The Open Road ... Spring 2006

Spiritual Healing ⁄ Therapeutic Touch

by Sheri Lynn Young, Toronto, Ontario

Therapeutic Touch is a contemporary interpretation of several ancient healing practices. Therapeutic Touch has been derived from the ancient practice of the laying-on of hands. It is based on the fundamental assumption that there is a universal life energy that sustains all living organisms. Although these concepts are relatively new in Western culture, they have long been a feature of Eastern therapeutic systems. Therapeutic Touch got its beginnings in the 1970’s by Dora Kunz and Delores Kreiger who are principally responsible for the development of the Therapeutic Touch technique. Since the 1970’s the technique has been refined and its effects documented by many practitioners. The technique consists of learned skills for consciously directing, or sensitively modulating human energies.

Therapeutic Touch is a way of acting as an instrument of healing. The term “healing” in this context, refers to the integrating tendency within the individual as a whole, body, mind, and creative spirit, and so the focus is on the process of balancing the energies of the total person rather than on the treatment of specific physical diseases. The ability to assist in the healing process through Therapeutic Touch is thought to be present in everyone. The only requirements on the part of the Therapeutic Touch practitioner are good health, compassion and a willingness to discipline oneself and learn the basic aspects of the method.

Edgar Cayce referred to this type of healing several times in his readings, calling it Magnetic Healing. He talked about a promise from God that through laying on of hands, and the prayers of others, “may save many from the turmoils and strifes of the disease in a material body.” (823-1) Although Edgar Cayce referred to this type of healing, there exists in his readings only limited instructions on how the technique should be done. For this reason, I chose therapeutic touch as a recognized technique to use in helping ease the suffering of others.

Becoming a healer means to move toward the universal creative power which we experience as love by re-identifying ourselves with, and becoming universal, becoming one with God. We must let go of our limited self definitions based on the past assumption that we are separate from each other. We must begin to identify ourselves with being energy fields. If we can integrate that reality in our lives in a practical and verifiable way then we will raise our consciousness, vibrate at a higher frequency and achieve greater coherency.

Before learning the basic skills of Therapeutic Touch, you must understand the fundamental principles upon which the method is based. The verb “to heal” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word healen, which means, “to make whole.” The ability to heal, or to restore wholeness, is an innate capacity or tendency in all living things. In a state of health, the life energy flows freely in, through and out of the organism in a balanced manner, nourishing all the organs of the body. In disease, the flow of the energy is obstructed, disordered and/or depleted. Therapeutic Touch practitioners, having learned to attune to the universal energy field (UEF) through a conscious intent, direct the life energy into the patients to enhance their vitality and help to reorder the patients energy flow pattern, thus enhancing the patients innate drive toward wholeness. Practitioners also help patients assimilate energy by releasing congestion and balancing areas where the flow has become disordered. Because practitioners are drawing upon the UEF, they do not become drained of their own energy, but on the contrary are continually replenished. When you are doing Therapeutic Touch, visualize the energy entering in through your crown chakra and moving down to your heart chakra and then out through your hands.

Therapeutic Touch is particularly helpful for people who are suffering from wounds and infections, from those at home with minor cuts and bums or the common cold, to those in the hospital recovering from surgery. The method not only helps to alleviate discomfort, but also tends to speed up the healing process. Therapeutic Touch is also used to help reduce pain and can be helpful to persons with a wide range of illnesses. It is often used in palliative care settings.

Within the context of Therapeutic Touch “healing” means helping the patient re-establish an open, balanced energy flow.

Phases of the Therapeutic Touch Process:

1. Centering - bring body, mind and emotions to a quiet focussed state of consciousness. Perform your preliminary relaxation exercise and feel yourself to be a centre of peace. Also, centre on your compassionate intent. Direct your intent toward becoming a vehicle for the universal life energy. Centre yourself and visualize the person as being whole and well. Gently massage the patient’s neck and shoulders with their permission. Once the patient is relaxed, go onto the assessment.
2. Assessment - using the hands to determine the nature of the dynamic energy field. The life energy, which flows through and extends beyond the patients physical body is felt most easily when the hands are held about three to five inches from the surface of the skin. If the hands are held closer the texture of clothes and the sensation of body heat will be distracting; further away, the energy is more diffuse and thus less easily perceived. You pass your hands through the field once, picking up cues about how the person’s energy system is functioning. You will be looking for sensations of heat, cold, congestion, pressure, rhythm imbalances, pins and needles or little electric shocks. In time, some cues may come to you intuitively. The assessment should take about 30 seconds.
3. Un-ruffling - facilitating the symmetrical and rhythmical flow of energy through the field. It is like smoothing the feathers of a bird. Sweep through the field un-ruffling the rough edges.
4. Treatment - projecting, directing and modulating energy, assisting to re-establish order in the system, clearing away congestion, transferring life energy into depleted areas, balancing the energy flow. Always move the energy in a downward motion. Be sure to hold the feet to stimulate the energy flow and remove tight congestion. During this phase place one hand over the person’s solar plexus and the other hand over the kidney area, and direct energy into the person. Afterward, clear the field one more time.
5. Evaluation - the use of professional, informed and intuitive judgement in determining when to end the session. Conclude the treatment when the deficits have been filled in and the energy system is flowing in a more open, even manner.
6. Grounding - facilitating the flow of energy downward toward the ground.
7. Ask the patient to sit or relax for fifteen or twenty minutes following the treatment.

There are many books, courses and teachers available to help you learn Therapeutic Touch. I highly recommend getting in touch with the Therapeutic Touch Network, 416-65 TOUCH
(416-658-6824) or visit their website,
www.therapeutictouchnetwk.com. They have a great deal of information on their website including articles and courses that are being offered. As well, they have a free referral service.