What is practical energy work?
Energy work can make people think of several things.
There’s the woo-woo side of things:
- Reiki. Chakras. Meditation. Yoga. Psychics…maybe even crystal balls and voodoo.
There’s the professional’s side of things:
- Excitement. Mindset. Personality. Fitness. Making it through the day.
Here’s what I’ve discovered.
In practical and physical reality, energy work means the following things:
- Not holding onto mental stress
- Letting our emotions flow
- Relaxing chronically tight muscles
- Releasing pent up trauma
- Using our voice
- Expressing our true selves
- …and more
All these things have very practical applications, and are all skills you can learn how to do.
The world is just now entering a stage of healing evolution that is very unique. And very real. We’re finally leaning into healing the human mind and body the way that other animals heal in nature. More on that below. But first, lets talk about what energy really is (in a physical world) so that we have a basis for what we’ll be talking about.
What is energy really?
Energy is simple. We know its everywhere and part of all things…its what holds the atoms together that make up everything in this universe…including you and me. But from our perspective, the human body…what is it?
Think of energy in your body like water flowing in a river. Or cars driving on a highway. It flows through your body and powers everything. Your muscles flexing use energy. Your nerves firing use energy. Your brain processing uses energy. Energy flows to all these areas.
Energy is the common denominator…it flows from the body to the brain and vice versa to send signals back and forth. It flows through the fascia
What is the energy problem?
(Unknowingly holding onto energy in the form of: tight muscles, grudges, trapped emotions.)
Here’s the main problem with us humans and our energy: we block and trap it without knowing.
What do I mean?
Well its quite simple…remember earlier we said that energy in our bodies is like water in flowing in a river or cars on a highway?
Imagine there is a dam or blockage in the river, or on the highway. The energy is going to bunch up and get backed up in that area. This blockage can be physical like damage to a part of our body. Or it can be a mentally induced blockage like tightening certain muscles to prevent energy from flowing (such has holding back a scream or crying). Or, a blockage can be built up over time (years) if energy isn’t allowed to flow properly, and “pushed down” or “bottled up”, (such as unexpressed anger). All of these cause problems.
The problems will manifest physically (of course) in several forms:
(It’s a law of physics that energy can not be created or destroyed, it can only change forms.)
- A bunch of energy in one place in the body can be felt as physical pain. (Neck pain anyone?)
- A rush of energy all coming out at once can look like “losing it” screaming or yelling at someone.
- A bunch of energy moving around but not expressed can feel like overthinking, rumination, or worrying.
Overtime as our bodies get “used to” having this energy trapped, we change. Our personalities change. Our posture changes. Our thinking changes.
To one extreme, we can enter what is called “sympathetic dominance” or a permanent state of “fight or flight“. This is bad. This is where I was for about 5 years. Luckily, I was determined to pull myself out of it…and I did. I’m going to tell you how.
[See Where Does Energy Come From – article about how our body produces energy when we need is from chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol.]
How do I let go of trapped energy?
(Learning to (actively) relax, learning to physically remove energy from your body, finding someone who can remove it for you.)
Having all this energy trapped in our bodies is a big problem. And to be honest, letting go of it is a major challenge. You have to really want to let this stuff go to begin this journey.
The main problem with letting go of trapped energy is its stuck. It doesn’t want to just naturally start flowing again after it has been trapped for so long. Its comfortable right where it is, the mind and body have adjusted accordingly, and the truth is you’re almost going to have to force it out. Its that simple…but its not easy.
The thing is, nature has a natural way of animals releasing bioelectric energy. When animals store their adrenaline after entering fight or flight, the literally shake off the excess energy. It looks like they’re having a seizure…but they’re just using up the surplus of energy which they didn’t use.
We humans can shake too – but we’re so far from having any idea what it is or how to do it that its such an unknown to most of us. For now, lets talk about some high level concepts and initial steps.
