Energy Medicine Overview

From the Teachings of Donna Eden

Simply put, Energy Medicine is both a complement to other approaches to medical care as well as a complete system for self care and self help.  Energy Medicine can address physical, mental and emotional disorders, and can also promote high level wellness.  A combination of Chinese medicine (testing and correction for energetic imbalance in the meridians and chakras) as well as applied kinesiology, acupressure, medical qi gong and yoga are applied in this setting.

The physical human body that can be seen has around and within it an energy body, which while not readily visible to most people, definitely exists.  One way of understanding the existence of the energetic body is to think of the heart – we can’t see its energy, but the electrical activity shows up as an EKG, and has been measured as far as 8 feet from the body.   In the brain it is the EEG, in muscles, it is the EMG, etc.

Energy medicine recognizes that energy is a living, vital moving force that says much about health and happiness – in this setting, energy is the medicine, and energy is also the patient.  The body heals or becomes healthier by the activation of its natural healing energies, as well as restoring those which have become depleted, disturbed, weakened, or out of balance.

       The principles of energy medicine include the following:

1.       Energies- both electromagnetic, and the more subtle energies, form the

       dynamic infrastructure of the body

2.       The health of these energies – in terms of flow, balance, and harmony – is  reflected in the health of the body

3.       Conversely, when the body is not healthy, corresponding disturbances in the

       energies can be identified and treated

4.       To overcome illness and maintain vibrant health, the body needs it s energies

       to:

 a.       Move and have space to continue to move – energies may become blocked 

        due to toxins, muscular, or other constriction, prolonged stress, or

        interference from other energies (environmental, or other people’s)

 b.      Move   in specific patterns- generally in harmony with the physical

       structures and functions that the energies animate and support – “Flow

       follows function.”

 c.       Cross over – at all levels of the body, from the micro level of the double

       helix DNA, extending to the macro level where the left side of the brain

       controls the right and vice versa.

 d.      Maintain a balance with other energies – the energies may lose their

       natural balance due to prolonged stress or other conditions that keep

       specific energy systems in a survival mode.

5.       Balance of the energies can be restored by tapping, massaging, pinching, twisting, or connecting specific energy points on the skin (often these are acupuncture or acupressure points).  Tracing or swirling the hands along specific pathways of the skin (meridians) is also used to restore energy.  Certain exercises or postures (such as qi gong or yoga) are designed for specific energetic effects, and focused use of the mind also moves specific energies.  Finally, surrounding an area with healing energies, such as is found in group prayer, meditations, etc).  One person’s energy definitely impacts another’s (consider the activity of a group, or a crowd, for example).

6.      Chinese Medicine (in a nutshell, and very abbreviated)

a.       Meridians – energy “highways” that transport energy in the same way an artery transports blood.  This is the body’s energy bloodstream, and carries the “qi, or chi, or prana” or life force; adjusts metabolism, removes blockages, and even determines the speed and form of cellular change.  This flow of energy is as important as blood flow. Meridians are named for a specific organ that they travel through, and contain hundreds of tiny electromagnetic points along the surface of the skin (acupoints).

b.      Chakras – 7 (some texts say 8) spinning, layered vortexes of energy found in specific areas of the body in everyone – from the base of the spine to the top of the head.  Chakras bathe their particular organs in their energy, and correspond to a distinct part of your personality, and encrypt your experiences in the same way neurons encode memories.  The chakras correspond to seven universal principles, and are named as such: survival, creativity, identity, love, expression, comprehension, and transcendence.

c.       The Aura- Scientists call this the biofield.  It is a multilayered shell of energy that emanates from your body and interacts with the energies of your environment.  It is a protective atmosphere that surrounds you; filtering out many energies you will encounter, and drawing in others that you need.  Like a spacesuit, it protects you, and like a radio antenna, it brings in energy with which it resonates.  When one is happy, joyful or spirited, the aura can fill up a room.  When one is sad or despondent, it crashes in and folds in, forming an energetic shell that isolates one from the world.

Studies done at UCLA’s Energy Fields Lab by neurophysiologist Dr. Valerie Hunt correlated aura readings with physiologic measures.  The auras seen by the subjects correlated with wave patterns picked up by electrodes on the skin at the spot observed.  Kirlian photography has been used for years to photograph auras of plants, animals and people.

Application to Practice at Bend Obstetrics & Gynecology:

As a student of Donna Eden's Energy Medicine Certification program, Gail has been and continues to incorporate techniques she has learned into regularly scheduled office visits for things like depression, anxiety, hypertension, GERD, menopausal symptoms, and insomnia.  Gail offers sessions that involve specific testing for energy imbalances as well as corrections to these problems.  Patients will be given “homework” to do; like any habit, energetic habits take time to change, typically 21-30 days, and will require follow-up as with any health problem.  

After completion of the program in February 2010, Gail also plans to offer community education classes, particularly geared to women's health.

ENERGY MEDICINE IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE OR TREAT PHYSICAL ILLNESS AS A STAND ALONE MODALITY.  In traditional Chinese medicine, and many other indigenous cultures, it is believed that disease BEGINS in the energy field.  If energetic imbalances are not corrected, in time, they lead to physical illness and they believe that proper “diagnosis” and “treatment” (correction of imbalance) can prevent physical illness from the beginning.  Indeed, some of the research being done with DNA, the Human Genome Project and others, would tend to support this.

The Senate is holding hearings on transforming health care, emphasizing integrative, functional, and alternative medicine.  The National Academy of Sciences is hosting an Institute of Medicine Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public.  There will be more emphasis on preventative care, particularly for obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, which siphon off a large amount of health care dollars.  While change is not going to happen overnight, Bend Obstetrics & Gynecology believes we will be well positioned to offer something unique and empowering to our community.

Energy Medicine could well be a part of the future for “preventative” medicine and health care.