This 6-week course offers a unique, holistic approach to personal transformation, designed specifically for women in midlife who are navigating life’s transitions and seeking deeper self-connection and healing.

Led by Beverley Elder, a Holistic Health & Midlife Mentor. Yoga Teacher and Gráinne Clancy MIACP, an Integrative Psychotherapist, this course blends yoga, mindfulness, and therapeutic practices to help you:

• 🌸 Cultivate emotional resilience and balance
• 🌸 Release limiting beliefs and embrace new possibilities
• 🌸 Deepen self-awareness and reconnect with your body
• 🌸 Learn powerful tools to manage stress, anxiety, and life’s uncertainties
• 🌸 Empower yourself to move forward with clarity and confidence

What to Expect:

• Therapeutic Insights: Integrative psychotherapy tools to release old patterns, empowering you to move forward with confidence.
• Restorative Yoga: Gentle, seated yoga practices that can bring relaxation and balance to both body and mind, supporting emotional healing.
• Mindfulness and Meditation: Learn useful practices that cultivate inner peace and help you stay grounded through life's changes, inspiring healthier lifestyle choices.
• Supportive Community: A nurturing, safe space to share and connect with other like-minded women.

Course Details:

🌸 Dates: [Monday 10th February 2025] – [31st March 2025]* NB *no course on Monday 17th Feb or Monday 17th March
🌸 Location: Connolly Counselling Centre, Stillorgan, Co. Dublin, Ireland
🌸 Time: 10.30 am to 12.30 pm
🌸 Cost: €350

*Early Bird Sign-Up:€ 298 Save 15% if you sign up by 31st January*

This is your chance to take the first step toward a transformative journey of personal growth, healing, and self-empowerment. Whether you are experiencing a significant life change or simply want to reconnect with your true self, this course is designed to support you in embracing the opportunities that come with change.

Spaces are limited

🔗 Sign Up Now to Reserve Your Spot
To reserve a place contact Joyce on: +353 (0)1 2100 600 or email connolly@counsellor.ie

Reiki therapy is based on an Eastern belief that vital energy flows through your body. The idea is that a person who specializes in reiki treatment, referred to as a reiki therapist, uses gentle touch – or places their hands just above your body – to help guide this energy in a way that leads to balance and healing.

Reiki has been studied for conditions like pain, anxiety, and depression. It is now used in Hospital as a Complementary Holistic therapy, which means it is used along with proven traditional medical treatments. It doesn’t cure or get rid of any health conditions by itself.

History of reiki

The reiki healing system, founded by Mikao Usui in the early 1900s, said that people should practice certain standards or values that bring about peace and harmony – ideals that most cultures practice. It was brought to the Western part of the world by Hawayo Hiromi Takata and become popular in the U.S. quickly.

The term comes from two Japanese words: “rei,” which means universal, and “ki,” which loosely translates to a flow of a lifeforce of energy that happens in all living things.

Is reiki a religion?

No, it's not a religion. Those who practice reiki treatment are free to follow their own beliefs and religious practices and make decisions based on these things.

During a reiki therapy session, you lie on a massage table while a practitioner places their palms on or just over body parts that are thought to be zones for energy.

How Does Reiki Work?

Reiki practitioners act as a middle ground between you and energy forces. Energy travels from their hands to you, and more specifically the areas of focus. During a session, you would take only the energy flow that you need instead of what the reiki practitioner might think you need.

How long is a reiki session?

Reiki sessions usually last about 75 minutes to make time for relaxing deeply and energy flow.

How many reiki sessions are needed?

While the number of treatments can depend on your condition and personal goals, three to five treatments 1 to 2 weeks apart is generally recommended.

Reiki Benefits

Studies show that reiki therapy may be useful for reducing stress and anxiety, easing pain, and even improving your quality of life.

It can bring about symptom relief and other improvements, like:

• Help with meditation
• Balance to your immune system
• Post-surgery healing of bones and tissues
• A natural form of healing one's self
• Support healing in those who have other medical conditions

Does reiki help with anxiety?

It might. A review of studies found that hands-on reiki was better than a placebo (a “fake” treatment that researchers use to compare with results of a real treatment in a study) at doing things like lowering resting heart rate and blood pressure. The researchers said that reiki has also been found to be more effective than a placebo at easing anxiety, pain, and depression and at boosting quality of life and self-esteem in people with long-term health conditions.

What conditions can reiki sessions help with? 

Because reiki is considered a universal life force energy, it can be useful in helping with many conditions, including:

• Trouble with digestion
• Infertility (a hard time having children)
• Chronic pain
• Parkinson's disease
• Conditions caused by stress
• Cancer
• Depression
• Anxiety

Reiki Techniques

During a reiki therapy session, you lie on a massage table, fully dressed, while a I place my palms on or just over areas of your body that are thought to be zones for energy. I may position my hands in up to 15 ways. I decide how long to leave my palms in each spot based on the flow of energy that I think you’re feeling through my hands at that given spot. 

