AMA Holistic Therapies

A Story of Love, Reiki and Transformation in Cape Verde

The first holistic space in Praia, Cape Verde

AMA was born from a calling. A calling from the soul.

The name AMA is a tribute to my mother, who passed away.

And there are no coincidences. These are the initials of my mother, ANA MARIA ALFAMA, which I had kept for a day when I could honor her, although at the time I did not yet know how or where I would use them. In the end, it happened in a synchronous way.

AMA means love in action.

How Reiki entered my life

At that time, I was living in Almeirim, Portugal, and I was questioning the absence of love among people. I could not understand attitudes that so often contradicted what people said, whether among friends, family members or in relationships in general.

It was during this period that I discovered Reiki.

During a conversation with someone I knew, she told me:

“You have the heart of a Reiki practitioner!”

Intrigued, I asked what Reiki was. She invited me to accompany her to her next Reiki session, where I was initiated into Essential Reiki. From that moment on, Reiki became part of my life.

When I understood that this was my life purpose, my search intensified. I immersed myself in Reiki and, this time, in the traditional method, where I was initiated again in Lisbon and became a Reiki Master and Teacher.

At the same time, I took an in-person course in Holistic Therapies in Cascais and Lisbon, and later continued my studies with several facilitators from Brazil.

The birth of AMA in Cape Verde

In 2017, I returned to Cape Verde with a dream in my heart: to bring holistic therapies to my homeland.

I began offering Reiki and other therapies from my home. I gathered people in the condominium’s common room to talk about the holistic world, spiritual awareness and love.

After three months working from home, I felt the need to open a dedicated space, and AMA Holistic Therapies was born, opening in 2018 in Cidadela. It was the first holistic space created in Praia.

In 2019, we began offering Reiki training. Since then, I have trained hundreds of people here in Cape Verde.

In February 2019, the social project “Dou Amor” was also born, with anonymous initiatives created to respond to people’s need for attention and essential goods.

Resilience and expansion during the pandemic

AMA’s expansion took place in 2020.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, we moved our services online and offered distance sessions. We also sold out our stock of holistic products, and I realized that it was time to open a physical store.

This movement brought many new people to group sessions, meditations, awareness gatherings, therapies and Reiki training.

Taking Reiki forward, despite the challenges

When I arrived, I encountered some resistance due to a lack of information. Many people still did not know Reiki as a healing practice or as a philosophy of life.

But I did not allow that to limit me.

I have always believed that Reiki helps with healing and well-being, and that its philosophy contributes to awakening and raising awareness. It can even improve the dynamics of our relationships.

“I see Reiki as a gift of unconditional love.”

And it was this vision that motivated me to want as many people as possible to discover Reiki, experience their own healing journey and have tools to live in love.

The transition from AMA to online

In mid-2023, I transitioned away from the physical space.

Today, AMA works mainly through online and distance therapies, reaching people both inside and outside Cape Verde.

We continue to sell natural and handcrafted products, made by my daughter and me, drawing on ancestral wisdom and knowledge acquired through aromatherapy, herbalism, crystal therapy and natural magic.

Reiki training continues in person, as do occasional healing circles, because meeting and sharing with others remain essential.

Reiki as a philosophy of life

Through my work and my way of life, I have inspired several people to adopt Reiki as a philosophy of life, including my children, nieces and nephews, and some family members and friends who are now also Reiki practitioners.

For me, this is the greatest proof that love multiplies.

Reiki beyond AMA

In addition to sessions and training, I have presented Reiki at universities and in an interview on Cape Verde Television.

In 2023, my daughter, who is also a psychologist, and I began offering Reiki training for children, because I believe that the earlier we have access to this energy of love, the lighter the path through life can be.

The dream for the future: AMA Reiki Academy

My greatest wish now is to take the AMA Reiki Academy beyond the walls of the space.

I want to bring Reiki to schools, institutions and the Cape Verdean community. And not only there!

I aspire for this energy of healing and awareness to spread throughout the world.

I believe that when we teach Reiki, we plant seeds of love and self-healing in each person.

The AMA proposal

AMA is more than a therapy space. It is a place of welcome, listening and reconnection.

Here, we combine Reiki with other tools, but always with the same objective: to help people heal the pains of the soul and reconnect with their essence.

Acceptance has been growing. Little by little, Cape Verde is awakening to this new perspective on well-being and human development.

My purpose remains the same as it was from the beginning: to be a channel of love, inspire transformation and contribute to a more conscious world.

With love,
Wanda Álfama
AMA