HEALING TOUCH What is Healing Touch? Healing Touch is an energy therapy in which practitioners consciously use their hands in a heart-centered and intentional way to support and facilitate physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health. Healing Touch is a biofield (the magnetic field around the body) therapy that is an energy-based approach to health and healing. Healing Touch uses touch to influence the human energy system, specifically the energy field that surrounds the body, and the energy centers that control the energy flow from the energy field to the physical body. These non-invasive techniques utilize the hands to clear, energize, and balance the human and environmental energy fields, thus affecting physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health and healing. It is based on a heart centered caring relationship in which the practitioner and client come together energetically to facilitate the client's health and healing. The goal of Healing Touch is to restore balance and harmony in the energy system placing the client in a position to self heal. What do the experts say about Healing Touch? Healing Touch Research has been conducted in a wide variety of settings and with a number of different problems and situations including: Cancer Cardio-vascular disease Death and dying Endocrine/Immune function Pain Patient satisfaction and experience Psychotherapy/Psychology Post operative recovery Stress These studies demonstrate that there is support for considering Healing Touch for providing integrative care and that patients evaluate it highly. Healing Touch research has been supported and/or funded by hospitals, universities, colleges professional organizations, private foundations, and the National Institutes of Health, Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. How does Energy Healing work? There is still much mystery to how energy therapies work. Many theoretical frameworks for how energy medicine works exist in the literature of quantum physics and holistic healing. However, while the exact physics mechanisms can not be definitively described at this time, the cumulative results of numerous related studies on energy medicine and consciousness indicate strong support that "something is happening" and that recipients respond positively to energy therapies such as Healing Touch. Over the years, researchers have developed ways to measure the energy field. Theoretically, by correcting any defects in the energy field, energy healing may facilitate healing of the body, mind and spirit. Energy therapies focus on removing energy congestion that form in our energy fields (aura) and energy centers (chakras). Once these imbalances and disturbances are cleared, the energy channels resume their task of integrating the body, mind and soul to restore health and/or promote healing. It may also help prevent future issues by restoring balance to energy field disturbances, which could later result in illness if left unbalanced. To gain a deeper understanding of the science supporting energy healing, please refer to the many books, journal articles and research findings written on this subject. Scientific evidence does exist that supports the premise that energy healing is effective. However, an experience is worth a thousand words, so the receiving of a Healing Touch treatment can do more to understand this phenomena than all the writings in the world. What are the benefits of Healing Touch? NON INVASIVE Healing Touch is done without the use of invasive procedures such as injections, inserting tubes, medication or surgery. EFFECTIVE Research has shown that Healing Touch facilitates the relaxation response and enhances the healing process. NON TOXIC Medications can cause side effects and must be monitored. Healing Touch restores balance and harmony to our natural biofield without the use of pharmaceuticals. ECONOMICAL Healing touch does not require the use of equipment or substances and can be done in any setting. An open heart, a set of hands and a willing spirit is all that is needed. What to Expect from a Healing Touch Treatment Healing Touch is a gentle, biofield (energy field) therapy that often facilitates a deep sense of calm and relaxation in the Body-mind-spirit. The treatment is typically administered while the client lies on a massage table with their clothes on. With your permission, the practitioner uses his/her hands to assess your biofield and proceeds to clear and balance it as needed using either off body touch (near body but no direct contact) or a gentle (still) touch over various areas of the body. Occasionally, a person may experience an acceleration of the healing process and his/her symptoms may intensify for a brief time. When this happens, the recovery period of the illness is usually shortened.