One of the most common things I hear from new dread clients is that they weren’t quite sure what to expect after their installation. The first year of dreadlocks is a journey of change - and knowing what’s coming makes it much easier to trust the process rather than panic at it.

A little preparation before your appointment makes a real difference to how smoothly the session goes - and in the case of installations, to how well your dreads form and lock over time.

Dreadlocks are lower maintenance than many people expect - but they do have their own particular needs. Understanding how to care for them well from the start makes a significant difference to how they develop over time.

If there is one thing that sits at the heart of the system of Reiki, it is self practice.

Not sessions with others. Not formal teaching. Not lineage or certificates or levels. The daily, quiet, ordinary practice of returning to yourself.

The word translates as inner teachings. Where Shoden laid the foundation, Okuden deepens it - refining attention, expanding practice, and inviting a more intimate relationship with the system.

At the heart of the system of Reiki are five short phrases. They are among the first things taught in Shoden, and they are the last thing we do together before a class ends.

A drum birthing session is not a craft workshop.

That distinction matters. Craft workshops teach technique - how to do something correctly, efficiently, according to a method. What happens in a drum birthing session is different. The technique is there, and it is taught, but it is not the point.

Not all hide drums are the same. The animal the hide comes from shapes everything - the sound, the feel under the hand, the way the drum responds to weather and touch. Here is a guide to the hides I work with and what each one brings.

A hide drum begins long before the making.

It begins with the hide - an animal that lived, was harvested, and whose skin has been prepared for this purpose. I work with kangaroo, deer, goat and calf, each bringing its own character to the drum it becomes.

Dreadlocks are living things. They grow, shift, and change over time — and like anything living, they benefit from occasional attention. That’s what maintenance is for.

Creating dreadlocks is not a quick process. Done well, it’s methodical, considered, and deeply attentive to the individual hair in front of you. Here’s what the process actually looks like.

Dreadlocks exist on a spectrum. At one end, perfectly uniform cylinders, identical in size, neat and symmetrical. At the other, something that looks like it grew from the person wearing it - varied, characterful, alive.

For many people, the attunement is the most mysterious part of Reiki. It’s often described in dramatic terms - a ceremony that opens channels, activates abilities, or initiates the student into something new. My experience of it is quieter than that.

Shoden is the first level of Usui Reiki Ryoho - the system of Reiki founded in Japan in 1922 by Mikao Usui Sensei. The word itself translates as first teachings, though “first” here doesn’t mean beginner in a dismissive sense. It means foundation. The ground from which everything else grows.

Most people come to Reiki expecting a definition. Something clear and manageable - a healing modality, a form of energy work, a Japanese practice involving hands.

A hide drum is a living instrument. Understanding how to care for her means understanding that she will always be in relationship with her environment — responding to temperature, humidity, and the seasons in ways a synthetic drum never would. This isn’t a flaw. It’s the nature of working with something that was once alive.

Choosing a hide drum is both practical and intuitive. There are real differences between hide types, sizes and construction methods that are worth understanding — and at the same time, most people find that once they know the basics, a particular drum simply calls to them. Trust that when it happens.

A hide drum is a living instrument. Understanding how to care for her means understanding that she will always be in relationship with her environment — responding to temperature, humidity, and the seasons in ways a synthetic drum never would. This isn’t a flaw. It’s the nature of working with something that was once alive.