Episode #195 Dr. Leslie Wester Healing Unicorns And Real-World Reiki

What if your body could find calm before your mind believes it? That’s the doorway we walk through with Dr. Leslie Wester—Reiki master, yoga teacher, brainspotting practitioner, educator, and proud “healing unicorn”—as we explore how energy work becomes real the moment you feel it in your bones. From early distance sessions with her mother to leading clients through gentle nervous system resets, Leslie shows how authentic practice beats perfect explanations every time.

We dive into two stubborn myths: that Reiki requires belief and that it’s a religion. Leslie’s stories reveal a different truth—clients often notice warmth, tingles, or emotional release first, then decide what it means later. When spiritual images arise, they belong to the client’s inner world, not a doctrine. We pair that clarity with a practical brainspotting demo you can try right away: find one calm point in your body, breathe into it, and let steadiness expand. It’s simple, somatic, and surprisingly effective for anxiety.

The conversation turns honest about impostor syndrome and the pressure to follow a single “right” business path. Leslie’s journey—earning a doctorate, teaching at a community college, blending modalities, choosing mobility over a fixed studio—reminds us that success follows resonance, not rigid rules. Seeds take time. Referrals grow where you keep showing up. Self-care is non-negotiable; if you don’t schedule recovery, life will schedule it for you. And when choosing a practitioner, trust the energetic fit. Credentials matter, but your nervous system knows when it feels safe.

You’ll also find favorite resources, including Women Who Run With the Wolves, and ways to work with Leslie through one-on-one Reiki, distance sessions, yoga classes near O’Hare, and online workshops. Whether you’re a curious beginner or a seasoned teacher, this is a warm, clear guide to letting intuition lead, honoring timing, and finding joy in the process.

Dr. Leslie Wester - Reiki master, Reiki teacher, Brainspotting practitioner, yoga teacher, meditation and self-care guide, overall unicorn.

Leslie was first introduced to Reiki in the early 2000s when her Mother became a Reiki master and began sharing the universal energy with her. In 2018 Leslie received her first and second attunements with Usui Reiki and began practicing on friends, family, and animals. In 2025, she received a calling to finish her Reiki master training and then Reiki teacher training and started Healing Unicorn to share these services with the public.
If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs calm, and leave a review to help more listeners find their way.

Transcript

Community Spotlight: Reiki Business Collective

Guest Intro: Dr. Leslie Wester

SPEAKER_01 0:21

This is Ready Set Reiki, a podcast about Reiki and all energy work. From the curious beginner to the seasoned master teacher, welcoming all systems, all images, all levels. Reiki is a journey and not a destination. And on this Ready Set Reiki journey, I refer to myself as a guide rather than host, FIA2 of traveling, learning, and supporting others on this journey as well. And with that said, I am your guide, Tracy Seawright. And this is Ready Set Reiki. Hello, Reiki family and Reiki blessings to one and all. Another Reiki journey. What an honor and privilege to be your guide to show you another way to look at things and to bring on other wonderful Reiki practitioners, master teachers, and those in the energy world. But first, I want to talk to you about Reiki Business Collective. Now, Christian Standing Stone has a beautiful Facebook book that he has a group that does sharing, supporting, and serving. It costs you nothing to come on to join this community. Now you can be active or you can be a curious observer here. So a beautiful community where we rise each other up, support each other. And I want you to know that you are never alone in this journey. You don't have to be on an island that we have a beautiful support system out here. And when one of us succeeds, we all succeed. So if you are that curious beginner or that seasoned master teacher, this is the place that you can land and be a part of a community. So let's get back to our journey here. So I want to bring on someone who's amazing and wonderful, magical, Dr. Leslie Wester. Now she is a Reiki master, Reiki teacher, brain spotting practitioner, yoga teacher, lover already, meditation and self-care guide, and overall unicorn, one of my favorite things as a child. Now she was first introduced to Reiki in the early 2000s when her mother became a Reiki master and began sharing this universal energy with her. Now in 2018, she referred received her first and second attunement with a Zooie Reiki and began practicing on friends, families, and animals. In 2025, she received a calling to finish her master training and then Reiki teacher training and started healing unicorn to share with these services with the public. So let's give a warm ready set Reiki welcome.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Hi, Tracy.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Welcome, welcome, welcome, friend to Ready Set Reiki.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

