What "metaphysical" means here, and the one honest answer this page owes you

Metaphysical practices, often searched for as spiritual healing practices or types of energy healing, are the ones framed around spirit, consciousness, meaning, intention or subtle energy rather than around anatomy. Reiki, chakra balancing, mediumship, astrology, past-life regression, shamanic ceremony and crystal healing all sit here, alongside the meditation and yoga systems whose roots are contemplative rather than clinical. Gyfts uses "Metaphysical" as one of four categories in the MACH framework (Metaphysical, Alternative, Complementary, Holistic), and it is the largest category in the Index, which reflects how many distinct lineages, schools and named techniques exist in this part of the field.

It is also the category least served by honest information, so here is the direct answer before the list. People reliably feel better after energy healing sessions. That much is well documented. What is not supported is the proposed mechanism. Cleveland Clinic describes energy healing as not scientifically proven to be effective, while likely safe. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health's review of Reiki states that scientific evidence does not support the existence of the proposed energy field. Both things can be true at once. A calm hour of undivided attention, safe touch and slow breathing produces measurable relaxation, and that is worth something. It does not demonstrate that energy is being transferred.

Meaning is not nothing. In a 2023 Pew Research Center survey of 11,201 US adults, 70 percent described themselves as spiritual in some way. For many people these practices are how they process grief, mark transitions and make sense of their lives, and Gyfts lists them for that reason, with the evidence stated plainly rather than implied away. What none of them should be is a substitute for treatment of a diagnosed condition, and any practitioner claiming to cure disease through them is making a claim the evidence does not support.

This list is a view over the live Gyfts Index, not a curated selection. Each entry links to a page with what a session involves, what practitioners and clients describe, and where the practice sits on evidence.

How this list is organized

Six headings, each a plain-language answer to "what does this work on": the body and movement, the mind and nervous system, energy and spirit, systems of medicine, food and lifestyle, and guidance. Energy, spirit and consciousness is by far the largest section here, so it is broken down further: energy and biofield work including the Reiki lineages, divination and intuitive guidance, past-life and ancestral work, emotional and energetic clearing, inner work and visualization, and ceremony. Numbers in headings are counts. If you would rather start from what you are experiencing, browse by health concern. This is one of four category lists drawn from the same Index. The complete list of healing modalities explains how the four categories fit together and how the Index divides across them, and the other three lists cover complementary therapies, alternative medicine practices and holistic practices.

Spiritual and metaphysical practices: body, movement and touch (19)

Manual bodywork

  • •Curanderismo Massage — Curanderismo Massage is a traditional Mexican healing practice that combines physical massage techniques with spiritual and energetic elements rooted in indigenous and folk medicine traditions.
  • •Reiki Massage — Reiki Massage combines hands-on therapeutic massage with the energy-work principles of Reiki, aiming to promote relaxation, reduce tension, and support overall well-being.
  • •Specialty Massage — Specialty Massage is a customized form of massage therapy designed to target specific physical concerns, injuries, or wellness goals through tailored techniques selected by the practitioner.

