An Interview with Rena Pierron

Our first TURA interview of 2025 is with somatic yoga therapist and Reiki master teacher Rena Pierron. Read on to learn about her journey as a therapist.

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Rachana: Hi, everyone. I'm Rachana and we are here today for USUI Reiki Association. We are doing an interview with Rena Pierron. She is a Reiki teacher and a yoga therapist. So hi Rena, would you like to share a bit about yourself?

Rena: Sure. Hello, everybody. My name is Rena and I am the new TURA secretary for 2025. And I started my background with yoga more than 20 years ago. Reason how I got into it is because I got injured and then I had to stop all my activities. The only thing that was available for me to do at that time, recovering, was just gentle stretching. So that's how I got into it. But as I got into it, the practices made me realise that there is something deeper in just coming into stillness, even in the gentle stretches. Gives you time to pause, time to think, and time to. Time to recover, basically. So I started out with yoga and quite quickly I went into yoga therapy because that's, for me, it's a huge modality that speaks to my heart. And with the therapeutic part of yoga, it gives me the confidence to start teaching, I guess.

And with the yoga therapy, there's a lot of practices that encompasses the somatic practices. So somatics come from the Greek word soma, and it's about embodiment. So using yoga practices with movement, mobility, it creates a very safe space for the body. A lot of times we go into a gym, we go into a class, even yoga class. If you think that you have to touch the toes, if you can't touch the toes, then you're not good enough and you start pushing yourself. That creates a lot of pressure on the body itself and you may get injured. If you're coming from work at the end of the long day and you come in and you start doing all these stretches, the body is not feeling well enough to allow that stretch to happen. So with somatic yoga in the therapeutic sense, it creates a very safe space for the body to move with breath. And I always believe that breath is the bridge between the body and the mind and the movement. Yes, through those movements. Yes, in a safe space. So that, for me, is very true to my heart. And that's what I've been teaching all these years.

And I started getting into the energy part of it just by chance. Just by chance, about maybe 10, 12 years ago, I was introduced to Reiki. I was even attuned level one and two. And for me at that time, it was just a personal practice, so nothing. I was feeling a bit of tingling, a bit of warmth. But nothing much. And it was only until a couple of years back that a family member had quite a tough time at the hospital. And I was pretty desperate at that time. And I just put my hands. And it was actually for my husband. So he felt the warmth, he felt the calmness.

Rachana: So this was Reiki that you were doing?

Rena: Yes, it was definitely Reiki. Putting my hands just on the painful spot on the body itself. And he felt calm, he felt the pain go away. So that renewed my interest for Reiki. So I redid my whole training again.

Rachana: You started from [Reiki] level one again?

Rena: No, I started from level two. Level two. But having the confidence that I still had those symbols in me. I still had those power. Well, energetic, you know, attunement to it. So it really deepened my practice. And since then it's been going on. Non stop, you know. So I started teaching. I started giving attunements and practice. Not practicing, but sharing Reiki with clients, clients that I've been working with in my yoga practices. And then I started offering the combination of Reiki infused yoga practices.

Rachana: Amazing. That just sounds so good.

Rena: And that kind of bring us to why I offered to run the first workshop. For TURA this year. So I'm running the first. Kicking off the first workshop with the Reiki infused yoga practices.

Rachana: Infused yoga practice.

Rena: Amazing.

Rachana: So that was quite a journey. Right. Starting from when you had your injury, you got into yoga with just simple stretches, then went on to doing yoga therapy and then started doing Reiki.

Rena: Yes, yes.

Rachana: And had a long gap. And then when you used it for your family member, then you believed that, you know, that Reiki was still flowing through you and your connection with Reiki, like, grew stronger with that.

Rena: Yes, absolutely.

Rachana: And then you just got back to practicing Reiki.

Rena: Absolutely. Yes. And just infusing it with whatever that I'm teaching, teaching, whatever I'm doing, it becomes such a part of me. That I don't even think about it now. And that's the wonderful part I feel, with Reiki.

Rachana: So, Rena, I understand that you do yoga, you do Reiki. Is there anything else that you do?

Rena: Yes, I recently I'm still in training for my hypnotherapy certification. So I've actually started using a little bit of the hypnotherapy concepts and bringing it into my sessions for clients. Noticeably, the pain management. In meditation. And also just giving that deep rest in the meditation scripts.

Rachana: The guided relaxation.

Rena: Absolutely, absolutely. So I find that very empowering and it really gives them a deeper sense of Relaxation.

Rachana: And Rena, would you like to tell us how is your practice unique or, or different from other practitioners who are kind of doing similar things like maybe yoga, reiki and some other things.

Rena: Okay. Since I've been in the industry for so many years, I feel that my sessions are very unique compared to the other yoga teachers or even yoga therapists or even just Reiki. Yeah, teachers. Because I am trauma trained. Right, yes. So my practices are very much based on a nervous system regulation. So if you want to come from a scientific background, I focus a lot on regulating that vagus nerves in the body.

Rachana: That is so important nowadays with absolutely all of us having so much stress, so much anxiety. So yeah, I think that's brilliant.

Rena: Yes. So it's a lot of simple practices, not even yoga practices anymore. It just becomes a very body aware movement, breath work practices, and you're able to regulate your own nervous system. So that for me is very empowering when I see that I can help clients with that in their practice. And so with the trauma trained, we are much more sensitive to see what the clients need. Basically just by the body movement, just by the breath. And giving them simple exercises to help them become aware and regulate themselves.

Rachana: Right.

Rena: So it's a lot of day to day little practices that they can, they can do even, you know, at work, at office, at meeting. And I'm also a pilates rehab teacher.

