Energy Healing Services:
What Is Energy Healing?
Energy healing is a broad category of alternative healing methods that utilize universal life force as their primary healing modality. Although some energy healing/medicine is used as an alternative to allopathic, or Western medicine, most methods are used as a complement to care given by medical doctors and other traditional treatments.
Most energy therapies presuppose or accept the theory that matter and energy are not exclusive opposites, but that matter is simply a denser form of energy that is more easily perceived by the senses. Some energy therapies are associated with systems of traditional Indian (Ayurveda) or Chinese (Acupuncture) medicine that are thousands of years old; others draw upon contemporary scientific theories.
In energy medicine, good health results from having the appropriate amount of energy flowing smoothly throughout the body, while health related problems or aliments result from a blockage or deficiency of energy. The fundamental objective of energy healing/medicine is to increase or stimulate the amount of life force in the body to facilitate the body’s’ own natural healing process. This is done by enhancing energy flow and correcting disturbances in the “human energy field” or “aura” which permeates and surrounds the body. Improving the flow of energy supports the self-healing capacity of the body.
The most commonly known forms of energy healing medicine are:
Acupuncture
Chi Kung
Pranic Healing
Reiki
Therapeutic Touch
Energy Healing Works Directly With The Energetic Level of Life
Since everything is energy; all healing ultimately involves energy. Most
healing methods are focused on the physical, mental and emotional levels
of life, without recognition of the deeper underlying energy. Energy
healing works purely with the energetic level of our being. Since everything
is made up of patterns of energy, working directly with energy influences
the physical, mental and emotional, as well as the spiritual level. Energy
healing is thus by nature "holistic".
If there is an illness or disturbance in the body, mind or emotions, we certainly
want to address those levels. Energy healing, however, complements
and supports other methods of healing, because it addresses the energy of
which the body, mind and emotions are composed.
Principles of Energy Healing
Listed below are some principles common to all energy healing. Everything
is energy.
- We are energetic beings.
- Energy follows thought.
- Universal life energy can be directed through the hands to facilitate healing.
- Our attention is a like a beam of energy and affects whatever it is focused on, hence energy healing does not have to be hands-on.
- We have an energy anatomy just as we have a physical anatomy
- The physical body can be considered the densest expression of the human energy field.
- Changes in the human energy field are expressed in the body in the course of time.
- Greater coherence, flow and balance in the human energy field can facilitate healing.
- Free flow of energy is essential to health and well-being.
- An individual with greater coherence in the energy field can positively affect the energy field of someone whose field is less coherent.
- The energy healer is able to enhance his/her own energy field sufficiently to positively affect the energy field of the healee.
- Becoming centered and thus creating greater coherence in our energy field not only promotes self-healing but is the basis of using our energy field to support the healing of another.
The healer can influence the energy field of the healee in a variety of ways – through the medium of the hands, attention, and use of his/her own energy
Understanding Your Energetic Anatomy
Just as we have a physical anatomy, we have also have an "energy anatomy". The "human
energy field” or "aura" surrounds and permeates the
physical body. The physical body could be thought of as the most dense
expression of the energy, and as only one of a number of bodies that comprise
our energy anatomy. We also have "subtle bodies", which are
sometimes referred to as the emotional, mental and spiritual bodies.
Scientific evidence provides tangible proof of the existence of the energy
body and its relation to the health and well being of the physical body. This
has been termed as the “bioplasmic body” from
the word “bio” meaning life
and “plasma” meaning the fourth state of matter
after, solids, liquids, and gases.
Scientific experiments conducted by the eminent Russian scientist, Semyon Kirlian, using ultra sensitive photographic processes showed a colorful, radiant energy field surrounding the physical bodies of humans, animals, and plants. This energy field, or aura, interpenetrates the visible physical body, extending about 4-5 inches from the skin’s surface. Experiments using Kirlian photography have revealed that diseased energies appear first in the energy body before manifesting as a physical aliment.
Your energetic anatomy has 5 basic components:
- Chakras, the body’s power centers or transformers that take in and distribute energy
- Meridians, the energy channels that transfer energy to and from the chakras and associated organs and body parts.
- Inner Aura, the inner shell of energy that radiated from inside the body and extends approximately 5 inches out from the body in a healthy adult.
- Outer Aura, the outer shell of energy that also begins inside the body and extends up to several feet beyond the inner aura in a healthy adult. The outer aura holds in the body’s energy.
- Health Aura, an aggregation of health rays that eminate outward from the body’s pores. In a healthy person these rays are straight and well defined. In an unhealthy person they crooked
Your Energetic Anatomy has four major functions:
- To absorb, distribute, and energize the physical body with energy
- To serve as a template for the physical body
- To control, through the chakras, the proper regulation of energy throughout the physical body
- To serve, through the aura and health rays, as a protective shield for the physical body against energetic contamination
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one of the main forms of treatment in traditional Chinese medicine.
