If Hailey Bieber’s bob isn’t inspiring you to do something dramatic with your hair, you might instead consider a different kind of restyle – an energetic one. Metaphorically speaking, “karmic haircuts” are just as covetable as Hailey’s trending look right now, likewise booking yourself in for an energy MOT, picking up your personalised energy prescription, or taking a class in psychic self-defence. Not that any of these wellness practices are technically new – they’ve simply had a playful rebrand, which, along with a new breed of modern-day healers, and a growing validation from the world of science, is helping energy medicine reach a crucial tipping point that could see the concept go mainstream.
“People are a lot more open to energy work right now”, says Leila Sadeghee, a ritualistic healer, movement teacher and priestess based in the UK. She recently led a sold-out workshop on how to create your own “energy palace” at London’s favourite peachy-hued spiritual mecca, She’s Lost Control. There, Sadeghee taught participants how to perform a karmic haircut – a method of energy cleansing that allows us to “trim away” the things that may be negatively impacting our behaviour and experiences. “Even a tiny trim can be helpful to feel lighter and less encumbered,” says Sadeghee, who also runs the aptly-named Mystery School (where spiritual traditions are made accessible), with friend and astrologer Jaliessa Sipress.
Energy medicine is trending right now – and you don’t have to be fully immersed in all things woo-woo to get involved. Whether it’s taking yoga on a PEMF (Pulse Electromagnetic Field Therapy) mat to tackle inflammation, or improving your qualia (subjective experiences we have through sense, feelings, thoughts and emotions) with psychedelic light baths, increasingly, such practices are no longer viewed as being… a bit culty. Furthermore, scientific discoveries in our bioelectric make-up (such as the confirmed existence of the body’s meridians, or energy points), and advancements in electromagnetic pharmacology mean that something as ineffable as “energy” is starting to feel a little less nebulous.
For long-time converts, the growing demand for energy medicine is no surprise. “People are attempting to assimilate a tremendous amount of information in shorter and shorter spaces of time”, says Sadeghee, who believes the uptick is linked directly to the state of the world. “People typically seek me out because they’re stuck in a job they hate, or they have a feeling of lack they cannot shake.” Throw in eco-grief, social media and the drain of managing relationships, and it’s no wonder our energetic bandwidth is being tested. The result? A rising number of stressed-out, spiritually lost, and energy-zapped souls looking for an answer from somewhere beyond the physical world.
The good news is that a rising number of practitioners, like Sadeghee, are keeping the vibe decidedly less woo-woo, advocating instead for making spiritual maintenance a part of our everyday routines. “I find that the ‘woo’ deters a lot of people from exploring spiritual practice,” says Eddy Elsey, a straight-talking shamanic practitioner. “People tend to think of energy work as a little whimsical and fantasy-like… but true spirituality is about real life, and diving in amongst it.”
For the past five years, Elsey has been endorsing his message through workshops, a residency at The Mandrake hotel, and his podcast, Street Spirituality. His goal is to bridge the gap between ancient knowledge and contemporary life. “It’s really important that a modern healer has a foot in both worlds,” he says. “They must be able to understand the spiritual concepts they are teaching and sharing, but also be conscious of the culture they inhabit day-to-day. Without a firm comprehension of both there is too much separation, and the healing process is much more difficult.”
For Nieve Tierney, a London-based Reiki master, this essentially means speaking the same language as your clients in order to establish an authentic relationship. Tierney’s previous career in fashion means she has personal experience of the sort of burnout and stress the people she sees are struggling with. Today she uses her personal experiences to teach people how to better look after, harness, and amplify their energy. “I experienced a lot of my own energy and spiritual journey alone,” she says. “That’s why it’s important for me to create opportunities for people to connect and talk about energy and this form of healing.”
Tierney does this chiefly in two ways: energy MOTs – group workshops that facilitate healing and “finding your tribe” – and an Instagram Live series, “Coming Out of Your Woo-Woo Closet”, in which she speaks to people who have successfully leaned on alternative tools to amplify their lives. “A lot people have these modalities in their life but they’re often still spoken about behind closed doors. I want to change that.”
Intent on spreading good vibes far and wide, Tierney also leads workshops for the team at Stella McCartney, and runs an in-house residency for members at Soho House, taking in aura combing, crystal body-mapping and personalised energy prescriptions. Tierney and this growing pool of modern healers have a common goal: to make energy tools for healing and growth as simple – and as accessible – as possible. Which, if you’re feeling called, now includes regular trims (karmic, of course).
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