Editor Sophie Ritchie visits The Mandrake’s penthouse suite for an evening of group-based holistic healing with the Mystic Sisters, a duo of gifted (and rather stylish) spiritual healers who offer transformative one-to-one sessions, workshops and events in London
Hosted in The Mandrake’s hotel’s penthouse suite (which is an experience in itself), I find myself spending a rainy Tuesday evening floating up in the lift with a group of other women, all en-route to The Mystic Sister’s latest evening of hands-on reiki healing, soothing crystal and singing bowl sound healing.
By the looks of the jam-packed lift, it’s going to be busy – a gaggle of well-dressed ladies clamber in around me as we’re guided by one of The Mandrake’s reception team to the top floor abode.
The large white door opens to reveal Maria Lodetoft, one half of the Mystic Sisters duo. The other (who isn’t present for the night) is Barbra May, who I first met back in summer during a private reiki cleansing. I’m not quite the anxious creature I was then – ending our session by nearly bursting into tears on the massage table – but I’m still pretty strung out from work, and feel like an evening of holistic-based health sounds like the perfect antidote.
Even entering the marble-clad room has an immediately calming effect on me. Everyone leaves their shoes and belongings in the hallway outside, then we enter the vast main bedroom (which is void of the usual furniture and filled with mats, candles and crystals instead).
We begin by neatly lining up to one side for what the website describes as a ‘short shamanic ritual,’ which involves being ‘cleansed’ one by one with sage by Maria and her assistant before we each take to a mat on the floor. Although the room isn’t cold, there are thoughtfully-placed blankets and pillows for added comfort.
Once we’re all settled and have chosen a spot, Maria begins to speak positive affirmations into the space. Positive statements fill the atmosphere as I lie back and relax into the surroundings, with a crystal mask shortly placed over my eyes and further crystals placed over my upper body, which deliver further healing effects.
It goes without saying that I can be a ball of stress. I still feel overwhelmed from my diabolical train journey into the city and can sense the serenity of the room soothing my anxieties, which still rush around my body like a thumping blood stream.
I breathe deeply and allow myself to connect with Maria’s words, pushing the thoughts of daily life, emails and spreadsheets aside as I listen to the words. Someone nearby takes the words a little too literally – before long, I hear the sound of muffled snoring from the nearby corner filtering through the space. It takes away from the mystical enchantment a little, but you can’t win them all.
Next, both women slowly make their way around the room for the reiki healing segment of the evening. Maria had announced at the start that the focus of the night will be on the solar plexus – the chakra best known for power, energy balance and self-confidence. But when I feel someone approaching me (the eye mask makes it hard to see), they don’t focus on this area for very long. After around a minute of gentle pressing upon my solarplex, the hands move up and are placed on my heart instead.
The heart chakra is the fourth primary chakra and serves as our centre of love for oneself and others, compassion, empathy and forgiveness. It’s suggested that if the heart chakra (also known as anahata) becomes blocked, it’s said to be associated with poor relationships and unhealthy love. Well, that would make sense. It’s no surprise to me that she presses her hands against it, as if she already knows the tales of heartbreak hiding underneath the skin beneath.
I drift out just before the end to catch my train home to Guildford, leaving through The Mandrake’s tunnel-like entrance to enter drizzly London reality once more. But my heart (which I have a habit of ignoring) feels a little bit like it’s been plucked off a very dusty shelf and placed back on a counter for inspection. Sooty, cracked in places – but ready to be back in the front window display with the others.
It’s worth noting that there’s a large group to assist during the event as almost every mat has been filled, which makes each individual reiki encounter fairly brief. If you’re looking for a longer, more personalised experience, you’d be better off booking one of the 1-to-1 sessions. But if you love holistic experiences in general, especially in a group dynamic, this soothing session will leave you feeling even more relaxed than a weekly yoga class.
Make it happen
How: Find out more and make a booking for further events via wearemysticsisters.com
Wallet: £50.00 per person.
Words by Sophie Ritchie, editor