It involves the use of sharp, thin needles that are inserted in the body at
very specific points. This process is believed to adjust and alter the body's
energy flow into healthier patterns, and is used to treat a wide variety of
illnesses and health conditions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends acupuncture as an effective treatment
for over forty medical problems, including allergies, respiratory conditions,
gastrointestinal disorders, gynecological problems, nervous conditions, and disorders
of the eyes, nose and throat, and childhood illnesses, among others. Acupuncture
has been used in the treatment of alcoholism and substance abuse. It is an effective
and low-cost treatment for headaches and chronic pain, associated with problems
like back injuries and arthritis. It has also been used to supplement invasive
Western treatments like chemotherapy and surgery. Acupuncture is generally most
effective when used as prevention or before a health condition becomes acute,
but it has been used to help patients suffering from cancer and AIDS. Acupuncture
is limited in treating conditions or traumas that require surgery or emergency
care (such as for broken bones).
The original text of Chinese medicine is the Nei Ching, The Yellow Emperor's
Classic of Internal Medicine, which is estimated to be at least 2,500 years
old. Thousands of books since then have been written on the subject of Chinese
healing, and its basic philosophies spread long ago to other Asian civilizations.
Nearly all of the forms of Oriental medicine, which are used in the West today,
including acupuncture, shiatsu, acupressure massage, and macrobiotics, are part
of or have their roots in Chinese medicine. Legend has it that acupuncture developed
when early Chinese physicians observed unpredicted effects of puncture wounds
in Chinese warriors. The oldest known text on acupuncture, the Systematic
Classic of Acupuncture, dates back to 282 A.D. Although acupuncture
is its best-known technique, Chinese medicine traditionally utilizes herbal remedies,
dietary therapy, lifestyle changes and other means to treat patients.
In the early 1900s, only a few Western physicians who had visited China were
fascinated by acupuncture, but outside of Asian-American communities it remained
virtually unknown until the 1970s, when Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president
to visit China. On Nixon's trip, journalists were amazed to observe major operations
being performed on patients without the use of anesthetics. Instead, wide-awake
patients were being operated on with only acupuncture needles inserted into them
to control pain. During that time, a famous columnist for the New York Times,
James Reston, had to undergo surgery and elected to use acupuncture instead of
pain medication, and he wrote some convincing stories on its effectiveness.
Today acupuncture is being practiced in all 50 states by over 9,000 practitioners,
with over 4,000 MDs including it in their practices. Acupuncture has shown notable
success in treating many conditions, and over 15 million Americans have used
it as a therapy.
Chi Kung or Qigong
Qigong (pronounced "chee-gung") is an ancient Chinese exercise
system combining meditation and slow, gentle movements to promote health and
relaxation. The qigong student learns to visualize an invisible energy field
known as qi ("life force")
and move it through the body to balance and heal dysfunction.
Mentioned as early as 3,000 years ago in The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal
Medicine, qigong, or "energy work", has been considered one of the
main pillars of Chinese medicine along with acupuncture, herbal treatment, massage
and diet.
Over 80 million Chinese practice qigong daily, and in the West its popularity
has steadily increased over the last decade. Qigong is the forebear of exercises
like t'ai chi and dao-in (chinese yoga).
Qigong is considered an effective therapy for a host of chronic illnesses that are considered difficult to treat with Western medicine, including arthritis, asthma, diabetes, hypertension and chronic pain..
In Chinese medicine, all disease stems from an imbalance in the qi as it moves through twelve "meridians" or channels of the body. These energy channels cannot be seen with the human eye like the circulatory system, but they can be detected and manipulated using acupuncture points along the meridians. A principle of qigong is that "the mind leads the qi, and the qi leads the blood". This means that one uses the mind to guide and enhance the flow of qi through the meridians.
Reiki is a holistic alternative therapy based on Eastern concepts of energy flow and the chakras (energy centers) in the human body. Reiki was formulated by a Japanese teacher, Mikao Usui, around 1890, based on Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, but incorporates meditation techniques, beliefs, and symbols that are considerably older. It is distinctive among energy therapies in its emphasis on self-healing, its spiritual principles, and its accreditation of healers through a system of initiation. Reiki practitioners participate in the healing of emotional and spiritual as well as physical pain through the transmission of universal life energy, called "rei-ki" in Japanese. It is believed that ki flows throughout the universe, but that Reiki connects humans in a more direct way to the universal source. Reiki is used for the healing of animals as well as people. As of 2002, a research team at the University of Michigan is studying the effectiveness of Reiki in treating chronic pain in patients with diabetic neuropathy. Various other studies are also underway in the United States and Canada, some examining the efficacy of the therapy in coping with pain and anxiety.
Reiki is a safe, gentle, non-invasive form of hands-on healing. Recipients report their experience of Reiki includes increased energy, reduction of pain, deep relaxation and a general feeling of well-being. Reiki initiation attunes a practitioner to become a channel for the Reiki energy and is a powerful, life-changing experience for physical, mental and spiritual growth.
Although Reiki involves human touch, it is not massage therapy. The patient lies on a table fully clothed except for shoes while the practitioner places her or his hands over the parts of the body and the chakras in sequence. The hands are held palms downward with the fingers and thumbs extended. If the person is in pain or cannot turn over, the practitioner may touch only the affected part(s). Silence or music appropriate for meditation is considered essential to the treatment. Reiki healers practice daily self-healing, in which they place their hands in traditional positions on their own bodies. They may use touch, or distant/non-touch.