Thank you so much. I'm so honored to be here. And I love that you did the highlight on the Reiki Business Collective. I'm a member. Love that group.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Right. And you don't have to have a business to be a part of that community. Every every level, even if you're just curious and like, I don't know. I want to dip my toe in the water and I want to check out some things. It's a great place to begin your journey. So you're never alone. So I told our listeners just a little bit about you. So tell us about you.

SPEAKER_00 3:28

Well, hi, I am Dr. Leslie Wester, newly doctor. Um I just finished uh earning my doctorate in education. Uh, so I'm excited about having the doctor in front of my name. Um, I uh live in the near Northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Um, I live here with my husband, my 11-year-old kiddo, our two dogs. Um, I am a full-time mental health practitioner at a community college, um, which is also where I got some of my brain spotting. Um, and I incorporate yoga and Reiki wherever I can there, but then I also do that on the side, where that's how I find kind of my calmness, right? Um, being able to teach yoga, being able to provide and share Reiki with folks. And it's just, it's so fun and I love it so much.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Beautiful. And congratulations on the doctor. I mean, this is huge. So, my background as an elementary teacher, I know how huge that is. So, kudos to you for that. Well done. I love you. So Reiki Energy, we told a little bit about how magical it is that you had a mom that was into this, right? Because many people come who've come onto the podcast, you know, their family like, what are you doing? But you actually had a really wonderful support system. So tell me, did Reiki find you or did you find Reiki?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

I think it's a little bit of both, right? So um I was fortunate enough that um when I was in young adulthood, my mom was introduced to Reiki and she did her first few attunements and became a Reiki master. And it was so funny because she would always be like, I'm gonna send you Reiki, I'm gonna send you Reiki. And I was like, I don't know what you're sending me, but okay. And she was very much into distance Reiki because uh my family's all on the east coast of the United States and I'm in the Midwest. So it was a lot of uh distance Reiki. And before we had things like Skype or Zoom or anything like that, so it was she would call me on the phone and be like, Okay, I'm gonna send you some. And then she would hang up and because uh she didn't want to have any um electricity near her when she would provide Reiki and then she would call me. She's like, Did you feel it? And it was just this thing. Um I always would imagine, because I grew up in the 80s, like um the Care Bear movie. I don't know if you remember that as a kid, but care bears would like share their energy with that care bear share. I always imagined that's what my mom was doing. Like that was Reiki energy, right? The Care Bears really, really introduced me to it as a kiddo. And then uh when my mom would share Reiki with me, that's how I was imagining it. I was like, oh, well, it's just a care bear.

Misconceptions: Belief And Religion

SPEAKER_01 6:20

I love it, I love it. Beautiful. So, mom's been a part of this journey. You've been blessed to have these experiences of distant Reiki and the energy. And as you are now a master teacher and you stand back in your journey here, what are you finding are some misconceptions that people come to you or tell you about with Reiki?

SPEAKER_00 6:43

I mean, it's fascinating what folks think or are those misconceptions that are out there because there's so many. Um, I think one of the ones that I love the most is that you have to believe in it for it to work. I think that's the biggest misconception. Um, so my favorite thing is when someone who's skeptical wants, like, they're like, okay, I heard about this, but come on, Les. Like, is that really really is that doing anything? And I'll be like, well, let's do a quick session. Um, and then I'll typically have someone who will be like, wait, why does it feel warm? Or why do I feel like I'm buzzing? Or wait, was that the Ricky? What just happened? And I was like, see, it's just universal energy that's out there. It just I get to be a conduit to help give it to you where you need it. So I think that's one of um the things that I like most to is having someone who's skeptical. Um, I'd also say that people think that you have to be religious or that it's a religion. And you know, it's not it's not that at all. And even um, I had a client this weekend where I don't typically do angel work at all, but they had this, I had this image of angels coming, and I was like, Hey, I don't do angel work, but you've got these feathers and this angel, and she's like, Oh my gosh! And it connected to her so deeply. Um, and I and she was like, Oh, so there is a spiritual aspect. I was like, for you, yeah, there is, there's a connection to you, that's what matters. So I think those are the two biggest ones for me that I I run into most.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

