A Brief Synopsis of
Healing Touch
Healing Touch was developed by Janet Mentgen RN, BSN, who has been practicing energy based care since 1980 in Denver, CO. Her innovative Healing Touch educational program, utilizes a nursing continuing education format, and was adopted as a Certificate Program of AHNA (American Holistic Nurses Association) in 1993. Healing Touch courses are offered only to health professionals such as registered nurses, physicians, body therapists, counselors, and psychotherapists. In order to become a certified Healing Touch Practitioner, students must complete a multi-level program including hundreds of hours of instruction and clinical practice; in addition, students must adhere to an international code of ethics and specific standards of practice. It is important to note that Healing Touch is a compliment to traditional (Western) medicine, and should not be used as a substitute.
Healing Touch is used to influence the body’s energy system, and by assessment, evaluation, and treatment, the practitioner facilitates the process of self-healing. The body’s energy system reflects the individual’s health and illness, and long before any physical, emotional, or mental condition arises, the energy system can demonstrate disturbances. A Healing Touch practitioner learns to recognize such disturbances and work with the client to resolve them. The study and treatment of the energy system is an integral part of Healing Touch Therapy.
The energy system is comprised of three major components: the energy field (aura, or auric field), the energy centers (chakras), and the energy tracts (meridians). The chakras and the aura are an integral part of Healing Touch, whereas the meridians are the theoretical basis of acupuncture. For the purpose of this article, I will address the chakras, as those of you who have experienced a Healing Touch treatment from me will have heard me mention them often!
The word chakra comes from a Sanskrit word, meaning disk, vortex or wheel. Chakras are essentially the energy centers of the body, and are recognized in many cultures throughout the world. William Collinge, author of Subtle Energy, has identified the concept of energy centers in several cultures. For example, in the Huna tradition of Hawaii, they are called auw centers; in the Kaballah, they are referred to as the tree of life centers; the Chinese Taoist tradition describes such centers as dantien.
It is important to understand the anatomy of the chakras when performing energy healing. Each energy center acts as wheel-like spinning vortex that interpenetrates the physical body, with the outer ends of each vortex forming a specific layer of the body’s auric field.[1] The whirling circular motion forms a cavity or vacuum in the center that draws in anything it encounters on its particular vibrational level, and returns that energy back to the auric field. The chakras serve as an interconnecting network between the auric field and the physical body, and additionally serve as a connection between the different layers of the auric field itself. According to Donna Eden, author of Energy Medicine, the chakras produce electrical oscillations “in the frequency of 100 to 1,600 cycles per second, as contrasted with 0 to 100 in the brain, 225 in the muscles, and 250 in the heart.” (Eden, 1998) A Healing Touch practitioner can sense these oscillations in many different ways, such as heat, tingling, coolness, sponginess, and even pain.
There are seven major chakras in the human body, and numerous minor chakras, such as those in the palms of the hands, the soles of the feet, and at major joints in the arms and legs. Of the seven major chakras, five are located along the spine (root, sacral, solar plexus, heart, and throat) and two are located in the head (brow and crown). Each chakra influences specific systems within the body, such as the organs, circulation, and endocrine system.
In addition to influencing your physical body, chakras have a major impact on your psychological and spiritual well-being. Each chakra conducts a particular form of energy within the universe. “The seven chakras resonate, respectively, with the principles of survival (root), creativity (sacral), power (solar plexus), love (heart), expression (throat), transcendence (third eye), and unity (crown).” (Eden, 1998) One might compare the principles of the chakras with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. American psychologist and author of Motivation and Personality, Abraham Maslow published his theory of human motivation in 1943, in which he formulated a five-level hierarchy of human needs: physiological (hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, etc.); safety (security, protection from physical and emotional harm); social (affection, belonging, acceptance, friendship); esteem (also called ego); self actualization (doing things). For example, the root and sacral chakras that govern survival, grounding, sexuality, and pleasure may be compared to Maslow’s physiological needs; the heart chakra, which governs love and relationships, may correspond to Maslow’s social needs. Finally, the crown chakra (also known as the ‘Seat of the Soul’) is associated with our spiritual realm, and may be compared to Maslow’s self-actualization – the pinnacle of human drive.
