Energy Medicine 101
The worldview of Energy Medicine is that the body is more than a fancy clock, or collection of chemical processes. There is something more that suffuses life, connects us to nature and the cosmos, and makes us uniquely human.
Throughout history, across cultures, there has existed the idea of a vital life force energy, that surrounds and interpenetrates the body. The free and abundant flow of this energy contributes to the health of the individual on all levels. This is the chi of Chinese medicine, the prana of Ayurveda, the mana of Hawaii, the pneuma of ancient Greece, the Biofield studied by the National Institutes of Health, and the primary respiration and breath of life in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy.
Each cultural system defines aspects of an energetic anatomy through which this energy moves. The aura, or human energy field, surrounding the body, circumscribes our personal space, and connects us to a larger background field. Vertical flows conduct energy through the center of the body at sole and crown (the sushumna in yoga), connecting to smaller internal flows (acupuncture meridians), like rivers and tributaries that distribute energy to every cell, and to energy centers (chakras) that constantly exchange energy and information with the environment.
According to the World Health Organization, health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In energy-speak, this means being full of energy, in a system with dynamic balance, resilience, and fluidity. This translates to feeling at home in one’s own skin, having a healthy sense of self-awareness and self-acceptance, and the capacity to adapt and respond to life’s challenges in a variety of ways. Practices such as Qi Gong, yoga, acupuncture, Reiki, craniosacral therapy, energy healing of many varieties, and mind-body-spirit practices involving meditation and imagery keep one’s energy systems humming.
In a lifetime, we lose energy to injury, habit, illness, our own genetic tendencies, trauma, cultural messages (about gender, race, age, and body image, for example), and chronic stress. Over time the body and mind become more patterned and rigid. We shut down parts of ourselves in self-defense, develop a limited comfort zone, and override our body’s messages in order to maintain a frenetic life-style. We all know what it feels like to be “running on empty”, not quite knowing how to recharge one’s batteries, or with the accelerator stuck in the “on”position, not knowing how to slow things down.
Within this world view, there is no single root cause or core issue that creates illness. Instead, there are multiple factors over a period of time, that culminate in patterns of mind, body, and emotion. In energy therapies, the goal is reestablish a full, vibrant, and balanced flow through the system. In this state, the body has a natural tendency to renew itself. Injuries are repaired, cells are replaced, illness is resisted, emotions are more fluid, and one feels a greater sense of inner peace and well-being.