You’ve heard the calling… what’s next?

Embarking on the path to become a healer is a journey of profound personal growth and transformation. It’s a calling that requires deep empathy, intuition, and a genuine desire to help others heal, and involves practical considerations, such as training, certification, and building a sustainable (and profitable!) business.

Today I aim to guide you through the complexities of this journey, providing practical advice, personal insights, and actionable steps.

Understanding Energy Healing

Energy healing is a holistic, intuitive practice that involves clearing, balancing, and rejuvenating the body’s energy field. It’s based on the understanding that our physical, emotional, and mental well-being is deeply interconnected with our energy system.

Energy healers work with this system, helping to remove blockages, restore balance, and promote natural healing. However, energy healing is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s a broad field with diverse practices and modalities, each with its unique philosophy and techniques.

The Roots and Evolution of Energy Work

Energy healing has ancient roots originating from different cultures and spiritual traditions. These practices were based on the understanding of subtle internal energy systems, such as chi, qi, chakras and meridians, and the external light body that shamans of traditional cultures work within. Over time, these traditional practices have evolved and integrated with modern scientific understanding. Today, energy healing is a dynamic field that bridges the gap between science and spirituality.

Modalities of Energy Healing

There are hundreds of healing certifications you can access. I’m going to list a few so you have a bit of context for the possibilities of your future practice:

• Reiki: A Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It involves the practitioner placing their hands lightly on or just above the person to channel energy.

• Acupuncture: A traditional Chinese medicine technique involving the insertion of very thin needles through the skin at specific points to balance the body’s energy flow. Acupressure involves the same points, but with fingertip pressure instead of needles.
• Chakra Healing: Focuses on balancing the seven main energy centers (chakras) in the body through meditation, visualization, crystals, and sound therapy.

• Qi Gong: A Chinese practice combining movement, meditation, and controlled breathing to enhance the flow of qi (vital energy) in the body.
• Tai Chi: A Chinese martial art practiced for its health benefits, including stress reduction and promoting the flow of energy through slow, deliberate movements and exercise.

• Crystal Healing: Uses various crystals and gemstones to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual healing by placing them on or around the body.

• Therapeutic Touch: A healing modality where practitioners use their hands to direct energy to the patient to promote healing and reduce pain.
• Pranic Healing: A no-touch energy healing technique that uses prana (life energy) to cleanse and energize the body’s energy field.
• Sound Healing: Utilizes sound vibrations from instruments like singing bowls, tuning forks, or gongs to restore balance and harmony in the body.

• Aromatherapy: Uses essential oils from plants to improve physical and emotional well-being through inhalation or topical application.
• Reflexology: Applies pressure to specific points on the feet, hands, or ears that correspond to different body organs and systems to promote healing.

• Shamanic Healing: Involves a shaman entering a trance state to interact with the spiritual world to bring about healing in the physical world.
• EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques): Also known as tapping, this involves tapping on meridian points on the body while focusing on specific issues to relieve emotional distress.

• Theta Healing: Uses meditation and prayer to achieve a theta brainwave state, which allows practitioners to influence physical and emotional changes.
• Healing Touch: Similar to Therapeutic Touch, it involves the practitioner using their hands to influence the energy fields surrounding the body.

Choosing Your Modality

Choosing the right modality depends on your personal interests, beliefs, and the type of healing work you feel called to do. For me, it was a path simply laid out in front of me.

My Story

I had been having troubles in life… I owned a restaurant that was consuming me with stress, was married to my chef business partner who didn’t quite trust my business degree and was struggling with a deep ego-based journey of his own, plus I had recently gone through a surgery for a miscarriage very late in the pregnancy. Life was weighty for sure. I had already received Reiki Master, yet I didn’t want to open a business in that; hands-on healing just didn’t interest me, and the energy just wasn’t big enough. I wanted to be hit in the face with healing energy and KNOW it’s working. I’m a throw-me-in-the-fire type girl. So I continued looking.

My medical doctor suggested I go to her friend, a shaman, for some energy work. Sure enough, the first session was powerful enough to lift me off the table, and I saw everything from ancient beings to aliens working on me. It also immediately (I mean immediately!) sorted out all of my mental and emotional distress, and was opened to the world of possibility of how to heal. I noticed my shaman learned her modality from The Four Winds, and took note. I was feeling the pull to this type of work, attached somewhere so deep inside of me it almost took my breath away.

The words “Four Winds” popped up in different contexts on a daily basis, and soon afterward I found myself in Mount Shasta, chatting with a random customer in a crystal shop. All of a sudden she mentioned the words Munay-Ki, and I felt immediately drawn. I didn’t know what it meant, just that I wanted to know more. Sure enough, when I looked it up I found myself on the Four Winds website – watching video after video of shamanic content funneling me into becoming an Energy Medicine Practitioner. It worked, and I signed up for a call to learn more. BAM – I was enrolled in a 6 month course that started just a few short days later. The path was given to me – I just had to say yes.