Yoga and yogic systems

  • •Aerial Yoga — Aerial yoga uses a suspended fabric hammock to blend yoga, movement, and inversions for flexibility and relaxation.
  • •Bikram Yoga — Bikram Yoga is a standardized sequence of 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises performed in a heated room (approximately 105°F).
  • •Corporate Yoga — Corporate Yoga brings modified yoga practices directly to the workplace, focusing on stress reduction, improved posture, and enhanced well-being for employees.
  • •Flow Yoga — Flow Yoga (Vinyasa) is a dynamic yoga practice that synchronizes breath with continuous, flowing movement sequences.
  • •Hatha Yoga — Hatha Yoga is a traditional yoga practice that combines physical postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), and relaxation techniques to balance mind and body.
  • •Hot Yoga — Hot Yoga is a yoga practice performed in a heated room (typically 95–105°F or higher) to enhance flexibility, promote sweating, and improve physical and mental well-being.
  • •Kundalini — Kundalini is a spiritual practice centered on awakening and balancing dormant energy believed to reside at the base of the spine through yoga, meditation, and breathwork.
  • •Restorative Yoga — Restorative yoga uses supported poses and stillness to encourage deep relaxation and nervous system recovery.
  • •Sivananda Yoga — Sivananda is a traditional yoga practice rooted in the teachings of Swami Sivananda that combines physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation for holistic well-being.
  • •Trauma-Informed Yoga — Trauma-Informed Yoga is a mindful movement practice that adapts traditional yoga to prioritise choice, consent, and nervous system safety, rather than rigid alignment or achievement.
  • •Vinyasa Yoga — Vinyasa is a dynamic yoga practice that links breath with continuous flowing movement through sequences of poses, building strength, flexibility, and mental clarity.
  • •Yin Yoga — Yin Yoga uses long-held, passive poses to gently target deep connective tissues, supporting flexibility, relaxation, and stress relief.
  • •Yoga — Yoga is a mind-body practice combining physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation, rooted in Indian philosophical traditions.
  • •Yoga Therapy — Yoga therapy is the professional application of yoga principles and practices to promote health and wellbeing.

Light therapies

  • •Laser Therapy — Laser therapy uses focused light energy to stimulate healing and reduce pain in tissues.

Touchless physical methods

  • •Distance Healing — Distance Healing is a complementary practice where practitioners direct energy and intention to facilitate healing in individuals regardless of physical location.

Spiritual and metaphysical practices: mind, emotions and the nervous system (24)

Psychological and emotional therapies

  • •Attachment Therapy — Attachment Therapy is a therapeutic approach that addresses early childhood attachment patterns that influence adult relationships and emotional well-being.
  • •Energy Psychology — Energy Psychology combines psychological principles with energy-based techniques like Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) to address emotional issues and promote healing by working with the body's energy system.
  • •Family Constellation — A group-based therapeutic process that uses spatial arrangements of representatives to reveal and resolve hidden dynamics, entanglements, and unresolved trauma within family systems across generations.
  • •Hypnotherapy for Inner Child Healing — Hypnotherapy for Inner Child Healing is a therapeutic approach that uses guided hypnosis to access and resolve unresolved childhood experiences and emotional wounds.
  • •Integrative Body Psychotherapy — Integrative Body Psychotherapy combines psychological techniques with somatic (body-based) practices to address emotional issues, trauma, and stress by recognizing the mind-body connection.
  • •Intuitive Counseling — Intuitive Counseling is a therapeutic approach in which practitioners use their intuitive abilities and insights to help clients navigate emotional concerns, make decisions, and gain self-understanding.
  • •Spiritual Counseling — Spiritual counseling is a supportive practice where practitioners help individuals explore their spiritual beliefs, values, and experiences to foster personal growth and alignment with their spiritual path.
  • •Spiritual Regression Hypnosis — Spiritual Regression Hypnosis is a guided hypnotic practice that aims to help individuals access spiritual experiences and insights through deep relaxation states.
  • •Transpersonal Hypnosis — Transpersonal Hypnosis is a specialized form of hypnotherapy that guides individuals into deep trance states to explore spiritual dimensions, higher consciousness, and transcendent experiences.

Trauma and recovery

  • •Emotional Trauma Processing — Emotional Trauma Processing encompasses therapeutic techniques designed to help individuals process and heal from emotional trauma.

Somatic and nervous-system regulation

  • •Body-Mind Centering — Body-Mind Centering is a holistic movement and awareness practice that explores anatomy through lived experience, using movement, touch, and reflection.
  • •Somatic Therapy — Somatic Therapy is a mind-body approach that works to release physical tension, trauma, and emotional patterns stored in the body through awareness and therapeutic techniques.

