Is Aura Therapy the Right Treatment for You?

Aura therapy is based on the idea that there is a human aura, an energy field which some believe surrounds a human body. If there is such a thing as an aura, then it can be read to assess the condition of the person. If the aura is seen to be out of balance or out of alignment, it can be manipulated in aura therapy as a treatment for physical and emotional symptoms.

Variations on the idea of an aura are as old as our records of human thought. Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Jewish believers have all had experiences with auras (think of halos). It was believed that certain talented mystics could see auras. Now, aura therapy reflects our modern belief in education and technology. Schools and training centers will teach you how to see and to treat an aura, and using Kirlian photography, you can photograph the aura, for ease in analysis and diagnosis.

Once you can perceive the aura, you have several therapy modes for it. In Aurasomatherapy, for instance, you examine the colors and shape of the aura, with discrepancies reflecting various emotional and physical difficulties. Sometimes, the therapy involves colored lights or colored crystals, or the patient may be told to wear certain colors to balance the aura.

Therapeutic Touch (TT) is a form of aura therapy developed by Dolores Krieger, a professor of nursing at New York University, with assistance from Dora Kunz, a psychic healer. TT is based on the idea that the practitioner's hands can change the patient's energy field by undoing blockages or disturbance. Healing sessions begin with the practitioners centering and energizing themselves through meditation. Then, by moving their hands above the patients' bodies, they feel for sources of imbalance in the aura. Next, they smooth out these trouble spots in the aura with a process known as "unruffling."

To conclude the Therapeutic Touch session, practitioners transfer energy to the patients, then smooth out the rejuvenated energy field of the aura. Finally, the patient rests. Although this is known as therapeutic touch, typically there is no touch. In fact, I have experienced long distance TT, when my practitioner was about a thousand miles away.

Tellington Touch (TTouch), is an aura therapy developed by Linda Tellington-Jones, a horse trainer, as a treatment for horses, later for house pets (yes, animals are supposed to have auras), and finally was introduced into nursing schools as a treatment for human beings. Like many modes of complementary medicine, Tellington Touch is often used to treat symptoms of chronic pain, arthritis, and stroke and has been well received by hospice nurses, dealing with patients who are dying.

Unlike the TT practitioners, TTouch practitioners touch the skin of the patients, but this is not massage therapy. They are dealing with the aura, not the muscles. Practitioners support the bodies of the patients with one hand while lightly manipulating the skin with circular movements.

Any therapy involving the aura is aimed at undoing imbalances, an idea found in acupuncture, shamanism, and other widely differing modalities. Benefits of aura therapy are often more emotional and spiritual than physical. Additional sessions may strengthen the balance of energy.

These modes of aura therapy provide comfort, which may enhance other treatments. They break down the walls between practitioner and patient, which can be very good, in the impersonal world of modern medical treatment.

There are no unpleasant side effects associated with aura therapy. Of course, as with any complementary therapy, aura therapy should not take the place of standard medical treatment. Some patients, especially those with a background of sexual abuse, may be uncomfortable in the intimate setting of either TT or TTouch, and they should discuss this with the practitioner.

Although TT is taught in some nursing schools and permitted in some hospitals, aura therapy modalities lack scientific validity, and in 1988, an elementary school student carried out a science fair project which seems to have debunked any scientific claims it may have. Generally, however, people recognize that something in aura therapy such as Tellington Touch and Therapeutic Touch has some positive benefit on the patients and the practitioners alike, providing a bond and a kind of relaxation that so often is lacking in mainstream medicine.

There are no standardized certifications for aura therapy practitioners in general, but both Therapeutic Touch and Tellington Touch have their own training and certification.

This information is for educational purposes and not as a recommendation as a cure for any disease. It is not intended as a replacement for the services of a qualified licensed health provider who understands your needs and individual condition.