Right. And this is just a modality that you just have to experience, right? And as a yoga teacher, you know this too that like there's all those misconceptions about yoga, right? Well, I have to be flexible, I gotta be this, I gotta be that. It's like just show up.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

All you have to do is be there, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Yep, absolutely. So you have been of service and helping and assisting many people in your journey. But as you look back, what has been a biggest challenge that you have faced in your healing journey?

Imposter Syndrome And Trusting Calling

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Oh, I really, I really want to say it's believing in myself, right? And um believing that I I can do this and that I it is my calling, and trusting that in my gut, right? And really learning how to lean into that and trust it. Um, and I think that imposter syndrome shows up in so many different ways in our life. And I would say especially here, it was trusting trusting that calling that now is the time for you to do this. Like you are you have known about this for so long, and you have done all of these things and shared with folks, it's it's time to really get out there and share with the world. So that's been the biggest challenge for sure.

SPEAKER_01 9:38

Right, right. And probably with the background in education, I always looked at it like, okay, well, I spent four years in college. I need to spend that equivalent of time, whether it's in yoga or in Reiki, to really master it. And so it's easy to get into that imposter syndrome, you know, imposter syndrome. But like you're always trying to be better, I think, because we're always evaluated, right? We're always critiqued. So we have that mindset of we need to be better. What more could I do? So I think it's very rare, like I walk away, whether it's Reiki or it's yoga. I I could have done better. And no matter what hurt, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Comparison. Comparison is the thief of joy. Like that is one of my mantras right now in life because I I'm the best version of me there is. So why would I compare myself to what someone else is doing or how someone else is doing it, right? Folks are coming to me and being drawn to me for a reason. I need to trust that and know that that's that's what they need and what I need too.

Paths, Studios, And Following Flow

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Sure. And one of the things, too, and you may have experienced in yoga, when you get to a certain point, the expectation is you need to have your own studio. You need to have your own space, you need to do all these things. And here in El Paso, it's been so difficult to find that commercial property. That's just right. But all of these blockages came from that, but yet the things online and me going to these places were so effortless that I had to really stop and think, I don't think the energy wants me to have this one spot. You know, I even turned my Jeep into beep beep the yoga jeep where I come to you. And so you have to kind of look at you have to look at somebody else, right? So um that, like, hey, they're doing this, but this is this is my path. It's different. I'm meant to just go out there instead of being in one spot. So to be open to these opportunities, even though it may not be something you expected, or maybe you had hoped, maybe something even better is on the horizon.

SPEAKER_00 11:42

Yeah, and it leaning into that, right? Trusting the process, leaning into it, and and it's it's so hard, but it's so worth it, right? Once you get there.

SPEAKER_01 11:53

Beautiful. So, mom being that Reiki practitioner, master, you know, as she was helping and giving you Reiki and blessing you with a Reiki as you are going through life, and if you get an energetic tune-up or you can use your mom as an example, what are some qualities that you look for in a Reiki practitioner, Reiki teacher, or even like an energy worker?

SPEAKER_00 12:18

You know, that that's something I really hadn't been consciously aware that I did, right? I just always seem to be drawn to certain folks. So when I reflect on it, I I think it's just matching energies and not necessarily matching my energy, but matching the energy that I need in that moment.

SPEAKER_01 12:39

Right.

SPEAKER_00 12:39

Right. So sometimes I need something that's way more grounding than I am. Um, so I'll connect to that. And I don't necessarily realize I'm seeking it out. It just sort of happens. So again, so it's trusting that intuition and and leaning into it. Um, and then there's sometimes there's just this whole, whoa, I don't, you're an amazing person, but this is not what I need right now. So no offense. But I'll refer some folks to you, but this is not good for me. Um, so I think it's you know, kind of really feeling those things out.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Right, right. You gotta really listen. If it doesn't feel right, don't do it. Even if they have all the credentials, it really is that connection, you know, that you feel. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Yeah.

