Atlas›Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield›Guide 025
Guide XII-025

Aura cleansing

A 28 · L 49 · M 2312 interventions in the Trinity explorer
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[source: …] where a claim comes from[uncertain] not confirmed in a primary source[synthesis] the writer's reconstruction

1. Introduction

Version followed: "aura cleansing" is a generic name, not a single method with one founder or manual. This guide follows the most codified teaching of it: the scanning, cleansing ("sweeping") and energising sequence of Pranic Healing as taught in Basic Pranic Healing courses derived from Choa Kok Sui's teachings, with certificates issued by the Institute for Inner Studies. It adds the closely related "Magnetic Passes" (combing the field) and session structure of Healing Touch (developed by nurse Janet Mentgen in 1989), and the Theosophical aura concept from which much modern aura language descends. Unbranded "aura cleansing" sold online (salts, smoke, stones, sprays, sound) has no manual and is not covered as a procedure here. [source: Omega Institute course page; Healing with Mansi Basic Pranic Healing page; University of Minnesota Taking Charge, Healing Touch; Medical News Today, biofield therapy]

What it is. In the Theosophical writings of C. W. Leadbeater (Man Visible and Invisible, first published around 1902–1903 [uncertain: sources give both dates]) and Leadbeater with Annie Besant (Thought-Forms), people are described as having invisible bodies around the physical one, seen by trained clairvoyance, whose colours change with emotional states. [source: Online Books Page listing; T. Simpkins review] Modern practices hold that this field, the aura or biofield, can become "congested" or carry "dirty" or "used-up" energy from stress, illness, emotion or other people, and that a practitioner can find this with the hands and remove it. [source: Gulf News; Healing with Mansi]

How change is said to happen (as practitioners hold it). Pranic Healing teaches that prana (life energy, said to come mainly from sun, air and earth) is depleted or congested in parts of the field; the practitioner first cleanses the affected area by sweeping, then energises the chakras said to govern it, acting as a channel rather than a source. [source: Gulf News] Healing Touch holds that the process "balances and realigns energy flow" disrupted by stress, pain or illness. [source: Taking Charge] These are the methods' own beliefs: no scientific research has confirmed that these energy fields exist. [source: Medical News Today]

For the psychotherapist. As a complementary practice it is non-invasive and is mainly experienced by clients as relaxation, calm and a sense of being cared for. Psychological work around it (consent, expectations, meaning, debrief, coordination with medical care) is the therapist's own professional work and is marked [synthesis] where it is not in the sources. For the parallel non-touch chakra work see the chakra-balancing entry in this family; for photographing the aura see 185 (Kirlian and aura photography).

Informed consent in one paragraph (illustrative wording for the form). Aura cleansing is a complementary practice, not psychotherapy and not medical treatment. The practitioner moves their hands slowly through the space a few inches from your body while you sit or lie fully clothed; in some versions light touch on the body is used, only if you agree. Evidence status: there is no high-quality scientific evidence that biofield therapies work, and the energy field they describe has not been shown to exist. You can stop at any point. [source: Medical News Today; Taking Charge; APA Ethics Code 3.10, 10.01b]

2. Framework

It is a single-session procedure that may be repeated; it is not a phased therapy. The sequence below combines the Pranic Healing session as journalists observed and practitioners described it with the published Healing Touch session sequence. [source: Cyprus Mail; Gulf News; Taking Charge]

