portive comments in the forward of Lin- nie Thomas’ book, The Encyclopedia of Energy Medicine, which describes in detail 60-plus energy therapies and mo- dalities that have emerged since 1987.


Energy Medicine The Future of Well-Being


Local Health Practitioners Turn to a New Model for Healing by Linda Sechrist


“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)


I


n certain areas of expertise that require scientific evidence to prove efficacy before there is widespread public acceptance, progress is often slow. This is particularly true in the field of energy medicine, explored by NASA physicist, energy healer and teacher Barbara Brennan, in her 1988 book, Hands of Light: A Guide to Healing Through the Human Energy Field, and in 1998 by another healer and teacher, Donna Eden, whose second edition of Energy Medicine: Balancing Your Body’s Energies for Optimal Health, Joy and Vitality, was recently released. Ignoring naysayers and skeptics and eschewing scientific proof for what they intuitively knew and could see, these women have devoted more than 25 years of their lives to exploring the human energy field. Brennan estab- lished the Barbara Brennan School of Healing, in South Florida, and Eden created the Energy Medicine Univer- sity, in Sausalito, California, to advance the field by educating and training thousands of individuals that now prac- tice various forms of energy therapies personally or professionally.


Emerging Research in Bioenergetics During the last 10 years, documented research has been devoted to the sci- ence of bioenergetics—the study of the flow and transformation of energy between living organisms and their environment. It provides evidence and explanations that may give energy med- icine the credence needed to convert it from a little-known modality within alternative health care practices into a conventional form of medicine, similar to the way acupuncture and massage have become respected enhancements to the healing process.


Academic scientist and author James Oschman, Ph.D., who has con- ducted research in bioenergetics and other related disciplines, explores the basis of energetic exchanges that take place in complementary and alternative therapies in his book, Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis. He says there is now enough high-quality research reported in leading peer-reviewed biomedical journals to show even the most committed skeptics that energy medicine is not a New Age delusion or hallucination. Oschman also lends sup-


Healing Modalities in Practice One well-known modality is Reiki, which is not only offered in more than 800 American hospitals, but also features in psychological models of medicine. At Monarch Therapy, in Naples, owner and licensed clinical social worker Kimberly Rodgers part- ners with skilled Reiki masters Carrie Sopko and Sumari Porter to offer their services to her clients. Sopko is also a Transformational Breath facilitator and Porter specializes in Transformational Resonance Healing.


“Talk therapy isn’t generally enough for everyone,” says Rodgers. “With clients who are open to explor- ing the mind-body-spirit connection for healing the whole person, it is beneficial to work through emotional issues via a somatic connection. This lets them re- late to the area of their body where they are holding on and storing the energy of their past emotions and traumas.” Alvina Quatrano, owner of Holis- tic Healing Arts, in Naples, agrees with Rogers that one healing modality may not be adequate. Quatrano’s healing toolbox includes Reiki, reflexology, craniosacral therapy, Trager Approach and massage, as well as Soul Lightening Acupressure and Zero Balancing. She also teaches these therapies. Quatrano explains that soul lightening acupressure is a heart- and consciousness-centered integrating therapy that incorporates Jin Shin Jytsu (a two-point holding touch) with Zero Bal- ancing (an “interface” touch style) and psychotherapy (process) to offer numer- ous “recipes”, or protocols for putting an individual’s health into their own hands. “It is very deep work that accesses our own deep reserves of energy that might be stagnant, obstructed or simply asleep. The finger is used as a fulcrum into acupressure points which fall along superficial meridians (energy pathways) of the body, but are selected as ac- cess points for deeper meridians that have no access points of their own,” says Quatrano, who indicates that this


natural awakenings November 2012 39


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