Energy Healing
Why Energy Healing? What is it?
There is much talk these days about “energy healing”, and increasingly, many people advertise that they offer this in their professional settings. What is it, exactly? The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) defined it in 2005 as therapies that involve the use of energy fields. They described two types:
Biofield therapies
Biofield therapies are intended to affect energy fields that purportedly surround and penetrate the human body. Many of these subtle energies are measurable. Some forms of energy therapy manipulate biofields by applying pressure (ex: acupressure) and/or manipulating the body by placing the hands in, or through these fields. Donna Eden, creator of the Eden Method, believes believes the body's subtle energies (meridians, chakras, etc) can become unbalanced, and energy balancing can contribute to increased wellbeing.
Bioelectricmagnetic-based
“Bioelectricmagnetic-based therapies which involve the unconventional use of electromagnetic fields, such as pulsed fields, magnetic fields, or alternating-current and direct current fields”.
Fast forward to 2026, 21 years later. There has been an explosion of scientific research emerging and documenting the very existence of these energy fields.
Scientists, along with the aid of high speed computers and imaging technology, are able to penetrate a reality that is challenging, and changing, the way we perceive our world. Dolores Krieger, Ph.D, RN, is the creative genius behind the practice of Therapeutic Touch, practiced by nurses in hospitals across the country. As she bluntly puts it, “You don’t stop at your skin!” In the late 1970’s, Dr. William Tiller of Stanford University and a group of researchers pioneered studies evidencing the existence of the HEF (Human Energy Field). The work of Dr. Rupert Sheldrake on morphogenic fields, Dr. James Oschman’s compilations of research studies, Energy Medicine, the Scientific Basis, Dr. Beverly Rubik’s work on the Biofield, and the work of Rollin McCraty and others of the HeartMath Institute continue to build a strong and convincing case for our emerging understanding of, and ways of working with these energy fields. These are but just a few of the pioneers legitimizing energy medicine/healing therapeutics. Indeed, "frequency" medicine and healing are garnering much attention these days with good reason.
What can Energy Healing can help with?
Physical Pain
Pain is a common denominator, as everyone has experienced some form of it in their lifetime. Pain, however it is a signal that something is amiss and needs attention. In some Oriental practices, it is a sign of blocked energy; and there are ways to work with this energy to clear up the congestion.
Emotional Wellbeing
It has been said that emotions are energy in motion. Blocked, or unexpressed, emotions are known to contribute to pain, as well as "dis"-ease, and indeed many energy based healing philosophies believe in an emotional basis foundation for disease. Healthy emotional expression can often result in both pain relief and more balanced emotional wellbeing.
Stress Reduction
Most people today would agree that the world of today can be a challenging place. Our bodies were designed to quickly react to real physical danger, but in today's world more often than not our body's protective instincts have not learned to discern between what is real danger (the saber toothed tiger of old) and what is only perceived as danger. Often this can happen on a subconscious level as well. The result is a frequent release of stress hormones throughout the day - which can often contribute to disease and emotional upset. However, energy healing has powerful and effective tools for that where we can learn to use our own hands to help us regain calm.
Holistic Wellness
What is "holistic wellness?" The word "holistic comes from "wholistic" which essentially refers to the "whole". The human body is an ingeniously designed being and is a sum of ALL of its parts and systems working together. It has a communication system similar to the internet but much faster. Many energy healing modalities and techniques have been subjected to careful scientific and rigorous study and have been found to be both measurable and credible. An excellent resource for those who want to know more is "Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis" (2016) by James Oschman, Ph.D. Energy healing techniques can greatly enhance the smooth communication and relationship of our amazing energetic and physical systems.
Energy Balancing
Why Energy Balancing? Many disciplines dedicated to working with the various subtle energies of the body are concerned with relationships between systems. In Chinese medicine, for example, there is a relationship between the flow of energy in the meridians, the function of the aura (or Biofield), the chakras, Five Elements, and others. In the Eden Method which is strongly based on Chinese medicine, a key component is balance between the various systems. Balance gives rise to better relationships and much better overall flow and function in the organism. In Energy Balancing, I do various testing to look for imbalances and then get the systems back into better balance.
Mind-Body Communication
For years we have been led to believe that the body and the mind are separate entities; but nothing could be further from the truth. Our beliefs can have an enormous effects on our physical bodies. The body and mind are not separate at all but rather are intricately connected. A groundbreaking book by Kenneth Pelletier in 1967 entitled "Mind as Healer, Mind as Slayer" shed critical light on this topic and should be required reading on the relationship between stress-related disorders. Energy healing techniques can help to relieve stress related symptoms and disease through self care actions.