Starting A Spiritual Business

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Very good. So, Reiki Master, brain spotting practitioner, yoga teacher, meditation, self-care guide, and unicorn, right?

SPEAKER_00 13:34

Oh, don't forget the unicorn.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

Overall, unicorn, right? As you're looking here in this journey, what are some advice that you can give someone who is listening to you and, like, yes, I can do this? What advice do you have to give them? They want to start a spiritual business.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

I think one of the key things is trusting your gut and and really listening to that intuition is the first thing. And then being open to those who you cross paths with when that happens. You may not know who that person is or why, but like when you have that feeling of, you know what, I think I need to reach out to this person, I think I need to talk to that person, you know, really trusting that, or when folks come into you and you just feel that really good vibration and you're like, hey, can I have your info or where can I find you on Instagram? Or do you have a website? Um, that's really what's made a huge difference. Um, and just keep putting yourself out there. Um, so many of my referrals have come from the most unusual places that I would not have expected. And then you get yourself out there, and then you get more referrals and more referrals, and it just kind of snowballs because you trusted yourself to plant all of those seeds. And sometimes it takes a long time, right? But trusting yourself throughout that journey and being your true authentic self throughout it, I think that's really, really key.

Patience, Seeds, And “Overnight” Myths

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Right. And you had mentioned seeds when you kind of put the mindset of how long it takes for a seed to grow, it takes a little time. And we are from a society where let's do it now. And sometimes that's not often the case. There are some things that I had prayed over or manifested and journaled three years ago that are just coming now, and it was like, whoa, like there it is. And um, you know, stay on the course, right? Be passionate, be open, and be open to that it can happen, not on your time, but when the alignment happens.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Well, and I think we're to your point of we're such a fast society. We see all of these overnight stars, right? We don't know how much time and effort and how long it took them to have that overnight success. How many times did they have to restart? How many times did they have to shift? Right. We see the end result and we just think it's that easy, but we don't see what happens behind the scenes and how long it took.

Book Recs And Services Offered

SPEAKER_01 16:13

Right. Absolutely. So, what books do you recommend?

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Ah, so I'm rereading Women Who Run With Wolves right now. Okay. And that is that is, I feel like a classic like female empowerment book. Um, and just re-hearing a lot of those stories has been giving me so much energy and trying to find that like inner wolf within. Um, so and one of my students was actually brought it into a session with me, and she was like, Have you ever read this book? I was like, I have, but it's been a minute. And so I started rereading it, and I feel like that's what a lot of your listeners may want to revisit if it's been a while.

SPEAKER_01 16:56

Yeah, beautiful, beautiful, love that. Just always interesting in the unicorn library. So beautiful. I love that. So, what other services do you offer? Do you offer classes, events, trainings?

SPEAKER_00 17:16

So currently um I do a lot of one-on-one Reiki, both in person as well as distance. Um, I have some folks on the East Coast and the West Coast and everything in between. That's the nice thing about being in the Midwest, right? Um, I do have my yoga classes that I teach. Um, I my suburb is really close to O'Hare Airport, which is one of the bigger airports in the area. So in the United States, actually. So I have a couple of studios that I work out of. Um, but I'm always able to kind of meet folks where they're at, especially when it comes to Reiki. So if you're coming to town, feel free to reach out. Um, I do have some workshops that I do as well. I tend to incorporate Reiki and yoga together for those workshops. Um, I have an event on January 2nd to welcome in the new year, though, that I'll talk about too. That's going to be an online workshop. So I really try to be as present as possible with those classes and workshops. Uh, but I'm open to other things. We'll see where, we'll see where 2026 takes me.

Contact Info And Platforms

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Beautiful. So, where can we find you, online or in person, if we're interested in a session or a service that you provide?