What Are the Side Effects of Reiki?

In general, reiki seems to be safe, but it should not be used as a substitute for traditional treatments provided by your doctor or other specialists. Reiki is meant to add on to therapy you may already receive. If you're healthy, regular reiki therapy session may be able to prevent certain conditions and increase your means of responding to stress.

Reiki Session: What to Expect

• Where the session takes place. The setting can be anywhere in your home, but a quiet place free of interruptions is usually preferred.
• What sound is present during the session. Soft music or silence can be options for sound; you can request either option before your session.
• Forms or details to provide before the session. I will ask you to complete an online form about your health after booking.
• How long the session takes. On average 1 h 15 mins

You can take a few other steps to provide comfort before your session, like asking me to give you some examples of hand placement and letting me know your needs or previous or current medical conditions that may affect the session (such as digestion problems, pregnancy, or scarring).

During the session

Even though you’re resting on a massage table, I won't be giving a massage, using pressure, or moving your joints around, making reiki special compared to other touch-based treatments. I'll be simply using gentle touch at most.

You might feel sensations like heat, tingling, or pulsing where my hands are, or throughout your body. Or you might not notice any changes. Some people get so relaxed that they fall asleep.

What Should I Expect After Reiki?

You might feel more relaxed or less stressed. If you’re getting reiki for a health condition, you’ll still need to follow your treatment and see your doctor as you usually do. Reiki doesn’t replace your regular medical care.

How Much is a Reiki Session?

A treatment at your home usually costs €75 for those living in the South Dublin area. If you live further away, then additional travel costs will be charged by prior arrangement.

After you book an online Reiki treatment I will be in touch with you by phone so you can send me your address and I can deal with any other questions you may have about the details of me coming to your home.

Its best to schedule some down time after your Reiki session at home to reap the benefits! Try and leave an hour free in your schedule to relax and not have to "get busy".

Wait list for half-day Midlife Wellbeing Workshops Spring - May 2025

Workshop Type One - Early Perimenopause

OK, so if you think you're "not quite there yet" but are noticing small fluctuations to your everyday life and periods? It could be fleeting or a lot of small things starting to build up and become worrisome. This workshop is for you!

Find out how to "Future Proof" your health before your imminent midlife transition kicks off. They say that whatever health issues you bring into early perimenopause may become amplified, so we'll walk you through all the options available to you with regard to HRT, CBT for reducing anxiety, invaluable nutrition tips and available health supplements. Remember, this advice will stand to you whatever stage you're at, even if you're only beginning on your self-care journey - it's never too late!

Please see the Symptom Checker to help you gauge where you are at. Please bear in mind that everyone is different and the age range for early perimenopause can span from mid thirties to late perimenopause in the mid fifties. You can fill it out and bring it to your GP appointment.

If you haven't already consulted your GP or medical practitioner, please make an appointment now! In our Resources section there is a handy link to specialists in your area if your GP has not received additional training yet. I also recommend checking out Dr. Mary Claire Havers site in the U.S. and the Women's Health Concern website in the UK in our Resources section about suggestions to compile a detailed list of information on your family health history for the doctor and possible questions for you to ask at this appointment too.

We will dive deeper into how adapted Yoga practices, Breathwork & Meditation techniques can help soothe and calm, supporting your nervous system as you navigate this midlife transition with 35 plus possible symptoms. You don't need to be an expert yogi, all of the yoga is easily adaptable to beginners level too, I have chair yoga suggestions too.

Get in the driving seat & learn the signposts as to what's ahead- dealing with changing symptoms and more practices to help combat daily issues that tend to arise during this period.

Radical Self-Care is where it's at in 2025 so get set to thrive not just survive.

If you come to this workshop you will be able to figure out where you're at and be better informed for the journey ahead.

All workshops are exclusively limited to small groups of ten and will cover;

-Suggested Optimum nutrition and gut health

-Information on Strength training for bone and muscle health

-Available Supplements to support each stage of the Menopause (and how to navigate the Meno-washing!)

-Holistic Lifestyle practical Daily tips to help lessen Stress and Anxiety - build sustainable healthy habits

-Each workshop will have its own specific recap sheet of the Menopause Yoga™ & Breathwork sequences taught

Each workshop will have a guest practitioner doing a short presentation on a complementary theme for our midlife transition like acupuncture, nutrition or strength training while you relax and enjoy a refreshment with a tasty protein treat.

Attendees will be also be gifted an exclusive take-home self-care Goodie bag.

This 45 minute session is designed to re-cap on where you are at either after an initial meeting or attending a workshop with me. We will discuss and plan your tailor-made holistic lifestyle plan. You will be given clear personalised recommendations on the elements of your lifestyle that may need tweaking including but not limited to exercise, recommended nutritional guidlines and daily stress reduction methods.

This 1hr online Menopause Yoga™ class will help you relax and unwind, preparing you for a wonderful nights sleep- including mind, body and breath work. Gather a yoga mat, some cushions and a comfy blanket..