The Ultimate Guide To Energy Healing

As yogis, most of us are constantly striving to become better versions of ourselves. It’s why we practice. It’s why we continuously crave a deeper understanding of who we are and how we can best heal physically and emotionally. Yoga is one tool that helps us do this—but it’s not the only one. Here’s a closer look at seven subtle-body healing modalities, and how to find one that will help you boost the benefits of your yoga practice.

- Meghan Rabbitt

I HAD MY FIRST YOGA-MADE-ME-CRY experience in a jam-packed New York City studio. At the time, I was new to the practice, showing up for twice-weekly classes because I thought the stretching would complement my triathlon training. Yet when I found myself holding Sleeping Pigeon Pose for what seemed like an eternity, the warm, salty tears that flowed down my cheeks were a sign that yoga was going to stretch me in ways I didn’t expect.

Those tears—and whatever was behind them—opened my mind to the possibility that there was a whole world within me I had yet to discover. Most yogis have similar stories of emotional outpouring on their mats, and for many, it’s a realization that the physical practice of yoga asana has a deeper, subtler layer and that tapping the energy stored there may be the key to real healing.

That’s where subtle-energy therapies come into play. “Just as yoga works on a structural, energetic, and emotional level to help us connect to the source— whether you call it god, spirit, or kundalini—energy-healing modalities aim to guide people back to a sense of belonging with that source,” says Susan Manchester, an intuitive healer in Boulder, Colorado, who practices biodynamic craniosacral therapy and the Rolf Method of Structural Integration. “Ideally, energy healing helps you come home to your body and connects you in a more profound way with your true Self.” Maria Villella, an acupuncturist and yoga teacher in Los Angeles, adds that yogis often have a head start when it comes to experiencing the benefits of these therapies. “With any healing modality, the more you’re able to put yourself in a deeply relaxed state, the more benefits you’ll receive,” she says.