Today we’d like to introduce you to Dana Young.
Hi Dana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I first learned the practice of Reiki in 2006, after having a profound experience of receiving energy healing during a work trip to India. I had a stressful corporate job that often involved travel, and suffered from chronic neck, upper back, and pelvic pain. The energy healing quickly alleviated my discomfort and piqued my curiosity.
When I got back to the United States, I searched the internet looking for energy healing practitioners. I came across a description of Reiki healing, which intrigued me. I eventually found a practitioner and teacher here in Atlanta named Brad Dixon and received a session from him. Immediately, I knew I needed to learn this practice, and took my initial Reiki training with him.
I never intended to start a professional Reiki practice, but requests from friends to receive Reiki healing turned into requests from chiropractors and massage therapists to support their patients and clients. It evolved very naturally, and in 2008, I began officially offering Reiki healing through my business, Dragonfly Reiki. A year or so later, I began teaching Reiki, which has been a great joy of mine.
In 2010, I had the opportunity to learn Komyo ReikiDo, a style of traditional Japanese Reiki, from Hyakuten Inamoto, a Buddhist monk who lives in Kyoto. Learning from Hyakuten Sensei was a big turning point in my personal and professional practice, as this style of Reiki felt so attuned to my soul and sensibilities.
I now practice and teach Komyo ReikiDo, and am the first fully qualified Shihan (Teacher) of this style of Reiki to teach in the Southeast. Over the years, I have cultivated a strong teaching and mentorship program for students who are interested in learning Komyo ReikiDo. I offer classes and workshops throughout the year.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Although starting Dragonfly Reiki evolved rather naturally, the entire journey has had its ups and downs. Being an entrepreneur and small business owner is like wearing your soul on the outside of your body all the time.
When I began, I was still working full-time at my corporate job. I was also a mother to a toddler. I would see a few clients for Reiki sessions each week or teach on the weekends. It felt like I never had any time off. However, I had a steady paycheck and benefits, so I wasn’t focused on business growth, per se.
In 2010, my company restructured several departments, and I was laid off. It was then that I began building my Reiki business in earnest. Going from a hobby business to a full-fledged small business has not always been easy, but it has helped me evolve so much as a person and as a practitioner/teacher. Reiki practice was not as well known a decade or so ago as it is now. I used to spend more time explaining what it is that I do.
One thing that has really stood out for me as a business owner and mother is the limited support we have to balance our personal and professional lives. Juggling my clients and my daughter’s school schedule or camps during the week when she was younger required a lot of planning.
My husband worked full-time in an office and was only available on the weekends to share childcare. Sometimes my village of friends could help out, but mostly I had to navigate it and be ready to adapt at any moment. That takes a lot of energy away from business development or self-care.
There have been some very challenging times, including the first year of the pandemic, when I didn’t go into my office to see clients for 4 months. I had to pivot my business dramatically and do more of my work virtually. I’m grateful to say Dragonfly Reiki weathered through that time pretty well and is continuing to thrive.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Dragonfly Reiki?
My work is focused on helping women (from birth and by identity) connect with the deeper well-being, peace, and wholeness they are seeking in their daily lives through Reiki healing, spiritual life coaching, and personal development. Since the pandemic began four years ago, I have emphasized spiritual self-care to my clients and students as a way to build resilience set meaningful boundaries on time and energy, practice gratitude, and deepen the connection to Source energy.
As a Reiki Master practitioner and teacher, I focus on how energy directly influences our emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. I have a highly intuitive style and my ability to tune in to a person’s energy can reveal many things about the physical, emotional, and spiritual work needed to bring about deep healing and change.
One of the things that sets me apart from many other Reiki Masters is my approach to Reiki practice. I’ve received extensive training from Hyakuten Inamoto, a Japanese Buddhist monk who founded Komyo ReikiDo. My own approach to Reiki training is deeply influenced by Japanese spiritual practices, the spiritual teachings that Hyakuten Sensei shares, as well as the historical and cultural insights I’ve learned from Reiki historians Robert Fueston and Justin Stein, Ph.D.
I offer a structured, guided, and supportive training program in Komyo ReikiDo, because I respect the practice, and its history, and know that it can be life-changing. My students know I’m always available to support and cheer them on. It also needs to be said that I am a mixed-race Latina whose grandparents were from Puerto Rico. I’m proud to have grown up in Queens, NY, which is the most diverse county in the U.S.
The person I am today was shaped by the incredible wealth of cultural, social, and racial diversity I was exposed to each day. I am committed to anti-racism. I affirm the LGBTQIA community. There is no place in my life for racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, or ableism. It’s very important to me to hold a safe, welcoming space for my clients and students. People can’t heal if they don’t feel safe.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
There is a lot of misinformation about Reiki practice out there, which leads to mistrust or confusion about its safety and efficacy. Reiki is a spiritual healing art that was developed in Japan, and as such, reflects the spiritual and cultural beliefs and practices of the Japanese people. It is a beautiful and elegant practice that anyone can learn to support their systemic and energetic balance.
It should not be a replacement for qualified medical or therapeutic care, but it is a wonderful way to support overall well-being, just as meditation and yoga already do for so many people. We are living in a time of great uncertainty and stress, which includes the collective trauma of having gone through a global pandemic. Having access to a simple self-care practice for healing and energetic support can make a big difference in how you move through life each day with more inner peace, clarity, and purpose.
Reiki is non-dogmatic; you don’t have to subscribe to any particular belief system to practice Reiki, nor does it negate anyone’s spiritual or religious beliefs. In fact, from my own experience and from many of the students I’ve spoken with, Reiki clarifies and deepens these beliefs in a complementary way. It is a spiritual practice that is truly available and welcoming to all.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dragonflyreiki.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dragonflyreikiatlanta/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DragonflyReikiAtlanta
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DanaLisaYoung
Image Credits
Hyakuten Inamoto
