She gained her certification in August at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton.
“It’s not unusual to feel a person’s energy and auras when I give a massage,” Haffner said.
She added that when she does massages, she can’t actually turn off her Reiki instincts.
“The usual effects of a massage should last about three days,” Haffner said. “Mine, done with Reiki, last up to a week.”
Haffner said that she can feel where there is unbalance in a person’s chakras and works to get them balanced.
Chakra is a Sanskrit word meaning “wheel” and refers to the energy points in a person’s body that should stay open and aligned, according to New Age and yoga philosophies.
“Reiki is working with your body’s energy and your energy centers,” Haffner said.
Reiki works with seven main centers in the body, according to Haffner. She also said that Irish culture adds two more centers.
Haffner compared Reiki with Native American traditions and Chinese traditional medicine.
“These are different things but all the same thing,” she said. “They are all dealing with energy. Native American culture, Irish traditions, there’s lots of culture that makes us a mish-mash in the United States.”
The Native American culture brings a medicine wheel, while Irish culture has a medicine wheel, also, according to Haffner.
“We’re all interconnected that way, and Reiki is part of it, as well,” she said.
Haffner said that a friend suggested that she try Reiki, and she learned that one of her neighbors, Kim Hoffman, is a Reiki master teacher.
“So, I started with Reiki for my own journey, as well,” Haffner said.
Haffner completed all of her classes through Hoffman’s practice, Ol’ Way Healing on Main Street in Gresham.
“For me, in my personal journey, I was angry. I spent 40-some years angry,” she said. “The bottom line was that I wasn’t allowed to have my feelings or my emotions while I was growing up. So, they had to go somewhere and had to be processed somehow. Reiki is what did it for me.”
Haffner had been in talk therapy, a method used by mental health professionals that provides a safe place to discuss feelings and emotions, for many years. She felt that talk therapy was leaving something missing for her on an emotional level.
Haffner said the impact Reiki made on her can’t be explained by simple words. Haffner decided to take the Reiki classes, feeling that at the minimum, it would give her tools to learn for herself and help her family.
Haffner said that there are many practices in the metaphysical world, including Reiki, Chinese traditional medicine, psychic mediums and all types of things that help people to heal and find answers that traditional medicine and society don’t fulfill.
“People are talking more and more about different options and things,” Haffner said. “The metaphysical world is becoming more prevalent, more acceptable these days.”
Haffner said that people who may be interested in Reiki could go as light with it, or as deep as they want.
“If you believe in spiritual things, like energy, then a Reiki session could go deeper,” she said. “If it’s light, it’s relaxing and comfortable, like having a massage. It’s a form of meditation, relaxation and chilling out.”
After gaining her master practitioner certification in July 2024, Haffner created a Facebook page, Inner Wisdom Healing and Massage.
“I started promoting myself in November-ish last year,” she said. “Most of it has been word-of-mouth. Just recently, now that I have a massage therapy certification, I’ve been advertising on several Shawano-based Facebook pages.”
She also has connections with Natasha Selle from Heart of Garnet Crystal Shop on Main Street in downtown Shawano.
Haffner noted that when she’s working with an individual, if she gets a feeling that the person needs to work with a certain crystal, she refers them to the Heart of Garnet and specifies what to purchase there.
She also has visited Heart of Garnet and met a customer that needed the type of help she could provide, along with what Selle offered.
“We bounce off of each other and work very well together that way,” she said.
Haffner may be reached at 715-853-3796 for information or to make an appointment.