Experiment with Your Alignment

When it comes to choosing a modality to learn and build a business around, find one that energetically aligns with you. I don’t prefer receiving or giving the energy of reiki. I also have many other certificates that don’t align with me in other ways. To be completely honest, even my shamanic background doesn’t feel complete, yet it’s one of two that I lean on the hardest as Spirit guides me into co-creating our own healing methodology. What I’m saying here is – go out and find what you LOVE in the energy healing world. You have to spend money to learn. Go find as many healers as you can and dive in to some healings!

Training and Certification for Energy Healers

After you’ve chosen your route in this realm, it’s time to get busy! Training and certification are important steps on your path to becoming a professional. They provide you with the knowledge, skills, and credibility needed to open a practice.

Here are a few things to consider when choosing a training program:

• Your current experience with the modality: have you visited more than one practitioner? Have you invested deep thought into this decision?
• The reputation and credentials of the instructor or institution
• The depth and breadth of the curriculum
• The balance between theory and one-on-one practice (yes, you have to practice with your classmates!)
• The support and resources available for students and graduates
• The opportunities for hands-on practice and mentorship

Certification or Degrees

If Shamanic work with the Four Winds is interesting to you, be forewarned – it will cost upwards of $12K+ and 6 months, more if you desire to pursue advanced studies – which are well worth it. A degree in Acupuncture will cost much, much more time and money, and you may need to move close to a school. I believe this is why Reiki is the “gateway” healing modality – you can easily find a weekend class for a few hundred bucks in your area. A few hours later, you’re certified and (on paper) ready to open a business.

Choosing the right path as an energy healer is a deeply personal decision, depending on your interests, goals, and intuition. Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to energy healing, and you may want to incorporate many different certifications! Your path is unique to you, and it’s important to honor that uniqueness as you navigate your journey.

Practicing

The following advice comes from my being an introverted certificate collector. I have many hundreds of hours of online and in-person learning behind me, from so many different schools and practitioners. This advice isn’t light; it’s very, very important.

• When given the opportunity to practice, TAKE IT. You won’t get this opportunity again.
• You’re going to get healings in return, which is going to go far in paying back your tuition.
• You will also gain valuable insight that teachers can’t teach – because you’re developing your own brand of energetic medicine each time you work.
• You’re possibly going to meet your “spiritual besties,” people who you click with and will bounce ideas off for years and years to come.
• Try to do at least 30% more practice sessions than the instructor or institution requires.
• Pick different people to practice on most times.
• Do a smattering of distance/online healings as well as in-person.
• You’re going to find your community.
• You’re going to begin standing in your power.
• You’re going to find your self-confidence, self-respect, and self-worth!
• You’re also going to go on a spiritual journey. Buckle up my friend!

You’re a Certified Healer! Now What?

One of the things I’ve both noticed in myself and my clients who are pursuing being healers is this: once you get a certificate, you’re going to feel the exact same way you feel now. You’re just going to have some hours of practice behind you and a pretty new piece of paper. Mentally and emotionally you’re going to feel just like you do now, with one exception. Before you were certified, you had the excuse that you weren’t certified. Now you are, yet you still feel like you’re not. Sooooo… what now?!?

After your weekend reiki (or other) class, you’re officially certified to practice and make money. You can go to hospitals and veterinarian offices (that allow it) and volunteer your services. You’re an official healer! Although, you just don’t feel like it!

Ask yourself this: How many hours must I practice to convince myself I’m an actual healer?

Also ask yourself: Do I feel like I must have another certification to be good enough to heal?

These questions are front-loaded with limiting beliefs. You don’t need any more hours, and you’re already good enough. You’re a healer. If you’re struggling with accepting this title, I invite you to do some shadow work around the subject until you can step into this responsibility mentally, emotionally, and physically take on clients if that’s your end goal. Be kind and gentle with yourself as you go through this transition.

People Who Are Born Healers Sometimes Take More Time to Accept It

Think about those born into healing families. They see it daily, and it’s part of everyday life for them. Those of us coming to the practice and learnings in adulthood – perhaps not even having been to an energy healer before – have a rough landing. In my opinion, those of us who were blocked to Spirituality or Spiritual Healing prior our one and done experience that changed our lives and boosted us into the healing stratosphere are true-blue healers. We were put on this earth to do just so. We’ve been healers in past lives, and it’s in our blood, our cells, our bones. We hold “energy healers,” “spiritual healers,” and “intuitive healers” of old and new in the highest regard and we feel there’s a gigantic chasm between where we are and “healer.”

May I please be the one to close that chasm? This is where you do some behind-the-scenes shadow work, deep introspection, questioning, and finding your limiting beliefs. At the same time, adopt a “fake it til you make it” attitude. Practice putting on a healer persona (whatever that is… don’t let your ego get inflated here.) Go out and get a paying client. Now.