  • Phase A, intake. Goal: understand the concern and hopes. The practitioner asks about medical history, lifestyle and what the client hopes for. Move on when the request is clear and consent is given. [source: Cyprus Mail; Taking Charge]
  • Phase B, practitioner preparation. Goal: the practitioner becomes centred and sets an intention for the client's "highest good"; in the observed Pranic Healing session an invocation was said that left the deity to the client's own belief. [source: Taking Charge; Cyprus Mail]
  • Phase C, scanning. Goal: locate areas the method calls congested or depleted, by passing the hands over the field and noting heat, cold or tingling. [source: Gulf News; Taking Charge]
  • Phase D, cleansing. Goal: remove what the method calls dirty or diseased energy by sweeping with cupped hands a few inches from the body, disposing of it into a bowl of salt (Pranic Healing) or combing the field with slow passes (Healing Touch Magnetic Passes). Continue, in the method's terms, until the area feels clean on rescanning. [source: Gulf News; Taking Charge]
  • Phase E, energising or balancing. Goal: in Pranic Healing, energise the chakras said to govern the area; in Healing Touch, techniques such as Chakra Connection with light touch. [source: Gulf News; Taking Charge]
  • Phase F, rescan, grounding and feedback. Goal: rescan, bring the client back to an alert state, hear what they experienced and agree a self-care plan, which may include further visits. [source: Taking Charge]

Format: sitting or lying, fully clothed, usually non-contact; a full session or a shorter localised one. Practitioners say effects may not be felt for up to a day. Session counts are not fixed: regular repeated sessions are recommended by practitioners for stress and emotional states. [source: Taking Charge; Cyprus Mail; Gulf News]

Training and certification route. Pranic Healing: Basic Pranic Healing (no prerequisite; one centre sets a minimum age of 16; typically two full days), then Advanced Pranic Healing, Pranic Psychotherapy and Pranic Crystal Healing, with certificates from the Institute for Inner Studies; course review is available to certificate holders. [source: Omega Institute; Pranic Healing Panvel; Healing with Mansi] Healing Touch: practitioners hold the CHTP (Certified Healing Touch Practitioner) credential; Healing Touch International is cited as a source body. [source: Taking Charge] Detailed curricula, hours and certification requirements beyond these points [uncertain: not verified].

Combining with psychotherapy. Pranic Healing has a separate Pranic Psychotherapy course; its content [uncertain: not verified]. Neither source describes how to combine cleansing with a psychotherapy session. Recommended structure [synthesis]: do not mix roles in the same hour without a written agreement; if you are trained and choose to offer it, offer it as a clearly separate, optional, time-limited segment with its own consent, followed by a verbal debrief, and never as a substitute for the agreed psychological treatment.

Professional-body position. The APA Ethics Code requires competence through training or supervised experience, and in emerging areas reasonable steps to ensure competence and prevent harm (2.01, 2.01e); judgments based on established scientific and professional knowledge (2.04); and, for treatments without established techniques, disclosure of their developing nature, risks, alternatives and voluntary participation (10.01b). [source: APA Ethics Code] Many licensing boards and insurers set their own scope limits on energy work; check yours [uncertain: not verified].

3. Guiding principles

  • Complementary, never instead. Practitioners themselves say it is used alongside medicine and they "do not interfere with what doctors say"; in practice: never position it as treating any disease and always route medical questions to the doctor. [source: Gulf News; Cyprus Mail; Medical News Today]
  • Non-contact by default. The cleansing itself is done with hands off the body; in practice: offer the fully hands-off version first. [source: Gulf News; Taking Charge]
  • Touch only with explicit consent, before and during. In practice: name each place you would touch, ask, check in again, and accept a "no" or "stop" without discussion; never sexual or genital touch; the client remains fully clothed. [source: Taking Charge on clothing; APA Ethics Code 10.05; synthesis]
  • Practitioner as channel. Methods describe the practitioner as a channel for life energy, not its source; in practice: hold a humble stance and avoid personal claims of special power. [source: Gulf News]
  • Intention for the client's highest good. In practice: centre yourself and set aside your own agenda before starting. [source: Taking Charge]
  • Belief-neutral spiritual framing. An observed session made no distinction between deities; in practice: invite, never impose, any spiritual element, and offer a secular version. [source: Cyprus Mail; APA Ethics Code Principle E]
  • Attribute, do not assert. Auras, prana and chakras are described as each tradition holds them; in practice: say "in this practice it is understood that…" rather than stating them as fact or dismissing them. [synthesis]
  • Responses vary. "Some patients feel nothing at all" while others feel emotional release; in practice: normalise whatever the client experiences and do not suggest what they should feel. [source: Taking Charge]
  • Competence and honest consent. In practice: train with a named organisation, disclose the evidence status, and keep notes. [source: APA Ethics Code 2.01, 10.01b]
  • No commerce with clients. In practice: do not sell courses, salts, crystals or products to your clients or recruit them into trainings. [source: APA Ethics Code 3.06, 3.08]

