The body’s energy can have an impact on overall health at all levels without us even realizing it.
You may be familiar with hands-on energy healing therapies like acupuncture and reflexology. These methods can heal the body physically, mentally, and spiritually. But the energetic healing of the body doesn’t have to involve touch at all. Methods like reiki promote healing of the body and mind without touch.
Not convinced? Let’s take a closer look.
What’s Energy Healing?
Humans can store emotional trauma caused by physical and mental stress, violence, false belief systems, and other suffering deep within the body. These stresses can keep us from reaching our full potential. That’s where energy healing—also known as energetic healing—can help. The technique balances and unblocks energy in the patient to lift emotional obstacles that hinder self-growth and success. The techniques can also help us identify emotional issues implanted deep in the body that we didn’t even realize were blocking our potential.
Forms of Energy Healing
Energy healing is an umbrella term for a number of different therapies, including reiki, crystal healing, reflexology, acupuncture, and many others. Let’s look at some of the most popular therapies.
Reiki
Reiki is a Japanese therapy that was brought to the West in the 1930s. It involves scanning the body for energy blockages in the chakra and aura system. The chakras are several points of energy that start at the crown of the head and move all the way down to the seat of the spine. The aura is a subtle field of energy that surrounds the body.
The practitioner works to push out energy blockages by placing the hands over each individual chakra—located at the base of the spine, lower abdomen, upper abdomen, heart, throat, forehead, and crown of the head—and transferring their energy to the patient. Practitioners may emphasize certain parts of the body, depending on the patient’s ailment.
Crystal Therapy
This treatment is similar to reiki in that it uses the chakra energy points to clear blocked energy. During a crystal therapy session, a practitioner places healing crystals at each chakra to work on balancing the body’s energies. Practitioners can also use sacred stones at the various chakra points to open up blockages.
Reflexology
Reflexology works on different areas of the feet that correspond to different regions and organs in the body. The practitioner massages all areas of the feet and toes looking for energy blockages, which can feel like knots or bubbles under the skin. Working on the blockages in the foot corresponds to blockages in certain areas of the body. For example, a blockage in the toes can mean your sinuses are clogged or a blockage on the outer heel may mean you have tight hips. After the session, a practitioner may discuss what parts of the body are energetically imbalanced and need further attention.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is likely the most popular form of energy healing used in the U.S. The theory behind the technique is that mental and physical disease result from blockages in the flow of vital energy along pathways called meridians. Acupuncture uses tiny sterilized needles to unblock the body’s meridians at specific points on the body. The treatment should not be painful, and in fact an acupuncture session can be very relaxing. Many patients will even fall asleep during the treatments, which can last from 30 minutes to an hour or more.
Who Can Benefit From Energy Healing?
Energy healing has wide-ranging benefits, from promoting deep relaxation to helping the body heal itself mentally, physically, and spiritually. The goal is to identify energy imbalances that can lead to health issues. Energy-related ailments can be more obvious—like sleeping problems or depression—or more hidden—like problems finding a partner or the inability to set and reach goals. If you feel like you’re not where you want to be in your life for one reason or another, consider trying one of these techniques either on its own or in combination.
Stagnant energy in the body can lead to a host of ailments, from anxiety and depression to knee pain and inflammation. Sometimes self-limiting belief systems can keep us from getting what we want out of life. If you feel that something just isn’t quite right in your life, it’s worth exploring the many forms of energy healing to see what technique works for you.