Reiki in Santa Elena: From Body to Forest, From Forest to Soul

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In Santa Elena the session happens outdoors, in the mountain forest above Medellín, at roughly 2,500 metres and less than an hour from the city centre. The format is called the Encounter with the Christic Self, and it is received in small numbers: one, two, or at most three people. It is not a consulting-room session moved outside. It is something else.

Let me tell you what.

What Santa Elena is

Santa Elena is a corregimiento — a rural district of Medellín — on the eastern mountain that closes the Aburrá Valley. It is the land of the silleteros, the flower-growing families who each August carry enormous floral arrangements down into the city for the Flower Fair parade.

Up here the climate is different. The city can be at twenty-six degrees while it is thirteen here. In the morning the forest wakes up inside a cloud, and the sun takes its time opening it.

There are pines, eucalyptus and native forest. Moss on the trunks, giant ferns in the ravines, and ground that smells of wet earth almost all year.

And there is something the city does not have: silence with texture. Not the absence of sound. The sound of something else.

The road up

Getting to Santa Elena is part of the session, even if nobody says so.

The road leaves the city by Las Palmas or by the old Santa Elena road, beside the Olaya Herrera airport. At first it is still city. Then the curves begin.

And then what always happens happens: the temperature drops, the windows fog slightly, and the valley appears below. All of Medellín turns small.

When you step out of the car, the first thing you notice is the air. It comes in cold and clean, and your body takes a deeper breath without being asked.

That is usually the moment people realise how tightly they had been holding on.

What changes when the session happens in a forest

In the consulting room I prepare the space. I choose the temperature, the light, the music if there is any. Everything is under control, and that has value: people let go because nothing surprises them.

In the forest I control nothing.

Mist can roll in halfway through and erase the trees ten metres away. A fine drizzle can fall — the kind called pelo de gato here, cat's hair. The sun can break out suddenly and warm your face while the rest of you stays cold.

And there is sound the whole time. A bird you never see. A branch. Wind moving through the canopy long before you feel it below.

At first that distracts. It almost always distracts for the first few minutes.

Then something else happens: the body stops defending itself against the surroundings and begins to belong to them. The breath falls into step with what it hears. And the session is no longer happening in a place. It is happening with a place.

I have seen people weep in the forest who had never wept on a treatment table. Not because the forest performs magic. Because up there nobody is watching, there is no clock, and the body understands before the mind does that it is allowed to let go.

What the Encounter with the Christic Self is

That is the name of the work we do there.

The Christic Self is not an external figure to be summoned. In this understanding, it is the presence of divine love that already lives in you: the part of you that never broke, the one that knows who you are when everything else has been forgotten.

The encounter is the moment you stop looking for it outside yourself.

I work from the lineage of Mikao Usui, and I bring in the accompaniment of the ascended masters, the archangels and the seven rays. "Sananda" is the name of the Master of universal love, known to many as Jesus the Christ.

I say this plainly because it is my path, and I say it without imposing it. Your belief system is yours, and your free will is the first thing respected here. Catholics have come, people from other traditions have come, people with no faith at all have come, and each found their own language for what happened.

The encounter does not require you to believe anything. It requires you to be willing to be present.

The details of the format are in the Encounter with nature and the Christic Self.

How it unfolds

There is no rigid script, but there is a rhythm that repeats.

Arrival and silence. The first minutes are for nothing. For actually arriving, which is not the same as parking. Breathing, looking, letting the body register the temperature.

Conversation. We talk about why you came. Without hurry. Sometimes this is the most important part of the day.

The work. The laying on of hands, the same as in the consulting room: clothes on, no invasion, and the freedom to ask me to stop at any moment. What is different is everything else.

The time afterwards. Nobody rushes off. There is a while to come back, drink something warm, and talk if you want to talk. Many people prefer not to talk, and that is fine too.

And then you go down. The descent towards the valley, with the city reappearing, closes something I cannot explain better than this: from body to forest, from forest to soul.

