A Pawtucket Reiki and IET Master Starts with the Spirit

When I first spoke with Veronica Cintron over the phone, I clumsily entered the wrong number, and then, once I dialed correctly, the call dropped. We played phone tag like this for a minute, laughed over the mishap once we connected, and then Cintron calmly pointed out that Mercury would be in retrograde soon and to bear with the miscommunications and faults in technology until we’re out of the shadow period.

The practitioner behind White Lotus Spiritual Healing, Cintron exudes wisdom and warmth, and though I had never experienced any form of energy therapy before, I immediately felt I was in good hands. Certified Integrated Energy Therapy (IET) Master Instructor and Reiki Master-Teacher are among her many credentials, earned over the years as she’s built her practice, but when asked how it all started, she’s quick to answer, “I like to think that it kind of found me.”

“I’ve always been drawn to it,” she continues. “I, to some degree, had already practiced some healing but more in the traditional Curanderia style. I come from Puerto Rico, so it’s more herbs.” Now, Cintron’s practice is truly holistic, spanning dharma coaching and tarot readings, which she refers to as “intuitive sessions – they’re kind of tarot meets life coaching,” to rootwork or Hoodoo rituals and herbalism. But reiki and especially IET are what she’s known for.

I visited the Pawtucket studio on a rainy Tuesday to experience IET firsthand. Before arriving, I asked if there was anything I should do to prepare. “Just open mind and open heart. That’s it. The resistance has to be left at the door,” she answered, “and just know that it’s gonna be what it’s
supposed to be.”

So I left any skepticism (and the distraction of work emails) at home, wholly looking forward to the session. The small room on the third floor of the Durant Building across the street from Rasoi and Wildflour is cozy, welcoming. Cintron assures me it’s a safe space; there are no rules or expectations for how to react to the treatment, whether you wish to be silent or share
what comes up.

I took off my shoes and lay back on the table, as instructed, and began with deep breathing, the soft tapping of raindrops gradually drowned out by white noise and calming music, joined by the smell of incense from smudging. IET involves light touching, so Cintron explained exactly where she would be working
before she began.

And then, everything sort of melted away. Different people will experience different sensations, and no two sessions are the same. I noticed a distinct, effervescent tingling from head to toe, a feeling of kinetic energy being released that surprisingly stayed with me for the rest of the day. The motto of IET is “removing the issues from your tissues,” and for me, that meant some tension lifted during the following days.

While reiki has gained popularity recently, IET is a little less well known. Cintron explains that on the surface, it appears very similar to reiki, but the modality is completely different. Reiki is a Japanese practice that focuses on universal life force energy: “The idea is that we harness that energy and then bring it to our seven chakra centers located in our bodies, from crown to root.”

IET, on the other hand, is the process of moving past feelings of stagnation that build in our lives over time. “The belief system is that we’re born these amazing beautiful perfect souls clear with our life’s mission, and as we progress, things happen, traumas start to accumulate,” Cintron says. “This is really about removing heavy energy and removing traumas from the energetic field.”

After the session, Cintron invited me to debrief on the couch over a drink of water – hydrating and sleep, she reminded me a couple of times, are essential aftercare for the next 48 hours. She answered my questions, listened to my takeaways, and then shared what she noticed – areas where there were blockages or a flow of healthy energy. At no point did the conversation feel prescriptive or pushing toward a single interpretation – rather, it was enlightening.

For those, like me, who have never tried energy healing, Cintron explains that IET is the best place to start. “What happens over time is that you really start moving through your life a little bit better, seeing that these things that were holding you back seem so so small.”