The lifelong journey to pursue a career and a lifestyle of a holistic practitioner began with the heartbreaking death of a beloved dog. Michele Lowry’s life changed forever on the day her dog Kobo passed. Despite the physical loss when he passed, Kobo left a legacy in his place, one which has transformed Lowry’s life forever and sent her on an endless path of discovery.
Her journey on the path to an alternative way of life began when her dog Kobo, a large Rhodesian Ridgeback, received his annual Lyme vaccination. From that day onward, Kobo fought to stay alive. After countless visits to the veterinarian and an endless number of tests, his vets were confused and afraid. They did not know what was wrong with him.
Kobo’s platelet count was low, and he could not clot his own blood. Lowry was instructed to treat him like a china doll. Finally, after four weeks at a veterinary vet clinic, Kobo was stable enough to travel home. However, just a few days at home, Kobo was too weak to keep fighting.
“He had a reaction to the Lyme vaccine,” Lowry explained. “In six weeks, he was dead. It was a horrific time, especially to watch a majestic dog just drift away.”
Despite the abrupt and shocking loss of Kobo, Lowry was thankful for the legacy he left her.
“He was the gift that pushed me into my practices and set me on my path. I learned a lot from that dog. He led me to look into nutrition and its effects, such as fear aggression, toxicity of food, quality of food on the market. He taught me a lot about the basics of animal needs, and the negative affects down the line.”
Lowry is creator and owner of Nikoe Natural Therapies, located in Dover, N.H., an entirely alternative practice which caters to animals and humans, with an emphasis on equines. Through the use of Reiki, Shamanism and animal communication, Lowry provides the communication between animals and their owners to facilitate improved connection, behavioral improvements and physical and emotional healing.
Reiki is derived from the Japanese meaning of Rei, meaning spirit or soul, and ki, being the non-physical energy that flows in all living things. Reiki is used to flush negative thoughts and any disruption from the body, thus restoring a happy equilibrium of non-physical energy. While any person can learn Reiki, some are naturally more attuned to the flow of energy.
Shamanism is the practice of making a connection to the ancestral past of a person or an animal. Practitioners have to heal backwards, by healing those who have already passed, rather than those who are living. Problems such as alcoholism could be passed down from a person’s great, great, great, great -grandmother, and is causing harm to the person currently living. By reaching an altered state of conscious, the practitioner is able to interact with the spirit world, and clear problems from the past. Each session is entirely individual based on the person’s past and own issues.
By uniting all of the healing practices she has learned, Lowry is able to facilitate healing for both horse, human, dog, cat and all living creatures. Despite her versatility, her specialty is working with horses and their owners. As a clairvoyant, Lowry is able to read between the lines of the seemingly abrupt behavioral or emotional changes in equines. Though, she did not always function in her enlightened and holistic practices.
After Kobo’s death, Lowry moved from New England to Florida with her horse and second dog. After arriving, Echo, her horse, went lame without any warning. Echo’s lameness and a sprinkle of fate led her to meet a fellow horse lover who practiced acupressure and muscle testing on horses.
“After one session, Echo was sound. For me, it was a total no brainer that I needed to know more. We moved to her farm, and I took an apprenticeship with her.”
During her apprenticeship, Lowry learning how to identify and treat equine behavioral and physical problems using acupressure, muscle testing and flower essences.
Acupressure is the concept that non-physical energy flows through the body through channels of meridians. At times, meridians can become blocked, causing energy to stop flowing throughout a section of the body. The blockages can be cleared by applying pressure from a hand, elbow, or other means, to“trigger points” within the meridians.
Muscle testing is also known as Applied Kinesiology. Through muscle testing, any imbalance in the body can be identified and a treatment found. The results will vary based upon the individual, but can provide a clear treatment plan for providing supplements, dietary changes or even physical changes to daily life.
