What is Energy Healing? Some frequently asked questions
Energy healing is a modality in which practitioners use their hands in a heart-centered and intentional way to support and facilitate your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and self-healing. Energy healing uses gentle, light or near-body touch to clear, balance, energize and support the human energy system to create an optimal environment for the body to heal. Energy healing also can help in releasing trauma energy that is kept in our bodies. I’m a practitioner with the Healing Touch program (more info at www.healingtouchprogram.com) which is the only energy healing program that is certified by the Holistic Nurses Association. I’m now also integrating Somatic Experiencing(tm) techniques into my practice specifically for trauma healing. You can find out about SE here if you want to know about which modality work well for you.
Do I have to be touched?
I won’t do anything without your consent. It is possible to do the whole session with my hands off your body if you prefer. You can let me know before if there are certain areas that you would like me to stay away from (besides the obvious ones! ) You have control over the whole session and can tell me exactly what makes you comfortable.
Is this like Reiki? What is energy healing?
There are many traditions that use the human energy system to help facilitate healing and they have many similarities but also some differences. Reiki comes from the Japanese tradition and the modality that I use (called Healing Touch) is based on many different traditions but mainly uses the chakra system coming from ancient South Asian healing traditions which I identify closely with since one of my ancestors was a healer in Pakistan. Energy healing modalities focus on balancing the chakras which are energy centers in the body that are vital to our health and well being. Each chakra corresponds with different organs in the body and is also associated with a primary color. Energy healers will work with these different energy centers to address imbalances and clear blockages to promote balance, movement and health. This can be a very subtle and gentle healing technique to receive, while also providing deep impact and transformation. A Reiki session is quite similar to a Healing Touch session in the way hands are used to move energy around the body, the difference would just be in the methods used with the hands to move the energy around. Hands can either be placed on or off the body. Think acupuncture minus the needles
What will happen during the session?
First we will do a short consultation ( you only have to tell me what you want to!) and we can establish some mutual goals for the session that you want to work on , either emotional, physical, spiritual, mental or everything! If you are interested in doing some somatic experiencing work will discuss that also. You will get on the table fully clothed and I will take a pendulum ( a weight on a string) to measure energy output around chakra points to see where we might need to connect ,open and provide balance to your energy system. I’ll then use my hands either off body or with light touch using different methods depending on what I feel with my hands to help facilitate healing with the mutual goals we talked about. After I’m finished we will have a debrief if you want to know what I found in the session and then we do a mini- self-care consultation to see what you can do yourself to keep your body in the best shape it can be depending on where you might be carrying stress or trauma energy. The idea is to give your body the tools and environment to start healing itself!
What are the benefits for energy healing?
Since there hasn’t been extensive studies done on energy healing and everyone is so different we can’t say with certainty what the benefit will be for you but some common benefits from energy healing with others have been:
Increasing relaxation
Helping with trauma release and anxiety
Reducing pain
Enhancing a sense of well-being
Helping with grounding and centering the body helping to become more focused
And more!
I also see a strong value in having someone else hold space for how we are feeling, sometimes we just need an hour with another person to sit with us when we don’t have to talk the whole time and can relax and release what is bothering us. I feel honored to create spaces where people can relax and feel like their concerns are heard and affirmed to help facilitate their healing!
How will I feel afterwards?
Every person responds differently, some people feel very relaxed, other people feel energized and some people don’t feel the effects right away.
What does sliding scale mean?
I want to make healing affordable for everyone so I offer a range of what you can pay depending on your income. To keep doing this work I do have to charge but I don’t want it to be a barrier since healing work is so essential for dealing with being in this world! Please pay what you can afford within the range. If you can’t afford the range then please email me and we can figure something out by either bartering services (maybe you work at something that I need and we can trade!) or I offer a limited number of pro-bono sessions a month for people who are in urgent situations, helpers, human rights advocates and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
My sliding scale is from $50- 120 and I accept Venmo, Paypal and Cash
Where is your office located?
I’m based in Washington DC and I use two practice spaces. One is located at the industrious workspace on H street. For those who prefer a more private space I also work out of my home on Capitol Hill. I ask that clients first book a consultation and we can discuss what needs you have for a space at that time.
How can I find out more information about Healing Touch?
Check out their website : https://www.healingtouchprogram.com/about/what-is-healing-touch,
You can also find out more about Somatic Experiencing (TM) here: https://traumahealing.org/se-101/
Feel free to email me with any questions that you have and I can answer them to the best of my ability .
Who is this type of healing for?
Everyone! Energy healing can be adapted for everyone. I can do sessions seated or lying down if there are mobility restrictions. Healing touch is perfect to help facilitate the body’s own healing after surgery or to help remove bad side effects of chemotherapy or other medications. There are many nurses that use the Healing touch modality in hospitals and in hospice situations. Let me know if it is more convenient for me to come to you. Energy healing is fine for people who are pregnant or have other health conditions and it doesn’t matter what medication you are taking. Energy healing is a great COMPLEMENTARY modality and should not replace seeing your general practitioner, therapist or other health professional.
Are there any side effects?
There are no known adverse side effects to energy healing. I would caution that if you are involved in a court case where you have to remember details of traumatic events then sometimes energy healing can make memories of traumatic events fade (which is great for healing but not good for testifying in court) check with me if you are in this situation before getting energy healing. It is also a caution that energy healing through the process can bring up emotions that might have been repressed as we work together to release them. I advise that if you have experienced a trauma recently that you have complementary care from a physician or a therapist to help support if something comes up. I’m not a therapist but am willing to work closely with a licensed clinician if needed to help facilitate your healing, sometimes we need different kinds of support along the way! Your sessions remain confidential unless you give me permission to share with another provider.
Disclaimer: Remember results are different for everyone, Healing Touch and SE (TM) is best used as a complementary modality to therapy and healthcare. If something comes up outside of my scope of practice I will refer you to other practitioners.