Meditation and mindfulness

  • •Eyes Closed Meditation — Eyes Closed Meditation is a foundational meditation technique where practitioners close their eyes to deepen inner focus, concentration, and mindfulness.
  • •Guided Meditation — Guided Meditation is a structured meditation practice where an instructor or recorded audio provides step-by-step directions to help individuals achieve a meditative state.
  • •Meditation — Meditation is a mental practice using focused attention that may support relaxation, stress reduction, and mental clarity.
  • •Mindfulness — Mindfulness meditation is the practice of paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity, and non-judgment.
  • •Music Meditation — Music Meditation combines guided meditation with carefully selected music to deepen relaxation and promote emotional balance.
  • •Transcendental Meditation — Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a technique involving the silent repetition of a personalized mantra to facilitate deep relaxation and mental clarity.
  • •Vipassana Meditation — Vipassana Meditation is an ancient insight meditation practice originating in Buddhism that involves observing bodily sensations, thoughts, and emotions to develop self-awareness and mental clarity.
  • •iRest Yoga Nidra — iRest (Integrative Restoration) Yoga Nidra is a standardised, 10-step clinical meditation protocol developed by clinical psychologist Richard Miller, PhD.

Breathwork

  • •Holotropic Breathwork — An intensive breathing practice that uses accelerated respiration, evocative music, and focused bodywork to access non-ordinary states of consciousness for therapeutic self-exploration.
  • •Rebirthing Breathwork — A breathwork practice using continuous connected breathing — inhaling and exhaling without pause — to access and release suppressed emotions, early life imprints, and somatic tension.

Creative and expressive therapies

  • •Mandala Therapy — Mandala therapy uses circular geometric art for relaxation and self-reflection, rooted in ancient spiritual traditions across cultures.

Energy psychology

  • •Psych-K — A subconscious belief-change process using muscle testing (kinesiology) and specific body postures called 'balances' to identify and transform self-limiting beliefs at the subconscious level.

Spiritual and metaphysical practices: energy, spirit and consciousness (105)

