NEW AGE ENERGY
Could the likes of reiki and aura cleansing provide the boost you’ve been craving?
There was a time when energy therapies were mostly laughed off – but now, thanks to the surging popularity of holistic wellness, even sceptics are open to giving the likes of reiki, biomagnetic therapy and aura cleansing a go. One wrung-out writer, wondering if there’s any science to back up the hype, goes in search of an alternative energy boost
‘Think of energy healing as a way of clearing blockages to help you achieve a state of wellbeing’
Wandering through the Flatiron district of New York – so synonymous with wellness that it’s been dubbed ‘athleisure row’ – ticking off sleek shopfront after sleek shopfront, you’ll soon encounter one identifiable by four consonants decorating the window. While the artfully curated horticultural display and stripped-back decor suggest it’s yet another boutique gym or matcha cafe, the contemporary western exterior actually conceals a business rooted in ancient eastern medicine. This is WTHN, an acupuncture studio where regular clients book in just as you would for a file and polish.
Once firmly positioned on the wellness periphery, energy healing is converting to the conventional quicker than you can say ‘clear my chakras’. And this energy field extends far beyond the Brooklyn Bridge. Instagram, the unrivalled zeitgeist capturer, shows upwards of 30,000 posts tagged #auracleansing, while fitness brands such as Triyoga and Cloud Twelve are offering qi gong and energy healing treatments like craniosacral therapy alongside vinyasa yoga classes and head massages.
This gravitation towards the alternative hinges on an understanding of energy that goes beyond the number of calories in a sandwich from Pret. ‘We all have a physical body and an energetic body, and sometimes your energy flow gets blocked,’ says energy healer Sushma Sagar. She had a high-level job in the fashion industry before founding The Calmery – a Harley Street intelligent energy healing clinic – two years ago. ‘You have 72,000 energy channels that converge in seven points called chakras,’ she says. ‘The energy in the chakra should be flowing clockwise, like water down a plughole, but if the chakra is blocked, the energy can become stuck. Think of energy healing as a way of clearing the blockages to help you achieve your optimum state of wellbeing.’
Ever walked into a room and sensed a bad vibe? Or been on a date and felt the sparks fly? This, according to Sagar, is energy in action. And she isn’t surprised if you’re sceptical. ‘There’s something about the word “healing” that can put people on edge. Maybe it isn’t clinical enough, maybe it sounds a bit too New Age,’ she admits. ‘But healing is just doing something that has a positive effect on the body and mind.’
Among the doubters is Professor Tim Caulfield, research director at the University of Alberta’s Health Law Institute in Canada, and author of Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? ‘The idea that you have a life force energy that runs through your body and that it can be manipulated is scientifically far-fetched,’ he says. ‘It’s very interesting that energy healing clinics will try to “science up” their claims by talking about physics or vibrations to give them a layer of legitimacy. I’ve tried many of these therapies and they’re relaxing, but any benefits likely come from the placebo effect.’ Understood.
However, for me, even the prospect of a placebo lifting my lethargy is appealing. Whether it’s down to work stress or the body blow of a breakup, listlessness has become my new normal and my usual pick-me-ups aren’t delivering. If self-care has become an effective antidote to these anxious times, could energy treatments ease the dense fog of fatigue? Things are about to go alt.