Duo drawn together in pursuit of good health

Watching young children as they draw, paint and make up stories is a reminder to us that we were all once blessed with boundless creative energy before life and formal education made most of us take different, less creative, paths.

For those who want revisit that creativity through art, or who want to explore how different colours can aid well-being by reflecting the energy in various parts of our bodies, a workshop in Art and Reiki being offered in Galway City from April 11-13 sounds intriguing.

The Art of Healing course in Roscam, close to the Galway Clinic, is being run by Aria Sweeney and Denise Hogan, who between them have a wealth of experience in the area of holistic healing and creative therapy.

“A lot of people experience fear around art, so this is a great workshop because you can try things out with no pressure, and you are still learning,” says Denise, who practises art in her spacious, airy studio in Roscam, as well as teaching classes to adults and children all around Galway.

Her colleague, Aria, trained in Reiki having worked in marketing and sales in London. As somebody who had regularly gone for reflexology, massage and Reiki, and who loved these treatments, it seemed logical to Aria to study complementary health when she decided on a career change.

“I was stressed out and always travelling, so I resigned voluntarily,” she says of her decision to quit the corporate world.

Aria and her Athenry-born husband, Tom, moved to Ireland in 2000 and it was then she really focused on holistic health, training in reflexology, massage and Reiki.  Now 63 years of age, bubbling with energy and fun, Finnish-born Aria is a walking advertisement for the lifestyle she practises. And she is no puritan, saying that she likes wine and chocolate as much as the next person, and is very practical in all areas of life. She also believes there is a place for orthodox medicine alongside her work – Reiki is not the answer to everything. But it offers a lot, she adds.

Reiki is a very simple form of healing that works by channelling the energy that is in and around us, Aria explains. It has its origins in Japan and it translates from Japanese as Universal Life Force.

Using it on the body’s chakras, or energy centres, can unblock a person’s energy and increase their creativity by treating issues that they mightn’t even know they had.

Reiki works from your heart so it’s very positive energy, she says.

“It makes you more sensitive to the energy around you,” according to Denise, who adds that it’s something everybody can do, because it’s very safe.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.