Energy healing is a gentle, hands-on or distance practice that works with the subtle life force moving through and around your body — clearing what feels stuck and helping your system return to balance. From a shamanic perspective, it is one of the oldest forms of care we have: long before we spoke of chakras or biofields, healers were tending the unseen energy of a person to help the body, mind, and soul come back into harmony. This guide explains what energy healing actually is, how a shamanic practitioner understands it, what a session feels like, and — just as honestly — what it can and cannot do.
What is energy healing, exactly?
Energy healing is a broad family of practices based on a single idea: that a living body is not only physical but also energetic, and that this energy can become depleted, blocked, or disturbed. A practitioner senses and gently influences that energy — through the hands, the breath, sound, or focused intention — to encourage the body’s own capacity to rebalance and repair. It is a complementary practice, meaning it works alongside medical and psychological care, never in place of it.
You will find this idea under many names — Reiki, biofield therapy, pranic healing, therapeutic touch, chakra work. Shamanic energy healing is one of the oldest branches of the same tree. What unites them all is the belief that when your energy flows freely, you feel more grounded, clearer, and more like yourself.
How does energy healing work from a shamanic view?
From a shamanic perspective, illness and unease are not only physical events — they often show up first in the energy body. A shaman traditionally understands three common ways energy goes out of balance: energy that has grown weak or lost (a loss of power or vitality), energy that does not belong to you and needs to be removed, and soul parts that have stepped away after shock or trauma. Healing, then, is less about “adding” energy and more about restoring what belongs and releasing what does not.
Rather than manipulating energy through the hands alone, a shamanic practitioner usually works in partnership with the spirit world. Carried by the steady beat of a drum, they journey on your behalf to see where your energy is depleted or disturbed, and to bring back what will help you heal. This is why practices like soul retrieval and extraction sit at the heart of shamanic energy work — they address the deeper story beneath the symptom.
What are the main types of energy healing?
Different traditions describe energy differently, but most fall into a few recognisable approaches. The table below shows how they compare, and where shamanic healing sits among them.
| Approach | How energy is worked with | Origin | Typical focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shamanic energy healing | Practitioner journeys with drum/rattle and works with spirit allies | Indigenous traditions worldwide (40,000+ years) | Restoring power, removing intrusions, retrieving soul parts |
| Reiki | Light touch or hovering hands channel universal energy | Japan, early 20th century | Relaxation, stress relief, general balance |
| Chakra healing | Attention to seven energy centres along the body | Indian yogic and tantric traditions | Clearing and aligning specific centres |
| Pranic / biofield healing | Cleansing and energising the biofield without touch | Modern synthesis of older systems | Removing “used-up” energy, adding fresh prana |
| Therapeutic touch | Trained practitioner smooths the energy field by hand | Developed in nursing, 1970s | Comfort, pain and anxiety support in clinical care |
What does a shamanic energy healing session feel like?
A session usually begins with talking — not therapy, but an honest conversation about what has been heavy for you and what you hope to shift. Then you rest, fully clothed, while the practitioner drums and journeys on your behalf. Many people feel warmth, gentle waves, tingling, or a deep settling in the body. Others feel very little in the moment and notice the change in the days that follow: sleeping more deeply, crying more easily, feeling lighter, or simply more present.
If you would like a step-by-step picture of the flow — the talk, the healing, the integration afterwards — you can read what to expect in a shamanic healing session. Sessions can happen in person or as distance healing, which works because energy is not bound by physical space.
Is energy healing real, and what can it actually do?
Here is the honest answer. The scientific evidence for energy healing as a cure for disease is limited, and no serious practitioner should promise to heal a medical condition. What people consistently report — and what some studies on relaxation and touch support — is real relief from stress, anxiety, and the sense of being disconnected from themselves. Energy healing tends to work on the felt layer of experience: your nervous system settles, your body softens, and something that felt frozen begins to move again.
So think of it as tending, not fixing. It is a complement to medicine and therapy, a way of caring for the parts of you that words and prescriptions do not always reach. If you are dealing with a physical or mental health condition, keep your doctor and therapist close — and let energy healing support the whole of you alongside them.
Can you do energy healing on yourself?
Yes — and much of shamanic practice is exactly this: learning to tend your own energy. Simple daily practices help you notice when you feel depleted and gently restore your flow. A few you can begin with today:
- Grounding. Stand or sit with your feet on the earth and breathe slowly, imagining roots drawing up steady, clean energy.
- Clearing. Use breath, water, or the smoke of a herb you feel connected to, with the intention of releasing what is not yours to carry.
- Drumming or rattling. A steady beat calms the nervous system and helps you drop beneath busy thoughts into your body.
- Calling your power back. At the end of a hard day, gently invite your energy home from wherever you left it.
These practices are gentle and safe. For deeper wounds — grief, trauma, long depletion — it helps to work with a trained practitioner who can hold the space and journey with you. If that feels right, you can explore shamanic healing sessions with me, in person in Portugal or as distance healing anywhere in the world.
Frequently asked questions about energy healing
Is energy healing safe?
For most people, gentle energy healing is very safe and has no side effects beyond feeling relaxed or emotional afterwards. It should always complement — never replace — medical or psychological treatment. If you have a serious health condition, tell your practitioner and keep your healthcare team informed.
How is shamanic energy healing different from Reiki?
Reiki channels universal energy through the hands to encourage relaxation and balance. Shamanic energy healing works with the spirit world through journeying, and focuses on restoring lost power, removing energy that does not belong, and retrieving soul parts. Both are gentle; shamanic work tends to go after the deeper root of an imbalance.
Does distance energy healing really work?
In shamanic understanding, energy and spirit are not limited by physical distance, so a practitioner can journey on your behalf while you rest at home. Many people find distance sessions just as powerful as in-person ones, and they make it possible to work with a practitioner anywhere in the world.
How many energy healing sessions do I need?
It depends on what you are working with. A single session can bring noticeable relief, while deeper patterns — grief, trauma, long-standing depletion — often unfold over a series of sessions with time to integrate between them. A good practitioner will never pressure you into a package; you decide what feels right.
Can energy healing cure illness?
No honest practitioner will claim to cure disease. Energy healing supports your wellbeing — easing stress, restoring a sense of wholeness, and helping your body’s own healing capacity — but it is a complement to medical care, not a substitute for it. Always seek proper diagnosis and treatment for any health condition.
What should I do after an energy healing session?
Be gentle with yourself. Drink water, rest, spend a little time in nature, and let any emotions move through without judging them. Integration is part of the healing — the shift often keeps unfolding quietly over the following days.
Energy healing is a complementary practice and is not a substitute for medical or psychological treatment. If you are struggling with your physical or mental health, please reach out to a qualified professional.
