Rachel Maki is a licensed therapist, yoga teacher, Reiki Master, Tarot Reader and Akashic Seer. But her spiritual journey began when she took her first yoga class at age 11, over 25 years ago. As far back as she can remember, Rachel struggled with depression and anxiety. Yoga was the space she felt most safe in her body and calm in her mind. Since then, yoga has become a transformative practice for Rachel and so many of her students in achieving mental health, healing physical injuries, overcoming self-limiting beliefs, and so much more.
Rachel also had a unique experience as a teen attending a therapeutic boarding school, which she found more harmful than helpful. She learned directly the limitations of the medical model of psychology that seeks to solve problems solely through diagnosing, medicating and talking. She knew so much was missing from this approach to mental health. It seemed to turn people into patients with pathologies and lacked the power of inherent potential for self-healing that we all hold.
Because of this, Rachel chose to study Expressive Art Therapies at Lesley University, seeking an alternative approach to mental health. She earned her BS in 2011 and left Boston for Brooklyn, where she became a certified yoga instructor in 2015 through Prema Yoga. Yoga was the gateway that led Rachel to a lifelong exploration of ancient and modern healing practices from all over the world. Rachel began studying Reiki in 2016 and became certified at the Master level in 2020.
In 2019, she received her Master’s degree in Social Work from Hunter College. She has worked as a licensed therapist for almost 5 years. Additionally, Rachel is attuned to the Akashic Records, which act as an energetic map of the soul’s journey. She has also enjoyed studying and reading Tarot for well over a decade. Rachel offers spiritual and somatic approaches to healing rooted in clinical knowledge. Rachel currently works as a Therapist with NY City Psychotherapy and additionally as a Mental Health Counselor with the City University of NY.