SPEAKER_00 18:34

Oh, fantastic. So the Healing Unicorn I.com. You can find me on Instagram, HealingUnicorn IL, and you can find my Facebook, HealingUnicorn IL. I'm very consistent, luckily, when it comes to that.

Listener Q1: Why Unicorns

SPEAKER_01 18:58

I love that. I love that. All right. Well, that ends the first part of our journey, and we're gonna continue on as I guide you to the next part, which are questions from listeners and from Reiki students. So here we go. Ready? Number one, what is the significance of unicorns in your life?

SPEAKER_00 19:18

Okay, Tracy, now correct me if I'm wrong, but did you not say that you had a connection to unicorns as a child?

SPEAKER_01 19:24

I did. I did. I had, you know, I was born in the 70s, right? A child of the 80s. And so when you mentioned the care bears, it was right here. My sister was always the pink hair bear, right? And I like blue, but so I was the blue care bear, all that rainbow bright, everything magical.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

So you're nailing so much of it, right? So I rainbow bright, Shera, Shera's horse turned into a Pegasus unicorn, right? So I have so many childhood memories of just unicorns being around me. Um, and it just became that gift that you would get a lot when you were a kid. Like, if when in doubt, get Leslie a unicorn, right? Um, that's still the go-to in my life, is folks know me and they're just like, well, she's a magical rainbow unicorn. Um, so it's always just been this piece of my identity. Um, I've been surrounded by them when I did um a lot of uh spirit guide and animal guide searches and meditations. It was always my unicorns that would come forward. And I have so many of them. I love it. I love the connection, I love how magical I feel. Um, and even in my in my work, I've uh done this is funny, contract negotiations where I've referred to myself as the magical rainbow unicorn. And at the end of the negotiation, I gave everyone a unicorn pen, and everyone signed the negotiated agreement in rainbow unicorn colors. Like it's it's just it's just a piece of me. So um, yeah, it's they've they're magic, they make me feel magical, and I just love to share that with folks. So that's that's where the unicorns are from.

SPEAKER_01 21:12

I mean, just as a kid, just the stickers, the wall design, the bed sheets. The leaves of crack.

Listener Q2: Self-Care Non-Negotiables

SPEAKER_00 21:23

The notebooks. Yes, and see you smile at when you think about those those memories, right? They just it just brings this smile and this piece of joy. And I think that's that's healing in and of itself. So that's that's where it's all connected. Very good, very good.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

So, number two, as a self-care guide, what is one thing that you cannot stress enough to your students and clients when it comes to self care?

SPEAKER_00 21:51

Okay, first I'm gonna tell everyone to take a deep breath because that's probably the first where we start, right?

SPEAKER_01 21:57

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

If you cannot make time for taking care of yourself, it's going to be forced on you at the most inappropriate time ever. So taking care of yourself now is going to help you in the long run to help others, to help yourself. And really, self-care is an extremely selfless thing to do. So take care of yourself on your timeline. Otherwise, it's going to be on someone else's and it's not going to be when you want it. Right. That's the biggest piece.

Listener Q3: Brainspotting Demo

SPEAKER_01 22:32

Right. And I mean, I have that empath and intuitiveness. And I knew, like back in May, like my body's like rest, rest, but the schedule wasn't showing rest. And I went to someone who I trust, and she was like, Your body's telling me you need to rest. Like, I know, I know. And continuing on, and I thought if I just push through these things and get to September, well, lo and behold, in August, I ended up getting COVID for the first time. It's like, oh no, now I'm going to cancel some things because I got it. I got the message here. And it was one thing after another. It was like COVID. It was a sinus infection, bronchitis, you name it. And um, I'm like, yeah, I get it. I'm listening. So, yep, self-care is so important. You know, we know that as teachers, we know that as yoga teachers, we know that Reiki masters here, that it's so important. But sometimes we don't take our own advice, even though. And here's the interesting thing. I had an article that was published, Reiki for burnout. I love it. I knew it was coming. Like the train could not be any louder. Yeah. I was like, I still got this too.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

I can keep going. I can keep going. It's like you, and the other thing is you don't have to take a week-long break to take care of yourself, right? Yeah. You could take those little snippets here and there, and it they build up and make a difference.

