Becoming a Healer: The honest truth about the journey, the tests, and the rewards!

Many people feel the call to become a healer. It’s often subtle at first, a knowing in your whole body, a sense of “this is what I’m meant to do,” or a deep desire to help others find peace, clarity, or transformation.

I personally believe we are all already healers in our own way. But for those who feel the pull to turn healing into a profession, the reality is far deeper; a long, devoted path that asks for honesty, boundaries, shadow work, continual self-reflection, and a willingness to align again and again with your inner truth.

This post is for anyone who feels that call and wants a grounded, realistic, yet still deeply encouraging, understanding of what this path actually looks like.

The call isn’t always convenient

The call to become a healer rarely arrives at the perfect moment. It often comes during a messy chapter, a spiritual awakening, burnout, illness, grief, or a period of questioning everything. And if your business or lifestyle isn’t set up to hold you through those times, things can fall apart quickly.

Holding space for someone else when you’re struggling inside is a one-way ticket to burnout. Clients feel your energy. They know when they’re not receiving the grounded, present version of you. Frankly, the version they paid for.

For me, the call was not a grand gesture, it came in like a whisper.

A nudge: Learn Reiki.

A year later: Now learn Lomi Lomi.

Then the unmistakable feeling: Take this out into the world.

Before I could doubt myself, the universe nudged again. Someone had a clinic space and needed practitioners on the exact day I was available. I was on the path!

Healing businesses aren't always lead from the heart

As a woman of the world, (read old enough to have seen a few things), I have a plethora of experience working for other people, and offering my services as part of their business. In many ways, the experiences were blessings, a chance to learn, to discover different ways of running a business, exploring what I wanted to offer, and to observe how different practitioners packaged their services. I saw the magic of a bustling clinic space, the joy of clients leaving lighter and happier, and the sense of community that forms between healers.

But I also saw the other side.

• The pressure for rapid growth.

• The fixation on financial goals at the expense of integrity.

• The marketing tactics rooted in fear, manipulation, or urgency.

  
  

Through my experiences, one truth became very clear: a business can identify as a healing business, but still operate from scarcity, competition, and fear.

Currently, I have a day job, and because I have a steady stream of income, I have the privilege of growing my healing business slowly and organically. I don’t have to make fear-based decisions. I don’t need to rely on “selling out,” “last chance,” or “book now or miss out” messaging that feels deeply uncomfortable to me. And I definitely don’t resonate with the idea that other healers are “competitors” or that we have to undercut each other with discounts. I am eternally grateful that I'm in a position that allows me the freedom to realise that this simply isn’t my way.

I am building The Healing Bower from the ground up and I run my business intentionally and intuitively. You won’t see scarcity tactics or pressure-driven marketing from me. I believe deeply in collaboration, not competition — because the world needs more healing, not more hierarchy. Clients come to me because there is something in my energy, my story, or my approach that resonates with them. And just as openly, I refer clients to other Reiki masters, psychics, or QHHT practitioners when I feel they may be a better fit. That’s integrity, and it’s heart-led.

I also acknowledge the privilege of safety: my healing business is not currently my primary income, which means I can grow through trial, error, intuition, and experimentation without financial fear clouding my choices. That freedom has allowed me to connect with clients in a way that feels aligned with my values — and most importantly, it has given me the space to listen to Spirit.

And Spirit has never led me wrong.

Sometimes guidance comes as a stretch when I want to shrink.

Sometimes it encourages me to take a risk when I can’t see the outcome.

Sometimes it asks me to trust the unseen.

But I’ve learned one thing: you don’t know what’s possible unless you act. The more you follow your intuition, the more your path opens, and the more aligned opportunities arrive.

I don’t have a formula or a list of steps for you. But I do have this: Know what you care about and Trust your gut.

Your healing business is an extension of you. And if you receive advice that doesn’t honour who you are, what you value, or how Spirit speaks to you — well, you already know where that advice belongs.

You will be asked to heal yourself first

Jodie from The Healing Bower

Yes, you can support others while still healing — we all do. But this path asks you to stay committed to your own inner work. That includes:

• Facing your patterns, wounds, and projections

• Learning emotional regulation

• Understanding your trauma responses

• Being willing to evolve

• Releasing identities that no longer fit

There is no “fully healed” state you need to reach. But there is a level of radical honesty required.

What I’ve learned is this: you don’t need to be an expert in everything. You simply need to be honest with yourself about where you’re at. You need to know your strengths, what you’re capable of offering, and where you’re still learning.