4. Intervention inventory

The procedures below are those described in the sources for Pranic Healing and Healing Touch sessions. The detailed hand positions, sweep counts, chakra sequences and protocols for specific complaints are taught in the organisations' courses and manuals and are not reproduced here [uncertain: course manuals not verified]. Psychotherapist-side procedures are marked [synthesis].

4.1 Intake and expectations

  • Purpose: understand the concern, medical history, current treatment and what the client hopes for; screen for anything that needs medical rather than complementary attention. [source: Cyprus Mail; Taking Charge]
  • Steps: (1) Ask what brings them and what they hope to feel or change. (2) Ask about medical history, current medical care and medicines, and whether their doctor knows they are seeking this. (3) Ask what "aura" or "energy" means to them and where the idea comes from (tradition, faith, online, a friend). (4) Ask about trauma history relevant to closeness, eyes-closed work and touch. (5) Record answers. [synthesis for 3–5]
  • Example language (illustrative): "Before anything else, what are you hoping this will help with, and how would you know it had?" "Is anything physical going on that your doctor is looking after at the moment?"
  • Watch for: hopes that it will cure a physical illness or replace medical treatment (pause and address before proceeding; see 5.6); beliefs of being contaminated or attacked by others' energy that are distressing, fixed or escalating (assess clinically before any energy work; see 5.7).

4.2 Informed consent and touch agreement

  • Purpose: voluntary, informed agreement in understandable language, including the developing nature of the method, risks, alternatives and the right to stop. [source: APA Ethics Code 3.10, 10.01b]
  • Steps: (1) Explain it is complementary, what will happen, and the evidence status in one line. (2) State that the standard version is hands-off and the client stays fully clothed. (3) If any light-touch technique is proposed, name each place (for example feet, knees, shoulders) and ask separately; offer the hands-off alternative for every touch step. (4) Agree a stop signal (word or raised hand) and explain you will check in during the session. (5) State that it is optional and refusing does not affect therapy. (6) Document consent, including what touch was and was not agreed. [source: Taking Charge on clothing and touch options; APA Ethics Code 3.10, 10.01b, 10.05; synthesis for 3–6]
  • Example language (illustrative): "This is a complementary practice. There's no good scientific evidence that it works on the body, and some people simply find it relaxing. My hands stay a few inches away from you unless you ask otherwise. You can say 'stop' or lift your hand at any moment and I'll stop straight away."
  • Watch for: compliance without real choice (a client who wants to please you); hesitation about any touch (default to hands-off); a client who cannot keep a stop signal in mind when relaxed or dissociated.

4.3 Practitioner centring and intention (attuning)

  • Purpose: in Healing Touch, the practitioner becomes centred, connects with what they understand as a higher power or universal life energy, and sets the intention for the client's "highest good"; Pranic Healing sessions may open with an invocation that leaves the deity to the client's belief. [source: Taking Charge; Cyprus Mail]
  • Steps: (1) Settle your own breathing and attention. (2) Silently set an intention for the client's wellbeing. (3) If the client has asked for a spiritual opening, use their words or a neutral form; if not, keep this silent. [synthesis for 3]
  • Example language (illustrative): "I'm going to take a moment to settle myself before I start. You don't need to do anything."
  • Watch for: a client who is uncomfortable with a prayer or invocation (keep it silent and secular); your own wish for something to happen, which can lead to suggestion.