SPEAKER_01 24:01

Right. And I was just like, I gotta take something off the plate, and I was taking some of the yoga off and some things where I was driving all over the place, and like I need that reset. It's so important having that time. All right. Well, number three, can you give me an example of how brain spotting practitioners can help somebody with anxiety?

SPEAKER_00 24:21

I would love to. Are you are you open to being a part of the example?

SPEAKER_01 24:27

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 24:28

Okay, I love it. Okay. So brain spotting is this great therapeutic technique that helps us get into the subcortical parts of our brain. And instead of being like rapid eye movement, like some other modalities, we're really fixating on a certain spot and allowing and trusting our brain to heal itself. So when we're working with folks, a lot of times stuff is really stuck, really deep, really old stuff that gets stuck. And there's a lot of somatics involved. So one thing that we can do to help with our anxiety is something called resource spotting. So when we resource spot, what I want you to, what I invite you to do is I want you to scan your body from your head all the way down to your toes, and I want you to see if you can find a spot that feels calm, that feels, you know, grounded, and really focusing on that area. Do you have that area?

unknown 25:32

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 25:33

I do. Okay, awesome. So I want you to just focus on that area, and it could be for listeners, it could be your earlobe, it could be your toe, right? It doesn't have to be a big area, and I want you to just breathe into that area and focus on that area, and just keep slowly breathing in and breathing out, focusing on that calm area, and as you're focusing on that calm, that calm feeling in your body, noticing how do you feel across your body, how do you feel inside, how do you feel on the outside, and really just knowing that that is a safe and grounding and calming place that you can always go to, no matter no matter what you're experiencing, and just being mindful and being present and connecting to that body spot can really make a difference in the moment in your day, and you can carry it with you whenever you start to feel overwhelmed, and that is one of our ways that we can resource.

SPEAKER_01 26:54

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 26:56

How do you feel, Tracy?

SPEAKER_01 26:58

Good, good. I connected with my heart. I guess it's just the yoga teacher. Always, always. You know, right there in the area, you know, thymus gland, right? Vegas nerves.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

Well, and it's funny, there's I mentioned the earlobe. There's times that that's the only calm spot on my body I can find.

SPEAKER_01 27:23

Right.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

And it's kind of makes you giggle, but it's like, oh, but then it can start to grow, right? And it can start to expand. And just like with your heart, it's like, oh, as I'm breathing in, I can kind of feel that expanding and going out further.

SPEAKER_01 27:36

Yeah. Beautiful, beautiful. Thank you for sharing that example. Of course. Thank you for participating. Well, that was our last question. And as we've been talking, is there anything else that you may have forgotten or you want to share?

Closing Reflections And CTA

SPEAKER_00 27:51

The floor is yours. Well, thank you. I just I've been having this feeling throughout this entire conversation of just an energy release. So I wanted to share that with you and thank you for that. Because I was not expecting that experience from myself, but I also I've listened to your podcast so much, and to be on the other side of it is really cool. And also just like, oh, I can release here too. So definitely invite folks to, as they're listening to your podcast throughout, do a check-in with yourself and kind of notice what your own energy levels are at.

SPEAKER_01 28:31

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing all of that. Start this new year off, right? We're leaving that this year of the snake, right? And entering that year of the horse. So it's gonna be something else. So lots of letting go already.

SPEAKER_00 28:46

And there's there's so much astrological stuff that's coming that it's like, okay, I'm ready. I'm ready. Show me universe how good it can get, right? I'm ready for it.

SPEAKER_01 28:55

It's ready. Well, thank you, Dr. Leslie Wester, for joining me on this Reiki journey.

SPEAKER_00 29:03

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

All right, my beautiful listeners, if you would like your question featured on Ready Set Reiki, reach out www.ready setreiki.com and check me out on social media. Send me a question, and it might be on the podcast. So I'm Tracy C. Wright, and this has been Ready Set Reiki.