Energy and biofield work

  • •Access Bars — A hands-on energetic process involving light touch on 32 points on the head, each said to correspond to different areas of life (money, control, creativity, ageing, body, healing, etc.).
  • •Angelic Healing — Angelic Healing is a spiritual energy practice in which practitioners invoke angelic guidance or presence, often alongside prayer or hands-on energy work, to support emotional and spiritual wellbeing.
  • •Animal Reiki — Animal Reiki adapts Reiki-style non-invasive energy healing sessions for animals, typically emphasizing calm handling, relaxation, and owner-led wellbeing routines.
  • •Aura Cleansing — Aura cleansing is a spiritual practice that aims to clear negative energy from the electromagnetic field believed to surround the body.
  • •Aura Reading — Aura reading is a metaphysical practice where practitioners claim to perceive and interpret the colored energy fields surrounding individuals.
  • •Aura Therapy — Aura Therapy is a metaphysical healing practice that works with the energetic field believed to surround the human body, using techniques like energy work, color therapy, and crystal healing to restore balance.
  • •Blue Star Reiki — Blue Star Reiki is an advanced form of Reiki that claims to work with higher-dimensional cosmic energy for spiritual healing and enlightenment.
  • •Chakra Balancing — Chakra Balancing is a holistic practice that aims to harmonize energy flow through the body's seven main energy centers using techniques like meditation, crystals, and sound therapy.
  • •Chakra Healing — Chakra Healing is an energy-based practice that works to balance seven energy centers in the body through meditation, visualization, crystals, and hands-on healing techniques.
  • •Energy Healing — Energy Healing is a complementary practice based on the concept that vital life force flows through the body and can be channeled to promote healing and balance.
  • •Equine Reiki — Equine Reiki is an energy healing modality adapted from traditional Reiki practice, applied specifically to support horses' emotional and physical well-being.
  • •Golden Age Reiki — Golden Age Reiki is a specialized branch of Reiki energy healing that incorporates spiritual teachings about the 'Golden Age' to promote holistic well-being and spiritual growth.
  • •Holographic Kinetics — An Aboriginal-informed energy modality that may support release of stored trauma and life-cycle patterns.
  • •Jikiden Reiki — Jikiden Reiki ('directly taught Reiki') preserves the original Japanese Reiki healing system as taught by Chujiro Hayashi, a direct student of Mikao Usui.
  • •Jinlap Reiki — Jinlap Reiki is a hybrid healing modality that combines traditional Reiki principles with Tibetan symbols and techniques to balance the body's energy centers.
  • •Karuna Reiki — Karuna Reiki is an advanced form of Reiki healing that emphasizes compassion and works with additional symbols and techniques to address deep emotional and spiritual wounds.
  • •Men Chho Reiki — a Reiki lineage framed by Tibetan Buddhist Medicine Buddha practice, using mantra and visualization alongside the usual hand positions. The name is Tibetan for "medicine offering" and the practice is open to everyone.
  • •Pendulum Healing — Pendulum healing is a metaphysical practice using a swinging weighted object to explore energy, intuition, and inner guidance.
  • •Rainbow Reiki — Rainbow Reiki is an energy healing system that combines traditional Reiki techniques with color therapy to support balance and wellness.
  • •Reconnective Healing — A non-touch energy healing practice proposing to facilitate healing through interaction with what founder Eric Pearl describes as a comprehensive spectrum of frequencies encompassing energy, light, and information.
  • •Reiki — Reiki is a gentle energy healing practice where practitioners place their hands on or near the body to facilitate the flow of universal life energy.
  • •Reiki Jin-Kei Do — Reiki Jin-Kei Do is a spiritual energy healing system that combines traditional Reiki with an emphasis on spiritual growth, inner wisdom, and self-awareness.
  • •Reiki Plus — Reiki Plus is an enhanced energy healing system that builds upon traditional Reiki by incorporating additional complementary practices to support physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
  • •Restorative Reiki — Restorative Reiki is a gentle energy healing practice that combines traditional Reiki principles with an emphasis on deep relaxation and rejuvenation, commonly used to support stress reduction and overall well-being.
  • •Sacred Geometry Healing — A metaphysical practice using ancient geometric patterns to support spiritual alignment, inner calm, and energetic well-being.
  • •Saku Reiki — Saku Reiki is a Japanese energy healing system that emphasizes restoring harmony and balance to support overall well-being through hands-on or distant energy work.
  • •Satya Japanese Reiki — Satya Japanese Reiki is a Japanese energy healing system that emphasizes deep healing, self-discovery, and the pursuit of truth and authenticity through specific techniques and symbols.
  • •Seichim — Seichim is an energy healing system that channels universal healing energy to support physical, emotional, and spiritual balance through the practitioner's intention and compassionate presence.
  • •Tibetan Reiki — Tibetan Reiki is a hybrid energy healing practice that blends traditional Japanese Reiki with Tibetan Buddhist and shamanic energy work techniques.
  • •Usui Reiki — Usui Reiki is a Japanese energy healing system founded by Mikao Usui in which practitioners channel healing energy through their hands to promote relaxation and well-being.

