Energy Healing

People from around the world have used Energy Healing therapies for thousands of years. Energy Healing is a modern term used to broadly describe the various traditional and modern naturopathic health care systems and practices that are based on the belief that human beings are fundamentally influenced by a vital force or energy that sustains and promotes life. Originating in naturopathic principles from ancient India and China, it recognizes that this vital energy is involved in both health and disease, moving within energetic biofields of the body from where the trajectory of illnesses begin and can be healed.

Energy Healing is typically used to harmonize the bioenergy fields in and around the body to help encourage positive thoughts and emotions, and promote health and well-being. There are numerous Energy Healing treatments using various minimally invasive and noninvasive techniques, and these are used as both a complimentary and/ or alternative medicine (CAM) treatment alongside more conventional treatments.

Energy Healing relies on the belief that there is a subtle overriding and unifying field of energy from where everything in our universe comes into being and interacts. In traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the main ingredient is a vital energy known as Qi, which is both the basic building blocks and the basic subtle force of everything in the universe. In this sense Qi can be figuratively described as “material-force” or “energy-matter”.

From the tiniest particles of light, to heat, the stars and planets, the earth beneath your feet, your flesh and blood, nerve impulses, thoughts, and emotions- everything in our universe is the manifestation of Qi. Qi is in a state of continuous flux, transforming endlessly from material to rarified forms. It is neither created nor is it ever destroyed. It simply changes in its manifestation.

Human beings and human life are in and of themselves nothing more than a gathering and ungathering of Qi. From very dense manifestations like bone, organs, tissues, and fluids, to immaterial ones like thoughts, feelings, and consciousness- all aspects of human life are the result of the same Qi that permeates everything else in the universe.

Health and disease, too, are merely different manifestations of Qi. When the flow of Qi is balanced within the body, there is health and when it is imbalanced there is disease.

Qi flows throughout the body in very specific pathways. In the Hindu chakra system, these pathways are known as nadis, and in the Chinese acupuncture meridian system they are known as jingluo. Typically, Energy Healing utilizes various access points or nodes along these pathways to help regulate and harmonize the delicate balance of Qi in the body to assist with reclaiming and maintaining health, and promoting longevity.

Energy Healing usually involves a technique in which a practitioner channels healing energy to a person’s body, or stimulates a person’s own healing energy, to balance and restore its flow, which in turn brings about health benefits. Although Energy Healing may or may not use physical touch, practitioners typically stimulate or transfer healing energy through hands or other mediums, like acupuncture needles or precious gems and crystals.

There are many different types of Energy Healing practices that come from medical traditions around the world, with many newer types being updated and revised editions of older known modalities and their principles. Here are some of the more common types of Energy Healing used to balance and cultivate mental-emotional and physical health and well-being:

Acupuncture is a component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in which very thin needles are inserted into the skin and then manipulated gently by the practitioner’s hands, or by electrical stimulation, to restore and align the flow of energy in the body and improve health. It is often included as an Energy Healing modality, but it is slightly set apart in a biomedical context because it has been significantly researched.

Although inconclusive, decades of experimental research and clinical studies have shed light on acupuncture’s biological mechanisms, producing scientific evidence to support its use for various conditions, namely those involving stress, inflammation and pain. Utilizing the same ancient principles of Energy Healing that were deployed by acupuncturists thousands of years ago, acupuncture is used today to help treat a wide variety of biomedically defined diseases.

Acupressure and other similar therapeutic touch techniques, such as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and Healing Touch, are a form of Energy Healing in which the hands are used to stimulate a person’s innate healing energy. Many of these techniques and their different variations have become very popular over the last several decades for their ease of use and safety, and positive benefits, with some now even being used in hospital settings.

These types of Energy Healing are closely related to acupuncture, with most having borrowed from its principles and theories to create new elaborate systems of therapeutic touch. But in general they all share basic beliefs and techniques in the use of touch along areas of the body that correspond to organ systems, tissues, and functional processes.

Many variations also exists in which a person can use their own hands and mind to stimulate healing energy. But more commonly a practitioner will use their hands to stimulate a person’s healing energy.

Color Therapy, also known as chromotherapy, color healing, heliotherapy, photo therapy, or light therapy, is a type of Energy Healing technique that uses light and colors to balance and enhance the body’s energy centers. Human beings have used light and color as a form of therapy for thousands of years. From ancient India and China, to ancient Egypt, Greece and Iran, sunlight and colored minerals, stones, herbs, crystals, salves, and dyes were used as remedies for health and to ward off sickness and death.

The theory of modern Color Therapy is very complex and incorporates a broad range of theories and concepts. Its principles are primarily based on the ancient belief that the human body, like nature, is a gathering of energy. In Color Therapy, atoms, cells, tissues, bone- even thoughts and emotions- all exists as varying levels of energy that is circulating throughout the body. These various levels of energy are concentrated at specific distribution zones that deliver the energy needed to maintain health and well-being. Each of these zones corresponds to a different color that corelates not just to organs, but to various bodily functions as well. Accordingly, light and its different colors are believed to initiate natural reactions in the body that can have various therapeutic value.