Flower essences are a diluted liquid found from the dew on flower petals. The oils are used to treat behavioral and emotional difficulties for all living creatures. Each of the oils contains a certain vibration that can be applied to separated cases and behavioral issues. The oils can be used either separately or together to provide healing for the individual.
When combined altogether, the alternative methods can be used together in a powerful, healing solution to behaviorial, emotional and physical problems.
“The apprenticeship really taught me the basics of everything that I know,” she said.
Afterward, with her knowledge in-hand, her path to pursuing life holistically took off, along with an idea for a business venture.
“People came to me, asking if I could fix them. I was guided to know with people and horses. My entrepreneurial side said ‘Wait a minute, this could be a money earner.’”
In search of a larger clientele, Lowry traveled to New England, more specifically New Hampshire and Maine, for one month. She traveled from barn to barn and friend to friend in search of clients. During her trip, she worked on horses and found her clients. In 2003, she moved back to the New England coast and her business took off.
Lowry worked with her equine and human clientele on the weekends and worked a full time job during the weekdays. During each session, she utilized her healing tools and resources to restore health and harmony to her clients. Eventually, in 2005, she added another gift to her resume: Reiki.
“My friend Sharon called me and asked if I wanted to go to a Reiki class in Wells (Maine). She thought I should take it. I agreed because it would fit really nicely into everything else I did. The class was eight weeks, and I learned as much as I could.”
When the eight weeks were up, Lowry continued to study Reiki with her instructor for four years. Having become a Reiki Master, she was able to apply her techniques to animals and bring an “emotional piece into my work”.
Lowry’s business continued to grow, and with it, a never-ending bond to her four-legged clients. When receiving a new client, a horse’s owner normally contacts Lowry for a specific reason. Usually, their horse’s behavior suddenly changes, a behavior pattern worsens or there is a physical injury.
During an initial session with a new client, Lowry introduces herself to the horse and asks for permission to work on him or her. After receiving permission, she creates a physical contact with the horse, usually by gently patting his or her neck. While the horse adjusts to Lowry, she asks the owner questions about the physical or emotional ailment.
“While I talk to the owner, I read between the lines of what is being said. The session continues as the horse guides me to where there is a problem and my intuition helps me understand what is wrong. Reiki and others can help the healing and remove the trauma, based on a historic event.”
Throughout a session, the communication between Lowry, the horse and the horse’s owner changes and shifts. Lowry continues to ask questions throughout the session and dig until she finds the root of the problem. The horse is able to communicate through words, images, visions of past experiences and body language, all of which Lowry receives. She conveys the messages on to the horse’s owner, then helps generate a treatment plan to aid the healing process. The horse indicates when the session is over by walking away, growing restless or another, clear indication that he or she is done.
“You just never know where each session will go. It’s amazing how they (the horse) process through the session. I provide the tools for the horse to fix them self. The information I pick up on is only what helps me provide the healing.”
During one session, Lowry worked on a horse who had an issue with going in and out of the barn. While Lowry worked on him, she picked up on an image of a barn fire. The horse had previously been in a barn fire, and was afraid of becoming trapped in the barn in the event of another fire. Lowry, through Reiki, helped release the trauma and explained to the horse that the odds of being in another barn fire were slim.
Despite being able to communicate with horses and other animals, she does not function as the stereotypical animal communicator. Instead, she is able to communicate by feeling and intuition based communication by viewing photographs or working on an animal in person.
“I struggle with ‘tell me about my animal’. I just focus on what I am bringing. The animals noticeably relax because they don’t have to carry the burden anymore, because a person knows and understands.”
Through the guidance of intuition, communication and holistic practices, Lowry provides the steps for better communication between horse and owner. Her journey may have begun with the loss of her beloved dog, but his legacy continues to live on through the path he began for her. A path, which has changed her life and the life of her clients into a relationship of better understanding of alternative medicine. Her path has led her a long distance from her beginning with Kobo, and since the first stone, stones continue to be added regularly to build a stepping stone of healing through alternative methods and practices.