Have you ever felt drawn to energy healing, but held back by one quiet question - what will actually happen to me?
Maybe you've read about Reiki. Maybe a friend came back from a session glowing and couldn't quite explain why. And maybe a part of you is curious, while another part wonders whether you'll feel anything at all, or whether you'll be the one person it doesn't work on.
In this post I want to give you the honest answer: what energy healing is, what a session can feel like, what tends to happen afterwards, and why the afterwards is where the real story begins.
One thing before we start, so you know where you are: there are two ways people meet energy healing. The first is receiving a session - you relax, a practitioner channels healing energy for you, and your only job is to receive, either in person or over distance. The second is walking the path yourself - being attuned to the energies so you can work with them daily on your own healing. This post is about the first: your first session. If you feel the pull toward the path itself, I've written a full map of that journey here: A Map of Energy Healing Systems.
The First Time I Felt It
My own journey began with energy healing, at the Ashati Institute, where I now teach. I still remember the first time I truly felt energy move through me. It was intensely physical: my whole body became light, and I felt as though I was floating. Indigo and dark blue colours appeared in my mind's eye. I went into a very deep state, losing connection with my body altogether, and when I returned, I knew something profound had taken place.
I'll be honest with you: life was never the same again. It was as if a veil had been lifted. But none of that happened after one session - it came through dedication, perseverance, and a willingness to work with whatever each session brought to the surface. I've received healing lying on a practitioner's table, and I've received it in my own home, over distance, and the experience runs just as deep either way. I know what it is to wait for that first session, not knowing what to expect. So let me tell you.
What Energy Healing Actually Is
You are more than a physical body. You have several energy bodies as well, all connected through your chakra system, and your chakras are connected to your physical body. Energy healing works through exactly this architecture: the practitioner taps into a specific healing vibration and channels it through the chakra system and through their hands, where it flows to wherever it is needed - body, emotions, mind.
Different healing energies carry different vibrations and work at different depths - some primarily relax and restore the physical body, others reach the emotional and mental layers, and some go deeper still. You don't need to take any of this on faith to receive a session. You only need to be willing to lie down and receive.
Is Reiki the Same Thing as Energy Healing?
This is one of the most common questions I hear, and the answer is: Reiki is one energy among many.
Reiki works beautifully on the physical and etheric bodies, bringing deep relaxation and a blissful, calm state. For most people, Reiki is the doorway, and it's a lovely doorway to walk through. But it is the beginning of the spectrum, not the whole of it. There are energies that work on the emotional and mental levels, on the subconscious, and deeper still. Having been attuned to more than thirty energies over my training, I've mapped the full territory in a companion post: A Map of Energy Healing Systems.
For your first session, all you need to know is this: your practitioner channels the energies they have access to for your highest good, and your higher self draws what serves your healing. Your part is a gentle surrender - letting go, and letting the energy in.
What a Session Can Feel Like
Here is the truth I share with every student: the experience differs from person to person, and that is not a flaw, it's the nature of the work.
Sensitivity to energy is something we develop over time. Each of us carries a different history. For some, life experiences have built a strong steel shell of protection; others subconsciously hold back, not yet ready to fully trust the process and let the energy in. Neither is wrong. As you persevere, you'll notice yourself opening more and more.
During a session, you might experience:
- Warmth or gentle heat moving through the body
- A floating or weightless sensation
- Colours or symbols appearing in your mind's eye
- Emotions rising to the surface, sometimes with old memories
- A deep sense of connection - with yourself, or with your spiritual team
- Guidance, images, or knowing arriving unbidden
- Falling asleep (very common, and the energy works just the same)
And some people, especially early on, feel very little. If that's you, please hear this: a subtle session is not a failed session. Which brings me to the most important thing I can tell you.
The Real Changes Begin After the Session
If there is one thing I wish everyone knew before their first session, it's this: energy healing is not about what happens on the table. It's about what happens in the days and weeks that follow.
After a session, pay attention. You may notice:
- Vivid dreams
- Sudden intuitive hits - knowing things without knowing how
- Guidance arriving sideways: through a friend's remark, or a conversation you happen to overhear
- Repeating numbers and symbols catching your eye
- Changes in how you react to situations that used to trigger you
- Shifts in how other people respond to you
- New ideas and new opportunities finding their way to you
- Synchronicities lining up - attracting what is genuinely good for you
These are signs of your inner awakening and your readiness.
How to Prepare - and How to Integrate
There's no elaborate preparation needed, but a few things help you receive more deeply:
Before your session: Come with an open intention rather than a rigid expectation. You might hold a simple question or area of life you'd like support with, or simply the intention to receive what's needed. If you can, avoid rushing in from a stressful hour.
During: Your only job is to relax. You can't do it wrong. Whether you feel waves of sensation or drift into sleep, the energy is working. A session with me runs for 60 minutes, over distance via Zoom: we begin with a brief chat about your intention, then you simply lie down comfortably at home while I work with your energy field, and because energy works through time and space, a distance session is exactly as effective as one in person. Afterwards, we talk through what you experienced.
Afterwards: Drink plenty of water. Give yourself gentleness for the rest of the day if you can - the integration continues quietly for days. Journalling anything you noticed (sensations, emotions, dreams that follow) is one of the most valuable habits you can build; patterns reveal themselves over weeks that you'd never spot day to day.
Common Questions
Do I need to believe in it for it to work?
No. Openness helps - resistance is real, and a clenched mind can dampen what you allow yourself to receive, but belief is not a requirement. Energy responds to willingness, not conviction. Some of my most sceptical students have had the most profound journeys.
What if I feel nothing?
Then you are entirely normal. Sensitivity develops with practice, and the after-effects (the dreams, the shifts, the synchronicities) often speak before the sessions do. Watch the weeks, not the minutes.
How many sessions do I need to feel the effects?
Every journey is different, and even a single session can move a great deal. That said, energy work builds on itself: I recommend a minimum of three sessions, spaced one to two weeks apart, so each integration deepens the next. For long-held patterns, a series of five is ideal.
Can energy healing be done at a distance?
Yes - and this surprises many people. Energy travels through time and space, and there is no difference in effect between a session done in person and one done over distance. You receive in the comfort of your own home.
Is energy healing safe? Does it replace medical care?
Energy healing is gentle and non-invasive. And no, it complements medical and psychological care; it never replaces it. Please continue working with your doctor or therapist alongside any energy work. The two support each other beautifully.
A Final Reflection
If you take one thing from this post, let it be this: energy healing is not a single dramatic moment. It's a relationship - with your own energy, your own depths, your own spirit, that grows every time you show up for it.
My journey began with one decision to explore. If you feel the quiet pull to begin your own, I'd be honoured to guide you. You can book an energy healing session, and if what's calling you is deeper, the path of working with these energies yourself, start with the map: A Map of Energy Healing Systems. And if you're not ready yet, that's perfect too. The path has a way of calling again when it's time.
And if you're simply curious and have questions, reach out - I'd be happy to jump on a call and answer them personally.