4.4 Scanning

  • Purpose: in the methods' terms, to locate areas where energy is "congested" or "depleted" before treatment and to compare afterwards. [source: Gulf News; Taking Charge]
  • Steps: (1) Client sits or lies fully clothed, eyes open or closed as they choose. (2) Pass the hands slowly over the field, off the body, from head towards feet, noting sensations such as heat, cold or tingling. (3) Note areas for attention. (4) Repeat after treatment. [source: Taking Charge; Healing with Mansi]
  • Example language (illustrative): "I'm just moving my hands slowly around you now, not touching. Let me know if anything feels uncomfortable."
  • Watch for: diagnostic statements: an observed practitioner named a client's shoulder pain from scanning. Do not offer findings about the body or organs; that is outside psychotherapy scope and can frighten or falsely reassure. [source: Cyprus Mail; synthesis]

4.5 Cleansing by sweeping

  • Purpose: the core of aura cleansing as Pranic Healing teaches it: removing what the method calls "dirty and diseased" or "used-up" energy from an area of the field. [source: Gulf News; Healing with Mansi]
  • Steps: (1) With cupped hands, sweep slowly a few inches from the area, away from the body. (2) After sweeping, flick or release the removed energy into a disposal bowl of salt, as taught. (3) Repeat until, in the method's terms, rescanning shows the area clean. (4) Pranic Healing teaches general (whole-body) and localised versions; the specific sweeps are taught in the course [uncertain: not verified]. [source: Gulf News; Cyprus Mail]
  • Example language (illustrative): "You may notice my hands moving in a sweeping way. Some people feel warmth or lightness and some notice nothing. Both are fine."
  • Watch for: startle or bracing as hands pass near the face, chest or pelvis (slow down, narrate, keep more distance or skip that region); the language of "dirty" or "diseased" energy, which can feed shame, contamination fears or self-disgust in some clients. Use neutral words such as "clearing" or "settling". [synthesis]

4.6 Magnetic Passes (combing the field)

  • Purpose: in Healing Touch, slow hand movements over the body to "comb" the energy field and gently remove what the method calls blockages; done without touching. [source: Taking Charge]
  • Steps: (1) Hold the hands, relaxed, above the body. (2) Move slowly in long strokes along the body without touching. (3) Rescan. Detailed variations are taught in Healing Touch levels [uncertain: not verified].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Now I'm making slow, long movements above you, a bit like smoothing. Just let your breathing be easy."
  • Watch for: drowsiness, emotional release or tearfulness (pause, invite the client to open their eyes and describe what is happening; see 5.3).

4.7 Energising the chakras

  • Purpose: in Pranic Healing, after cleansing, the practitioner energises the chakras said to govern the affected area so that, in a practitioner's words, "we sufficiently energise the chakra". It always follows cleansing. [source: Gulf News]
  • Steps: (1) Cleanse first (4.5). (2) Direct energy, hands off the body, to the chakras the method associates with the concern, as the course teaches. (3) Rescan. Which chakras, the sequence and the hand technique are taught in the course [uncertain: not verified].
  • Example language (illustrative): "In this practice, after clearing, the idea is to bring fresh energy in. Just notice whatever you notice."
  • Watch for: feelings of agitation, heat, headache or restlessness; stop and ground the client (4.9). Do not frame energising as treating an organ or illness. [synthesis]

4.8 Chakra Connection (light-touch option)

  • Purpose: in Healing Touch, hands are placed on the body from the feet upward, holding each position, to "connect, open, and balance" chakra energies. [source: Taking Charge]
  • Steps: (1) Only with explicit, specific consent for each position (4.2). (2) Client fully clothed. (3) Place the hands lightly at each agreed position, moving upward from the feet, checking in as you go. (4) Hands-off alternative: hold the hands a few inches above each position instead. (5) Never touch the chest, groin or any intimate area; skip or hold above any region the client prefers. [source: Taking Charge for 1–3; synthesis for 4–5]
  • Example language (illustrative): "Next I'd rest my hands lightly on your feet. Is that OK? I can keep them just above instead if you'd prefer." "Still OK to continue?"
  • Watch for: freezing, holding the breath, a fixed smile or going quiet, which can signal distress without a "no" (stop touch, return to hands-off, check in); any sign the client feels obliged. Psychotherapists are bound by their own body's rules on touch, which may be stricter than the method's [uncertain: board positions not verified].

