What Is Energy Healing? How does it work?

The first time I experienced energy healing, all sense of time seemed to stop.

It was like I was moving through water. I'd just had a session in a little basement in Covent Garden and walked out into the glorious London sunshine feeling a bliss I'd never felt before. I was so blissed out that I almost walked straight into a car. If it had hit me, I probably would have died smiling.

At the time, I couldn't make sense of what had happened. How could someone placing their hands on me and working with what they called Universal Energy leave me feeling more altered than a psychedelic experience? I needed answers.

So I started asking questions.

Fourteen years later, I'm still fascinated by the relationship between science, psychology, the nervous system and the more subtle experiences that many of us describe as energy. What I've discovered is that you don't necessarily have to choose between being spiritual and being grounded. There is room for both.

What is energy healing?

Energy healing is a broad term for practices that work with the idea that we are more than just our physical bodies. Alongside our physical selves, we have emotional, mental and energetic dimensions, and these aspects of ourselves are deeply interconnected.

Different traditions have different ways of describing this. In Reiki, for example, we talk about ki, or life-force energy. Other traditions work with chakras, subtle energy fields or the idea of energetic balance.

At the heart of energy healing is the belief that energy can become disrupted, blocked or depleted through the experiences we move through in life. Stress, grief, fear, trauma, emotional overwhelm and the demands of everyday life can all affect how we feel within ourselves.

Sometimes we can feel this physically. We might carry tension in our shoulders, feel heaviness in our chest, experience fatigue or simply have the sense that something isn't quite right, even when we can't put our finger on what it is.

From an energetic perspective, these experiences can be understood as areas where our energy is no longer flowing as freely as it could.

Energy healing aims to support that flow, helping to restore balance and encouraging the body, mind and energy system towards a greater sense of harmony.

For me, one of the most beautiful things about energy healing is that it isn't about fixing something that is fundamentally wrong with you. You are not broken. Sometimes life simply takes us away from ourselves, and healing is about creating the space to come home again.

How does energy healing actually work?

There are different ways of understanding how energy healing works, and I think there is value in allowing those different perspectives to sit alongside one another.

From an energetic and spiritual perspective, we are connected to a universal life force and to the energetic world around us. A practitioner works with this energy intuitively, sensing where there may be imbalance or areas that need attention, and supporting the energy to move and flow.

In my own work, I work in the energy field of a client remotely, using both Reiki and crystals, depending on what feels appropriate for the person and the session. I don't follow a rigid formula because every person is different. The energy of every session is different too.

Crystals are an important part of my own practice. I believe crystals carry their own unique energetic qualities and that they can support us in different ways. There is something incredibly powerful about working with a crystal intentionally, whether it is held in meditation, placed on or around the body, or simply kept close to you as a reminder of what you are working towards.

From a scientific perspective, we can also understand some aspects of an energy-healing experience through what we know about the nervous system.

When we finally have permission to stop, to lie down, to breathe, to be still and to receive rather than constantly do, our bodies can respond. Stress affects our breathing, muscle tension, sleep, attention and mood, and experiences that encourage deep relaxation can have a noticeable effect on how we feel.

I don't see these explanations as competing with one another.

For me, science gives us one lens through which to understand our experience. Spirituality gives us another. There are things we can measure, and there are things we experience that are much harder to put into words.

We don't necessarily have to dismiss one in order to explore the other.

What does energy healing actually feel like?

This is probably one of the questions I'm asked most often, and the honest answer is that every person experiences it differently.

You might feel warmth, tingling, pressure or a sensation of energy moving through your body. You might feel incredibly light or deeply grounded. You might experience emotions coming to the surface, see colours or images, or suddenly become aware of a thought or feeling that you hadn't consciously noticed before.

Some people enter a deeply relaxed or meditative state. Some drift off to sleep. Others experience very little during the session itself and notice the effects later.

There is no right or wrong way to experience energy healing.

You don't have to feel energy moving through your body. You don't have to see anything. You don't have to have a dramatic spiritual experience. Sometimes the most profound thing someone says afterwards is simply, "I feel restored." That, to me, is worth paying attention to.

It is also possible to feel tired, emotional or particularly reflective after a session. Sometimes we notice things coming up in the days afterwards that we hadn't been aware of before. I see this as part of the gentle unfolding that can happen when we finally give ourselves the space to slow down and listen inwardly.

Do you need to believe in energy healing for it to work?

No.

You don't need any previous experience with energy healing, Reiki or crystals. You don't need to follow a particular spiritual path, and you don't have to arrive completely convinced that it will work.

You simply need to be open to the experience. I actually think curiosity is a wonderful place to begin. You can be spiritual and still ask questions. You can have a deep belief in energy and still be interested in science. You can be open-minded without having to accept every explanation you hear.

For me, spirituality isn't about abandoning critical thinking. It is about being willing to explore experiences that don't always fit neatly into the boxes we have available.

What are the different types of energy healing?