How Does Reiki Work?
We are alive because life force is flowing through us. Life force flows
within the physical body though pathways called chakras and meridians. It
also flows around us in a field of energy called the aura. Life force nourishes
the organs and cells of the body, supporting them in their vital functions.
When this flow of life force is disrupted, it causes diminished function
in one or more of the organs and tissues of the physical body.
The life force is responsive to thoughts and feelings. It becomes disrupted
when we accept, either consciously or unconsciously, negative thoughts or
feelings about ourselves. These negative thoughts and feelings attach themselves
to the energy field and cause a disruption in the flow of life force. This
diminishes the vital function of the organs and cells of the physical body.
Reiki heals by flowing through the affected parts of the energy field and
charging them with positive energy. It raises the vibratory level of the
energy field in and around the physical body where the negative thoughts
and feelings are attached. This causes the negative energy to break apart
and fall away. In so doing, Reiki clears, straightens and heals the energy.
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Pranic Healing is a comprehensive system of subtle energy healing utilizing “prana” or energy in balancing, harmonizing and transforming the body's energy processes. “Prana” is a Sanskrit word that means “vital life force.” This invisible bio-energy keeps the body alive and healthy. In acupuncture, this subtle energy is called “chi.” It is also called “Ruah” or the “breath of life” in Hebrew.
It is a simple yet powerful and effective method of energy healing. It is based on the fundamental principle that the body is a “self-repairing” living entity, which possesses the innate ability to heal itself. Pranic Healing also works on the second principle that energy can be projected from one person to another. As a result, the healing process can then be accelerated by increasing the life force or vital energy on the affected part of the physical body.
Pranic Healing was created by a Chinese-Filipino energy master, and former chemical engineer/businessman, named Choa Kok Sui, who spent years researching the root teachings of esoteric systems such as yoga, chi kung, Kaballah, Chritianity, and many others in order to create a simple, practical, and effective energy healing system.
Kok Sui conculded that energy healing, at its most basic, consisted of clearing away dirty or diseased energy from the charkra and aura and replenishing it with fresh energy or prana. Given his background as a businessman and engineer Kok Sui set about to test the efficacy of his inquiries by applying a rigorous scienticfic approach to his work. He set up healing clinics across the Philippines to test the effectiveness of different energy healing systems. Ech patient who came in received a specific type of energetic treatment and the results or lack there of were recorded.
These healing clinics continued for nearly 30 years whil Kok Sui constantly tested and refined methods of cleaning out dirty or blocked energy and increasing the supply of healing energy. In 1987 Kok Sui introduced Pranic Healing to the world as a “best of the best” system of very specific instructions and sequences for cleansing and energizing parts of the body to achieve rapid healing.Pranic Healing is actively used and practiced in over 80 countries and numerous healing centers around the world.
How Does Pranic Healing Work?
Pranic Healing is the process of influencing this natural life force to bring about a healthier physical body. Pranic Healing is applied on the electromagnetic field also known as aura, which contains the mold and blueprint of the physical body. This bioplasmic body absorbs life energy and distributes this to the organs and glands. Diseases first appear as energetic disruptions in the energy field before precipitating as ailments in the physical body.
Practitioners realign the whole energy system to help initiate specific biochemical changes to accelerate the body's innate ability to prevent and alleviate a wide spectrum of physical, emotional and psychological ailments.
What makes Pranic Healing unique is that it focuses on cleaning the bio-plasmic body prior to energizing and it prescribes specific sequenses of cleanising and energizing based on the particular ailment that a healer is working with.
Therapeutic Touch is best described as an intentionally directed process of energy exchange where the practitioners use their hands as a focus to facilitate the subject’s own healing process. It is based on the premise that the human body, mind, emotions and intuition form a complex, dynamic “energy field” governed by pattern and order. This human energy field is abundant and flows in balanced patterns in health but is depleted and/or unbalanced in illness or injury. These defects can be detected and manipulated by an experienced practitioner of Therapeutic Touch. It is considered most useful in reducing or eliminating pain, promoting healing, and eliciting a relaxation response.
Although its ultimate derivation is unclear, practitioners cite it as a contemporary
interpretation of ancient healing practices. The modern practice has
generally been attributed to Dolores Krieger, PhD, RN and her mentor, Dora
Van Gelder Kunz - a "natural" healer. Therapeutic Touch was
first conceived as an extension of professional nursing care. In the summer
of 1972, Krieger, then a Professor at New York University, and Kunz began
teaching their techniques to Krieger's graduate student nurses in a class
called "The Frontiers Of Nursing".
Nurturing and compassion are two key characteristics valued by practitioners
of Therapeutic Touch. Exercising this healing modality allows practitioners
to express their compassion and caring in a way that lets them impact people
safely. The practitioners say they are particularly empowered by the
fact that they need no other equipment to practice their healing art than
their hands. Therapeutic Touch allows them a positive way to offer
the compassionate part of themselves to others.
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