While many core therapeutic Color Therapy principles and methods are rooted in ancient concepts, modern scientific principles of light and color have been discovered that help explain how light affects the human body. Today it is known that colors  are actually electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Colors are in fact produced by the various electromagnetic waves of visible light, with every wave of visible light being perceived as a spectral color.

Each color emits its own energy that is measured by its frequency and wavelength. Red is on one end of visible light spectrum, vibrating at the slowest rate between 400-480 terahertz (THz). It also has the longest wavelength at about 700 nanometers (nm), giving it the lowest emission of energy of all the colors. On the other end is the color violet, which vibrates at the fastest rate between 600-790 THz. Violet has the shortest wavelength at about 400 nm, giving it the highest emission of energy of all the colors. In between lie the rest of the primary colors that are observable by the human eye- orange, yellow, green, blue, and indigo- with each emitting their own specific radiation and energy.

Research has shown that the energy emitted from colors can have a physiological and psychological impact on well-being, influencing mood, impulsivity, emotions, heart rate and other aspects of human health. For example, exposure to blue or green light has been found to prompt the release of the hormone cortisol, which inhibits the release of melatonin and arouses the body awake. Contrastingly, exposure to red light causes an increase in blood flow, heart rate, and adrenaline production while triggering feelings of stress and anxiety, resulting in an increase in impulsivity.

When directed to the skin, the color blue has also been shown to destroy acne-causing bacteria and minimize skin redness and irritation. The color green also reduces redness, but it minimizes pigmentation and regulates melanin production, too. Yellow activates the elimination process, stimulates lymphocyte production, and improves decongestion. Red travels the deepest into the body to stimulate production of collagen, assist in the removal of cellular waste material, restore cell function, and provide essential energy for cellular renewal and nutrition.

Crystal Healing is a type of Energy Healing that emphasizes the physical and energetic qualities of crystals and precious gemstones, and how they affect the human body’s vibration, electrical charge and functionality. Healing crystals and precious gemstones are also believed to change the energetic frequency of the space around a person, which can indirectly have a positive change on the person’s overall mood and well-being.

Specific crystals are believed to share similar energetic qualities related to the human body and emotions. Healing crystals are matched to a person’s needs to alter and balance the flow of energy as a means to harmonize mood and enhance the body’s natural healing ability. Typically healing crystals are used to help attract desirable healing energy, such as love, compassion, hope, inspiration, devotion and creativity, and repel undesirable “sickness” energy, such as fear, anger, jealousy, and despair.

Qi gong, also spelled as qigong or chi kung, is an ancient Chinese practice involving mindful breathing exercises combined with gentle movement, or no movement at all. It is focused on gathering, harnessing and cultivating qi, or energy, for increased awareness, well-being, and vitality. Considered by many as the foundation of acupuncture, qi gong aims to optimize the energy field in order to promote healing, balance mood, improve mental-emotional acuity, and preserve health.

Qi gong is practiced individually or with others, but generally it is necessary to be guided by a skilled qi gong practitioner to learn its basic principles and exercises, and receive the most benefit from the practice. It is often times prescribed as a solo treatment by acupuncturists, and in other instances, it is offered in conjunction with acupuncture treatment.

Reiki is a form of energy healing in which a practitioner channels healing energy, then uses their hands to transfer it to a person’s energy field. It aims to assist in balancing the body’s energy field and clear energetic blockages to promote relaxation, healing, and overall well-being. While sometimes used to try and help with physical health issues, Reiki is typically used to address energetic imbalances manifesting as mental-emotional issues and spiritual disconnect that emerge with various types of illness.

Reiki is closely related to acupressure and other therapeutic touch techniques described above. However, although a very gentle touch may be used, the techniques used in Reiki are generally done close to the body, not directly on it. Reiki also does not require knowledge of energy meridians or points on the body. It is solely based on the idea of channeling and transferring energy to promote healing, whereas in therapeutic touch techniques practitioners are aiming to activate a person’s own healing energy by stimulating specific points or areas on the body that typically correspond to energy meridians.

The word reiki comes from the Japanese rei (霊), for sacred or spiritual, and ki (気), for energy. Its techniques, known as palm healing or hands-on healing, are administered by practitioners who have been attuned to receive Reiki healing energy by other Reiki practitioners. A session commonly involves no touch at all, just a hovering of the palms over areas of the body to allow Reiki healing energy to flow into the recipient and promote healing. Reiki is usually combined with other treatments, such as acupuncture or maassage, but Reiki practitioners can provide sessions independent of other treatments, whether in person or remotely, making it accessible to individuals who may not be able to receive in-person energy healing sessions.

Sound healing is a form of energy healing in which a practitioner combines different healing sounds and music instruments to stimulate the energy field, trigger a relaxation response, and promote healing.

Healing sounds and tones can be applied both on the body and off-the-body, during a one-on-one sound healing session or sound bath, or in combination with other types of energy healing sessions. Sound healing techniques are delivered using instruments such as Tibetan and crystal singing bowls, gongs, drums, tuning forks, and others, or played through a sound system.