A guide for skeptics, doubters,

and curious seekers

You’ve probably heard the term “energy healing” thrown around. But what
exactly is energy healing? And what does it mean? There are as many myths
and misconceptions about energy healing as there are practices of it that exist—
and also a great deal of mystery. You might find your head spinning if you try to
Google it, and you’ll probably get a different answer from every person you ask.
So, it’s time to clear up what energy healing is—and what it isn’t—by busting
some of the biggest myths surrounding it.

Simply put, energy healing is a

systematic way of working with the
body's energies to promote health,
healing, and well-being.

Energy healing includes a wide range of traditions and techniques that move the
body’s energies throughout various energy systems. These energies are typically
unseen, but by working with them, we can release blockages to our healing and
restore our vitality. Read on to learn more about this mystifying modality…and get
your questions answered!

©️ 2023 Hay House, Inc. 1

Myth #1: “Energy healing is a ‘New Age’ fad.”
Quite the contrary. Energy healing was actually our first healing practice on the planet, dating back
thousands of years. Long before our ancestors figured out that plants had medicinal properties,
people were moving and manipulating the body’s energies with their hands to heal themselves and
promote better health. Shamans, sangomas, and medicine men and women from indigenous tribes
represent just some of the healers who worked with energy in ancient times—and continue to today.

Interestingly, we still see remnants of our ancient energy healing strategies in the world today. For
instance, when we have a stomachache, an often-unconscious reaction is to rub our hand in a circular
motion over our midsection. This is a known energy technique that helps restore the natural flow of
our digestion. Or, when we have a headache, we often reach to our temples or the base of our skull:
these areas contain specific energetic pressure points that help relieve pain when pressed. Suffice it to
say, energy healing is such an ancient practice that it’s built into our very being.

Myth #2: “Energy healing isn’t based on science.”

Surprisingly, the issue isn’t that there’s no scientific evidence to back up energy healing—it’s that
most people don’t realize the scientific research exists. There are plentiful clinical studies focused
on the efficacy of various types of energy healing; however, this research hasn’t been popularized in
mainstream culture, which tends to support conventional approaches and well-funded interests.

There are thousands of clinical studies demonstrating the effectiveness of acupuncture alone (one of
the most widespread forms of energy healing), as well as for many other modalities of energy healing.
For example, in the field of energy psychology, studies on EFT—a popular method in which people
tap on designated acupuncture points while activating specific thoughts or emotions—have shown
significant positive changes in reducing physiological markers such as cortisol; normalizing hyper-
aroused brain wave patterns; and even changing gene expression. Additionally, EFT has a solid track
record of alleviating not only psychological conditions such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD but also
physical conditions such as allergies and fibromyalgia. Although there’s still debate as to how such
energetic approaches work, hundreds of published clinical trials validate that they do.

©️ 2023 Hay House, Inc. 2

Myth #3: “There’s no such thing as an energy body.”
Just because you can’t see something, does that mean it doesn’t exist? We can’t see love, or gravity,
or magnetism…but we know them by their effects. The energy body has been recognized for
thousands of years across cultures—and aspects of it have been mapped out in detail within some of
the world’s most ancient systems of healing, including Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda. If
you’ve heard of the chakras, the aura, or the meridians, then you’re already familiar with some of the
basic “anatomy” of the energy body. Just like we all have a circulatory system, digestive system, and
endocrine system, we all have various energy systems.

What’s more, the energy body is not necessarily “invisible”; the issue might lie instead with our inability
to perceive it. In fact, there are individuals (including some acclaimed practitioners) who report
seeing people’s energy bodies, confirming detailed medical findings they otherwise could not have
known. It is their opinion that we are all born with the ability to see energy, but the heavily left-brained
nature of our society, coupled with upbringings that don’t reinforce this skill, often result in this ability
atrophying at a very young age. It can, however, be regained with practice.

Myth #4: “Energy healing doesn’t work.”

Skeptics of energy healing will often say something along the lines of, “I tried energy healing once, and
it didn’t work,” or “I didn’t feel any difference.” The truth is, energy healing operates in a completely
different way than conventional medicine. Whereas conventional medicine focuses on changing the
body biochemically (e.g., through pharmaceuticals) or mechanically (e.g., through surgery), energy
healing operates by shifting the subtle energy fields and flows that make up our bodies.

According to many energy healers, disease begins from the outside in: from the outermost layer
of our biofield, or “aura,” and then into our physical bodies. By the time physical symptoms appear,
the disease has already penetrated our energy body. In the same way, energy healing also functions
from the outside in: we sometimes can’t “feel” the effects because the changes don’t immediately
take place on the physical level. Often, the best way to determine the initial results of an energy
healing session is to pay attention to positive changes in your mood and energy level, and not just
the symptom you’re looking to ease. Many people find that their symptoms heal in time—naturally—
as their energies strengthen.

©️ 2023 Hay House, Inc. 3

Myth #5: “You have to believe in energy healing for it to work.”
Energy healing doesn’t require belief, faith, optimism, trust, or even hope (although many of those
are certainly beneficial!). This has been proven time and again in what are popularly called “intention
experiments,” where it’s been shown that our focused thoughts can have powerful, measurable
healing effects on other living beings, from people to plants. These results are calculable, significant,
and can be replicated—and most important, they don’t require the person on the receiving end to
know that they’re part of the experiment, or to even believe in it.

Similarly, documented controlled studies on patients in cardiac units have shown that the patients
who were prayed for improved more rapidly than those who were not. Such studies are a great boon
to not only the efficacy of energy healing but also the power of remote healing, revealing that we’re
not as separated from one another as we might think…and, in fact, our capacity to heal ourselves and
each other might be as deeply engrained in us as our capacity to love.

Myth #6: “Only a skilled practitioner can do energy healing work.”

You might have heard stories about healers who can vividly see energy, perform near-miraculous
recoveries, and create astonishing results with people who have tried everything to heal themselves
up to that point. And (if verified) those are indeed incredible accounts. But sometimes the hazard in
hearing such stories is that we start to believe energy healing is not accessible to everyone. But the
truth is quite the opposite.

Anyone—including you—can do energy healing work for yourself or for other people. Energy healing is
a learnable skill, just like singing, swimming, or speaking another language. By practicing even a few
simple techniques each day, you’ll likely start noticing immediate positive shifts in your overall energy
level, mood, and health. And so, whether you go on to work with a skilled practitioner or even become
one yourself, please know that energy healing is not overwhelming or unachievable. We all have the
capacity to heal with energy; it’s just a matter of learning and honing those skills.

©️ 2023 Hay House, Inc. 4

Myth #7: “Energy healing requires too many expensive tools
(crystals, tuning forks, etc.).”
Despite all the fancy, attractive tools advertised for energy healing—from crystals and gemstones to
tuning forks and pendulums—you really only need one tool to do energy work: your hands. Your hands
are like little energy magnets; they can move, shift, manipulate, and direct the subtle energies in your
body. And whether or not you’ve realized it, your hands are quite adept at picking up energy: Have
you ever noticed that they feel a little tingly or “off” after extensively touching your phone, laptop, or
any other radiation-emitting device? That’s often the effect of your hands soaking up the frequencies
being emitted. (Helpful hint: If you want to discharge those energies and get rebalanced, shake off
your hands vigorously or stand outside with your bare feet on the earth.)

In any case, you don’t need any special equipment for energy healing because all the tools required are
built right into your own body—the way that nature intended. (And, as you read about in Myth #5, even
using just the power of your thoughts can create incredible healing effects.)

©️ 2023 Hay House, Inc. 5