Treatment of Insomnia by Pranic Healing

Insomnia is a sleep disorder where people have trouble sleeping. This case pertains to a working, married female, aged 27 years with insomnia, complaining of irritability, low energy, daytime sleepiness and depressed mood. Pranic Healing (PH) is a natural healing technique that uses prana to treat illness. It is a non-touch, drugless, complementary therapy that corrects imbalances in the body’s energy field. Insomnia was measured using the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). On self-assessment before PH, AIS score was 16, indicating insomnia condition in the subject. A total of six pranic healing sessions, of 20 minutes each were applied on the subject. After six PH sessions AIS score was two, indicating a normal sleeping pattern. During the healing sessions, the subject expressed unique experiences of tingling sensation in hands, heavy energy moving out of the body and lightness of the body. At the end of the healing process, the subject experienced a sense of calmness, well-being and being energetic.

A 27-year-old married, working lady, living alone had complaints of insomnia, irritability, low energy, daytime sleepiness and depressed mood for six months. The subject was not having any physical aliment and was not under any medications. Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS) was used to measure Insomnia scores. AIS is an effective tool in sleep analysis. It was used to assess the insomnia symptoms, measured by assessing a total of eight factors. The AIS is a self-assessment psychometric tool intended for quantifying sleep difficulty based on the ICD-10 criteria. It consists of eight items: the first five pertain to sleep initiation, wakening during the night, final awakening, total sleep period, and sleep quality; the last three refer to well-being, functioning capacity, and drowsiness during the day. A cut-off score of ≥6 on the AIS is used to establish the diagnosis of insomnia [1]. Before Pranic Healing, AIS score of the subject was 16, indicating insomnia condition [Table/Fig-1]. Subject was informed and written consent was obtained before commencement of this study. PH protocol was applied to the subject. A total of six pranic healing sessions of 20 minutes each were applied on the subject. During the healing sessions, the subject was comfortably seated on a chair with palms facing upwards, with her tongue connecting upper palate for a better experience of pranic energy flow.

During PH the following healing techniques namely Sensitizing the hands, Scanning the inner aura, sweeping, increasing the receptivity, energizing, stabilizing the projected pranic energy and releasing was carried out. Additional healing techniques were followed according to pranic psychotherapy such as removing and disintegrating negative psychic energies, disintegrating negative elementals and sealing the cracks or hole in the etheric webs, activating or inhibiting the chakras and creating a positive image of the patient [2]. Six PH sessions were practiced as described above. AIS score was reduced to two in the subject indicating a return to the normal sleeping pattern. A six months follow-up indicated normal sleeping condition in the subject. During the healing sessions, the subject expressed unique experiences of tingling sensation in hands, the heavy energy moving out of the body and lightness of the body. At the end of the healing process, subject experienced a sense of calmness, well-being and being energetic.

Insomnia is a highly prevalent sleep disorder that regularly affects millions of people worldwide. Many people with insomnia find it difficult to fall asleep and/or stay asleep. Insomnia commonly leads to daytime sleepiness, lethargy, irritability, and a general feeling of being unwell both mentally and physically. The sleeping disorder can undermine school and work performance, as well as contribute to obesity, anxiety, depression, irritability, concentration problems, memory problems, poor immune system function, and reduced reaction time. Insomnia has also been associated with a higher risk of developing chronic diseases [3]. Insomnia can be treated in various ways. Interventions using drugs is widely practiced since it is cheaper and easy. However, the long-term use has its own drawbacks including, side effects of sedative and drug dependence [4]. Over the last two decades, interest has increased in developing non-pharmacological complementary therapies. Among them, yoga, exercise, mindfulness meditation, acupuncture, chanting of mantram is some of the interventions to treat insomnia [5-9].

Pranic Healing (PH) is an ancient healing method and has been used as complementary therapy. It is a revolutionary and comprehensive system of natural healing techniques that uses prana to treat illness, which can be employed with immediate benefits to subject. Prana or ki is that vital energy or life force which keeps the body alive and healthy. Prana which persists in the plasmic state can be seen by the naked eyes and felt by anybody with guidance and training [10]. PH corrects imbalances in the body’s energy field and transfers life force to the subject. It is a universal energy which can be accessed and transmitted to the subject using specific energies and techniques for specific diseases and conditions. PH is a process that substantially accelerates the body’s innate ability to heal at all levels: physical, emotional, and mental. PH is being used as adjuvant therapy to treat mild to moderate depression, COPD, visual impairment [11-13]. It is also being applied in agriculture to obtain a higher yield and improve plant growth [14].

The present study was conducted on a working woman having insomnia and depressed mood. PH was applied on the subject to treat insomnia. During the PH sessions, the healer projects prana to the energy field of the participant to re-balance and strengthen it. Prana is the vital energy that has the potential to heal. PH promotes circulation of prana in the body by facilitating the drawing in of fresh prana and expelling of used-up prana. Front and back solar plexus, basic chakra were thoroughly cleansed along with normalizing the front and back heart chakra which usually make the participant sleepy. This could probably lead to an overall sleep improvement in the participant. In a randomized controlled study on depression patients, it was found that a significant (p<0.001) improvement in middle insomnia was noticed in the PH group when compared with the control [11]. A significant improvement in the quality of sleep among prison inmates was noticed after Pranic healing. By normalizing the basic and solar plexus chakras, it was observed that inmates were able to sleep better [15].

The study indicates that PH can help people to overcome insomnia and lead to better well-being, productivity, and modified behaviour.

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