What the heck is Energy Work?--My answer...

As a massage therapist who regularly performs energy work, I get asked all the time, what the heck is it? Many people think it's a placebo effect--Someone tells you it's helping so you believe it's helping. Others think it can cure cancer. My view falls somewhere in the middle. And since this is my blog, you get my view.

Energy not some magic medicine, but it DOES exist and DOES have an effect. Either that or I, and a good chunk of the world, are absolutely bonkers. Again, since this is my blog, we're going with the theory that I'm sane.

Energy work is exactly what it sounds like: my energy touches your energy and good things happen. :)

That's a little over simplified but it's true. If all you want is a simple answer, take that and leave the post. From here on out, I'm going much more in depth in my explanation of energy and energy work.

Each of us has many energy pathways running through our body. People have tried to systematically map them for centuries. That's where Reflexology/foot zones, Meridians/acupressure points, cranial sacral therapy, chakras, etc have all come from. I think there's truth in ALL of them, but they're thinking too small. Every bit of our bodies has energy. Each bit is somehow connected to each other bit.

This isn't too different from how our physical bodies work. If you're like most Americans, you might be raising an eyebrow right now. Why? Because us Americans are good at compartmentalizing everything. We think of the body as a segments. Your hand is connected to your arm, not your legs. I am about to challenge the way you view your body, stating that my fingers are connected to my toes, and use anatomy to do so. I'm not even going to talk about our blood vessels, nerves, and skin which we know run through and connect our whole body. I'm going to talk about a virtually invisible, but absolutely incredible part of our bodies called fascia.

Wrapped around every single muscle fiber is connective tissue called fascia. Fascia then surrounds groups of muscle fibers. These groups are then wrapped by even more fascia into what we consider the muscles. Groups of muscles are then surrounded by fascia. Fascia surrounds muscles, organs, connects into bones, with no real breaks. It just goes from one bit to another bit, and it is EVERYWHERE in your body. And I mean everywhere. It is why your body doesn't fall apart, why it functions, and why my fingers are literally connected to my toes. Any shift in this connective tissue can cause anything from another small part of the system to the entire thing to change for better or worse. (There is an entire style of massage dedicated to working with fascia, and I could spend an entire blog praising it/discussing it, but I need to move on...)

To me, Energy is like Fascia. It runs through the whole body and any block or shift in energy can cause the entire body to shift. This is why working the feet can effect the head, or working the head can improve your mood. Energy is what binds our physical body with the spirit/soul/whatever you want to call your higher being. And it is not just limited to 7 chakras, or 10 zones, or even 12 meridans. It is everywhere.

As an energy worker, I am in tune with other people's energy. As a kid, I was just really intuitive. I knew who I could trust, who I couldn't, etc. As I got older, I developed my energy sense further and now can read people's entire bodies sometimes even before I touch them. I don't see anything with my physical eyes, though I know people that can. It's a legitimate gift, just not one I have. I feel it more than I see it.

Being a massage therapist, this is an amazing gift. I start working on someone and I can find what's really going on faster than many, if not most, massage therapists. My hands know where to go because I can feel where the problem is, even when it's too deep for my fingers to find. I've had several clients tell me it's like I'm reading their minds. I'm not. I just have another sense directing my hands.

The reason I can do this is because energy imbalances are often connected to physical problems in the body. If your stomach hurts, there's going to be some kind of energy blockage there too. Normally it's a chicken or the egg discussion to which caused which. Sometimes it's obvious--I got in a car accident, my shoulder got squished, and now my energy doesn't flow in my left arm as well. Other times I'm emotional--which throws my energy out of whack--and next thing I know I have a stomach ache. Most of the time, I have no idea what caused what. I just know your energy is messed up and your body hurts there too.

Every single massage I do incorporates energy work into it. I don't know how to massage without it. I use my energy and my body to fix both your energy and your body. I do this because like I stated above, they are often connected.

Some times, however, I focus on working just the energy. This is what most people think of when they think of energy work. I may work your feet doing reflexology, or your head and sacrum in cranial sacral massage, or I may not even touch your body in Reiki, or I may lightly touch certain points in acupressure. Some energy workers specialize. I don't really. I'll combine bits of all of these along with things I just inherently know to do (your body tells me) to give a good energy session. If you request something specific, I'll give it to you; otherwise I'll just do whatever I feel like I should and you'll get off the table feeling better.

So I go back to my answer at the beginning. Energy work is when my energy connects with your energy and good things happen.