Divination, reading and intuitive guidance

  • •Akashic Records — Akashic Records consultations involve accessing a theoretical spiritual database of all souls' experiences to gain insights into life purpose, relationships, and spiritual growth.
  • •Angel Numbers Reading — Angel Numbers Reading is a spiritual practice that interprets recurring number sequences as divine messages offering guidance and insight.
  • •Astrology — Astrology is a metaphysical practice that interprets celestial positions as symbols for personality traits, life events, or timing, commonly delivered through natal charts, horoscopes, or compatibility readings.
  • •Card Reading — Card Reading uses various card decks like Tarot or oracle cards to provide insights, guidance, and reflection on life questions through symbolic interpretation.
  • •Channeling — Channeling is a spiritual practice where practitioners enter altered states of consciousness to receive messages from non-physical entities such as spirits, guides, or universal energies.
  • •Crystal Reading — Crystal Reading is a divination practice that interprets the symbolism, colors, and perceived energies of crystals to offer personal insight and guidance.
  • •Divination — Divination is a metaphysical practice that uses symbolic systems and intuitive methods—such as tarot, astrology, runes, and oracle cards—to seek insights and guidance about life questions.
  • •Divination Astrology — Divination Astrology is a metaphysical practice that interprets celestial patterns and planetary positions to offer guidance on life direction, personality insights, and decision-making support.
  • •Dowsing — Dowsing is a divinatory practice that uses tools like pendulums or rods to access energetic information and gain guidance on questions or locate resources.
  • •Dreamtime Interpretation — Dreamtime Interpretation is a metaphysical practice that analyzes dreams to uncover symbolic meanings and subconscious messages.
  • •Gene Keys — Gene Keys is a contemplative self-enquiry system developed by Richard Rudd, synthesising elements from the I Ching, Human Design, astrology, and integral philosophy.
  • •I Ching (Yijing) — An ancient Chinese divination text used as a self-inquiry and philosophical reflection tool rooted in Taoist tradition.
  • •Intuitive Development — Intuitive Development is a metaphysical practice focused on cultivating and strengthening natural intuitive abilities through structured exercises, guidance, and self-reflection.
  • •Intuitive Energy Work — Intuitive Energy Work is an energy healing practice where practitioners use intuitive insights and guidance to identify and address energy imbalances and blockages within the body's energy system.
  • •Intuitive Healing — Intuitive Healing is a complementary practice in which practitioners use intuitive insights and abilities to identify and address emotional and physical imbalances.
  • •Intuitive Reading — Intuitive Reading is a metaphysical practice where practitioners use their intuitive abilities to perceive and interpret insights, messages, and guidance for clients seeking clarity and spiritual direction.
  • •Mediumship — Mediumship is a spiritual practice in which practitioners claim to communicate with spirits, departed loved ones, or entities from the afterlife to deliver messages and insights.
  • •Oracle Cards — Oracle Cards are a divination practice using illustrated card decks to seek spiritual guidance, insights, and messages for self-reflection and decision-making.
  • •Palmistry — Palmistry is an ancient metaphysical practice using hand features to explore personality and self-reflection.
  • •Psychic Healing — Psychic Healing is a metaphysical practice that uses claimed psychic abilities, intuition, and energy work to facilitate healing and promote well-being.
  • •Psychic Reading — Psychic reading is a divination practice in which a practitioner offers intuitive impressions or symbolic interpretations to help a client reflect on questions or life situations.
  • •Rune Reading — Rune reading is an ancient Norse divination practice used for reflection, guidance, and self-exploration through symbolic interpretation.
  • •Tarot Reading — Tarot reading is a divination practice that uses a deck of 78 symbolic cards to gain insight and guidance on life situations.

