Energy Work includes: Healing Touch, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Polarity Therapy, Reiki and Therapeutic Touch. These modalities can be found elsewhere on this site.

Energy interventions like Healing Touch, Therapeutic Touch, Reiki, Touch for Health, Qi Gong and others are becoming more widely used in combination with conventional medical treatment modalities. However that are some in the community that expect that the treatments provided by a caring individual produce mostly psychological comfort with no real clinical intervention. This perception is not correct and it implies there are two basic concepts that are necessary to convey to clients, medical professionals and the community are:

What is an energy treatment, and how does it work?

A reasonable explanation that frequently appears might be: An energy treatment is a conscious, intentional process of directing energy through the hands of the practitioner to the client to facilitate the healing process. However, this type of explanation is not totally satisfying or convincing even though it is reasonably accurate. A better physical explanation might eliminate some of the misunderstanding and criticism of voodoo medicine.

A model for a scientific basis of the physiological changes developed by a hands on energy treatment can be extracted from acupuncture research. In acupuncture, healing is stimulated by the insertion of fine needles at special points on meridians that are usually activated with a tiny current. This current stimulates the flow of Qi or pulses of electrical energy that travel along the meridians and neurological pathways to the cells. Pomeranz¹ showed that this current stimulates the release of endorphins, and the secretion of hormones, serotonin and other chemicals at the cellular level. This chemical change produces effects like relaxation and reduction of pain.

The effects of Acupuncture are well established. An NIH panel recently reviewed over 200 research papers and concluded that acupuncture helps relieve post-operative nausea and vomiting, post-operative dental pain, and nausea and vomiting following chemo-therapy². In addition, the panel concluded that acupuncture was a suitable part of the treatment plan for drug and alcohol addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, general muscle pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma.

It is reasonable to expect these results should also apply to hands on energy treatments. When a practitioner centers to do a treatment, there is a mind-body connection where the mental processes stimulate the body's bioelectrical field. The bioelectrical flow corresponds to pulses of electrical charges that produce chemical changes in the practitioner's body, but these pulses also create a magnetic field. Maxwell's Law³, a well documented effect in physics, states that the flow of electrical charges creates both an electrical field and a magnetic field, and Maxwell's equations show how these effects are related. Thus the human energy system is a bioelectromagnetic field⁴. The flow felt between a person's two hands is a biomagnetic field flow. The aura is a subtle biomagnetic field.

During a treatment the practitioner's biomagnetic field interacts with the client's biomagnetic field and changes occur in the client's electrical field. This produces a change in the client's chemical balance at the cellular level, chemicals are released and physiological changes result. The cell's structure and function are changed. This process can be summarized in the following diagram:

Drugs and food produce changes at the cellular level by directly changing the chemical balance. An emotional trauma impacts the body through bioelectrical changes that are stimulated by the thought process.

Energy treatments are not magic. The effect of the modality is similar to acupuncture. It can be thought of as a bioelectromagnetic massage to stimulate bioelectromagnetic and physiological changes in the client at the cellular level to promote healing. Educational programs teach the practitioner how to prepare and manage their own bioelectromagnetic field to create changes in the bioelectromagnetic field of the client.

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² Acupuncture: Chinese Folk Medicine or Legitimate Medical Treatment," Tufts University Health & Nutrition eLetter, New York, V 16.4, June 1998

³ Paul, R. C., K. W. Whites and S. A Nasar, Introduction to Electromagnet Fields, WCB/McGraw-Hill, 3rd ed., Cambridge Massachusetts, 1998

⁴ Tiller, W. A., Science and Human Transformation, Subtle Energies, Intentionality and Consciousness, Pavior Publishing, Walnut Creek California, 1997.

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Source: Donald Stouffer, PhD, CHTP, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, University of Cincinnati OH USA. Copyright © 1997-2012, CompWellness Network, Fairfield NJ USA; reprinted with permission. First appeared as"Why Does Healing Touch Work?" in the Healing Touch eLetter, V9 No 1, Copyright © 1997-2012, CompWellness Network, Fairfield NJ USA, Colorado Center for Healing Touch, Lakewood CO USA, (303)989-0581.

An Integrative Approach

One integrative approach toward balance, self-healing and an improved quality of life combines therapies that aid in the discovery and balance of the total self. Whether a new or experienced seeker of Complementary Healthcare, you can have a personalized treatment approach which addresses issues in the spiritual, emotional and physical realms.

In a safe, caring and non-judgmental environment, each person can be nurtured with a strategy that might include personal consultation, classroom teaching, and biofield (hands-on) therapies. These specific mind/body customized interventions relate to energetics, meditation, nutritional counseling, psychotherapy, intuitive assessment, spiritual guidance and movement therapies.

In-Sights uses this approach, and each person is encouraged to appreciate the interconnectedness of body, mind and spirit. As the inward process evolves, individuals can enthusiastically create a gentle loving awareness of the self. The In-Sights approach creates a unique and empowering bridge to higher reality.

Source: Darleen Miller, BS, CRM and Loni Tesch, MSW, Denver CO.

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