Time after time at The Healing Bower, clients have arrived with the exact wounds or shadows I had only just worked through myself. And yes, part of me doubted, Who am I to guide them? Can I offer healing here? I've only just learned this myself.

But here’s the truth: You only need to resonate with the energy of resolution.

We’re all helping each other climb the same mountains; sometimes offering a hand, sometimes simply walking beside someone on their journey. Healing looks different for everyone. Just know that you have a lot to offer.

Spiritual gifts don’t replace skill

Intuition matters. Sensitivity matters. But healing is a craft — and crafts require mastery built over time.

Professional healing work requires:

• Quality Training

• Practice

• Ethics

• Mentorship

• Discernment

• Time with real clients

• Being trauma informed

• Learning from mistakes

There will be sessions that challenge you. Days where your confidence wobbles. Moments where you question everything.

This is not failure; this is the path of mastery.

At The Healing Bower, I have created three circles to support healers on this very journey: Tarot Club, The Woo Woo Lounge, and The Spirit Lounge. Each circle offers a safe, grounded community of practice where you can develop your skills, receive guidance, practice discernment, and grow in a supportive environment.

Know that you will be tested

Stepping into healing work means entering a deeper relationship with Spirit, and Spirit will grow you!

Your growth may look like:

• A quiet period where intuition feels switched off

• Fears of being seen

• Being humbled

• Boundary lessons

• Outgrowing relationships or environments

• Burnout and recovery

• Strengthening your energetic resilience

This work requires commitment, not just passion.

For me, navigating these tests (and the shadow work that comes with them) has only been possible because of my spiritual community. The support, wisdom, and love I’ve received from my friends has shaped me into the healer I am today. Each challenge has given me deeper empathy, stronger skills, and a clearer understanding of how to hold space for others. Grab those healing friends tight! They will be your sounding board, and will support you when times get tough. And if the people around you aren't offering that support for you - well you can always find new friends at The Woo Woo Lounge!

The work is sacred and also practical

Being a healer today also means learning how to hold the human, logistical side of things:

• Managing a business

• Communicating authentically and clearly

• Holding boundaries

• Pricing and practicing ethically

• Creating rest cycles

• Staying grounded while holding others’ emotions

It’s not glamorous — but it’s what makes your work sustainable.

The Healing Bower has blossomed under the practical guidance of intuitive business coach Lizzie Buscaino. Lizzie is a well-spring of great ideas, inspiration and grounded advice. She supports heart-centred businesses to find the soul of their business and express it in an authentic way. Lizzie is also a mega-nerd on the website front and is excellent with the tech side of presenting your business to the world. Lizzie is co-host of The Woo Woo Lounge, come along and have a chat with her or reach out through her website linked above. Having the right coach or business community is worth its weight in gold when it comes to solving practical problems.

The rewards are deeply worth it

Despite the challenges, nothing compares to witnessing someone shift, open, soften, or return home to themselves.

In QHHT sessions, Reiki, Akashic Records readings, or Lomi Lomi massage, I often feel the healing energy working through both of us. The room becomes a space where transformation is shared — where both the client and the practitioner rise together.

These moments remind me why this work is sacred. Why it matters. Why it continues to light me up.

This is a path of continual becoming

You don’t “become” a healer - You remember that you already are one.

Then, with practice, you deepen your presence, refine your gifts, expand your compassion, and mature into the healer you are meant to be.

Your presence becomes medicine. Your life becomes medicine. And year after year, you become more fully yourself.

Reframe what a "successful healer" looks like

If you feel the call to become a healer, honour it — but honour it with your feet firmly on the ground. This path is beautiful, but it is also real, practical, and multifaceted. Being available for clients is only one expression of your healing work. It’s not the whole story.

Remember: You are a healer 100% of the time, even if you offer your services part-time.

Your presence carries medicine, no matter where you are or what job you’re doing.

• Make that customer's morning coffee with intention — a little Reiki flowing through your hands.

• Assist your work colleague with the same loving attention you would offer a massage client.

• Offer to lead a breathwork moment at your next team meeting, or guide a grounding meditation to start off a work function.

Being a healer isn’t limited to a bricks-and-mortar clinic or a full-time practice. It’s a way of being. A way of relating. A way of showing up in the world.

When you reframe what being a healer looks like, you open yourself to the truth: Your healing work is already happening, everywhere you go.