- Learning to relax
- Learning to remove energy yourself
- Hiring someone to help you remove it
Learn To Relax
Being tense holds in, uh, tension. And (chronic) tension is just a symptom of excess energy. When you learn to relax your mind and your body, you’re training your body to not tighten. To not remain in a state of tension. You also learn, through the process, what tension in your body feels like. With this awareness you will begin to recognize when your body is tensing in real time – and as you build the skill of relaxing, you will be able to relax in real time as well.
Learn to Remove Energy Yourself
No, this doesn’t require burning sage, aligning your chakras, or having some reiki healer wave their hands around you.
Remember, we’ve been talking about the practical perspective of energy in the physical world. So have have to physically remove it. In practice, this looks like using the energy.
Many people workout at the gym and talk about lifting heavy weights – one reason why this is addicting to them is that its using some of the stuck energy. (But its not enough).
Think about how this energy got trapped inside in the first place…you probably held it in by suppressing a scream or yell or cry at some point. So, you could scream or yell or cry to let it out. That’s one way.
Now, think about a specific memory of a time where you might have done this. A time where you felt a wave of emotion bubble up inside you. Maybe you were in public or felt threatened if you let out that emotion. What did you do physically with your body in that moment to suppress it? (Go ahead, think of a time like that…) Well, you probably “pushed it down” or “kept it in”. And how did you do that exactly? How did you tell your body to not let it out? I bet there was an aspect of your body tightening up. And, there is also the mental aspect of simply “pushing down” that emotional energy.
So, if we can simply “push down” energy with our minds, then we can also simply “pull it up” with our minds. (I’ve done it and know others who have). That’s another way. As you pull this energy up it can come out as screaming or shaking for example. The mastery level of this though takes it one step further.
Some experts can not just unblock this energy with their minds similar to how they blocked it. They can also move it with their hands. All mammals have what’s called the “etheric body”, and our hands can interact with this part of our body and move energy. Once you learn this, you can move energy within yourself to unblock and release it. (Yes, I’ve done this, too.)
[See article: Letting Go Of Trapped Energy – A Practical Guide – article about some body practices like meditation, shaking, and screaming to release energy.]
Hiring Someone To Help Remove Trapped Energy
I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today if I didn’t hire others to help me remove the energy trapped in my body. I simply didn’t know what it was or how to do it. Chances are, you don’t either. Hiring someone will be your fastest route to releasing.
We humans get SO out of touch with our bodies its not even funny. And, related to that, we have NO idea how much energy we have trapped. Right now I can tell you its an unimaginable amount. Unimaginable.
There’s a few types of energy workers you can find to help start releasing what you’ve trapped over the years.
My favorite is a Structural Energetic Therapist. I worked with the founder, Don McCann, for over a year. Working with him on his table resulted in my body shaking (lots of shaking), coughing, screaming, laughing, and (almost) crying. Its in the name, SET is a modality of bodywork focused on getting energy to flow again with a structural approach.
Another modality is called NeuroSomatic Therapy. They’re more on the structure side, but little do they know how their work re-opens energy flow in the body. NST can work on muscles 99% of others massage therapists and bodyworkers ignore. (For example, the muscles in the front of the neck, back of the throat, and even your tongue.) Remember how earlier I said there’s an unimaginable amount of trapped energy in our bodies…yea…its everywhere.
My new favorite which I am starting to learn about and will soon start doing is a mostly hands-free approach to loosening and releasing blocked energy. This one is hard to describe, but the energy worked almost looks like a magician. One version of this is called Network Spinal Analysis founded by Donny Epstein. John Amaral is one practitioner who is taking his work to a whole ‘nother level. Chelsea Rae and Brain Lumb of Genius Frequency are two others helping people heal in this way. I’ve started experimenting on myself with an approach like this and will soon take a more formal training.
How to get started releasing trapped energy?
You can start on your own. You can start feeling into your body and finding what energy is like for you. We all have it within us.
It can be a long road to self discover your energy to then be able to release it. Its a journey that’s taken me years to travel…and to be honest, I’m still on it and learning! There is so much to learn and it is fascinating.
If you want the fast track to self energy work and healing, give me a call. Here’s the link to my calendar 👉 https://calendly.com/tophuman/intro
I’d love to support you in getting started on your journey and save you years and years of searching. If I could do it…so can you.