Energy healing may seem strange at first, but its roots go deep. According to this tradition, humans possess an electromagnetic field which facilitates self-healing processes within their bodies.
As more fact-based research emerges, more doctors are turning to energy medicine as an avenue of treatment. Common terms used to refer to it include “chi”, “prana”, spirit”, ether”, and biocosmic energy – it all refers to life force energy that may become blocked or imbalanced and lead to illness. As more empirical evidence emerges, more doctors are beginning to embrace energy medicine practices as part of healthcare delivery.
What is Energy Medicine?
Energy medicine refers to therapies which aim to alter energy fields that supposedly surround and penetrate the human body, such as acupuncture, healing touch or Reiki. Studies have demonstrated how various energy therapies such as these can effectively reduce pain, anxiety and fatigue as well as improve autonomic nervous system activity such as blood pressure or heart rate measures.
Health is determined by balancing and flowing with one’s vital energy or life force through channels known as meridians and chakras. Therapies such as acupuncture, healing touch and Reiki aim to correct imbalances in these energy flows that could potentially cause illness by emitting or transmitting vital energy back onto their client to help bring health back.
Apart from physical benefits, it’s hoped that yoga practices will also provide emotional release and spiritual awakenings, while stimulating immune systems to increase a patient’s natural healing powers.
However, the exact mechanisms by which therapies work remain obscure to science. Many EM techniques have long been marginalized within integrative medicine circles but recent research is providing new evidence supporting their efficacy – providing a basis for future investigation in energy physiology. This book takes readers on an insightful journey that delves deep into this emerging science by covering meridians, energy centers and biofields as well as how certain representative EM techniques may exert their effects.
Reiki
Reiki practitioners use energy to heal and balance body, mind, and spirit. Reiki practitioners believe that all people possess life force energy or universal energy – also referred to as chi, qi or ki – which manifests itself through warm sensations or an overall feeling of well-being.
Reiki is an ancient Japanese art that draws its name from two Japanese words rei, meaning universal, and ki, meaning life energy. Though reiki can be considered spiritual in nature, it’s not tied to any particular belief system and doesn’t require any particular faith for practice. According to research studies conducted, reiki has shown effective in relieving stress, anxiety, depression as well as improving sleep, self-esteem and feelings of peace and relaxation in practitioners.
At a session, your practitioner will gently place their hands over different parts of your body or hold them above your head, inducing a warm, fuzzy or tingling sensation that may include images, memos or even humming noises. Sessions usually last 30-60 minutes with some people reporting results after only one visit.
Reiki treatments often take several sessions before results and issues are addressed, and can even be combined with traditional medical and therapeutic techniques (like pain management). A small 2015 study discovered that women who received Reiki during labor and delivery experienced lower levels of pain, anxiety and fatigue than those receiving standard medical care alone.
Acupuncture
Energy healing techniques can be effective ways of balancing subtle energies that impact physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. By tapping into your natural healing energies and working in concert with them to promote well-being.
Acupuncture, a traditional Chinese therapy which involves inserting needles into specific points on the body in order to ease pain and promote health, is one of the most widely practiced forms of energy medicine. Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognize acupuncture as an invaluable complement to traditional medical treatments for often helping achieve better results with reduced side effects.
Studies demonstrate the efficacy of acupuncture for relieving chronic pain, including headaches and migraines. Acupuncture also can reduce nausea caused by chemotherapy and surgery treatments and treat cancer-related fatigue, depression and anxiety by encouraging relaxation and releasing natural painkillers known as endorphins.
Other energy healing practices include auricular acupuncture, which targets the ears; Korean hand and foot acupuncture as well as French energetic acupuncture with meridien patterns for treatment; studies have also demonstrated its beneficial properties such as increasing vital energy flows and strengthening immunity systems.
Before engaging in any acupuncture or energy medicine treatments, consult with your physician first. Some types of acupuncture may not be safe for you if you have bleeding disorders or diseases which spread through blood such as hemophilia or HIV/AIDS; the PDQ cancer information summary has more details regarding acupuncture.
Healing Touch
Healing Touch is a series of noninvasive hands-on techniques used to clear, energize and balance both the human energy field and centers controlling flow of energy into physical tissues. Healing Touch may facilitate natural healing capabilities of the body; often used alongside traditional medical treatment for various conditions. Created by nurse Janet Mentgen in the 1980s and used worldwide. Healing Touch training programs have since been offered for nurses, massage therapists, physiotherapists, counselors/psychotherapists/counselors who all require deep empathy as well.
As with other energy therapies, Healing Touch draws on the idea that humans are electromagnetic fields interacting with each other and with the environment around us. Trained practitioners employ gentle hand movements to re-pattern a patient’s energetic field in an attempt to restore natural energy flow within the body and eliminate blocks to self-healing.
Importantly, while the science may remain obscure behind these practices, their benefits appear real. A 2020 study demonstrated how Healing Touch significantly decreased symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder among returning active duty military veterans and another 2008 research demonstrated how using Healing Touch techniques on bone cells in a petri dish caused them to grow faster and stronger than cells given fake treatments or no treatment whatsoever.
Qi Gong
Qi Gong is an ancient form of exercise and energy medicine originating in traditional Chinese medicine that utilizes slow movements, postures, and stretches to increase energy flow throughout your body, mind, and spirit. Qi Gong can help with physical, mental, emotional issues; studies have highlighted its positive benefits such as reduced pain levels, better sleep patterns, and an overall better state of being.
Qi (pronounced “chee”) is the vital living energy found throughout all living things and believed to circulate through us via meridians in our bodies, helping to nourish soft tissue, internal organs, fascia, muscles bones and blood. Each living thing emits its own bioelectric field which a skilled Qi Gong practitioner can sense to identify any imbalances that exist in these fields.
Qi Gong encompasses many different styles, but most forms share similar elements – slow repetitive movements, deep diaphragmatic breathing and an awareness of inner peace. At the Online Wudang Taoist Wellness Academy we primarily teach five animal Qi Gong, six healing sound Qi Gong and Ba Duan Jin Qi Gong as practiced forms.
BodyTalk
BodyTalk is an energy-based system developed to balance a person’s mind, body, and spirit. The practice takes advantage of how each cell, atom and system in your body is constantly communicating with one another in order to balance biological and physiological functions – so when these lines of communication break down or disappear altogether then using BodyTalk allows your body to heal itself more easily.
This astonishingly simple yet profoundly effective therapy incorporates ancient healing principles with contemporary concepts from Western and Oriental medical systems, with practitioners drawing from both traditions. Practitioners don’t diagnose or treat specific illnesses; rather they use muscle testing and body awareness techniques to detect imbalances in order to restore normal function and bring about healthful functioning again.
BodyTalk sessions are comfortable and relaxing, and may include light tapping techniques to restore communication channels between your mind and body. A BodyTalk practitioner may also assist in uncovering potential root causes of health issues by leading you through an investigation of your life story.
BodyTalk differs from the Cartesian approach of Western medical model in its holistic approach, treating your entire bodymind rather than just its isolated symptoms. By drawing upon knowledge from Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda medicine, and modern physics to bring balance back into the body’s energetic field and restore natural healing ability while relieving stress and pain – providing more efficient cellular repair for more effective healing of any physical, emotional, or mental disease that arises – BodyTalk supports the recovery process more effectively and supports overall healing processes across your entire system – supporting healing from physical, emotional and mental illnesses alike.