4.9 Grounding and return

  • Purpose: bring the client back to an alert state after the session. [source: Taking Charge]
  • Steps: (1) Tell the client the session is ending. (2) Invite them to open their eyes, feel their feet on the floor, look around the room and name a few things they see. (3) Have them sit up slowly. (4) Do not end the hour until they are oriented. [synthesis for 2–4]
  • Example language (illustrative): "We're finishing now. Take your time, open your eyes, feel your feet on the floor. Tell me three things you can see."
  • Watch for: dizziness, spaciness or a dissociated look; continue grounding before they leave or drive.

4.10 Feedback and self-care plan

  • Purpose: the client describes their experience and agrees a self-care plan, which may include follow-up visits. [source: Taking Charge]
  • Steps: (1) Ask open questions about what they noticed, physically and emotionally. (2) Accept all reports, including "nothing". (3) Agree self-care in psychological terms (rest, a calming routine, notes on mood). (4) Practitioners say effects may take up to a day to be felt; let the client know they can bring any reaction to the next session. [source: Taking Charge; Cyprus Mail; synthesis for 3]
  • Example language (illustrative): "What did you notice, if anything?" "Some people feel calmer later in the day, some don't feel much. Either way, let's talk about it next time."
  • Watch for: strong attributions ("you took the darkness out of me") that place power in you rather than the client; gently return agency to them.

4.11 Psychotherapy debrief and integration [synthesis]

  • Purpose: turn the experience into usable psychological material: what calm, safety or release felt like, and how the client can reach those states themselves.
  • Steps: (1) Explore any emotion or memory that came up, with the usual pacing for trauma material. (2) Link felt calm to skills the client already has (breathing, attention, self-soothing). (3) Explore the meaning of "cleansing" for them (relief, worthiness, protection, faith). (4) Decide together whether to repeat it, and why.
  • Example language (illustrative): "When you said you felt lighter, where did you notice that? What do you think made that possible?" "What would it mean to you to be 'cleared'?"
  • Watch for: reliance on sessions to feel safe instead of building self-regulation; belief that others' energy causes their distress, which may need gentle exploration of interpersonal patterns.

4.12 Documentation and medical coordination [synthesis]

  • Purpose: clear records and safe care alongside medicine.
  • Steps: (1) Record consent, what was done (hands-off or light touch, positions agreed), client response and any adverse reaction. (2) With consent, let the client's doctor know of the complementary practice if they have a medical condition. (3) Never advise starting, stopping or changing any medicine; route all such questions to the prescriber or pharmacist. [source: APA Ethics Code 3.10 on documenting consent; synthesis]
  • Example language (illustrative): "Would it be OK for me to mention to your GP that we sometimes include this relaxation-based practice?"
  • Watch for: the client saying they have stopped or reduced medical treatment because they feel better after cleansing (see 5.6).

Not covered as procedures: distant (remote) Pranic Healing and Pranic Healing's protection practices against "energetically-dirty" environments are taught in the courses; their methods are not described here [uncertain: not verified]. The Meditation on Twin Hearts and breathing practices are part of the Basic course; content [uncertain: not verified]. [source: Healing with Mansi; Pranic Healing Panvel]

5. Handling problems

The sources say little about problems beyond noting that responses vary and that the method is complementary. Except where cited, the guidance below is [synthesis].

5.1 Client feels nothing or is sceptical

Sources note some people "feel nothing at all" and a journalist began openly sceptical. [source: Taking Charge; Cyprus Mail] Response: normalise it, do not push for an experience, and ask whether it is worth continuing; stop offering it if it is not useful to the client. (Illustrative) "Feeling nothing is a common response. Do you want to keep this in, or put our time elsewhere?"

