Belleville studio’s mindfulness therapy beneficial, say participants

Studio owner Sam Summers uses a singing bowl at the end of her meditation sessions, and it creates sounds that help balance her clients’ minds, bodies and souls. Photo by Sarah Law, QNet News

By Sarah Law

BELLEVILLE – A soft golden light rose from five meditators’ toes to their temples as they closed their eyes and pictured paradise while owner Sam Summers guided a group meditation at her new Reiki studio in downtown Belleville Tuesday night.

Summers, who was born and raised in Belleville and is the mother of three boys, says meditation has become a great stress-reliever for her. Participants of the last group meditation on Tuesday also express the benefits for both their mental and physical well-being.

“Meditating just quiets everything and helps me not overthink everything,” says Hanna Abrams.

“It helps me sleep,” says Amelia Rutter. “It really helps to make me think about my life actions and what people may be thinking or feeling; it just brings all of that to the surface.”

The term mindfulness is often used in discussions about mental health, says Summers. She defines it as “the state of just being in the present moment, paying attention to everything that surrounds you in that present moment through all the senses.”

Mindfulness connects to meditation because both involve allowing thoughts to pass and letting “whatever is supposed to come to you come to you,” says Summers.

Summers’ husband, Ty Summers, attends her group meditations and describes mindfulness as “really getting to know oneself so that one can relate to others better through their own self-knowledge and self-understanding.”

Sam Summers opened her business in January, and it is located in suite 202 on 257 Pinnacle St. Photo by Sarah Law, QNet News

The studio, called Samureiki, holds wine and paint nights, group meditations and private Reiki treatments. The healing technique of Reiki, a Japanese word meaning spiritually guided life force energy, is often used as a part of mindfulness therapy. Summers received her certification as a Reiki master and teacher in 2016.

“Reiki is working with energy. I do not define myself as a healer; I am simply a conduit between Reiki and a client. I am moving my energy down through the chakras all throughout their body and reiki just goes to where it’s supposed to go,” she says. “That energy cannot lie.”

There are seven chakras in the body according to the spiritual practice of Reiki, which are the centres in the body where energy flows through. Reiki practitioners place their hands over their clients’ chakras to call out the energies and report what they feel.

Summers’ initiation as a Reiki master was an eye-opening experience, she says. She took her Reiki classes online and her teacher, a woman in the US, attuned her from a distance by sending energy through Summers’ body. Afterward, there was a three-week cleansing period where her different chakras were being activated, says Summers.

Sam Summers’ studio decor encourages peace and tranquility, with lots of soothing colours and connections to the natural world. Photo by Sarah Law, QNet News

Dylan Rupnow has experienced several Reiki healings, and says “different people do (Reiki) in different ways and that’s what’s exciting, but it’s all based on the same idea of having someone else give you their good energy.”

While Summers received support from her friends and family, she says many people still hold misconceptions about what she does. Skeptics think it’s made-up fantasy, but it’s as real as it could possibly get and it feels so good, she explains and calls it an intoxicating feeling like no other.

Summers says she does not let cynics bother her. If people are open to trying it, she is willing to work on them and help in any way she can.