Energy healing - is it a thing and can science explain it?

There are at least 5 processes occurring when a hand touches another body with the attention and intention to influence. Five. That I've found so far. That science can explain. That I've observed happening in some ways clinically. But, heck, the energy healing has been going on a lot longer than science could explain it. Jesus - ever heard of him? The laying of hands. Reiki - the universal life force. Qi Gong healing. Shamanic healing. Shaktipat. Sufi healing. Native American "power transfer" rituals. African Ubungoma, N’anga practice, Dingaka practice. There are more. And I'll assume they haven't collated the science I've found, since much of the practice has to be at least a generation old, or older, while the scientification explanations came much much later since the practices were already changing people.

How science can explain energy healing

These are the 5 scientific processes I've discovered. They are:

1. Far Infrared Radiation induced changes;

2. Integrin-mediated mechanotransduction;

3. Piezoelectrical responses;

4. Capacitor-induced superficial charge and deep grounding charge and fluid flow;

5. Coherence-induced autonomic activation.

I'll expand on these in future blogs. Go to part 1. Go to part 2. Then part 3. And part 4. Finishing with coherence's effect on physiology in a way that should precede manual therapy.

Evidence Summary

Evidence level: Mixed — the five component processes draw on established physiology and biophysics, while their use as a complete explanation for energy healing remains an emerging hypothesis.

What published research supports: Far-infrared emission, mechanotransduction, collagen piezoelectricity, bioelectric properties and autonomic regulation are legitimate areas of scientific study.

What remains uncertain: These processes do not yet establish that a specific energy-healing method produces a clinical effect, nor that one mechanism explains every response to touch.

Clinical interpretation: This series presents plausible mechanisms and published observations, not a promise that any condition will heal.

Last reviewed: 7 August 2026.

Additional Published Evidence

Bai and colleagues (2000) reported rapid germination and RAPD polymorphism differences in wheat and pea seeds after mentally projected qi. This is preliminary, non-human research and does not establish a human clinical effect or mechanism.

Bai, F., et al. (2000). Seeds induced to germinate rapidly by mentally projected 'qi energy' are apparently genetically altered. The American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 28(1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1142/S0192415X00000039