Daily Inspiration: Meet Michelle Chua

Today we’d like to introduce you to Michelle Chua.

Hi Michelle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m not exactly sure where my story begins as a Reiki Practitioner, as I have always been drawn to the movement of energy as a dancer from childhood. It wasn’t until later in adulthood that I grew curious about the energy flow I would feel in my palms, especially when engaged in trail running, dancing or other movement, in which I was consciously breathing and deeply focused. I even started a daily morning practice of playing in the flow of the energy I felt by dancing spontaneously, which I later called and now guide as Somatic Flow. It’s a liberating way in which I train in self-trust, intuitive connection to the energy and letting go of the grip of the ego.

After studying yoga for at least 10 years and then training to facilitate it, my meditation practice grew and so did my longing to release old patterns of energy I was carrying from mental-emotional wounds and physical injuries from the past. Another decade of life’s inevitable changes evolved my pursuit, spurred by the deep universal fear of death and suffering during the 2020 pandemic. Having explored energy healing practices, like Qi Gong and various types of bodywork in the past, a more urgent call for self-healing led me to pranic energy healing, different reiki practitioners, who integrated other modalities into their work, and a fear-confronting journey to the Peruvian Amazon, where I worked with indigenous Shipibo energy healing practitioners.

My personal healing journey unfolded with much appreciation for the practices and support I received, inspiring me to share them and support others on their healing and wellness journey. Over a few years, I trained with 3 different teachers in California and earned certification levels 1, 2 and master practitioner degree in Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki. This made me more curious about the roots of reiki, leading me to visit its birthplace, Mount Kurama in Kyoto, Japan, where I trained with a well-respected teacher and received certification in Shoden and Okuden levels of the traditional style, Jikiden Reiki.

Today, I offer both styles of Reiki in private sessions with clients in Glendale and at yoga retreats that I facilitate internationally. I also host Reiki, Yin Yoga and Soundbath group sessions, where I offer various modalities to promote inner and outer harmony. At the end of the weekly yoga classes I facilitate in Los Angeles, I offer a “touch of Reiki” to participants who wish to receive it. I love sharing reiki and the practices that have proved so transformational in my life for healing and insight, and I feel honored to be able to contribute to personal and collective wellness in this way.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As I previously mentioned, both my evolving curiosity and past suffering led me to my current day practice as a Reiki Practitioner. Some obstacles along the path were fear and self-doubt which are ongoing teachers along my life journey. As I learned to practice awareness, courage, truthfulness and compassion in how I met and cared for these feelings when they arose, then jewels of insight and inspiration would open opportunities for growth and creativity to enrich my offerings.

In terms of practical living, I have learned to trust that when I do work with integrity from my heart and let go of attachment to outcome, I am supported.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I support people from all walks of life to relax deeply and let go of the stress that impedes the natural flow of peace and well-being. Stress is relative and is based on how we relate consciously or unconsciously to any situation or stimulus. When we can let go of the mental-emotional or physical tension we may carry around a situation or stimulus, then our body, mind and spirit can naturally restore balance, inner harmony and clarity.

Reiki is a Japanese technique that promotes deep relaxation and enhances our own natural healing processes, similar to the practices of Tai Chi or yoga. The word, “reiki,” in Japanese literally means “universal life force energy,” similar to “chi” in Chinese medicine or “prana” in yoga. Reiki is a nonreligious and noninvasive holistic practice rooted in the idea that we all have an energy flow within us, which, when balanced, allows us to feel centered, calm, and healthy. While not intended to replace medical treatment, reiki is a gentle yet effective way to support someone’s wellness and healing journey.

As a Certified Reiki Practitioner, I have trained and continue to practice daily how to let reiki flow through me to support energetic balance and thus health–in mind, body and spirit, which are all interrelated and affect each other. When I offer reiki to a client, I serve as a conduit for the wholesome energy to flow to them and awaken the harmony of energy within them. A reiki session entails the client resting, usually lying down, as I hover or place my hands gently on or near parts of their body where I can physically and intuitively feel the support of reiki is needed. Generally, a session lasts for an hour. After the session, many of my clients have reported feeling very peaceful, deeply relaxed or even relieved from physical or mental-emotional discomfort they were feeling before the session. During the session, clients have reported feeling temperature changes where my hands touched, pulsing wave-like sensations there or an easier ability to fully relax.

In my professional and vocational voyage, I’m most proud of facing my fears, which continues to be a work in progress, and developing the courage to follow my curiosity in pursuit of truth and the inner joys that anchor me to what I love.

Everyone and every reiki practitioner is unique, and what may set me apart from others is my own background of personal healing and insight, along with my daily personal practices of yoga, meditation, reiki, somatic flow and nurturing my relationship with nature, all of which inspire the evolution of my offerings. Rooted in deep love and appreciation for this life and all the blessings I have received, I am humbly honored to serve in support of healing, peace and well-being as a Reiki Practitioner.

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I’m not sure if this is surprising, but I feel it worthy to share: At each of the many roadblocks along this vocational and professional journey, such as financial struggles, I asked the Universe in all honesty, “If this is not the work I’m here to do, let me know.” Each time so far, I received a huge nudge to keep going, through some new opportunity to keep offering my services, along with the resource I needed to help me trust the process.

And when self-doubt crept up, a messenger in some form would also nudge me back on path. During my second trip to Peru, this time to the Sacred Valey, I sat with a Q’ero Pakko, or indigenous energy healer, who intuitively shared that I was meant to support people’s well-being with healing through my hands. This was without knowing that I had already started training in reiki energy healing.

I let my offerings come from inspiration, and get ego checks now and then to keep me on track.

A top priority in my daily life is to set up the conditions–mostly the mindset– to live from inspiration.

Pricing:

• Private Sessions by Sliding Scale to promote accessibility for diverse poplutations
• All our retreats have reduced pricing the earlier you sign up. This is a more sustainable way for me to help make this offering more accessible financially.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.root2riseyoga.org
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/root2riseyoga
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/root2riseyoga
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Root2RiseYoga
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/root-2-rise-yoga-la-2
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@root2riseyoga

Image Credits
Bio pic is by Nat Armenta