Energy Touch Healing and Reiki
In as recent as the early Baby Boomer's generation, deliberate energy healing was practiced almost exclusively as a religious or spiritual practice. Contemporary science has shifted the intentional use of energy for healing beyond the world of mysticism, and into the universal world of the healing arts. Now energy practices like Healing Touch and Reiki are billable medical services.
Modern science explains that all things in our universe from stones to trees, humans to thoughts, even our emotions and ideas exist because they are a collection of quantum material that vibrates at a frequency that allows a formation to occur. Remember having your mind blown in elementary school when you were told that a chair is not really a solid thing? That it is made up of mostly empty space?! I remember that moment: Mind. Blown. The generous Mr. Venema stayed well into his lunch break to explain this wonderment more fully. He was also the first to explain to me that the particles within the atoms are actually filled with smaller and smaller particles that both respond to, and impact the environment of the atoms. Quantum Physicists tell us that an environment includes attention, intention and will. This quantum view of the environment of both health and disease within the body is the foundation of all energy work.
Is energy work still effective even if I’m not a quantum physicist who understands how energy works?
Or, more simply asked, “Does understanding or belief play a role in whether or not this stuff actually works?” Well, of course it does! Pause for a moment to let that sink in. Every part of daily living is impacted by belief, including medicine. When we have a belief in something, that something thrives whether it is a fear, hope, conversation, or alternative therapy. What is worth noting, however, is that energy practices like Reiki and Healing Touch have shown improvement in the wellness of babies, who are not yet old enough to have beliefs. This is a great way to gage the placebo effect and a fabulous reminder to keep an open mind.
The Energy Systems of the Body
For many clients, there is a bit of mystery surrounding the terms “chakras,” "nadis," “marma points,” and “energy work.” The information below (still a far cry from a complete summary) is an abbreviated crash course to demystify these terms.
Chakras
Modern science states that every component of our physical world is comprised of a vibration of nonphysical material. Every solid thing is actually a collection of particles vibrating at a frequency that allows them to take form. Mass and energy are equivalent. It is no surprise, then, that the human body has an electromagnetic field throughout and about its mass. This non-physical field, pictured in medieval art as a halo around the head of saints, is known as such things as Aura or Human Energy Field (HEF).
Physical, emotional, and spiritual human development often arise from a point of stress in a very literal and metaphorical way. In utero, for example, a line of stress within the leg of a fetus forms a tension that then becomes a bone. That concentrated line of tension is not a physical bone first. Some could argue the quantum mechanics involved in whether or not the physical need for a bone is what caused the line of stress in the first place, and so bone may have existed intelligently, before it existed energetically, before it existed physically. In any variation or elaboration of the answer, the same phenomenon surrounds our endocrine and nervous systems. There is dynamic, concentrated energy corresponding to every gland and major ganglion nerve root in the body. Over 4,000 years ago in India, the Sanskrit word “chakra” (which translates to “wheel”) appeared as a descriptor of these energetic vortices which the human body uses to interpret, express, or initiate information between the body and its environment. It is interesting to note the paralleling roles the glandular and nervous systems play in our interaction with our perceived physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual environments.
Acknowledgement of these energy centers within the physical body are found throughout world cultures in various forms. Ayurveda or Ayurvedic Medicine is the oldest documented form of organized medicine and it includes very detailed information regarding the energy body, including the chakras. Native American traditions, Aborigine traditions, the Jewish Kabbalah, and Traditional Chinese Medicine are just a few of the cultures that passed down knowledge of the energy centers now known in the Western world as chakras. Some ancient cultures reference the energy body, but not the individual chakras. Some reference hundreds of chakras dispersed throughout the body with the major chakras along the midline of the body. Some reference five chakras, while others reference seven, twelve, or in more modern times, eight chakras. Below is a quick and dirty summary of some fascinating similarities among those variations:
In as recent as the early Baby Boomer's generation, deliberate energy healing was practiced almost exclusively as a religious or spiritual practice. Contemporary science has shifted the intentional use of energy for healing beyond the world of mysticism, and into the universal world of the healing arts. Now energy practices like Healing Touch and Reiki are billable medical services.
