What is energy medicine?

What is energy medicine? First I would like to give you a basic understanding of what energy is. Energy is what many call vitality or life force. Some of the more common names which are now being used within our culture for “life force” are Prana, Qi or Reiki. Energy medicine is based on the premise that all physical objects for example our body and psychological processes such as our thoughts; emotions, beliefs and attitudes are expressions of energy.

For there to be harmony or balance in the body it needs to occur on two levels, the physical and in the energetic body which surrounds and permeates our being. For example when blood flows through our arteries and veins it is in the state of homeostasis or balance. If there is plaque buildup within an artery this is referred to as a blockage disrupting the natural flow of the blood. This can also be said about the flow of energy, which can become blocked causing stagnation and eventually result in disease within an organ or gland. Disruptive changes like this can stream throughout your energetic super highway system wreaking havoc internally and externally to your body.

Our biofield or aura to some is a field forever changing by our internal and external environments. If you were a planet this field would be represented as the atmosphere which surrounds the planet. I believe that this field helps in the balance of our internal ecosystem and also protects us from the external environment as the atmosphere protects our planet earth. For example, to give you an idea of how it works take our current technology of WiFi. A service provider such as Telus or Shaw sends out a signal into our surrounding environment. This WiFi signal is picked up by a receiver such as a, router, cell phone, laptop or tablet which converts the data into useable information. In some cases these devices may not function properly dropping the signal or the signal is too weak to be picked up by them. I believe that this concept applies to us.

I believe that energy centres known as Dantian’s or Chakra’s located within our body are communication terminals capable of sending and receiving information whether it be internally or externally to our body. This information is sent between each energy centre by way of energy meridians, which you may know as acupuncture meridians. These energy meridians are equivalent to electrical lines, which connects all the energy centres or terminals within our body together creating a bioelectromagnetic field which encompasses our physical body. Our body mimics the various layers of the planets atmosphere, so if we treat our body poorly it is reflected in our biofield or aura.

If our energy centres are not maintained they will build up a charge around them similar to a cloud or static field. This field dulls the charge created by the chakra’s which is needed to dissipate the stagnant buildup in our meridian systems. The more cleansed and developed these energy centres are the clearer the charge and information being sent and received. A person attuned to the energy flow within or external to their body can manipulate this flow whether positively or negatively. For example if the energy pathway to the liver is interrupted you may exhibit pain in the area of your liver or anywhere along the pathway of the liver meridian. If this pathway is blocked for extended periods of time it can cause disease of the organ and replicate the state of the body in the biofield. This disruption can manifest itself into emotions such as irritation, anger or rage where in the practice of  Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is said to be stored in the liver.

What can cause energetic blockages?

Blockages can occur from various things such as:

• Stress and tension
• Moods we express to any given situation
• Physical injuries (internal and external scaring of the body, car accidents, sports injuries, etc.)
• Foods that are not beneficial to the body
• Improper exercise with little to no stretching
• Improper hydration
• Lack of sleep
• Electronic or radio wave frequencies (radio, TV, etc.)

How can I clear these energy blockages?

The flow of energy throughout one’s body needs to be maintained daily in order to prevent disruptions within the energy systems. Today many people undertake millennia old traditions such as meditation, yoga or various forms of energetic modalities without understanding the potential effects on the mind, body and spirit. Meditation is a cleansing and rebalancing of the body and mind. The goal of meditation just like yoga is to ready the body and mind for a spiritual experience. This experience is reached through the cleansing and development of the energy centre’s. In the East Indian culture chakra’s are represented as wheels or disks. Some of these wheels connect to the physical plane, and others the spiritual plane connecting us to God, the universe or to some the source of all things.

Throughout the centuries other forms of energy cleansing started to surface such as acupuncture, acupressure, Jin Shin Jyutsu, reflexology and various other modalities. A basic understanding of the energy systems is essential for everyone whether we choose to nurture our body and mind or not.

