YOGAJOURNAL.COM / 28 / FEBRUARY 2018
CREATED IN THE EARLY
1900S, this Japanese tech-
nique is based on the principle
that a Reiki practitioner can
channel energy into a client by
means of gentle touch or near-
touch to activate the innate,
natural healing processes of
the patient’s body. “It’s based
on the idea that an unseen
universal life-force energy
flows through us,” says Andrea
Hakanson, a licensed massage
therapist and Reiki master
and author of Yoga Journal
Presents Your Guide to Reiki.
“In yoga, we call it prana;
the Japanese call it ki. If that
energy is low, we’re more likely
to get sick and feel stressed;
if it’s high, we’re better able to
be happy and healthy.” Reiki
practitioners channel energy
to their clients to help balance
that life force. The result?
Relaxation, more energy, and
improved overall health, says
Hakanson.
TRY THIS THERAPY IF ...
you believe the energy of
those around you can affect
your own. Reiki is a practice
that uses and harnesses heal-
ing energy, says Hakanson,
and if you’re on board with the
idea that someone else has the
capacity to affect your energy,
you’re primed to find this
treatment beneficial. “Every-
thing and everyone is made
up of energy,” says Hakanson.
“Sometimes you can feel it
when someone’s energy is
off—you might say they have
‘bad vibes.’” And sometimes,
that energy—whether it’s
coming at us from someone
else, or originating within
us—can bring us down, mak-
ing us feel depressed, she
adds. “Reiki practitioners act
as conduits who put a higher,
universal energy into some-
one else.”DEVELOPED BY AN
OSTEOPATH WHO BECAME
an acupuncturist, this modal-
ity works on the relationship
between a person’s energy sys-
tem and their physical struc-
ture. So, while practitioners
use finger pressure and gentle
traction on areas of tension,
they also work with energy
fields to clear blockages in the
body’s energy flow and amplify
vitality, says Linda Wobeskya,
a licensed physical therapist in
the San Francisco Bay area and
director of the Zero Balancing
certification program. “What
we bring into balance are the
areas where your energy meets
your structure,” she says.THERE ARE SEVEN MAJOR ENERGY
centers—or chakras—in the body.
“Ancient Vedic knowledge tells us that
we have a vital energy called prana mov-
ing through these energy channels in the
midline of the body. Each center of energy
relates to a core human need,” says Can-
dice Covington, a certified aromatherapist
and energy worker at The Chopra Center
in Carlsbad, California.TRY THIS THERAPY IF... you’re feeling
blocked. “When a chakra is blocked,
energy becomes stagnant and inten-
tions are more difficult to realize,” says
Covington. So, for example, if you have a
blockage in your heart chakra, you may
have feelings of shyness or loneliness.
“Unblocking that energy channel can help
you find ways to break old patterns and
overcome obstacles,” she adds.ALEKSANDRA JANKOVIC/STOCKSYTRY THIS THERAPY IF...
you’re looking for hands-
on adjustments and subtle
energetic work. “What makes
Zero Balancing unique is that
we work on both the energy
system and the physical struc-
ture at the same time,” says
Wobeskya. “And for that rea-
son, my clients feel fully met.”