What is energy and why does it matter?

by guest blogger Molly Coeling

I am beyond thrilled that my good friends here at Pumps Fitness embrace and embody a holistic approach to health. I support their goal of providing opportunities for you to learn about and experience yourself as an energetic being as part of a holistic approach to fitness and self-care. Currently Pumps offers Tai Chi, Yoga, a "Stretch & Meditate" class and private Reiki sessions. In February I'll be jumping on the bandwagon and offering a workshop that will give you a chance to experience and practice sensing energy and using energy techniques to boost your own health. Details about this exciting workshop will be coming soon, and in the meantime stay tuned for a new blog post every Monday that will focus on energy and self-care.

Last week I posted about how to protect yourself from "energy vampires" and described for you some self-care techniques to practice. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting every Monday with the goal of providing some basic education on this whole concept of "energy."

But first it's important to clarify what I mean when I talk about "energy." So today I'll try to break down this relatively broad concept in this relatively short blog post. 

Our energy extends beyond our physical body;
this is known as one's aura, biomagnetic energy field, or simply your personal space

The core and fundamental concept that is key to understanding energy is that everything is made of energy; in fact everything IS energy. The phone, tablet or computer that you are reading this on mis made of eneergy. The air you are breathing is also energy. The ground underneath you is energy. And most importantly, YOU are energy -- your physical body, your thoughts, your emotions, and everything that is a part of you is pure energy.

So let's get a bit more concrete. Energy vibrates over a wide range of frequencies. The higher the frequency, the faster the energy is vibrating; similarly, lower frequency means slower vibration. In order for objects such as a tree, bicycle, and your own body to be perceived as solid, they must vibrate at a very low frequency; in fact, the energy that makes up physical objects is moving so slowly that it appears to not be moving at all. Hence our perception that solid objects are static and not moving. 

It follows that energies that are vibrating at higher frequencies are not perceived as solid objects; however, this does not mean that those energies are not real and that they do not impact us and our world. For example, radio waves are very real, but we can't see or touch them; they are vibrating at a high enough frequency to be able to travel very quickly and, for all intensive purposes, invisibly.

An interesting example of energy we can't see but that we can still sense is the mechanism underlying "telepathic communication." This can be as simple as reading a good friend's mind or as trippy as feeling an unmistakable premonition that something tragic has happened to a loved one and finding out that they were having a heart attack at that exact moment. These occurrences are not inexplicable coincidences; they are the natural consequence of being energetically bonded to someone. We are tapped into these people energetically, and we are literally feeling the intense energy they are emitting.

So what is so exciting about all of this? Well basically, if we are all energetic beings we have a largely untapped avenue for healing, healthy living, and self-care. It turns out that we can all work with energy in very simple ways to produce powerful results. For some simple examples of how to begin to work with your own energy and protect yourself from "energy vampires," check out last week's blog post here.

About the Author: Molly Coeling, LMT, RMT, MPH is a Reiki* practitioner and teacher, as well as a clinical massage therapist. Her private practice is in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Check out her website here. 

*Reiki is an energetically based holistic healing practice that supports overall balance, reduces stress and supports the immune system. Reiki can help to relieve a variety of emotional, psychological and physical ailments including anxiety, depression, PTSD, insomnia and pain.