Alternative Therapy
Using the Body's Energy to Promote Wellness
September 2016
By Nancy Burger
When the concept of energy medicine was first described to me, I was equal parts perplexed and intrigued. It was suggested as a way to reduce anxiety and calm my nervous system, but I didn't understand how tapping on my chest or the heels of my hands could possibly accomplish that. So I listened and learned what I could about this fascinating branch of alternative medicine. Then, I gave it a try. It's now an integral part of my self-care.
Energy medicine is a method used to activate the body's natural healing energies that may have become weak, disturbed or out of balance. Using techniques from age-old healing traditions such as acupuncture, yoga, kinesiology and qi gong, this practice focuses on the body as an entire system and is intended to facilitate flow through specific pathways or acupressure locations on the skin.
Before your eyes glaze over, let's break things down to basics:
Law of Conservation of Energy
You've undoubtedly learned this tenet of science that states energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it transforms from one form to another. For instance, chemical energy can be converted to kinetic energy in the explosion of a stick of dynamite. Energy medicine builds from this concept in that it views the body as a center of energy systems that interact with its environment. You might hear, for example, that someone "lights up a room," "has great energy" or "throws off a positive vibe."
Electricity and the Human Body
There's no question that the human body generates electricity. These “signals” allow your nervous system to send messages to the brain that control the rhythm of your heartbeat, the movement of blood around the body, and much more. If someone's heart stops, for example, an emergency responder might use a defibrillator to deliver an electric shock to restore heart rhythm. Alternatively, the wrong type of shock (i.e. from a lightning strike), can fatally disrupt your body's electrical system. Your biological clock even uses electrical activity to help keep your circadian rhythms in order. You are, quite simply, an electrical being. If the electrical activity in your body stops, you can't survive.
The Body's Energy Systems
The practice of energy medicine is built on the notion that this flow works both ways. That is, the body emits energy through distinct systems including:
Meridians: Much like an artery carries blood, meridians facilitate flow of energy and create vitality and balance. They are believed to affect every organ and physiological system, including immune, nervous, endocrine, respiratory, digestive and skeletal. These pathways also connect hundreds of tiny, distinct reservoirs of heat and electromagnetic energy along the surface of the skin (which can, for example, be stimulated with needles during acupuncture).
Chakras: These are concentrated centers of energy in the body (the word translates from Sanskrit as disk, vortex or wheel) positioned at one of seven points from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Whereas meridians deliver energy to the organs, chakras saturate the organs in those forces.
Aura: This is a multi-layered shell of energy that emanates from your body and interacts with your environment. When you feel happy, confident and strong, your aura may fill a room. In contrast, a sad or depressed person might give off a subdued or dampened spirit. A study conducted by Valerie Hunt, a neurophysiologist at UCLA's Energy Fields Laboratory, compared "aura readings" with different measurements, including electronic frequency and electroencephalogram (EEG) data. The "auras" were seen to correspond with one another as well as with wave patterns picked up by electrodes on the skin.
Is This For You?
Donna Eden is a well-known and respected practitioner in the field of energy medicine and has worked for over thirty years as a spokesperson for this method of healing. To help people gain a basic understanding of the practice, she helped create a "Daily Energy Routine" to "improve your well-being in under 10 minutes a day." This series of nine simple movements and activities is intended to center the body and enhance energy flow.
When I first heard of these techniques, I'll admit I was skeptical. I now use many as "go-to" tools when I'm feeling stressed or unwell, and they have helped me tremendously.
For ten minutes a day, I figured, what have I got to lose?
For more information:
The Energy Medicine Institute
Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP)
Innersource.net
David Feinstein, Ph.D.
Energy medicine is a method used to activate the body's natural healing energies that may have become weak, disturbed or out of balance. Using techniques from age-old healing traditions such as acupuncture, yoga, kinesiology and qi gong, this practice focuses on the body as an entire system and is intended to facilitate flow through specific pathways or acupressure locations on the skin.
Before your eyes glaze over, let's break things down to basics:
Law of Conservation of Energy
You've undoubtedly learned this tenet of science that states energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it transforms from one form to another. For instance, chemical energy can be converted to kinetic energy in the explosion of a stick of dynamite. Energy medicine builds from this concept in that it views the body as a center of energy systems that interact with its environment. You might hear, for example, that someone "lights up a room," "has great energy" or "throws off a positive vibe."
Electricity and the Human Body
There's no question that the human body generates electricity. These “signals” allow your nervous system to send messages to the brain that control the rhythm of your heartbeat, the movement of blood around the body, and much more. If someone's heart stops, for example, an emergency responder might use a defibrillator to deliver an electric shock to restore heart rhythm. Alternatively, the wrong type of shock (i.e. from a lightning strike), can fatally disrupt your body's electrical system. Your biological clock even uses electrical activity to help keep your circadian rhythms in order. You are, quite simply, an electrical being. If the electrical activity in your body stops, you can't survive.
The Body's Energy Systems
The practice of energy medicine is built on the notion that this flow works both ways. That is, the body emits energy through distinct systems including:
Meridians: Much like an artery carries blood, meridians facilitate flow of energy and create vitality and balance. They are believed to affect every organ and physiological system, including immune, nervous, endocrine, respiratory, digestive and skeletal. These pathways also connect hundreds of tiny, distinct reservoirs of heat and electromagnetic energy along the surface of the skin (which can, for example, be stimulated with needles during acupuncture).
Chakras: These are concentrated centers of energy in the body (the word translates from Sanskrit as disk, vortex or wheel) positioned at one of seven points from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Whereas meridians deliver energy to the organs, chakras saturate the organs in those forces.
Aura: This is a multi-layered shell of energy that emanates from your body and interacts with your environment. When you feel happy, confident and strong, your aura may fill a room. In contrast, a sad or depressed person might give off a subdued or dampened spirit. A study conducted by Valerie Hunt, a neurophysiologist at UCLA's Energy Fields Laboratory, compared "aura readings" with different measurements, including electronic frequency and electroencephalogram (EEG) data. The "auras" were seen to correspond with one another as well as with wave patterns picked up by electrodes on the skin.
Is This For You?
Donna Eden is a well-known and respected practitioner in the field of energy medicine and has worked for over thirty years as a spokesperson for this method of healing. To help people gain a basic understanding of the practice, she helped create a "Daily Energy Routine" to "improve your well-being in under 10 minutes a day." This series of nine simple movements and activities is intended to center the body and enhance energy flow.
When I first heard of these techniques, I'll admit I was skeptical. I now use many as "go-to" tools when I'm feeling stressed or unwell, and they have helped me tremendously.
For ten minutes a day, I figured, what have I got to lose?
For more information:
The Energy Medicine Institute
Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP)
Innersource.net
David Feinstein, Ph.D.
