Energy healing is a collection of ancient healing modalities and practices that are grounded in traditional medicine such as Chinese medicine as well as holistic practices honouring medical and intuitive balancing of body, mind and spirit. Modalities such as acupuncture, Reiki, Qigong, Reflexology, shamanic healing, sounds healing, massage therapy and EFT are among some of the techniques that are offered in energy healing.
Energy healing is rooted in the principle that everything in and around us in life is energy and energy morphs and moves throughout our systems. This includes the human body, the mind and the spirit; a holistic view that acknowledges the multidimensional aspects of living. Energy flows continuously and where imbalances can occur in body, mind and spirit, energy can get stuck causing dis-ease and ailments physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
Energy healing aims to liberate stuck or stagnant energy to ensure vital energy maintains harmony within the body. Practices such as Reiki, Qigong, acupuncture, meditation, breathwork, massage, sound healing and reflexology are examples of holistic techniques that aim to bring the body, mind and spirit back into harmony and balance. Working with what is already present in the body to re-align imbalances and bring a greater sense and experience of vitality and well-being to life.
Reiki is a form of energy healing that acknowledges the universal life force as the source of energy for all life on earth. With the application of intentional connection to be a channel for universal life force, Reiki promotes balancing across mind, body and spirit to bring healing in areas such as stress and anxiety reduction, emotional, physical and mental well-being by maintaining a healthy flow of energy. Compatible with other holistic, spiritual and energy healing modalities, Reiki has application in areas of well-being such as inner child work.
Energy healing: a short guide
Energy healing acknowledges and is based on the universal understanding that energy is life and we are all interconnected to life giving energy, or life force energy (qi, or chi). Traditional Chinese medicine has several techniques that aim to bring balance to the heart, mind, body and spirit. Oftentimes when we experience ailments or disease, this is due to chronic, acute or lighter blockages or stagnant energy that is held and travels through the body.
Through working to unblock and encourage stagnant energy to move through the meridians and organs, a sense of wholeness is established. The chakra system also lends insight and support to energy healing from Hindu and Buddhist lineages that have been integrated into healing modalities globally and cross culturally. The chakras are energy points in the body that contain physical, emotional, mental and spiritual elements that together need harmony and balance.
Similarly to Chinese medicine, chakras can become blocked, over or under stimulated and require rebalancing to enable a sense of well-being and vitality to be experienced. Qi, or chi, as life force energy is the central focus of energy healing; that which requires a state of balance and harmony to be established. Modalities such as Qigong (qi), Tai Chi (chi), acupuncture and Reiki (ki) are grounded in the practice that Qi, chi, or ki can be directed and channelled with intentional focus through hand, movement and meditation exercises.
The core principle is rooted in the innate belief that the human body, mind, heart and spirit has a natural capacity to self heal and bring itself back into alignment through various techniques such as breathing, meditation and movement. Energy healing can be a personal practice that one develops as well as one guided with or received by an energy healing practitioner such as acupuncture and Reiki.
Energy healing and the inner child
The inner child is the primary part of the self that develops during the formative years of childhood from birth to eight years old. The inner child is with us for life and by forming a conscious relationship with them, one can heal past wounds, suffering and pain as well as reconnect to joy and bring greater ease and harmony to relationships and life in the present. Inner child healing provides an opportunity to rebalance; reconciling unhealthy coping mechanisms, behaviours, habit patterns and emotional reactions that results in enhanced well-being too.
For this reason, many approaches to inner child healing have incorporated an element of spiritual or energy healing that includes and considers the inner child. The inner child is a gateway to accessing spiritual and energy healing practices that enables a deeper connection to oneself and reignites the very essence of the inner child which is eternal love, joy and playfulness. Personal development and energy healing modalities that allow for compatible modalities to support one another further increases and supports holistic well-being.
Inner child work enables the safe integration of past pain, trauma and wounds that are still showing up and impacting daily life. These include imbalances that are held in the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual parts of our human selves. Learned behaviours and emotional reactions that became automatic during early childhood and are not serving us in present day adulthood can be rewired, reintegrated and healed.
Energy healing with the inner child provides a supportive platform to incorporate established practices such as Reiki, Qigong, sound therapy, hypnotherapy and massage to facilitate the healing process. Accessing energy imbalances linked to past emotional pain through Reiki for example, provides additional support to the inner child that other traditional therapeutic settings might not address, include or access.
Spiritual healing modalities
Energy healing modalities can be practised and learned through a guide, a practitioner, as well as self taught and being self guided. Some do require a practitioner to facilitate the experience such as reflexology, massage, Reiki, hypnotherapy, shamanic healing and sounds therapy. Additionally a flexible approach of learning both by oneself and with a practitioner through classes or courses can provide options for both approaches to be incorporated into one’s journey of healing and transformation.
This is one of the benefits of holistic practices and modalities; that individuals can learn and practise themselves as well as in groups and with a practitioner. Therefore, receiving greater well-being through an empowered approach that encourages the self to rebalance, grow, heal and transform. A combination which is highly beneficial in terms of personal autonomy, intuitively led and trusting in the body, mind and spirit’s capacity to heal naturally.
Energy healing practices promote well-being through connecting with life force energy that is flowing in and around us all the time, to enable what is already present within and around us to support in rebalancing misaligned energy flow. Through conscious awareness and attentional focus one can connect through breath, meditation, energy points, meridians, touch and movement to invite smooth energy flow to be restored to parts of the body.
Some spiritual and energy healing mind, body, spirit modalities include: Reiki, hypnotherapy, EFT, acupuncture, shamanic healing, chakra balancing, sound healing, Reflexology, Somatic healing, breathwork, craniosacral, Qigong therapy and massage. Combining Energy healing practices with compatible modalities such as inner child work, which sits in between traditional and holistic approaches to integrative healing and therapy, is highly supportive to yielding greater results for enhanced well-being. Additionally, reducing stress, symptoms of stress, depression, anxiety and improved emotional balance and well-being.
Getting started on your energy healing journey
Energy healing modalities come from ancient traditions and practices that have long been established and associated with integrative natural medicine through holistic approaches to health and well-being. Energy healing modalities are accessible through self guided and group guided settings where you can learn and practise these techniques to bring greater ease and balance into your life. The benefits include greater balance in physical, emotional, mental and spiritual areas of our lives and bodies, extending to our relationships and our quality of life too.
Energy healing modalities that are compatible with other holistic approaches to health, healing and well-being such as inner child work inspire integration further into one’s life. Reiki is one such modality that can be learned and practised on oneself as well as receiving healing from another. These examples illustrate the multi-faceted layers that our human experience contains and how they can support journeys of integration and healing.
If this article has inspired you to find out more about energy healing and spiritual healing practices and modalities that are resources, tips and techniques on the blog. There are mindfulness exercises for the subconscious mind which strengthen the bridge between the conscious and subconscious mind that allows for greater potential of self discovery, insight and personal healing, as well as a personal guide to healing and embodiment.