Some people have found short cuts on how to activate their energy centres before they’re fully developed enabling them to experience moments of enlightenment. By expediting this process they may experience trauma to their body or underdeveloped energy centres. This can be caused by forcing too much energy through one’s system before energy blockages are released or before the energy centres are properly developed.

There are numerous ways in clearing energy blockages or stagnation within the body. For example, to aid in clearing blockages within the liver meridian you would touch the primary point of the meridian which is located on the inside of the big toe. An advance practitioner can sense where the disruptions are making the necessary adjustments needed to reverse the problem. Depending on how many blockages may be in the channel will determine how fast the meridian can be cleared. Other potential impediments that may affect the treatment can result from a cut, a wart, surgery or any other traumas which can mark the channel.

For a beginner I would advise them to start with a simple breathing technique I found to be extremely effective. The practitioner would listen to their breath as they breathe in and listen to it as they exhale it out. The objective of this technique is to focus on nothing but the sound of your breath (To learn more about how to do this technique refer to my post about “The power of the breath”). The effects of this simple technique can be very overwhelming to some. When I tried this technique for the first time, I felt very raw emotions of sadness lodged in my lungs which made me burst out crying. I suffer from bouts of asthma and to my surprise soon after this experience I found out that in TCM sadness is associated with problems with the lungs.

Some advanced practitioners are able to directly submerge themselves into the blocked or stagnant energy, which may be located within the meridian or energy centre. Once the connection is made the body will naturally recognize that there is a problem just like an antibody recognizing a virus. The body will then naturally reverse the blockage back to its free flowing state as long as the practitioner does not manipulate the process.

The most effective method I found to flush the meridian systems of stagnant energy is to stream through the Conception and Governing vessels. The process used is similar to Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy with a blend of Jin Shin Jyutsu and Reiki if you do it hands free. I found that this method helps to indicate: which energy locks or in TCM alarm points are affected. This process helps clear blocked meridians, cleansing and development of energy centres promoting a free flowing state of your energy system.

I’ve also found it to be a bit challenging locating a good energetics practitioner and many of us have little to no knowledge about what energetics is about. I have seen and experienced practitioners channel or focus energy causing further disruptions in the body as they add to the bottle neck syndrome; this is why I believe that it is important that you select a good practitioner ensuring your wellbeing.

Spiritual Enlightenment and their potential traumas

We usually hear about how positive an enlightenment experience can be, but for some this can be a very daunting experience causing one to withdraw from friends, family and society. In some cases people find creative ways of escape using such things as illegal or prescription drugs, drinking or anything to distract their minds from what they’re experiencing. This disconnection is usually brought about because the practitioner may feel like they’re going crazy or feel lonely because they have no one to share their unthinkable or unexplainable experiences.

Sometimes stopping the activity is not enough to reduce or cease the enlightenment experiences. This can be a result of an over active energy centre, or naturally developed centres that do not require meditation or yoga to reach a spiritual experience. Some energetics, yoga, or meditation teachers may touch on the spiritual changes and never really understand the enlightenment phase on the same scale as the student to grasp the magnitude of their transformational fears to really assist with their inquiries.

Many of you may have heard this statement before “You fear what you don’t know”. The problem with this statement is that many of us live in this state of being. Fear in its self is not real; it is a combination of thoughts such as doubt and the perception of danger or a threat which creates fear. If you become conscious of your thoughts these manifestations which create fear will subside empowering you when you have an enlightenment experience.

When helping others who have shifted into the enlightenment stage, one needs to help them understand their transformation: by educating them on energy systems, identify with the fears that plague them, empower them by showing them that they have the ability to influence their state and most of all show them that they’re not alone. My suggestion to anyone who is undergoing these changes is to connect with grounded people of like mind in order to understand your experiences. Not everyone who you make contact with may have the answers you need, so carefully connect with someone or a group that you can truly identify with and has your wellbeing at heart.