As our understanding and appreciation of the complexities of the human body grows, so does the desire to find multidimensional ways to optimize our health and our own healing capacity. Addressing health and well-being is moving beyond just the physical body to modalities that address the health of our energetic bodies as well. Modalities like Reiki and Pranic Healing are offering additional avenues to support the intrinsic healing abilities of the body, mind and spirit from an energetic perspective.
As humans, we are more than blood, bones and muscles. Even these very tangible things can be broken down to a molecular level of positive and negative ions in motion, or energy. Everything around us, including our thoughts and emotions, are forms of energy, and that energy has an influence on us. One can view the body as multiple layers of energy, with the physical body as the densest. In Chinese medicine, the energy is referred to as Qi, or life force energy. The flow and balance of energy in our bodies can have an effect on our health as well as the health of those around us. Energy practitioners work with the energetic level, often not even touching the body. They believe that helping clear or move excess, stuck or stagnant energy in a person can help create more balance and encourage and support the body's healing capacity.
Reiki
Carrie Beleno, a Usui Reiki master teacher and owner of the Beleno Center, explains that Reiki is a method of utilizing “universal life force energy” to direct energy into the seven major energy centers in the body, also known as chakras. “We hold emotions in these emotional centers and Reiki helps break up the energy that we do not need to carry,” she says. By breaking up negative energy, Beleno also incorporates her gifts as an intuitive medium and is able to connect with a client's guides and tap into what may be their self-limiting beliefs and patterns. In doing so, she can communicate with the client and help give a cognitive understanding of what may be releasing energetically, so the brain gets involved in the process. This enables the client to be cognitively aware of old patterns that are no longer serving them and, thus, have the ability to shift to a new paradigm.
Pranic Healing
Pranic Healing is another energy healing modality. In this modality, the practitioner predominately utilizes nature's earth-based energy—air, water, light—that surrounds us, to help clear stagnant centers of the body. The practice focuses on 11 chakras of the body and has specific protocols in addressing issues. Raya Pereira, also a Reiki master and martial artist, incorporates Pranic Healing along with Native American and South American traditions into her work. She says, “Toxins may enter the energetic body first, and filtering out that energy and ‘cleaning it up' as much as possible can help keep you healthier. It is easier to clear out in the energetic field before it enters the physical body.”
Energy Sessions
An energy session may be performed lying down on a table or seated. Since it is working with the energy of the body, patients remain clothed and, oftentimes, the practitioner is working slightly above the surface of the body without touching. Each person will have his or her own individual experience, but common experiences include feeling lighter and more connected. “At the very least, for 30–45 minutes, you get to de-stress, have someone take care of you and feel relaxed yet more energized,” Pereira says. “The best-case scenario can be a deep healing on a physical, spiritual, energetic or emotional level.”
Personal Experience
Recently, a Bethlehem resident was dealing with some family issues and felt stuck in a negative space when a family member suggested he look into Reiki. A Google search serendipitously led him to the Beleno Center. “I didn't know what to expect and I was a bit leery, but I was also ready to move forward and didn't quite know how,” he says. In working with Beleno, he found the energy work helped shift him out of stuck patterns and beliefs on a deep level. “It allowed me to increase my awareness and understand my paradigms and let go of old mindsets,” he says. “Once I began doing the work, things started happening; things lined up in my daily life that I knew weren't just happenstance.” He now feels a greater awareness and clarity in his daily life—like a weight has lifted off his shoulders, with a sense of freedom and peace, shifting from self-centered to more selfless.
Choosing a Practitioner
Both Pereira and Beleno emphasize that the most important thing when researching practitioners is finding someone who resonates with you. They should be unafraid to answer your questions as well as share their own self-care practices. Red flags are when a practitioner says that their method is the only way or tries to supersede your medical doctor. A reputable practitioner views him or herself as a partner in your health and a part of your health care team.
Common Misconceptions
Energy work is not a replacement for medical treatment but it can be a support. As with anything, it is not an instant fix, though you may feel benefits immediately. Neither Reiki nor Pranic Healing are religion based—both honor whatever belief systems you have.
Finding modalities to support your whole health, physically, spiritually, emotionally and energetically can be an integral part of your total health and wellness program.
