How to Try Energy Work

Introduction

Have you ever wondered exactly what energy work involves? Basically, there are many different ways of moving energy around your own body and those of other people. Known as chi or prana in some traditions, this energy is vital to our wellbeing, and gently manipulating it can be fun and energizing (or relaxing). The study of this work can take a lifetime, but it's easy to get started and see what working with energy is like.

Steps

1 Step One

First, try this exercise to learn what the energy we are talking about feels like. Sit or stand comfortably and rub your hands together briskly, until they start to tingle. You are generating heat, which is a form of energy, as well as several more subtle energies. Now move your hands slowly further apart and back together with your palms open and facing each other, and try to feel the energy between them in the form of tingling or a slight resistance. This sensation is the basis of energy work.

2 Step Two

When you can feel the energy between your hands, try to visualize it in the form of a ball. Feel the outer dimensions of the ball, and try to make it larger and smaller by moving your hands. Also try moving the ball up, down and around, and shifting it from hand to hand.

3 Step Three

When you can manipulate your energy ball very comfortably, try passing it over different parts of your body, especially any area where you have discomfort. Notice any sensation in your body as the energy contacts it. Also try directing the energy with one hand, feeling the current between your palm and another part of your body.

4 Step Four

Before you try your energy work on other people, make sure that you are not depleting your own energy. When you direct energy outside of yourself, you will need to draw in energy at the same time. Many people like to do this by imagining a current of energy flowing up through their feet from the earth, or flowing down through the crowns of their heads. Work with these images until you can feel your personal energy being replenished. Then try to maintain this feeling while also directing energy through your hands.

5 Step Five

If you are working with a friend, there are several exercises that you can try at this point. Start again by playing with the energy ball--you can make a big one together, or pass a smaller one back and forth. Then take turns projecting energy toward each others' hands or bodies, and also observing the feeling of receiving the energy. If you don't have anyone to work with, try sensing the energy of plants or animals, which can often benefit from this type of work. There is plenty to practice, but if you can master these exercises you are well on your way to understanding energy work.