What is the Subtle Energy Body?
The subtle energy body refers to the non-physical aspects of our being, encompassing the aura, chakras, and meridians—energetic systems that many complementary therapists work with. While conventional Western medicine primarily focuses on the physical body, energy healing, sound healing and other holistic modalities acknowledge that we are also composed of vibrational energy that influences our well-being on all levels—physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. In this article, we will explore the aura, chakras, and meridians, examine what science has to say about these energy systems, and share practical ways to tune into your own subtle energy body.
The video below shows a short summary. Read on under the video for a more detailed overview.
The Aura: Layers of Your Energy Field
The human aura is an energy field surrounding the body, often described in layers, each corresponding to different aspects of health and consciousness.
The Four Main Layers of the Auric Field:
- Etheric Body – Closest to the physical body; associated with vitality and life force.
- Astral (Emotional) Body – Reflects emotional states and fluctuations.
- Upper Astral (Mental/Intuitive) Body – Contains thoughts, beliefs, and mental clarity.
- Causal (Spiritual) Body – The outermost layer, linked to higher consciousness and soul energy.
Some highly sensitive people perceive the aura through sensation, vision, or intuitive knowing. Have you ever felt an unexplained warmth or tingling when standing close to someone, or sensed a shift in the mood when entering a room? You may be tuning into your aura interacting with the energy around you.
Chakras: The Energy Centres
The concept of chakras originates from ancient Indian spiritual traditions, particularly the Vedas and Upanishads. These teachings describe chakras as spinning wheels of energy located along the spine, each governing different aspects of life and connected to body parts, glands, and physical health.
Seven Main Chakras – a Basic Summary:
- Root Chakra (Muladhara) – Survival, grounding, safety; associated with the legs, feet, and adrenal glands.
- Sacral Chakra (Svadhisthana) – Emotions, creativity, relationships; linked to the reproductive organs and lower abdomen.
- Solar Plexus Chakra (Manipura) – Confidence, willpower, personal power; connected to the digestive system and pancreas.
- Heart Chakra (Anahata) – Love, compassion, connection; associated with the heart, lungs, and circulatory system.
- Throat Chakra (Vishuddha) – Communication, self-expression; linked to the throat, thyroid, and vocal cords.
- Third Eye Chakra (Ajna) – Intuition, insight, higher perception; connected to the brain, eyes, and pineal gland.
- Crown Chakra (Sahasrara) – Spiritual connection, divine consciousness; linked to the brain and nervous system.
Each chakra resonates at different frequencies and can become imbalanced due to emotional, physical, or energetic blockages, which energy healing therapies aim to correct. Additionally, each chakra is associated with a specific colour and a corresponding note of the C major (diatonic) scale. In sound and energy therapies, these colours and notes are incorporated into practices and healing techniques to enhance energetic alignment and balance.
Personal sidenote: As a trained musician, I find it odd that notes from a Western musical scale are associated with energy centres originating from a tradition with entirely different musical frameworks. This aspect of chakra theory makes me somewhat sceptical. However, as a sound healer, I recognise that intention is a fundamental part of our practice. While I have yet to find clear evidence supporting the direct correlation between chakras and musical notes, I acknowledge that collective energetic belief plays a powerful role in the mind-body connection, making these associations effective in a healing context. Additionally, I have encountered Tibetan theories suggesting that everyone’s chakra resonates at a unique frequency within a specified range. This perspective makes more sense to me, as it acknowledges personal energetic variations rather than assigning a fixed frequency to each chakra universally, particularly one derived from a foreign musical system.
Meridians: The Energy Pathways
Meridians are channels through which life force energy (Qi or Prana) flows throughout the body. Rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), they are integral to acupuncture, acupressure, and energy healing.
Key Meridians and Their Functions:
- Lung Meridian – Governs breath, immune function, and grief processing.
- Heart Meridian – Influences emotions, love, and cardiovascular health.
- Liver Meridian – Affects detoxification, emotional flow, and stored anger.
- Kidney Meridian – Regulates fear, vitality, and reproductive health.
- Stomach & Spleen Meridians – Connected to digestion, nourishment, and worry.
- Bladder Meridian – The longest meridian, associated with the nervous system and energy circulation.
Meridians work in tandem with chakras and the aura to create a complete energetic system, ensuring the body’s optimal function. Blockages in meridians can manifest as physical illness, emotional disturbances, or mental fogginess.
Personal sidenote: Meridians and associated systems are complex. In my practice as a sound-energy healer, I do not work deeply with these systems. I focus primarily on chakras and the auric layers. Practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine and kinesiologists specialise in these intricate energy pathways and their effects on the body.
Scientific and Medical Perspectives on the Energy Body
While subtle energy concepts originate from ancient traditions, modern research is beginning to explore biofields and vibrational medicine. Some key scientific insights include:
- Electromagnetic Fields & the Body – The heart and brain emit measurable electromagnetic fields, recorded by EEGs and EKGs, suggesting an energetic dimension to bodily functions.
- Kirlian Photography – A technique that captures energy emissions around living beings, believed to show the aura.
