When we think of energy work and energy fields, we often think about the chakras and energy centers. The chakras as we know them were developed in the middle ages by the tantric branch of yoga as it developed and transformed from more of a spiritual transformation and liberation to a physical one. However, while the chakras seem rather standardized, the truth is that energy fields and energy work transcend simply one culture.
Looking at the Daoist inner alchemy (neidan), a series of esoteric practices focusing on meditation, body postures, and energy work arose. In Daoism the energy fields are called Cinnabar Fields, and energy is moved through them to reach a transcendence which is said to prolong life and even bring immortality. These fields are energy, spirit, and breath moving from the top down. Qigong comes from these practices.
There’s been talk of Celtic Chakras, or three cauldrons, which correspond to some extent to the triskele. These chakras are earth, sky, and water, and serve to connect the person to the energies both below and above.
Reiki is a Japanese form of energy work, and energy work and energy fields as ways of connecting us to some higher power or to the broader world as a whole. My work with Epona Energy has taught me that energy work connects into something primal, something almost beyond our understanding. Much like the frequencies of light, we know that they’re out there. Our scientific instruments show us things in infrared or ultraviolet spectrums, but we as human beings can’t see it. Energy work is much the same way.
But it’s good to know that energy work is cross cultural and multiple cultures throughout the years have created their own versions of energy work. It also means that if one system doesn’t resonate with you, another might.