Past-life, ancestral and soul work

  • •Ancestral Healing — Ancestral Healing is a spiritual practice that aims to address and heal inherited traumas and patterns believed to be passed down through family lineages.
  • •Cord Cutting — Cord Cutting is a spiritual practice that aims to release energetic attachments and emotional connections to people, situations, or past experiences.
  • •Generational Healing — Generational Healing is a metaphysical therapeutic approach that addresses inherited family patterns, ancestral traumas, and negative cycles believed to be passed down through generations.
  • •Healing the Soul — Healing the Soul is a spiritual modality that uses meditation, self-reflection, and spiritual practices to nurture and heal the soul, supporting spiritual growth and inner peace.
  • •Past Life Exploration — Past Life Exploration is a metaphysical practice that uses techniques such as regression therapy, meditation, and intuitive guidance to access memories or insights from previous lifetimes.
  • •Past Life Healing — Past Life Healing is a therapeutic modality based on the belief that unresolved traumas or emotions from previous lifetimes can influence present-day well-being, and that accessing and healing these past-life issues can promote emotional and spiritual growth.
  • •Past Life Regression — Past Life Regression is a therapeutic approach that uses guided hypnosis or meditation techniques to access what practitioners describe as memories from previous lifetimes.
  • •Past Life Work — Past Life Work is a metaphysical therapeutic approach that explores the belief in past life experiences and their potential influence on current life patterns, emotions, and relationships.
  • •Regression Therapy — Regression Therapy is a guided technique using hypnosis and visualization to access and explore past experiences, memories, and unresolved issues.
  • •Reincarnation Therapy — Reincarnation Therapy is a metaphysical practice that uses guided regression, hypnosis, or therapeutic techniques to explore past-life experiences and their purported influence on current life patterns and challenges.
  • •Soul Contract Healing — Soul Contract Healing is a metaphysical practice based on the belief that souls make pre-incarnation agreements to facilitate growth and learning across lifetimes.
  • •Soul Healing — Soul Healing is a spiritual practice focused on healing emotional and energetic wounds at the deepest level through meditation, energy work, and inner exploration to promote spiritual growth and personal transformation.
  • •Twin Flame Healing — Twin Flame Healing is a spiritual practice focused on supporting and nurturing deep soul connections between individuals believed to share a profound spiritual bond.

Emotional and energetic clearing

  • •Auric Field Regeneration — Auric Field Regeneration is a metaphysical healing modality that aims to restore and strengthen the energy field (aura) surrounding the body through meditation, visualization, and energy work techniques.
  • •Balinese Spiritual Healing — Balinese Spiritual Healing is an ancient Indonesian practice that combines prayer, massage, and energy work to address physical and emotional ailments.
  • •Emotion Code — Emotion Code is a self-help and therapeutic technique that uses muscle testing and energetic principles to identify and release trapped emotions believed to be stored in the body.
  • •Emotional Clearing — Emotional Clearing is a holistic practice aimed at identifying and releasing suppressed emotions, energetic blockages, and unresolved psychological patterns that may contribute to physical or emotional distress.
  • •Emotional Healing — Emotional Healing encompasses therapeutic practices designed to address emotional challenges, process trauma, and improve emotional well-being through counseling, psychotherapy, and energy-based approaches.
  • •Emotional Release Therapy — Emotional Release Therapy is a guided process designed to increase emotional awareness and facilitate the healthy expression of feelings through structured techniques.
  • •Energy Clearing — Energy Clearing is a complementary practice focused on identifying and removing energetic blockages within the body's energy system using techniques like Reiki and chakra balancing.
  • •Energy Medicine — Energy medicine is an umbrella term used in complementary and integrative health contexts for practices that intend to work with a person’s “biofield” or energy-based concepts.
  • •Energy Training — Energy Training is a practice focused on developing skills and techniques to work with the body's energetic systems, commonly used for personal healing, self-empowerment, and supporting others' wellness journeys.
  • •Energy Work — Energy Work involves techniques designed to balance and clear the body's energy systems, including chakras and meridians, to support overall wellness.
  • •Healing Codes — Healing Codes is an energy healing modality that uses specific codes, symbols, and focused intention to direct healing energy toward physical, emotional, and energetic imbalances.
  • •Healing the Heart — Healing the Heart is a metaphysical modality focused on emotional and heart-centered healing through compassionate guidance, therapeutic exercises, and energy-based practices.
  • •Healing the Inner Child — Healing the Inner Child is a therapeutic approach focused on revisiting and healing emotional wounds from childhood through guided inner work and self-compassion practices.
  • •Light Healing — Light Healing is a complementary practice that uses the therapeutic properties of light energy, including color therapy and light-based energy work, to promote physical relaxation, emotional balance, and overall well-being.
  • •Quantum Healing — Quantum Healing is a complementary approach that applies quantum physics concepts alongside energy medicine techniques to support overall wellness and balance.
  • •Self-Healing — Self-Healing is a holistic approach that encourages individuals to activate their innate capacity for wellness through mindfulness, energy work, and intentional self-care practices.
  • •Space Clearing (Smudging) — Space clearing uses burning botanicals to energetically cleanse spaces and support wellbeing through ancient ceremonial traditions.
  • •Spiritual Healing — Spiritual Healing is a holistic practice that uses energy work, meditation, and intuitive guidance to facilitate emotional, energetic, and spiritual alignment.
  • •Subconscious Healing — Subconscious Healing is a therapeutic approach that accesses the subconscious mind to identify and transform limiting beliefs and patterns that may interfere with well-being and personal growth.
  • •The Radiance Technique — The Radiance Technique is an energy healing and meditation system designed to awaken consciousness, balance energy centers, and promote inner peace through guided practices.

