People seek energy healing treatments for many different reasons. Sessions are said to help clear energy blocks, reduce stress, and can even aid with breaking addictions and facilitating behavioral change. As skeptical as you might feel, holistic modalities of treatment are becoming more and more commonplace — some are even covered by health insurance in the United Kingdom. While energy medicine should never be used in lieu of your doctor’s medical advice, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) make up an evidence-based field of growing legitimacy.
Finding the time for self-care poses a universal challenge. But energy healing offers a unique advantage in that it can be performed from a distance. “Any energy work can be done via distance because energy doesn’t prescribe to regular time and space constraints,” explains Chloe Nordlander, energy healer and founder of Rad Ritual. “Energy is universal [and] travels differently than material objects. As long as I have somebody or something’s energy to connect to, the distance doesn’t matter.”
Nordlander offers distance-healing sessions in Reiki, Sekhem, tarot reads, and one-on-one shadow healings. “Reiki and Sekhem are both methods of non-touch healing in which the universal energy is channeled to heal a client’s energy,” she says. Reiki, which is of Japanese origin, utilizes a pure white light of healing, while Sekhem originates from ancient Egypt with a frequency that Nordlander describes as a rainbow vibration. Shadow healing, on the other hand, consists of individual coaching sessions in which she assists clients in confronting unseen parts of his/her personalities. This type of personal work helps to empower client to transform their struggles into strengths.
What to expect from a distance healing session will vary between techniques, clients, while even each session may be experienced uniquely. “In Reiki and Sekhem, some people may notice a tingling sensation or waves of energy that travel up and down the body,” she explains, “Others might feel their temperature fluctuate in certain areas where they are either absorbing or releasing energy.”
Even if you feel nothing at all, energy work can still be happening. Afterwards, clients report feeling lighter, calmer, clearer, and much more relaxed. Others have reported a sense of joy, almost feeling “drunk” on good vibes and taking the time to lay down.
The most important way to prepare for energy healing is to open your mind. Nordlander points out that it is important to go into your session with a willingness to face the emotions, memories, and feelings that come up for you both during and after treatment. This emotional clearing process is, in fact, what the session is meant to trigger. She points out that the processing, integration, and release of this stored mental energy that this cues is how you heal.
You may also feel thirsty following reiki, acupuncture, or any form of body work. If you find yourself reaching for water more often, this, too, is a good thing. “This is a sign that you released a lot of energy and toxins during your healing work,” Nordlander reveals, “I always tell my clients to double their normal [hydration] for the next few days. It’s likely they’ll have an energy purge if we did a lot of clearing.” Energy release can cue the physical release of toxins, and drinking plenty of water helps to flush them out more efficiently.
As for frequency, Nordlander advises booking monthly treatments for balance and maintenance, but notes that the ideal frequency can vary according to each client’s needs. Whether you’re seeking support through a break-up, have suffered a trauma, or are dealing with a mild depression, energy healing sessions can be a wonderful form of self-care.
Being able to complete them from a distance makes them especially accessible, taking away any inhibitions you might have about face-to-face contact. All self-care practices are about tuning into your inner-needs. No matter what healing modality you choose, the most important thing to remember is that support is available.