Nobody Looks at Your Certification

I’m going to be a big bummer here. Hang in with me though.

When was the last time you asked a doctor to see their diploma? What college did your chiropractor go to? How about your kid’s teachers? Or the auto mechanic replacing your next set of brakes? These things are all of the utmost importance, and our society puts such stress on that piece of paper. But who actually sees it? Nobody – not even the person hiring for that vacant Executive position. A certification is rather useless. The only place that I can think that uses it is the next college you attend, or perhaps the company you’re buying your energy healing insurance from (yes, that’s a thing.) So don’t stress. You have it. You did it the right way. There are healers out there who don’t have training, don’t have certificates, and don’t have the practice hours that you have.

You’re a professional. Again… go out and get a paying client. You’re worth it, you’re good enough, and they need you. Now.

The Healer’s Journey: Self-Care and Development

Becoming an energy healer is not just about learning techniques and modalities. It’s a deeply personal journey that requires self-care and self-development. As a healer, you need to be in tune with your own energy system, always taking care of your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. This is because your well-being directly impacts your ability to facilitate energy for others.

Cultivating Intuition and Empathy

Intuition and empathy are key qualities of an effective energy healer; intuition allows you to sense and understand the energy dynamics at play, and empathy helps you connect with your clients on a deeper level. These qualities can be cultivated through practices like meditation, mindfulness, and self-reflection.

Understanding Your Energy System

Understanding your energy system is crucial for energy healing. You must be able to read your own energy in an instant, and this takes practice. The more you go to energy healers and receive energy balancing and alignments, plus learn what your physical body feels like when it’s not aligned or in dis-ease, and maybe even understand your essence in this lifetime from astrologers, numerologists, or human design will catapult your success as a healer. By doing all of these things, you are simultaneously growing your clair- gifts, your extra-sensory perceptions, and your ability to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell messages and signs from your guides.

All while this is happening, you’re developing sensitivity to energy flows and blockages, not just in you but in others as well. This understanding forms the foundation of your healing work and allows you to facilitate healing in a more effective and nuanced way.

Balancing Spirituality and Entrepreneurship

As an energy healer, you’ll need to balance your spiritual practice with the realities of running a business. This can be a delicate act, for sure. On one hand, you’re providing a deeply personal and spiritual service. On the other, you need to make a living and grow your practice. Remember, it’s okay to charge for your services and value your time and energy.

I once had a partner that said, “healing is a divine gift, so you should give it for free.”

I’ve found that this one statement is at the forefront of a limiting belief that most healers have. The belief being, “I feel guilt for charging money. I should heal for free!” Now, if you’re ready to open a business that sustains you or your family, this belief just isn’t going to work for you. Let’s deconstruct it and give it a little boost.

Financial Sustainability as an Energy Healer

That belief that you should be healing for free is a biggie. But let’s break it down a little and give it some perspective.

It’s a skill you have. It’s a gift you’ve been given. Most likely you’ve spent some money on the certification(s) you have or at least the marketing and website efforts you’re putting in. Money is an energetic flow just like anything else. You’re pouring cash out to be a businessperson, so you must attract it back, many times over. The goal here (and with all areas of your life) is:

“My cup runneth over.”

Only when your cup is full and able to run over, splashing full and healed energy into your environment, your friends, family, home, clients and world, are you truly flowing with divine energy with absolutely no blockages. Fill your cup so you can share it’s contents with joy and ease!

Consider this: I would argue that a great lawyer has a divine gift. The best Chef has a divine gift. The world’s greatest architect and artist have divine gifts. Are they giving their skillset away?

Oh, no. Nope. Absolutely not.

So why should you?

Financial sustainability is a common challenge for many energy healers. Begin to take note about what’s blocking you financially, specifically 1) charging prices that are accurate and high enough that you’ll earn a more than sustainable living, and 2) you’re shoring up leaky gaps in your finances that are pouring out what you’ve made.

Learn to price your services fairly, both for you and your clients. This means you must take a good look at your self-worth; figure out what you’d like for the month, and work backwards, remembering that at the beginning you don’t have a full schedule with waitlisted clients.

If you truly do want to curb your necessary prices, consider offering sliding scale fees or payment plans for those who can’t afford your regular rates. Maybe once a year you can offer a few free sessions to people you know need it, or perhaps give a “scholarship” or two if you have more to offer. Remember, your work is valuable and deserves fair compensation.

by Lili Popper (https://unsplash.com/@lili_popper)

Your Healer’s Path Awaits

Becoming an energy healer is a journey of personal growth, learning, and transformation.

It’s a path that requires dedication, compassion, and a deep understanding of the energy that connects us all.

Remember, your healing journey is unique, and every step you take brings you closer to fulfilling your purpose as a healer. Embrace the challenges, celebrate your successes, and continue to learn and grow.

Your healer’s path awaits!