The term energy healing is used to describe a variety of holistic healing techniques that use the natural mind-body connection to promote emotional and physical wellbeing. Energy healing is said to restore the flow and balance of energy throughout the body, spirit, and mind. This can impact the physical, spiritual, and emotional facets of health in a holistic way, supporting overall wellness. Energy healing has been used for centuries to help people with a wide variety of physical, emotional, and mental troubles.
Supporters of energy healing believe that illness or malfunction in these areas may be related to disturbance of the body’s energy flow. It is believed that if energy flow can be balanced, various conditions might be improved. There are many different techniques for energy healing that may be used to improve this balance. In this article, we will discuss some of the main types.
Energy Healing Techniques
The following descriptions are intended for educational purposes only. This overview of energy healing techniques should not be considered medical advice, but a simple glossary defining some of the main types of energy healing, and their potential uses.
Reiki
If you break down the word Reiki, it’s a combination of two Japanese words. ‘Rei’ means God’s wisdom and Ki means ‘energy.’ Reiki is often used in conjunction with traditional medicine to address many types of illness. This energy healing technique involves specific hand movements. Reiki-specific symbols are used to assist the practitioner in channelling universal energy through the body to facilitate self healing. It is believed that Reiki may help alleviate the effects of fleeting symptoms like stomach discomfort and respiratory trouble. Some even use Reiki on more serious issues like heart conditions.
The Emotion Code
The Emotion Code® is an energy healing technique developed by Dr. Bradley Nelson to empower every person to enable their body’s own natural healing abilities.
The Emotion Code is designed around the idea that even our emotions are made of very real physical energy and that the energy of negative emotions, which vibrate at lower frequencies, may become trapped in the body after difficult experiences. Those trapped energies, called Trapped Emotions, are said to disturb the body’s ideal energy flow and balance, potentially creating unwanted physical symptoms like discomfort, or even organ malfunction. Releasing those energies could help energy flow as it should, enabling the body’s own recovery abilities.
The Emotion Code uses a simple method, called muscle testing, to tap into the wisdom of the subconscious mind to find and release those literal energies that may be trapped inside your body. Anyone can do this by following a few simple steps. Releasing these energies may help you get past the negative feelings and and even reduce physical symptoms like joint discomfort — sometimes immediately.
The Body Code
Also developed by Dr. Bradley Nelson, The Body Code™ takes the same energy healing tenets of The Emotion Code to a deeper level, focused on 6 main areas of the mind and body:
The Body Code home screen shown on the Discover Healing app
- Emotional wellness
- Body systems (i.e. organs and glands)
- Toxins
- Pathogens
- Body structure (i.e. bones and nerves)
- Nutrition
The Body Code uses patented software contained online or in a mobile app. The software guides the user through the process of identifying energies of physical issues that could be interrupting energy flow and causing uncomfortable symptoms. These energies can be found through a simple process of muscle testing. Muscle testing is designed to enable you to tap into answers about your own health; answers believed to be held in the subconscious mind. As you muscle test, you ask yes or no questions (with guidance from The Body Code on what to ask) to find the potential cause of what’s ailing you. This energy healing technique may help you learn why you’re experiencing specific symptoms, and give you the information you need to address the cause.
To get a feel for the kinds of things The Emotion Code and The Body Code might help you with, visit our testimonial page for the personal stories of others.
Qigong
For about 4,000 years, Qigong has been purported to help the body restore lost energy balance. Breathing, meditation, and specific coordinated bodily movements are said to stimulate increased spirituality and enable wellness. Rooted in ancient Chinese medicine, Qigong is designed to balance the body’s positive energy to aid in overall health.
Acupuncture
Of all methods used in traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture may be the most familiar. To understand acupuncture, you need to understand the body’s energy meridians and collaterals. The meridians are the main channels or routes in the body through which energy flows. These channels correlate with the body’s glandular, muscular, endocrine, and nervous systems. Collaterals are the blood vessels which correlate with the meridians.
Acupuncture uses very thin needles to tap into and stimulate over 600 points on the meridians and their collaterals, said to be directly associated with bodily systems and organs. The needles are so tiny that acupuncture is basically pain-free — even relaxing. Acupuncture is believed to facilitate the release of adrenal hormones, such as cortisol and ACTH, helping to improve organ function and relieve discomfort in the body. Some users experience improvement in digestive issues, mental problems or emotional difficulty, and a host of other complaints. Many doctors embrace acupuncture as a complement to western medicine.
Reflexology
Also with roots in Chinese medicine, reflexology is designed to balance the flow of qi or energy, but is focused primarily on certain points in the ears, feet, and hands. It is believed that, through the meridians, these points are directly connected to different systems and organs in the body. Reflexology is meant to influence and detoxify these areas via targeted massage. Through physical stimulation of these areas, reflexologists work to loosen blocked energy, promote muscle relaxation, facilitate lymph flow.
Reflexology may aid your body in releasing toxins, boost immune function, improve circulation, and balance energy. Immediate effects of a reflexology session may seem to pass quickly, but with consistent sessions, the internal benefits may be long-lasting.
Chakra Healing
As you learn about energy healing, you’ll likely learn something about chakras, or chakra healing. Like other energy healing practices, chakra healing is intended to balance your body’s energy and even boost physical wellbeing.
In energy healing, the chakras are known as the body’s energy centers. There are 7 of them that run from the tailbone to the crown of your head, in front of your spine. This interactive chakra chart will show you where they are. While you can’t see chakras, they are key to the energy field of your body. Chakra healing has been used for thousands of years to balance the body’s energy to potentially promote physical, emotional, and physical wellness.
The seven chakras are:
- Muladhara or Root Chakra: Below the genitals
- Swadhisthana or Sacral Chakra: Just below the navel
- Manipura or Solar Plexus Chakra: Just above navel
- Anahata or Heart Chakra: At the heart
- Vishuddhi or Throat Chakra: In the throat
- Sahasrara or Third Eye: Between the eyebrows
- Brahmarandra or Crown Chakra: At the top of the head
In ancient Indian, the word chakra means “wheel.” Each chakra is thought to be one of 7 centers of energy that continually “spin” within our bodies. Based on their location, each chakra is said to be connected to different areas of the nervous system and endocrine glands. When chakras are functioning properly and in balance, there may be a steady energy flow throughout the body.
Depending on your current state of wellbeing, certain chakras may be open or closed, either allowing or hindering your flow of energy. For example, chakras may close when you have a bad experience, or when you feel angry, sad, or stressed. By using meditation, breathing techniques, and your own intention, you can release that negativity and open up your chakras to a more positive energy flow.
There are other types of energy healing, but delving into many of them at once could be overwhelming. To gain a basic understanding, we recommend continuing your study on our website, reading The Emotion Code and watching these introductory videos.