Meet Doria Karina Greenland | Energy Practitioner & Founder of Mojave Reiki
We had the good fortune of connecting with Doria Karina Greenland and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Doria, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Being born and raised in Santa Monica, I never imagined that I would move to the middle of the desert and start my own business as a Reiki practitioner. In 2016, I started recognizing that city life was wearing on me. I was working as a technical recruiter and behind a computer a lot. In an effort to find some peace, I began taking trips to the desert. The desert provided me with stillness, a much needed pause to hear myself think. The draw was strong, so in 2018 I left my job and pulled the plug on over 30 years of Westside living and moved to Yucca Valley full-time. I felt at peace with my environment, but my mind was racing about what the next “career move” would be. I remember not wanting to commit to anything, asking for guidance in my daily meditations.
Leaving the city also meant that I left behind the spiritual community that I was part of at the Self Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades. Seeking to fill the loss of that spiritual community, I stumbled upon the Yucca Valley Center For Spiritual Living. The address was 7434 Bannock Trail. Being born at 7:43 in the morning, the synchronicity was apparent. At the spiritual center, I ventured in to find the most welcoming people, and experienced energy healing for the first time. It was an amazing and transformational experience. I let go of so much I had been holding onto, and wanted to learn more.
A few months later, I was at a friend’s house. I noticed all of her Reiki certificates on the wall. I inquired about them, and she told me that I could get certified in Reiki at a place called Rainbow Stew in Yucca Valley. “Rainbow what?” I remember saying. At the beginning of 2020, I decided to pay Rainbow Stew a visit. They were holding a Reiki 1&2 training the next week. I immediately signed up.
I got my certification, and then…boom…the pandemic hit. The world went into lock down and I had this gift that I couldn’t share with anyone but myself. I began doing Self-Reiki on a daily basis. It kept me sane during the pandemic, but I truly wanted to share this healing modality with others. Friends and family began letting me practice on them and I realized this was more than just energy work; I was helping to change their perspective on life.
One year later, I knew I wanted to get certified as a Reiki Master. When nobody else would, my now dear friend, Anne Fernandez, stepped up to the plate and certified me. It was an enormous download, and my world, and the world at large, began to slowly open up.
I have always been entrepreneurial. Having started a few small businesses before, I understood insurance, what a DBA is and the necessity of a website. Reiki, however, was personal to me. If I was going to be my own boss and start a business where healing came first, there had to be a clear intention. I wanted people to be empowered.
Because we had all been through such a collective trauma with the pandemic, I knew conventional modalities weren’t going to cut it. I asked myself, if I could receive my first energy healing experience all over again, what would it look like? That’s when I decided to form an entire business around sharing that experience with others. As a result, Mojave Reiki was born.
Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets my Reiki practice apart from others is my strong understanding of physiology, which I gained from graduating from an RN program in 2010. The nursing program taught me the value of bedside manner, which has enabled me to provide a unique approach to my practice. From an energetic and biologic perspective, I am able to clearly explain how Reiki works in the body. What is most fulfilling about having my own practice, is the time I get to share with my clients; something I didn’t have as much of during my time as a nurse.
One of the challenges I faced when seeking a location for my business was determining where to create an intimate space that was conducive to hosting all the different modalities that I wanted to incorporate into my signature session. After trial and error with different locations, I now find myself in a studio space that enables me to provide my vision of an ideal experience. Unlike reiki treatments found at hospitals & spas, I offer more of a personalized experience. When clients book my signature session, the Mojave Reiki Experience, they are guided through a 1:1 hundred-minute healing ceremony that includes chakra balancing, crystal bowl healing, a full Reiki session, hot tea, spiritual guidance, and inspirational Tarot.
I’m most excited to share Reiki with individuals that have never had energy healing before. For 90% of my clients, booking a session with Mojave Reiki is their first experience with energy work. Most of all, I love the fact that it has come full circle. The fascinating truth about Reiki is that it’s a symbiotic relationship between practitioner and recipient. The Universal-Energy that I share with my clients is the same energy that is returned and subsequently received by me. I am also excited in the value my clients are finding in the spiritual guidance and inspirational tarot aspect of the signature session. I once got a call from a client a week after, telling me what a difference it made in her life’s perspective. At the end of the day, I am rewarded in knowing what a ripple effect this can have, in not only their lives, but in the lives of everyone they come into contact with.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In my opinion, a trip to the desert is incomplete without time spent in nature. Any time a friend visits, I make it a point that we go on at least one hike to explore the outdoors. Indian Cove, Black Rock, Pioneertown Mountains Preserve and Morongo Valley are all hiking spots I frequent. Joshua Tree National Park is great as well, although you will rarely find me there on a crowded weekend.
Red Dog Saloon and Giant Rock Meeting Room are good places to catch live music, have a bite and share conversations with friends. For a healthy & delicious meal, I recommend Yucca Tree Eatery. La Copine is a great place to sit outside, soak in the desert vibe and have an upscale lunch.
On Saturdays, the Sky Village Swap Meet is ritual, and a great place for bargains and people watching. Sunday mornings, I’m almost always at the Yucca Valley Center For Spiritual Living.
On the third Thursday of the month, I would suggest a sound bath at Yucca Shala, where my amazing friends Kim and Spencer have created a wonderful space for yoga and workshops. If I had a friend lucky enough to be visiting on a Wednesday, I would highly suggest we attend a hot yoga and sound bath session at Cedar and Sage Wellness Studio in Old Town Yucca Valley.
The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We never accomplish anything in this life totally alone, so there are many people that have helped me to grow and become the woman and entrepreneur that I am today. I would like to send a big shout out to the following individuals with immense gratitude.
I would like to thank my parents. My father, Darrell, is an entrepreneur and taught me the value of being creative. My mother, Estela, has always supported my dreams. She is also one of the most giving and caring individuals I know.
To my longtime friend of over 20 years, Robyn McIntyre, who always had my back since we were teenagers. She showed me that with dedication, anything is possible, including owning a successful female-run business.
To my biggest advocate for spiritual growth, Veronica Gabrielle LaBarrie. For the past 3 years, she has been my friend, mentor and an enormous reason I have evolved so much as a human being through her teachings of a Course in Miracles. She calls me every week to check in and do a meditation, asking for nothing in return.
To my friends Meaghan Ryan, Zinaida Georgiev, Mirella Martinez & Jordan Forward-Sanchez for their friendship and support in helping me navigate and traverse life’s bumps-in-the-road.
To Tom Hubschman who encouraged my transition into this career choice and supports my other passion—real estate.
To Anne Fernandez, Stacey B Clayton, Otter Smith and Chuck Greenwood for helping me discover Reiki and obtaining my Reiki certification.
To the entire Hi-Desert community that has embraced me for being me. To my desert family: Eric, Davíd, Sabrina, Tobi, Kim, James, Hester, Phaedra, Jane, Aydra & Lisa—just to name a few.
And finally, to Katherin Hervey who nominated me for this article. She is a beautiful soul and a very talented filmmaker.
Website: www.mojavereiki.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mojavereiki/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mojavereiki
Image Credits
Aydra Jenson
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