Modern science explains that all things in our universe from stones to trees, humans to thoughts, even our emotions and ideas exist because they are a collection of quantum material that vibrates at a frequency that allows a formation to occur. Remember having your mind blown in elementary school when you were told that a chair is not really a solid thing? That it is made up of mostly empty space?! I remember that moment: Mind. Blown. The generous Mr. Venema stayed well into his lunch break to explain this wonderment more fully. He was also the first to explain to me that the particles within the atoms are actually filled with smaller and smaller particles that both respond to, and impact the environment of the atoms. Quantum Physicists tell us that an environment includes attention, intention and will. This quantum view of the environment of both health and disease within the body is the foundation of all energy work.
Is energy work still effective even if I’m not a quantum physicist who understands how energy works?
Or, more simply asked, “Does understanding or belief play a role in whether or not this stuff actually works?” Well, of course it does! Pause for a moment to let that sink in. Every part of daily living is impacted by belief, including medicine. When we have a belief in something, that something thrives whether it is a fear, hope, conversation, or alternative therapy. What is worth noting, however, is that energy practices like Reiki and Healing Touch have shown improvement in the wellness of babies, who are not yet old enough to have beliefs. This is a great way to gage the placebo effect and a fabulous reminder to keep an open mind.
The Energy Systems of the Body
For many clients, there is a bit of mystery surrounding the terms “chakras,” "nadis," “marma points,” and “energy work.” The information below (still a far cry from a complete summary) is an abbreviated crash course to demystify these terms.
Chakras
Modern science states that every component of our physical world is comprised of a vibration of nonphysical material. Every solid thing is actually a collection of particles vibrating at a frequency that allows them to take form. Mass and energy are equivalent. It is no surprise, then, that the human body has an electromagnetic field throughout and about its mass. This non-physical field, pictured in medieval art as a halo around the head of saints, is known as such things as Aura or Human Energy Field (HEF).
Physical, emotional, and spiritual human development often arise from a point of stress in a very literal and metaphorical way. In utero, for example, a line of stress within the leg of a fetus forms a tension that then becomes a bone. That concentrated line of tension is not a physical bone first. Some could argue the quantum mechanics involved in whether or not the physical need for a bone is what caused the line of stress in the first place, and so bone may have existed intelligently, before it existed energetically, before it existed physically. In any variation or elaboration of the answer, the same phenomenon surrounds our endocrine and nervous systems. There is dynamic, concentrated energy corresponding to every gland and major ganglion nerve root in the body. Over 4,000 years ago in India, the Sanskrit word “chakra” (which translates to “wheel”) appeared as a descriptor of these energetic vortices which the human body uses to interpret, express, or initiate information between the body and its environment. It is interesting to note the paralleling roles the glandular and nervous systems play in our interaction with our perceived physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual environments.
Acknowledgement of these energy centers within the physical body are found throughout world cultures in various forms. Ayurveda or Ayurvedic Medicine is the oldest documented form of organized medicine and it includes very detailed information regarding the energy body, including the chakras. Native American traditions, Aborigine traditions, the Jewish Kabbalah, and Traditional Chinese Medicine are just a few of the cultures that passed down knowledge of the energy centers now known in the Western world as chakras. Some ancient cultures reference the energy body, but not the individual chakras. Some reference hundreds of chakras dispersed throughout the body with the major chakras along the midline of the body. Some reference five chakras, while others reference seven, twelve, or in more modern times, eight chakras. Below is a quick and dirty summary of some fascinating similarities among those variations:
*Svadishthana overlaps with the spleen and liver
**Maladhara overlaps with adrenal glands
Marma Points and Nadis
Ayurveda is rooted from the Indian subcontinent and branches into the Hindu tradition. Ayurveda is a system designed to promote wellness within the human experience through balance and categorizes all areas of the Self into five layers (koshas), which are: Annamaya (physical), Pranamaya (breath/life force/subtle energy body), Manomaya (mind), Vijnanamaya (intellect/will), and Anandamaya (causal body/bliss body). The study of the Pranamaya kosha references the energetic pathways found within the human body called nadis. Just as a reference point, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) meridian lines developed in a different part of the world, but are similar to (though not the same location as) the nadis of Ayurvedic tradition.
