Ancient Healing Techniques That Can Improve Your Modern Life

Ironically, when it comes to treating the ailments of modern life — which can be exacerbated by chronic stress and a relentlessly fast-paced life — thousand-year-old healing methods might be some of the best remedies.

Ironically, when it comes to treating the ailments of modern life — which can be exacerbated by chronic stress and a relentlessly fast-paced life — thousand-year-old healing methods might be some of the best remedies.

The exploding popularity of meditation and yoga in the West — the physical and mental health benefits of which are supported by an extensive body of scientific research — have put ancient healing methods on the map. In addition to the more popular mindfulness practices, there are many more timeworn (but still science-supported) self-healing methods you may not have heard of that can work wonders in boosting your health and well-being.

As the early Greek physician Hippocrates said, “The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force in getting well.”

The one thing that is undoubtedly universal amongst all of us is energy. It is the pervasive force that allows for life to exist and flourish, yet our westernized minds are often reluctant to embrace it as something that should be considered in medicine. Meanwhile, it is the focus of many ancient eastern health practices and remedies for the things that commonly ail us, and it can be used as a supplement to the prescribed medicine that we know to be tried and true. So what is energy healing and how can you implement it into your life to benefit your health and wellbeing? These five different methods should give you a good idea.

How Does Energy Healing Work?

Depending on the method, energy healing focuses on the life force that flows through all of us; that force that dictates our mood, health, energy, and ability to connect with other beings. In Chinese and Japanese culture that force is referred to as ki or qi (pronounced: chi). In India, it is known as prana the energy that spins and flows through the chakras, an intangible force that cannot be comprehended in the materialist sense.

Although the perspective of western science and medicine often labels energy healing as pseudoscientific, the perception is starting to change as scientists and academics begin to understand the principles behind the techniques and benefits that have been known to eastern cultures for centuries. The learnings and breakthroughs in quantum physics have brought the understanding of the pervasiveness of energy to the forefront of western thought. Not only do our bodies consist of and run on energy in every aspect of their function, but there is an omnipresent field of energy throughout the universe that is now being studied via quantum field theory. This universal energy known to eastern cultures and the newly discovered quantum field are talking about the same thing, disagreeing simply over semantics.

Influencing this flow of energy by implementing physical and mental awareness and intention, can bring about profound and replicable results. Through meditation, physical touch, and exercise our energy bodies can be altered to provide higher states of health, consciousness and, you guessed it, energy. These energy healing techniques can help you find an approach that is right for you and lead you on a path to healing and sustained health, either as a primary or supplemental modality.