There are many different forms of energy healing, and every tradition has its own history, philosophy and approach. The approaches I work with include:

Reiki

Reiki is a Japanese energy-healing practice developed by Mikao Usui in the early twentieth century. It works with the concept of ki, or life-force energy, and is traditionally practised through gentle touch or with the practitioner's hands held just above the body.

Reiki can be deeply relaxing and is often experienced as a quiet, restorative practice that allows the body and mind to settle.

Crystal healing

Crystal healing is another beautiful form of energy work and an important part of my own practice.

Crystals have been used throughout human history for spiritual, ceremonial and healing purposes. Different crystals are associated with different energetic qualities, and practitioners may choose particular stones according to the intention of a session or what they intuitively feel is needed.

I used to be a complete sceptic when it came to crystals. That was until one day, feeling completely depleted, exhausted and burnt out, I walked into a crystal shop and picked up a crystal that caught my attention. As I held it, I felt something shift. It was as though all of the heaviness I had been carrying simply began to pour away. I left the shop feeling lighter, clearer and energised, and from that moment on, I knew I needed to understand more about crystals, their energy and the profound ways they can support us.

For me, working with crystals isn't simply about choosing a stone because it is associated with a particular quality. It is about developing a relationship with the crystal and becoming more aware of what it brings up within you. A crystal can support meditation, intention, grounding, emotional awareness and energetic healing. It can also become an anchor, something you can return to when you need to reconnect with yourself.

There is something incredibly special about the relationship between human beings and the natural world, and crystals offer one beautiful way of exploring that connection.

Remote or distance energy healing

Remote energy healing is based on the understanding that energy and connection are not limited by physical proximity.

From a spiritual perspective, the energetic field is not confined to the physical body in the same way that our physical location is. This is why energy healing can be offered remotely, allowing a practitioner to work with someone who may be many miles away.

My own one-to-one sessions are offered remotely, which means you can receive a session from wherever you are without needing to travel.

For some people, receiving a session in the comfort of their own home creates a sense of safety that supports the deep relaxation needed for healing.

Is energy healing backed by science?

This is an important question, and one I think deserves an honest answer.

Science is still exploring many aspects of consciousness, the mind-body relationship and the ways in which experiences such as meditation, touch, focused attention and relaxation affect us.

There is research into Reiki and other complementary practices, with some studies reporting improvements in areas such as relaxation, anxiety, pain and wellbeing. However, the research is still developing, and it doesn't currently give us a complete scientific explanation for the energetic mechanisms described within spiritual traditions.

For me, that doesn't invalidate the experience.

Science is a wonderful tool for understanding the world, but it is also a process of discovery. There are things we understand extremely well and things we are still learning about. We can acknowledge what research currently tells us while also respecting the lived experience of people who work with energy and experience meaningful changes through it.

I don't think spirituality needs to be afraid of science, and I don't think science needs to be afraid of experiences that it cannot yet fully explain. There is still so much we don't know.

Energy healing, the nervous system and the experience of safety

This is an area that particularly interests me because of my background in psychotherapy and my work with complex trauma. When we've spent a long time in survival mode, slowing down isn't always as easy as it sounds. Sometimes our bodies need to experience safety before they can truly let go. A quiet space. A slower breath. Someone holding a calm and attentive space for us. Permission to stop performing, achieving and coping for a while.

These things can matter enormously. From a nervous-system perspective, this can be understood through our body's response to stress and safety. From a spiritual perspective, we might describe it as coming back into alignment or allowing energy to flow again. Both descriptions can speak to the same deeply human experience.

Something softens.

Something shifts.

We come back into ourselves.

Energy healing isn't a replacement for appropriate medical or psychological care, and I would never suggest that it is. But I do believe there is enormous value in creating spaces where we can slow down, reconnect with our bodies and listen to what is happening beneath the noise of everyday life.

What happens during an energy-healing session?

A session is a space to pause. You don't need to arrive with everything figured out. You don't need to know exactly what you want to work on, and you don't need any previous experience with energy healing. We begin by creating some space to connect and understand how you're feeling. From there, you can settle somewhere comfortable and allow the session to unfold.

Depending on what feels appropriate, I may work intuitively with energy, Reiki and crystals. You might experience warmth, tingling, emotions, memories, colours or a deep sense of peace. You might fall asleep. You might feel nothing particularly dramatic at all. There is no pressure to make something happen. The intention is to create a safe and supportive space where you can slow down, receive and reconnect with yourself. But as my testimonials show, it is often a deeply moving and powerful experience.

Curious about experiencing energy healing for yourself?

My one-to-one sessions combine intuitive energy work, Reiki and crystal healing with a grounded, compassionate approach. Every session is different, and the work is guided by what feels appropriate for you.

You don't need to believe in anything. You simply need to be curious enough to slow down, become present and see what unfolds.

Explore my healing sessions...

Energy healing is a complementary practice and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure medical or psychological conditions, or replace appropriate professional healthcare.