Practical information


Where	The Santa Elena district, in the mountains above Medellín
Travel time	Roughly 45–60 minutes from central Medellín, depending on traffic
How to get there	By car via Las Palmas or the old Santa Elena road; public buses also serve the district, as do ride apps
Climate	Cool year-round, frequent mist and quick rain; mornings and late afternoons are coldest
Group size	One, two, or at most three people
Length	Longer than a consulting-room session, because it includes the arrival and the time afterwards
Meeting point and time	Agreed when booking
Price	I will tell you the current rate on WhatsApp before you book, with no obligation

What to bring

Warm, comfortable clothes in layers. The cold here gives no warning. A wind-breaking jacket changes the whole experience.
Closed shoes with grip. The forest floor is usually damp.
A light rain jacket or a hood. It rains quickly and stops quickly.
Water. The altitude dehydrates more than you expect.
Something warm for afterwards, if you like. A flask of herbal tea is a good ending.
Spare socks, especially if you have come from far away.

What you do not need

No previous experience with Reiki, meditation, or anything else.

No cushions, blankets or mats: that is prepared for you. And no clear idea of why you came — you can arrive with the question half-formed.

Who it is for

It is for you if any of this sounds familiar.

You have had the feeling for a while that the city does not let you hear yourself. The noise, the traffic, the notifications, the permanent conversation with yourself.

You are in the middle of a large change — a decision, a loss, an ending, a beginning — and you need a different kind of space to look at it.

You have already received Reiki indoors and you want something deeper.

You live abroad and you are passing through Medellín, and you want something that is not a tourist activity.

Or you are simply tired in a way that ordinary rest no longer fixes.

Who it is not for

This has to be said too, and I would rather say it beforehand.

Not for anyone looking for a cure. Reiki does not cure illness, does not replace any medical or psychological treatment, and does not guarantee results. It accompanies. If you are in treatment, stay in treatment.

Not for anyone who cannot manage the ascent. The altitude and the cold ask something of the body. With a cardiovascular or respiratory condition, or difficulty on uneven ground, talk to your doctor and then to me: an indoor session is the more careful option.

Not for facing an acute emotional crisis alone. If you are in serious crisis, what you need first is professional mental health support. Write to me anyway and I will say so warmly, but I will say it.

If a session in the city fits you better, where to get Reiki in Medellín sets out the criteria, and about Sananda Reiki explains where I work from.

What I see up there

In my experience accompanying encounters in Santa Elena, there is a moment that repeats almost every time and that does not depend on me.

It comes about twenty minutes in. The person stops hearing the forest as something around them, and starts hearing it as something they are part of.

I notice it in the breathing. It slows, deepens, and finds a rhythm that is not the city's.

Afterwards people sometimes tell me they remembered something very old. A childhood house. A voice. A place where they once felt safe.

I do not make that happen. Neither does the forest. I believe the body's memory was waiting for a place quiet enough to speak in.

Your body knows how to heal. It only needs you to remind it of the way.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is Santa Elena, and how long does it take from Medellín? Santa Elena is a rural district of Medellín on the eastern mountain above the Aburrá Valley. From the city centre it is about 45 to 60 minutes by car, via Las Palmas or the old Santa Elena road. Public buses also serve the district. The exact meeting point is agreed when you book.

What happens if it rains? Usually we work anyway. In cloud forest the rain tends to be fine and passing, and with the right clothing it interrupts nothing; for many people the drizzle makes the experience deeper. If the weather turns genuinely bad, we reschedule. That is decided together on the day, with no charge for the change.

Can I come with my partner or a friend? Yes. The encounter is for one, two or at most three people. Coming with someone changes the experience: something is shared that is hard to put into words afterwards. What we do not do is large groups, because the silence this work depends on disappears.

Do sessions happen in English? Yes. This is a common request from people living in El Poblado and Laureles, and from visitors. Tell me when you write so I can plan the encounter accordingly.

Is it the same as an indoor session, just outside? No. Indoors I control the space: temperature, light, silence. In the forest I control nothing, and that is precisely what does the work. The session stops happening in a place and starts happening with a place. If you have never received Reiki, either format is a good beginning.

Can I come up if I have a health condition? Talk to your doctor first, and then to me. The altitude, the cold and the uneven ground ask something of the body. With a cardiovascular, respiratory or mobility condition, an indoor session is usually the more careful option, and it loses nothing essential.

Disclaimer

This article is for educational purposes and does not replace diagnosis, treatment or follow-up by a healthcare professional. Reiki is a complementary practice: it accompanies, it does not substitute. If you are under medical or psychological care, continue it and talk to your treating professional before adding any complementary therapy.

If you would like to come up, write to me on WhatsApp at +57 314 811 7561 or through contacto, and we will agree the day, time and meeting point. If you would rather begin in the city, that is good too: the formats are listed under terapias.