Reiki
Carla Gaskins-Nathan practices Reiki, a Japanese energy healing technique, at Fire and Spirit in New Windsor, NY.
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a sacred system of elements that include Reiki energy. Reiki is a Japanese healing technique that can support stress reduction and relaxation from the early 1900s.
Reiki comes from the Japanese words “rei,” meaning universal, and “ki,” meaning vital life force energy.
The Usui Reiki Ryoho branch made its way to the west in 1938. Reiki is practiced, studied and is a way of life for many throughout the world today with various forms and branches. Reiki has evolved as part of culture and rich history—and continues to evolve.
Carla discovered Reiki along her own healing journey and began studying with Reiki masters in 2017. Learn more about Carla’s lineage.
Why try Reiki?
Reiki sessions are individually tailored to support the client’s mind, body and spirit. Reiki can take place above the body or with gentle, hands-on placement. Reiki is a gentle, deeply relaxing energy‑healing session designed to help support your nervous system. You’ll lie fully clothed on a massage table while light, non‑invasive touch or hands just above your body to support balance in your physical, emotional, and energetic systems.
Sessions are suited for those navigating stress, transitions, or spiritual growth, as well as anyone seeking grounded support for their overall wellbeing. While Reiki is not a substitute for medical or mental health care, it can be a meaningful complement to other healing and wellness practices.
Reiki Offerings
Reiki Intro Session
These 60min sessions are individually tailored to support the client’s mind, body and spirit. Reiki can take place with hands above the body or with gentle, hands-on placement.
Holy Fire® III Session
A Holy Fire® III Reiki Session offers a powerful energy treatment that supports deep includes a guided meditation experiencing the flow of Reiki energy. This session can bring awareness to patterns and practices impacting well-being, it can support visualization, and journaling techniques to support clarity, relaxation, and energetic reset. It’s well suited for individuals interested in exploring Reiki’s restorative effects in a structured yet experiential way.
Reiki Talk
Reiki Talk provides an educational and reflective space to learn about/discuss Reiki and its support of mind, body and spirit. Through open conversation, you’ll gain insight into how energy and nervous system patterns interact, and how Reiki can complement other well-being practices. This session is ideal for those curious about Reiki or looking to integrate it more consciously into daily life.
Reiki Talk + Experience
This combined session begins with a thoughtful dialogue about your current wellbeing goals, stress patterns, or areas of tension. The conversation transitions into a Reiki Healing Experience, allowing you to directly sense and integrate the energy work discussed. It’s a balanced option for clients who value both education and embodied experience in their healing process.
Full Reiki Session
This 90min offering blends the meditative calm of a Reiki Healing Experience with the deeper energetic realignment of a Reiki Session. The first portion focuses on grounding and guided energy awareness, preparing your system for hands-on Reiki work that supports integration across physical and emotional layers. It’s recommended for clients seeking a comprehensive, restorative treatment that bridges understanding and embodied healing.
All bodies welcome.
Zelah Healing Arts invites and loves to collaborate with people who are interested in care through liberation. You belong here where bodily autonomy is honored, sacred space is co-created for healing and healing centered engagement is valued.
About Zelah Healing Arts
About
Zelah Healing Arts is a Black Queer owned practice on Lenape land in the Hudson Valley area of New York.
Location
Zelah Healing Arts is located at:
Fire and Spirit
673 Little Britain Road, Unit # 1
New Windsor, NY
Accessibility
The space is on the ground level and has a private gender neutral restroom. There are accessible parking spots in the lot and no stairs to enter the space. There is a curb cut in the lot.
Hours
All appointments are by appointment only. Zelah Healing Arts does not not have a receptionist, as our space includes only a lovely treatment space, so please be aware (as advised in your booking confirmation email) to arrive no more than 10 minutes early for your appointment, or you may interrupt the session before yours.
Products
To create a safer, more inclusive and therapeutic environment for clients and practitioners Zelah Healing Arts works to reduce exposure to sythethic fragrances. Hypoallergenic lotions are used and a nut-free oil option is made available for bodywork sessions. Fragrance-free/unscented products are used for laundry at Zelah Healing Arts.
Contact
Call or text Carla at 347-815-4568
Reiki FAQs
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Reiki is based on the idea that we each have a natural life-force energy. In a Reiki session, the practitioner acts as a channel for “universal” life-force energy, placing their hands lightly on or just above specific areas of the body to support the free flow of this energy. Reiki can take place above the body or with gentle, hands-on placement.
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Reiki is a gentle, noninvasive energy therapy with no serious side effects—it's safe for most people when received from a trained qualified practitioner. Some clients have had mild, temporary responses like slight fatigue, a mild headache, or emotional release (such as light tears or unexpected calm) as the body relaxes deeply and processes stored tension. These typically pass within a day and signal natural integration.
Reiki complements, it does not replace nor is it a substitute for medical care. Clients can consult their doctor if pregnant, epileptic, or managing serious health conditions for further guidance or concerns.
Clients often find most mind, body and/or spiritual shifts affirming, confirming their session intentions and goals at work.
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No. Reiki energy is spiritual in nature but Reiki is not a religion.
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No. Holy Fire® Reiki is not spiritual energy that works with all religions or no religion. The word holy is used in Holy Fire® refers to the root meaning to be whole and complete and this is how it is used in Holy Fire.®
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In Reiki, lineage refers to the direct teacher-student chain tracing a practitioner's training back to Mikao Usui, the founder of the Usui Reiki system in early 20th-century Japan.
Meet Carla
Hi, I'm Carla Gaskins-Nathan, healing arts practitioner based in Newburgh, NY.
I was introduced to Reiki along my own healing journey over twenty years ago. In 2017, I received attunements and training for Usui Reiki I & II with Reiki Master Teacher Geordie Numata. In 2025, I felt called to deepen my studies, relationship, and daily practice, completing ART & Master Usui Reiki Ryoho/Tibetan certification with Reiki Master Teacher Ana Mendez.
I invite anyone in Newburgh, New Windsor, and across the Hudson Valley who needs energetic support or a space to safely land to reach out or book a Reiki session with me.
Acknowledgement
Upon booking any Reiki session or Holy Fire® Healing Experience with Zelah Healing Arts, the client acknowledges their active role in the healing and coaching process and assumes responsibility for their personal outcomes, integration, and any actions they choose to take following their session. Zelah Healing Arts provides a safer space, massage therapy, Reiki experiences and sessions and supportive insight may be offered to help clients increase self-awareness, clarify goals, and integrate their experience; however, lasting change depends on the client’s willingness to engage with the process and apply what is revealed.