Life, Values & Legacy: Our Chat with Nikki Jahnke of Garner

We recently had the chance to connect with Nikki Jahnke and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nikki, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What do you think is misunderstood about your business? 
I think one of the biggest misunderstandings about my business is that Reiki and energy work are only for “woo woo” people. And I totally get that, I used to be one of those people. But the truth is, energy is everything — it’s at the core of how we feel, how we move through the world, and how we show up in our lives.

Working with your energy isn’t about being spiritual in a certain way; it’s about being human. We all have moments of stress, doubt, or imbalance, and when we learn how to regulate our energy and reconnect with ourselves, we create profound shifts that ripple into every area of life — from our health and relationships to our creativity and confidence.

So for me, Reiki isn’t just for a select group of people. It’s a tool anyone can use, no matter where they are on their journey, to feel more grounded, empowered, and whole.

Something people don’t realize is that Reiki is a potent nervous system regulation tool. Any time you receive Reiki from yourself or someone else, it puts your body into parasympathetic, which is the heal and repair state of our system. Most people are walking around chronically dysregulated without even realizing it. The power of Reiki is that you get to come back into regulation and when you do…everything changes.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! My name is Nikki Jahnke. I am 29 years old and I am from Chicago and moved to Raleigh 5 years ago. I have the cutest Dalmatian you have ever seen and a beautiful cat named Bear. I am a Reiki Master Teacher and I teach and attune women to all levels of Reiki. I have a Reiki I & II Attunement and Certification Program called OPEN and a Reiki Master/Master Teacher Program called ROOTED.

These Reiki Trainings are unlike any other out there, and that was deeply intentional. Most people get attuned to Reiki in a single day or weekend, but this simply isn’t enough. It doesn’t allow the time and space to sit with, understand, and embody the energy. It doesn’t give women the depth of practice needed to feel truly confident or proficient. And it doesn’t set them up for lasting success — in their healing or in their business.

When I first wanted to become attuned to Reiki I didn’t know much about it. I was looking for training and all I could find were these one day 6-8 hour classes and I thought, “surely that can’t be right.” But it was. I went to the class looking forward to it, but left deeply disappointed. I knew if I wanted to do something with this I was going to have to learn a lot on my own or find another training. And that’s exactly what I did.

The reason I wanted to become attuned to Reiki is because I was dealing with chronic illness. In 2020 I was diagnosed with breast implant illness, SIBO, candida, lyme disease + lyme co-infections. You name it, I had it. It was a long and brutal road to recovery. I tried every supplement, protocol, detox, wellness tool you can imagine and while it was helping, it wasn’t fully moving the needle.

I also have always felt that I was meant for more, bigger, better, and maybe you can relate to that? It was frustrating, really. I had all of those feelings, but no roadmap. I didn’t know how I was going to get there so I started to question myself and that’s what happens when we become disconnected from our bodies and our energy. We start to doubt ourselves. We think maybe this is all in my head, maybe I need to be more realistic. But I promise you, if you have an inner knowing that you are meant for more, it is very real.

I then decided to become attuned to Reiki and within a year my life had completely changed. I spent every single day showing up to my self practice and I noticed my symptoms were falling away. I was gaining more confidence. I felt lighter in my body and in my spirit. I was making more money. Everything was changing. It felt like a miracle. But it wasn’t, it was the result of learning to work with my energy.

That’s why my programs are immersive, supportive, and transformational. I don’t just hand over information, I walk with women through the integration process, offering real time support, embodiment practices, and guidance on how to build not only their confidence but also a thriving practice if they choose to share Reiki with others.

What makes my work unique is that it’s not just about Reiki as a technique — it’s about initiation into a new way of living, leading, and being. My students don’t just leave certified, they leave changed.

And at the core of everything I do is my mission: to empower women to reclaim their energy, their healing, and their power, so they can live fully expressed, deeply rooted, and wildly free and ripple that transformation out into the world.

I am currently working on a Manifestation Membership because among many other things this is something I am deeply passionate about (and firmly believe that Reiki is THE cheat code to manifestation) and I am also working on bringing healing retreats to life to bring women together in community.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
The part of me that has served its purpose and must now be released is the version of me who lived in survival mode through chronic illness. That season of my life shaped me in profound ways. It sounds crazy but I always tell people, “if I had to do it all over again, I would.” It has been the hardest 5 years of my life, but it taught me resilience, deepened my compassion, and gave me a window into the healing power of energy work. It forced me to slow down, look within, and meet myself in ways I never would have otherwise.