Rachana: Oh, okay.

Rena: Yes.

Rachana: That's another feather in your cap.

Rena: Yes. So and I really believe that we put a lot of stress on ourselves.

Rachana: True.

Rena: Yes. When we're at work, we're sitting there the whole day and then at the end of the day we think, okay, we'll go to the gym, do some workout. And then you go to a yoga class and you stretch. And at the end of the day I get a lot of people with injuries coming to me. They said, yeah, I'm doing all the stretches, but why am I not improving? Why am I hurting even more so. And I tell them it's not about stretching alone because the way the muscles work, you have to strengthen it before you can stretch it. Oh, okay.

Rachana: That's something I didn't know.

Rena: So that's not the way, but there's a way of understanding and talking to your muscles. If you take the structure of a muscle, for example, on each end, imagine it's like a sweet wrapper and these are your joints.

So if you're coming from sitting for so many hours and you're standing standing up and you're wanting to do a forward fold, you're just going to be stretching the whole wrapper, but you can't access the sweet inside unless you unwrap the wrapper to get to the muscle tissue.

So these ends of the muscles is connected to you, what the signal of the brain is telling you to do. And if you're coming from work, jumping onto the mat and tense and upset, that's not healthy. You are not going to open anything. Yes. So it's a whole process that. And I share a lot of knowledge because I believe that by sharing with the knowledge comes wisdom. Once you get it, you will be aware of your own practices, your own body.

Rachana: So you empower your clients.

Rena: Absolutely.

Rachana: With knowledge, information.

Rena: Yes. And it makes their practice so much more enjoyable. You can be in a stretch and then you start adjusting yourself. You start, you start moving yourself, you start breathing into it and it becomes. You get into that flow of things. Right. I mean, who wants to be sitting in an office for eight hours and then go in onto the mat and then get stuck on the mat too? So it's really to give them that opportunity to feel it for themselves and work out the issues for themselves.

Rachana: So suppose if I were your client and I had to come to you, say, for pelvic floor, what could I expect in a session?

Rena: So I have what I call the six week teaser journey or a 12 week full transformation. So working with you, I have in my toolbox. I'm a somatic yoga therapist, a Pilates rehab, I'm a Reiki master. So I can and I do very intuitive healing. And also it depends if you're open to it. We will do a deep, deep rest meditation to really just reset the whole body system. And so depending on what you need. What your preference would be to start.

We can work with any of the layers first. Yes. Because not everybody is aware or comfortable or because they can't see. If I were to start working with Reiki. So we would start with the body.

Rachana: And then move on.

Rena: And then move. Move from there.

Rachana: Wonderful.

Rena: So I kind of loop the three practices together and that's what I've been offering for many years. And it's working.

Rachana: That really sounds wonderful. And I'm so tempted to try it myself.

Rena: Great. Come to my first workshop for TURA.

Rachana: Absolutely. So, Rena, do you have any personal message for people who are seeking out for this kind of healing or a spiritual guidance.

Rena: So my program is called Wellness by Rena. I run my own programs for many years.

Rachana: And this is where they can find you?

Rena: Yes. And for them, it's not only wellness, it's a full spectrum healing journey for them. Because I do offer yoga therapy with the physical body. I offer Reiki with the intuitive, energetic emotional support and also infusing with the hypnotherapy with the mindset shift or a recall or just trying to make sense of what their issues could be on a deeper level. So it takes them through a whole journey of healing process.

Rachana: And when you say that, Rena, how do you see results in these people like your clients?

Rena: Again, I come from a body worker background, so I read the body a lot. And just by the movement, it's the breath itself. And what I find very interesting is when I'm working with clients using the Reiki symbols, because we're Reiki teachers. And with the introduction of the symbols into that practice, I can just see that body just shifting. There's an energetic shift in the body itself, either physically or by the breath. So that for me is transformational.

Rachana: And when you were saying that, Rena, honestly, I almost felt transported when you were just describing all that.

Rena: Thank you. And I do that. I see that very often. My popular program; it's Reiki infused, Reiki infused yoga practices.

Rachana: So whoever is listening and wants to reach out to Rena, Rena has left her website and we will also put it in the details. You can find her there.

Rena: So again, my website is wellnesswithrena.info so there you get an idea of what I am. I have offered in my toolbox.

So get in touch with me if you want some healing sessions together.

Rachana: Yes. And last question, Rena. How has TURA been helpful to you or it has supported to you? Would you like to share something about it?

Rena: So I joined TURA after becoming a Reiki Master a couple of years ago.

Rachana: Sorry. For people who don't know What TURA is, TURA is The Usui Reiki Association. So sorry, Rena.

Rena: No worries. So, yes, I joined Tura a couple of years ago after becoming Reiki Master. And it's been a wonderful support community, I find.

Rachana: Yes, it is.

Rena: Yes. And all of a sudden I realised there's so many, so many other practitioners, teachers that we share ideas, we support each other, we are sharing information, sharing knowledge, Sharing practices. So I've been doing a lot of the workshops since then, and it's a wonderful experience.

Rachana: Amazing. And there are also these activities that are happening, you know, I think pretty much every month.

Rena: Yes. So this year, since I'm part of the team as the secretary.

Rachana: Just to mention that Rena is also the secretary for TURA this year.

Rena: Yes. So I've kicked off the whole workshop with my program, but every month we have a workshop going on.

Rachana: Amazing. So really looking forward to attending your workshop, Rena. It's just going to be very soon. This Friday.

Rena: Yes. So whoever is free, come down Friday.

Rachana: And it's going to be magical.