Inner work, imagery and visualization

  • •Guided Imagery — Guided Imagery is a mind-body technique that uses directed visualization and mental imagery, typically led by a practitioner or recording, to promote relaxation and emotional well-being.
  • •Guided Visualization — Guided visualization (guided imagery) is a mind–body technique that uses directed mental images, often paired with breathing or relaxation, to support coping and symptom management.
  • •Inner Child Work — Inner Child Work is a reflective practice that explores formative experiences and emotional patterns from childhood to increase self-awareness and emotional understanding.
  • •Mind Body Therapy — Mind Body Therapy encompasses therapeutic approaches that recognize and utilize the connection between mental and physical health to support healing.
  • •Shadow Work — Shadow work is a reflective practice focused on exploring avoided or disowned thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to improve self-awareness.
  • •Visualization — Visualization is a mental imagery technique where practitioners guide individuals to create vivid mental pictures to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and support personal goal achievement.

Ceremony, ritual and devotional practice

  • •Angel Therapy — Angel therapy is a spiritual support practice in which individuals seek comfort or guidance through beliefs about angels, often using prayer, meditation, or reflective conversation.
  • •Ceremonial Practices — Ceremonial Practices involve structured rituals and ceremonies rooted in various cultural and spiritual traditions to honor life transitions, seasonal changes, and significant milestones.
  • •Crystal Healing — Crystal Healing, also known as lithotherapy, is a complementary practice that uses crystals and stones to support emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing through their purported vibrational energies.
  • •Dreamtime Healing — Dreamtime Healing is an Indigenous Australian spiritual practice that connects individuals with ancestral wisdom and the Dreamtime through guided experiences and cultural teachings.
  • •Labyrinth Walking — Labyrinth walking is a contemplative movement practice traditionally used to support stress relief, reflection, and inner calm.
  • •Light Language — Light Language is a channelling practice in which practitioners produce spontaneous vocal sounds, hand gestures, or flowing written symbols that belong to no known language.
  • •Plant Spirit Medicine — Plant Spirit Medicine is a spiritual practice that involves connecting with the energetic and consciousness aspects of plants for healing, guidance, and personal transformation.
  • •Shinto Rituals — Shinto Rituals are traditional Japanese spiritual ceremonies performed to honor kami (spirits and deities) and maintain harmony with nature and the spiritual world.
  • •Sufi Whirling (Sema) — Sufi Whirling (Sema) is a sacred spinning meditation from the Mevlevi tradition, explored for its potential to support spiritual connection and inner stillness.

Other spiritual practices

  • •Integrated Health — Integrated Health is a holistic framework that addresses physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of well-being by combining conventional medical approaches with complementary therapies.