But that version of me also kept me small. It was a way of staying “safe,” of not fully stepping into the power of my voice and my mission. And while I honor the lessons and the growth that came from those years, I know it’s time to release the identity of the “sick” or “limited” version of me.

Now, I am ready to embody vitality, to share my mission loudly, and to lead by example — showing other women that we are not defined by the hardest parts of our story, but transformed by them. That chapter is no longer my home, it’s my foundation. And from here, I’m stepping forward rooted, radiant, and ready to expand.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
In short: everything. But if I had to narrow it down, it would be something Austin Butler said recently — that embarrassment is an underexplored emotion.

So often, we hold ourselves back because we’re afraid of looking stupid, of failing in front of others. But what if you were only 30 failures away from the success you’ve always dreamed of? How fast would you be willing to fail then?

Suffering taught me that failure, embarrassment, and discomfort are not signs to stop, but invitations to grow. It stripped me of the illusion of perfection and control and forced me to keep showing up anyway. It taught me resilience, humility, and the courage to keep going even when I didn’t know how it would all work out.

It taught me that transformation comes not from things going smoothly, but from moving through the moments that feel unbearable. Success can affirm us, but suffering shapes us. And it’s through the willingness to feel it all — even the messy, embarrassing parts — that we uncover who we truly are.

And to be so honest without suffering, I wouldn’t have discovered my mission. I wouldn’t know the profound relief of being in my body again, or the power of energy work to shift my reality. It was only through my pain that I found my purpose and for that I am forever grateful.

Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes. But in some ways it wasn’t always.

There was a time when I wore the mask of the people pleaser — the “good girl” who did and said what she thought others wanted to hear. I was terrified that who I really was wouldn’t be enough, so I shaped myself into someone more likable, more interesting, more palatable.

That came from a season where I didn’t value myself. When I didn’t trust that my real, unfiltered presence was worthy of being loved, seen, and celebrated.

I think a lot of us do this in different ways. As women we have been taught that the way to be, here, is to contract into smaller versions of ourselves so we have become great at playing it small, dimming our light, reducing ourselves to nothing, and living from the “I am not enough” story. So we stay small, we put on masks, we create a character that keeps us safe in some ways, and yet, smaller in most. Nelson Mandela once said something along the lines of, “we don’t do anyone any favors in hiding our light and pretending to be smaller than we are.” And yet, most of us have become great actresses dimming down our spark and keeping ourselves small and calling it “modesty.” It drips off our lips and the ways we carry ourselves and we say it’s safer to be validated than to validate myself because no one likes a confident woman. We worry if we shine too brightly, too brilliantly…whose toes will we be stepping on? Who will we lose? What will we have to let go of? And one day I had to get terrifyingly real with myself and ask “who is that narrative still serving?” Because it certainly wasn’t me.

Now the version of me you see publicly is the real me — raw, imperfect, growing, and deeply myself. I don’t need to perform to be accepted. My shine doesn’t diminish anyone else’s and vice versa. I deeply love and celebrate other women, but also myself. I’ve learned that the people who are truly meant for me are drawn to me when I’m authentic, not when I’m pretending.

So yes, the public version of me is the real me — maybe even the truest version, because it’s the one I’ve fought hardest to return home to (and still continue to every single day).

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What will you regret not doing? 
What I would regret most is not reaching my full potential in this lifetime.

For me, it’s not about external achievements or checking boxes… it’s about knowing I left pieces of myself unexplored, unlived, unexpressed. I’ve always felt that we are given unique gifts and a unique mission for a reason, and to ignore that calling would be the greatest loss.

I don’t want to reach the end of my life and wonder what might have been if I had trusted myself more, spoken louder, or shared my heart more fully. I would regret not using my voice, not showing others what’s possible, and not living into the version of me that I know I’m capable of becoming.

Reaching my potential isn’t just about me though, it’s about the ripple effect it creates for others. That’s what drives me, and that’s what I know I’d regret walking away from.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.reikiwithnikki.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its_nicolettemarie
• Other: Reiki I & II Attunement and Certification Program: https://www.reikiwithnikki.com/open-reiki-course
  Reiki Master/Master Teacher Training: https://www.reikiwithnikki.com/reiki-master-training