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Energy therapy is based on the concept that interactions with the biofield of a person can aid in healing and wellness.

The theory is that all living things have a natural flow of energy that is essential to health. This biofield is part of the body, although it extends beyond the physical body in the form of energy. This concept has been the basis for several ancient healing practices and is part of various complementary and alternative medical therapies.

Healthcare practices in Asian countries commonly interact with the biofield, although, in Eastern traditions, it is generally viewed from a holistic perspective rather than the mind-body dichotomy in Western countries. Energy therapies are common practice in cultural groups in Africa, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as among Native American groups. In contemporary Western culture, it is usually a complementary medical practice that forms the basis for candling, color therapy, crystal therapy, energy healing, esoteric healing, feng shui, magnet therapy, polarity therapy, qigong, reiki, rolfing, shiatsu, therapeutic touch, and other practices.

Essential to energy therapies is the supposition that physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual disorders are manifest in both the biofield and the physical body. The objective of therapy is to restore the balance of energy to the biofield, promoting healing, health, and general well-being.

Energy therapies are applied broadly to encourage relaxation, general health, or a feeling of well-being, as well as for the management of symptoms associated with several chronic disorders. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, cites anecdotal evidence supporting the use of energy therapies in the treatment of acute pain, anxiety, arthritis, asthma, bio-resonance therapy, chronic pain, hypertension, stress, and wound healing. Energy techniques are used, as well, to reduce symptoms and treatment-related side effects.

The North American Nursing Diagnosis Association has approved the diagnosis of energy field disturbance in patients, and therapeutic touch or other energy therapies may be used in conjunction with conventional medicine, although others in the medical community have criticized this approach.

The Earthing Institute holds that grounding is as important for health as good nutrition, sleep, exercise, and a positive mental attitude. Its researchers and therapists believe that optimal health can be gained and maintained by restoring direct contact with the earth through the removal of floors, carpets, and shoes. Walking barefoot and sleeping on the ground are viewed as useful tools for achieving the earthing of our bodies. Earthing practitioners argue that earthing has both preventative and curative effects on aging disorders, arthritis, autism, autoimmune disorders, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic inflammation, diabetes, depression, muscle care, reproductive disorders, stress, and wound care.

Detractors relegate energy therapies to the realm of pseudoscience, dismissing positive reports as products of placebo effects, spontaneous remissions, experimenter bias, or cognitive dissonance.

Categories

Color Therapy

Crystal Therapy

Ear Candling

Earthing

Feng Shui

Magnet Therapy

Pranic Healing

Qigong

Reiki

Shiatsu

 

 

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