Understanding the nature of chakras is an important part of the Healing Touch therapist’s role. In order to assist clients in the healing process, the practitioner must assess the chakras for clues regarding the person’s physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual states. Chakras take in energy from the environment and distribute that energy within the body. Additionally, chakras send out energy, which may affect the energy of other human beings. When assessing the chakras, the practitioner uses specific techniques to determine their rotation. For example, a chakra that spins in a clockwise direction sends its energy into the environment, whereas a chakra in counterclockwise rotation can create a vortex, which sucks in energy from the outside. “This is what is sometimes happening with people who drain your energy. They are unconsciously sending out, with a counterclockwise spin, an energy vortex that can suck on your own energies like a straw in a glass of milk.” (Eden, 1998)
Light and color also move through the chakras, spinning up and out from their deepest layers. A practitioner can often see such colors, and assess their meanings accordingly. The color red, which is the first and most dense color in the spectrum, is most often associated with the root chakra. As we move along the chakras, the colors change according to the spectrum: sacral (orange), solar plexus (yellow), heart (green), throat (blue), brow (indigo), crown (violet). A practitioner may observe a color that differs from the ‘normal’ chakra color, and be able to identify possible causes of that color change. For example, the color green signifies healing, and a clear green hue in a chakra often demonstrates the balancing process in effect.
So how does the Healing Touch practitioner work with chakra energy to facilitate healing and health? “If you are feeling sluggish in your body, or in your life, you can be certain that the energies in your chakras are sluggish as well.” (Eden, 1998) Thus, the practitioner works to clear blockages, and improve the flow of energy between the chakras. By clearing chakras of ‘blocked’ energy, the individual is often left feeling relaxed, balanced, and strengthened. Since chakras govern the endocrine system, clearing and balancing chakras allows the regulation of one’s hormones, and therefore one’s emotions, into balance.
Chakra work often leads to a profound state of well-being and transcendence to a higher consciousness, for both client and practitioner. The Healing Touch practitioner begins with self-meditation in order to become centered and ‘grounded’, prior to working with clients. As the session begins, both practitioner and client fall into a meditative state, indicated by an alpha brain wave frequency. [Studies have shown that the brain waves generated by healers are often Alpha waves.[2]] The alpha states produce relaxation, and occurs when a person enters a meditative state. “The meditative state can also be named alpha and theta state. Inner healing of the physical body is accelerated in alpha and theta state. And healing by bio-energy can be done while the healer and healee appear to be in this state.” (Nudel, Michael and Eva, 2000)
The Healing Touch practitioner utilizes a number of techniques in order to treat the chakras, depending on the needs of the individual. A Mind-Clearing technique may be used at the beginning of the treatment, primarily to alter the energy flow within the head and promote deep relaxation. This technique is particularly useful in anxiety states. Other techniques such as Pain Drains, Ultrasound, and Laser techniques can be used for relief of pain, in particular, headaches and migraines. Another valuable technique is Magnetic Unruffling – a full body therapy that cleanses and clears the complete body by removing congested energy and emotional debris. This technique is particularly useful in patients undergoing chemotherapy, or those on chronic pain medication. In addition, there is growing evidence to suggest that energy-based care is extremely effective in wound healing, stress reduction, and anxiety.
While there is much evidence to support energy-healing techniques as an important modality in complementary medicine, the phenomena of healing is still not fully understood. Thanks to Healing Touch International, Inc. (HTI), the Research Department has developed an extensive database of citations and research pertaining to the practice of Healing Touch. At present, 38 controlled studies have been completed by HTI, with a further 16 in progress, and 11 planned for the near future, including 2 studies funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) to measure the effects of Distant Healing on patients with AIDS, and Glioblastoma (malignant brain tumor). Daniel J. Benor, MD, author of Healing Research: Holistic Energy Medicine and Spirituality, after examination of over 150 controlled studies of healing, states “that it is adequately demonstrated that healing is an effective treatment modality. Healing offers a potent complement to conventional therapies. We must get on with making healing available to those in need. The next step will be to explore how healing works.” (Benor, 1992).
Works Cited
[1] An energy field that interpenetrates with and radiates out beyond the physical body. It is made up of
different energy vibrations or frequencies. Marcotte, Diane. 2001.
[2] Simultaneous EEG
recordings (measuring brain electrical activity) often show that a client's
EEG pattern comes into synchrony with those of the healer during a healing
session indicating sympathetic resonance is taking place. Studies have shown
that the brain waves generated by healers are often Alpha waves. It is
theorized that the healer, having tuned the client into the same wavelength
as themselves, can retune the messages to the correct frequency, or replace
missing signals with their own signals restoring the Alpha wave link between
brain and cells. Universal
College of Reflexology, 2001.