News Journal Article

The News Journal/BOB HERBERT

Krissy Deskiewicz works on client Cindy Atkinson, of Smyrna, during a recent reiki session.
Smyrna's Krissy Deskiewicz was trying to kill time at a holistic fair when she found something she didn't know she was looking for.
She doesn't remember feeling particularly stressed when she approached a booth where a reiki master was practicing his craft. After a 10-minute treatment, she felt something new had come into her life.
"I couldn't believe the profound feeling. I felt like I had let something go; I released something that had been bothering me," said Deskiewicz
Now she's determined to bring the same feeling to midstate residents.
Reiki is a relaxation technique that helps adjust a person's energy flow, according to those who practice it, like Deskiewicz. It works by the laying of hands over the head, eyes, ears ... "down the line of chakras," said Deskiewicz, who owns Curves in Smyrna and has a nutritionist certification from American Fitness Professionals and Associates.
Reiki practitioners believe chakras, or energy centers, found along the spine, have to be aligned so that an organism and its energy can work properly.
Deskiewicz, who's been on a quest to bring peace and wellness to the midstate region, said she's seen doctors, retirees, day care workers and administrators in recent months, paying a visit to try out the treatment.
"It's been amazing what it's done for people," she said.
What can you expect if you stop in to get your chakras aligned?
This is how Deskiewicz describes the experience:
Though some think reiki is a type of massage, the treatment actually begins with breathing exercises to calm the mind and body. The client lies face up and concentrates on that particular moment in time and is asked not to think about work, or home, or anything else. Deskiewicz then lays her hands over the chakras (they include the forehead, eyes, ears, shoulders, throat, heart, and down the base of the spine). She also focuses on the soles of the foot and once all of that is aligned, she gently and slowly brings the person back to the sitting position.
Reiki is the latest of Deskiewicz's finds in seekings ways to bring health and peace to a region in transition.
"With growth around here, we're going to need it," she said.
But she's never turned away a client who couldn't afford the treatment because she believes that reiki is a calling, something to be shared with the world.
"I just have such a deep desire to reach out to as many in the community as possible," she said.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Sign up for a reiki session with Krissy Deskiewicz, owner of Curves in Smyrna and a certified American Fitness Professionals and Associates nutritionist.
How much does it cost: It's $40 for a 30-minute session or $65 for an hour. Deskiewicz said she doesn't deny treatment to those who can't afford it. In the past, clients have exchanged candles, wine and one of them even exchanged a four-leafclover, which she has framed and keeps in the room where she provides treatments.
"I feel this sacred art should not have any boundaries," Deskiewicz said.
For more information, call Deskiewicz at 653-9330 or e-mail her at kurvette1@aol.com