Hello beautiful soul, and welcome. My name is Karina

I am a Registered Nurse of 34 years, a Usui Reiki Master/Teacher, Access Bars® Facilitator, intuitive practitioner, and the heart behind Breathe Reiki Room in Ohāupo, New Zealand.

After decades of supporting people through pain, stress, and recovery, I have come to understand how deeply the nervous system influences both our physical health and our sense of wellbeing.

For the past 18 years I have worked in private surgical nursing, where one of our busiest specialties is women’s health and gynaecology. Through this work I have supported many people navigating pain, stress, and the complex relationship between body, mind, and emotions.

While I hold deep respect for conventional medicine, I have also seen where it can struggle — particularly when it comes to chronic pain, burnout, and the emotional layers that often sit beneath physical symptoms.

Over time it became clear to me that healing is rarely just physical. The body carries stories, experiences, and energy that also deserve to be acknowledged and supported.

My journey with Usui Reiki began in 2013, and over the past 12 years of training and practice it has become both a healing modality and a way of life for me. Reiki gently supports the nervous system to return toward balance, allowing the body to soften, restore, and reconnect with its natural state of wellbeing.

As both a nurse and energy practitioner, I bring a unique perspective to my work. I understand the body through the lens of medicine, while also holding space for the energetic and emotional dimensions of healing that are often overlooked in conventional care.

At Breathe Reiki Room, I bring these two worlds together.
You will never be asked to choose between medicine and energy healing here — I believe they can work beautifully side by side.

I was trained under Reiki Master/Teacher Yolanda Cholmondeley-Smith of Cambridge, who carries more than 30 years of Reiki wisdom. Learning within this lineage has been a deep honour, and I now carry that tradition forward in my own way — blending traditional Usui Reiki, intuitive insight, Access Bars®, and the grounded perspective I bring as a Registered Nurse.

Alongside Reiki, I was also drawn to the transformative work of Access Bars®.

I trained in 2016 under Chrissy Shirley in Hamilton, who brings more than 25 years of experience within Access Consciousness. Chrissy’s vibrant, upbeat approach to energy work deeply resonated with me, and learning with her was both inspiring and expansive.

Access Bars® works in a different way to Reiki. While Reiki gently restores energetic balance within the body, Access Bars focuses on clearing mental and emotional clutter by lightly touching 32 points on the head that store thoughts, beliefs, emotions, and patterns.

Over the years I have found that these two modalities complement each other beautifully. Some people feel drawn to the deep calming presence of Reiki, while others love the sense of mental spaciousness and lightness that Access Bars® often brings.

Having both approaches available allows me to support people in a way that feels natural, personalised, and aligned with what their system needs most in the moment.

Outside the healing room, life is wonderfully simple. I live on a lifestyle block with my partner Austin and our small menagerie of cats, dogs, and chickens, and I’m also a proud mum to four amazing adult children.

I love baking sourdough, gardening, coffee and pastries, reading, journaling, reformer Pilates, and long warm days in the sunshine. In truth, I am happiest quietly tinkering at home — with family, flowers, books, and the gentle rhythm of everyday life.

Breathe Reiki Room was born from a deep calling to be of service to my community.
It is a space created for people to pause, breathe, soften, and reconnect with themselves.

It is a privilege to hold that space, and I am honoured to share this work with those who feel called to it.

Sometimes the body simply knows when it is time to pause, breathe, and receive support.
If that moment feels like now, I would be honoured to welcome you.