Ayurveda makes note of 72,000 nadis with marma points along those energy pathways. While chakras are the way we interface with the world, nadis are the way information within the body travels. Marma points (Traditional Chinese Medicine has Acupoints) are spheres or vital points where two or more structures cross or meet within the body. There are 108 marma points within the body (including the mind) that correspond to the seven major chakras and branch out into the limbs. Marma points can be accessed to treat unwanted conditions and promote healing.
Sen
The word “Sen” literally means "line" and is unique to Thailand. A Sen is a "physical pathway by which movement occurs" throughout the body, so things like tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, lymph vessels, enzymes and neurotransmitters are all Sen (Nephyr Jacobsen). There are endless lines that can be found within the layers of the body (Thai tradition also states 72,000 to indicate an uncountable amount) but, more recently, the Thai government simplified it's Sen model with a Sip Sen ("Ten Line") theory that is available for travelers to learn during their brief stays in the country. The Sip Sen model intentionally corresponds to the Ayurvedic nadi system and was renamed for the sake of reference and teaching clarity as the popularity of Ayurveda grew. These Sen of the Sip Sen model are called nadis within the Ayurvedic and yogic traditions, so it can actually be a bit confusing to cross reference the two vastly different traditions of Thai Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. Traditionally, Sen were understood to be subtle or gross, layered throughout the body, and far too expansive to fit into a tidy Ten Line theory. Local practitioners were mandated by the government to learn the Sip Sen theory and teach it in schools, though the traditional theory can still be widely found in use.
**Maladhara overlaps with adrenal glands
Marma Points and Nadis
Ayurveda is rooted from the Indian subcontinent and branches into the Hindu tradition. Ayurveda is a system designed to promote wellness within the human experience through balance and categorizes all areas of the Self into five layers (koshas), which are: Annamaya (physical), Pranamaya (breath/life force/subtle energy body), Manomaya (mind), Vijnanamaya (intellect/will), and Anandamaya (causal body/bliss body). The study of the Pranamaya kosha references the energetic pathways found within the human body called nadis. Just as a reference point, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) meridian lines developed in a different part of the world, but are similar to (though not the same location as) the nadis of Ayurvedic tradition.
Ayurveda makes note of 72,000 nadis with marma points along those energy pathways. While chakras are the way we interface with the world, nadis are the way information within the body travels. Marma points (Traditional Chinese Medicine has Acupoints) are spheres or vital points where two or more structures cross or meet within the body. There are 108 marma points within the body (including the mind) that correspond to the seven major chakras and branch out into the limbs. Marma points can be accessed to treat unwanted conditions and promote healing.
Sen
The word “Sen” literally means "line" and is unique to Thailand. A Sen is a "physical pathway by which movement occurs" throughout the body, so things like tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, lymph vessels, enzymes and neurotransmitters are all Sen (Nephyr Jacobsen). There are endless lines that can be found within the layers of the body (Thai tradition also states 72,000 to indicate an uncountable amount) but, more recently, the Thai government simplified it's Sen model with a Sip Sen ("Ten Line") theory that is available for travelers to learn during their brief stays in the country. The Sip Sen model intentionally corresponds to the Ayurvedic nadi system and was renamed for the sake of reference and teaching clarity as the popularity of Ayurveda grew. These Sen of the Sip Sen model are called nadis within the Ayurvedic and yogic traditions, so it can actually be a bit confusing to cross reference the two vastly different traditions of Thai Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. Traditionally, Sen were understood to be subtle or gross, layered throughout the body, and far too expansive to fit into a tidy Ten Line theory. Local practitioners were mandated by the government to learn the Sip Sen theory and teach it in schools, though the traditional theory can still be widely found in use.