- Fascia & Biofield Science – The body’s fascia (connective tissue network) may conduct bioelectrical signals, potentially explaining energy healing effects.
- Acupuncture & Meridian Research – Studies show that stimulating meridian points influences neurochemical responses and energy flow.
- Quantum Biology & Vibrational Medicine – Quantum mechanics suggest subatomic energy interactions influence health at the cellular level.
Personal sidenote: I personally know medical practitioners who integrate meditation, sound healing, or hypnosis into the care they recommend for patients. For example, a local gastroenterologist prescribes guided meditations to her patients with digestive issues. I am also aware of medical centres, including hospitals, that employ Reiki practitioners to provide complementary care to cancer patients. Additionally, one of my past mentors used to lead meditation groups in a local hospital’s cancer clinic. These practical examples demonstrate that the science-based medical community is gradually recognising energy medicine as a valuable complement to conventional healthcare.
How Energy Healing Works
Energy healing removes energetic blockages, restores balance, and enhances vitality. Various techniques work with the subtle energy body, including:
- Reiki – Hands-on or distant healing to channel universal life force energy.
- Crystal Healing – Using crystals to balance chakras and amplify energy (click here to read more about crystals).
- Sound Healing – Vibrational therapy using a variety of instruments, such as singing bowls, tuning forks, gongs (click here to read more about sound healing).
- Acupuncture & Meridian Healing – Traditional Chinese Medicine working with energy meridians.
- Qigong & Tai Chi – Movement-based energy healing methods to strengthen meridian flow.
- Yoga – Yoga practices, including asanas (postures), pranayama (breathwork), and meditation, help activate, balance, and align the chakras and other energy systems, promoting energetic harmony and overall well-being. Yoga is my preferred practice for maintaining energy levels and providing an energetic boost when I need one.
My Personal Experience with the Energy Body
As a highly sensitive person, I perceive the energy body in multiple ways:
- Through my hands: When hovering my hands around someone’s aura or over their chakras, I often feel heat, subtle pressure, or changes in air density—like sensing invisible ripples in space.
- Through my vision: In certain lighting, I see auric waves around the body, similar to heat waves shimmering on a hot road.
- Through inner sight: With my eyes closed, I sometimes receive visualisations, such as flashes of colour, in my mind’s eye.
- Through empathy: When near someone, I may experience their emotions or physical sensations—such as a headache, tension, or throat tightness—which I’ve learned to distinguish from my own state of being.
Each energy healer perceives differently. Some experience clairaudience (hearing energy), clairsentience (feeling emotional energy), or claircognisance (intuitive knowing). Additionally, some use tools such as singing bowls, tuning forks, or crystals to assess and balance energetic states. These skills can be cultivated through practice, so don’t worry if perceiving energy doesn’t come naturally to you.
While some of the ‘clairs’ have come to me instinctively, I have had to work on other skills for years before they felt natural. I’m feeling called to compile an article delving deeper into the ‘clairs’ and various psychic abilities in the coming months, as it’s a topic I frequently receive questions about. Watch this space for more…
How to Cultivate Awareness of Your Energy Body
You don’t have to be a trained healer to begin noticing energy. Here are some simple practices:
- Energy Scanning – Run your hands slowly over your body (1-5cms away from the surface of the skin) or another person’s, noticing any temperature changes or tingling sensations. This practice can be done fully clothed, as layers of clothing do not interfere with energy perception.
- Aura Gazing – Soften your gaze around your hand or a person’s outline. You may perceive a faint glow or subtle movement, best seen against a plain light-coloured wall in dim lighting.
- Chakra & Meridian Meditation – Focus on each chakra or visualise meridian pathways, noticing energetic sensations. When focusing on a chakra, you may want to visualise its associated colour glowing around its location. This practice can help enhance your awareness of the chakra’s energy and support alignment.
- Grounding & Protection – Stay energetically balanced by spending time in nature, practising breathwork, setting boundaries in relationships, and enjoying your favourite healing modality (for example, sound healing!).
The Importance of Stillness and Meditation
Cultivating stillness and a regular meditation practice is essential in developing energetic sensitivity. I would say it’s the number one way to enhance your perception of subtle energies and boost your intuition, especially given the fast-paced nature and overwhelming flow of information in current times. When you calm your mind and become present, you enhance your ability to perceive subtle energy shifts. Additionally, self-awareness is key. Learning to distinguish between your own emotions and those you pick up from others ensures that you navigate energy healing with clarity and balance.
Conclusion
This article is relatively long, but in my view, we’ve barely touched the tip of the iceberg! The subtle energy body is a vast and captivating field that bridges ancient wisdom with modern research. While science is still exploring its mechanisms, countless practitioners and energy healers worldwide experience, perceive, and work with these fields daily. We are so much more than just our physical bodies, and while this has been recognised worldwide for millennia, it feels like we are only just slowly awakening to this concept in the Western world.
Energy healing modalities such as sound healing offer profound ways to restore balance, deepen self-awareness, and enhance overall well-being. Whether you sense energy through touch, vision, intuition, or emotion, cultivating awareness of your own energy system is a powerful step toward personal healing and transformation.
