How I Got Into It in the First Place
I guess you want to know how I got into this work in the first place. Well, it’s a long story — but suffice it to say that everybody who gets into energy work usually has a reason. I had my own digestive issues, and I looked to natural healing to try to find some answers. I tried many different avenues: juicing, vitamins, supplements, and eventually, energy healing.
I got pretty far with it. There came a point when my wife said to me, “Why don’t you do this for a living? You’re so good at it.” I was afraid of what my friends would think — the modality looks so unfamiliar, and there are no standardized regulations, other than the results themselves. Fear is a powerful emotion; it can really hold a person back. In the end, I sought the advice of one of my teachers, who encouraged me to move forward with it, and I did.
It still hasn’t become my full source of income — in fact, most energy workers also do something else alongside it — but it’s given me a real sense of fulfillment in helping people. Over the last fifteen years, I’d estimate I’ve worked with hundreds of people.
How Does Energy Work?
How does it actually work? No one knows exactly. But once you learn about the 14 meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine that carry chi, or energy, through the body, it becomes easier to understand the idea that blockages in the meridian system can lead to problems.
Anyone can learn to test for blockages in chi. Some people are more naturally intuitive than others, but it’s a skill that can be learned. That’s largely what we focused on in classes and workshops — not so much learning about chi itself, but learning how to test for it, since accurate testing is the key to getting reliable results. It’s a skill that can take years to fully master.
People’s Hesitations About Energy Work — and the Confusion Around It
The biggest hesitation people have toward energy work is the confusion surrounding it. It can look like magic to the uninitiated. People don’t always understand what energy is or how it works, and some assume it’s positioned as a competitor to conventional medicine.
The truth is, there have been books written on studies exploring energetic forces in the body (Vibrational Medicine covers both the theory and practical sides). Still, to the Western mind, it can feel like it goes against the grain of modern thinking — how can something invisible affect a person’s health or emotions? And yet we already accept that trauma, something equally invisible, can affect wellbeing.
Others associate energy work with specific spiritual imagery or practices that don’t align with their own beliefs. But energy work doesn’t require that. The life force referred to as chi exists independent of any particular belief system — it’s simply something we work with, largely as a way of communicating with the subconscious.
What Energy Work Has Helped With, In My Experience
Panic Attacks
I’ve worked with people who dealt with panic attacks for years, including some who spent four years in talk therapy without lasting relief. After about six months of energy work, many were able to function without panic attacks recurring. For some, this brought lasting change; for others still navigating a difficult situation, it helped them move through it with far less distress.
Persistent or Intrusive Thoughts
I’ve seen people whose thoughts triggered strong emotional responses find real relief by working through the underlying trauma tied to that thought or trigger. Sometimes this approach has helped in situations where nothing else had. I’ve even seen persistent, intrusive thought patterns ease significantly, which is genuinely rewarding to witness.
Food Sensitivities
I’ve seen people who struggled with certain food sensitivities or inhalant reactions (like dust mites or pollen) find they were able to reintroduce those foods over time without the same symptoms. Some sensitivities — particularly more severe ones requiring an EpiPen, or certain wheat or egg reactions — were more resistant to change, and results varied. But it’s genuinely rewarding to watch someone go from a very limited diet to having so many more options open up to them.
Skin Concerns
Because energy work can often help identify specific foods or substances that may be contributing factors, it’s sometimes been part of the picture for people working through lingering skin concerns. Clearing blockages in the subconscious can also be part of that healing process. All of this testing is done through muscle testing — a method that’s been written about extensively (Emotion Code, Body Code by Bradley Nelson, and the Natural Bioenergetics courses by Dr. Jimmy Scott). Finding a reputable energy worker matters here, and word of mouth is usually the best way to find one. I go deeper into Natural Bioenergetics and how muscle testing fits into it here.
Speaking of skin health — sesame tehina, the star ingredient in my favorite frozen halva recipe, is known for its own skin-healing properties. Check out the recipe here.
In an upcoming post, I will show you how to make the most delicious sourdough bread from a recipe that my daughter Diana made for those who do tolerate it well.
The information here reflects my personal experience and is not medical advice. See my Disclaimer.
Ben — known to his clients and readers as Poppa Ben — is a certified practitioner of Natural Bioenergetics (formerly Health Kinesiology) with decades of hands-on experience helping people restore their energy and vitality. He writes about natural health, nutrition, herbs, energy work, and the occasional skin-healthy recipe. His approach always comes with the same reminder: your body wants to be in balance, and sometimes it just needs someone to listen.