What Is Energy Healing?

Energy healing is one of the five main domains of complementary and alternative medicine. These practices are defined as healing and wellness practices that go outside the realm of present day scientific based medicine. Some of these practices work in conjunction with traditional medicine and others stand alone. Energy therapy is broken down into a variety of categories. Some may include:

• Energy (esotericism)
• Chromo therapy
• Electromagnetic therapy
• Polarity therapy
• Reiki
• Therapeutic touch

The philosophies, approaches, and origins vary from each one. Many of these therapies are considered predictable; which means that their outcome is explained, on some level, by science. Energy is then considered putative. Some of the spiritual energies can also be explained away. For example, someone’s aura may be due to electromagnetism. These energies are considered veritable. Veritable energy medicine may include such therapy as:

• Electromagnetic therapy – This includes magnetic therapy and light therapy. However radiation therapy that is used in traditional medicine does not fall into this category

Putative energy medicine may include therapies like:

• Acupuncture
• Qigong – Others that involve the notion of Qi are included under this category, such as Reiki
• Homeopathy
• Therapeutic Touch

A Further Look Into Putative Energy Therapies

There are many forms of energy healing but one that seeks further attention is those therapies that fall into the category of Qigong; this form of energy healing deals with the body’s energy. The body has a healing energy deep within itself. Certain therapies help harness that energy and spread it throughout the mind and body to help heal it. These forms are done using touch or extreme focus on such energies.

The therapies of Qigong accumulate, circulate, and work with Qi (pronounced chi). Qi is the energy within the body. Sometimes Qi is only associated with deep breathing, but there is more to it. The higher levels or the more evolved forms of Qi are used to focus on particular energy centers in and around the body.

The qi part of qigong means breath in Chinese and can even be extended to mean life force. Gong means work applied to a discipline. This term was coined in the twentieth-century with the desire to separate cultivation from superstition. Also, to preserve the valuable aspects of traditional Chinese practices.

Qigong is practiced for a variety of reasons and it usually depends upon the individual’s needs. It is practiced to maintain health, therapeutic intervention of disease or ailment, a spiritual path, or as a component of Chinese martial arts. Some may call upon the qi for different reasons when in different positions in life. You may start using this power during the routine practice of martial arts, but then need to use it for the power of healing.

Reiki Healing

The power of Reiki is also known as the Usui system of healing. This is a Japanese based therapy that was developed in the 1920’s by a Buddhist Monk, named Usui. It uses the basis of qi in its therapies to harness the positive energy of the practitioner and pass it on to the client so their body can harness their own power of self-healing. The word Reiki comes from the Japanese words “Rei” (spiritual) and “ki” (energy). The word translates to mean “spiritual life force.”

Reiki or Usui utilizes specific techniques to restore and balance the natural energy source within the body. This is a hand on holistic treatment that truly touches on all levels:

• Body
• Mind
• Spirit

Skeptical

There are certain forces that are present around us. Some people have trouble grasping things that they can not put their hands on. Energy therapies come under much attack and the efficiency is questioned quite often. Some people say that these so-called forms of therapy are all explained away with science and that they do not have healing properties themselves but the healing of such believers comes from elsewhere. Historically, electricity and magnetism were the borderlines of medical breakthroughs but unfortunately some of the patients did not live through the therapies to testify to their validity. Nevertheless, energy healing has many supporters and many success stories which proves its effectiveness, and it is a practice worth learning more about.