5.2 Client is stuck or wants repeated cleansing

If the client asks for cleansing every session, or feels "dirty" again soon after, explore what builds up between sessions (stress, relationships, shame, intrusive thoughts). Shift towards skills they can use themselves and to the psychological work. Watch for a compulsive pattern of needing to be cleansed (5.7).

5.3 Overwhelm, emotional release or dissociation

Emotional release can occur. [source: Taking Charge] Response: stop the hand movements, invite eyes open, ground (4.9), name what is happening, and move to standard trauma-informed stabilisation. Do not "sweep away" distress mid-flashback. For clients with trauma history: prepare in advance, keep sessions short and seated, eyes open if preferred, hands well away from the body, avoid passes near the face, chest and pelvis, and check in often. For clients with significant dissociation, defer energy work until stabilisation is solid.

5.4 Discomfort with closeness or touch, or a consent rupture

If a client flinches, goes still or later says they felt uncomfortable: stop immediately, acknowledge without defensiveness, return to hands-off or stop the practice, and repair the relationship as with any rupture. Document what happened. Never continue or persuade after a "no". Touch is never sexual, never genital, and clothing stays on. [source: Taking Charge on clothing; APA Ethics Code 10.05] Chaperone practice: follow your own professional body; specific chaperone rules for energy work [uncertain: not verified]. (Illustrative) "Thank you for telling me. You were right to say it. We'll stop that part, and I'd like to understand what it was like for you."

5.5 Clash with faith, culture or family

Some religious clients or families see aura and energy work as conflicting with their faith; others see it as spiritual care. Ask, respect the client's view, offer a fully secular alternative (relaxation, imagery, breathing), and never insist. [source: APA Ethics Code Principle E; synthesis]

5.6 Physical illness, delayed medical care or disease claims

Some course pages claim Pranic Healing can help with serious conditions including cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. [source: Pranic Healing Panvel] Those are the organisations' claims; this guide does not present aura cleansing as treating any physical disease, and there is no high-quality evidence for biofield therapies. [source: Medical News Today] Response: if a client is delaying, refusing or reducing medical care in favour of cleansing, explore hopes, fears and distrust without judgement, give accurate information, encourage a conversation with their doctor, and with consent coordinate with the doctor. Do not offer the practice while the client is using it in place of needed medical care. Children: parents' use of energy work in place of medical care for a child is a safeguarding concern; follow local safeguarding procedures.

5.7 Contamination fears, psychosis and spiritual crises

Beliefs about others' "dirty energy", attack or contamination can overlap with OCD, paranoid ideation, psychosis or complicated spiritual crises. Assess before starting. If such beliefs are fixed, distressing or escalating, do not perform cleansing, which can confirm the fear; treat the underlying condition with established approaches and refer for psychiatric assessment when indicated.

5.8 Over-attribution to the therapist and dependency

If the client says you "took something out" of them or that only you can clear them, gently return agency and frame the experience as their own capacity to settle. Review whether the practice is helping or creating dependency. [source: Gulf News on the practitioner as channel; synthesis]

5.9 Commerce, trainings and products

Courses can be costly and tiered (one residential immersion was advertised at about USD 2,400–2,500 plus materials), and some practices sell salts, crystals or remote sessions. [source: Omega Institute] Do not sell products or courses to clients, recruit clients into trainings, or refer for financial gain; manage any conflict of interest. [source: APA Ethics Code 3.05, 3.06, 3.08] If a client describes pressure to buy, escalating fees or group control around a healer, explore it and inform them of consumer-protection routes in their country.

5.10 Scope and competence questions

If you are not trained by a recognised programme, do not offer it; you may still explore the client's use of it with another practitioner. Disclose its evidence status and alternatives. [source: APA Ethics Code 2.01, 2.04, 10.01b]

Sources

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