Sound and vibration

  • •Biofield Tuning — A sound therapy method using weighted and unweighted tuning forks in the space around and on the body to detect and correct perceived distortions in the human biofield.
  • •Gong Therapy — Gong Therapy is a sound healing practice that uses the vibrations and resonance of gongs to promote deep relaxation, stress reduction, and emotional balance.

Faith-based healing

  • •Faith Healing — Faith Healing is a spiritual practice that uses prayer, belief, and religious rituals to promote healing of physical, emotional, and spiritual ailments, often facilitated by religious leaders or faith healers.

Spiritual and metaphysical practices: systems of medicine and living traditions (3)

Traditional Eastern medical systems

  • •Planetary Acupuncture — Planetary acupuncture is a metaphysical practice that applies acupuncture principles to Earth's energy systems, treating the planet as a living organism with meridians and acupuncture points.

Indigenous healing traditions

  • •Kambo — A traditional Amazonian ritual involving application of secretion from the giant leaf frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor) to superficial skin burns.

Functional and systems medicine

  • •Nidra Yoga — Yoga Nidra (Nidra) is a guided yogic relaxation practice that induces a state of conscious rest between wakefulness and sleep, designed to promote deep relaxation and rejuvenation.

Spiritual and metaphysical practices: food, plants and lifestyle (2)

Nutritional therapy

  • •Low-FODMAP Diet — The Low-FODMAP Diet is an evidence-based nutritional approach that limits fermentable carbohydrates to help manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and related digestive symptoms.
  • •Macrobiotic Diet — The Macrobiotic Diet is a plant-based eating philosophy rooted in traditional Asian principles of balance and harmony, emphasizing whole grains, vegetables, legumes, and sea vegetables while minimizing animal products and processed foods.

Spiritual and metaphysical practices: guidance and coaching (2)

Coaching

  • •Inner Child Coaching — Inner Child Coaching is a therapeutic approach that helps individuals reconnect with and heal their inner child through addressing unresolved emotional wounds from childhood.
  • •Oracle Coaching — Oracle Coaching is a guidance modality that combines professional coaching techniques with oracle card readings to support personal decision-making and self-reflection.

How to read what you find here

Every entry carries an evidence level, and our guide to holistic health modalities explains what each label means. Separate the outcome from the mechanism, always. Feeling lighter after a cord-cutting session is evidence about the session. It is not evidence about cords. Relaxation, attention, ritual, touch and a practitioner's full presence plausibly explain much of the reported benefit across this entire category, and none of those explanations diminish the experience.

Some entries here overlap with practices that have a clinical evidence base under a different name. Guided imagery and visualization have trial evidence for anxiety and procedural pain. Mindfulness meditation shows small average improvements for anxiety, depression and pain across systematic reviews. Yoga has evidence for chronic low back pain. Those practices appear in this category because of their contemplative roots, and the evidence belongs to the specific, secular protocols that were studied, not to every framing of them.

Watch for the claims that should stop you. A promise to cure a named disease, advice to stop or delay prescribed treatment, a diagnosis from someone not licensed to diagnose, pressure to buy a long package before a first session, and any suggestion that a spiritual block is the reason a medical treatment is not working. A good practitioner in this category will tell you plainly what they do and do not claim.

Before you book

Some symptoms need medical assessment before anything on this page: chest pain, sudden severe headache, unexplained weight loss, a new lump, unusual bleeding, sudden vision change, one-sided weakness, difficulty breathing, or thoughts of harming yourself. If you are in acute distress, contact emergency services or a crisis line rather than a practitioner. You can browse verified practitioners with credentials and verification status shown on every profile.

The other category lists

Every practice in the Gyfts Index sits in exactly one of four categories, so if what you are looking for is not on this page it is on one of these.

Complementary therapies list: practices used alongside medical care.

Alternative medicine practices list: whole systems of medicine and the herbal, dietary and mind-body methods that grew up within them.

Holistic practices list: whole-person approaches from traditional systems to lifestyle medicine.

For the full picture, including how the Index divides across categories and what it works on, start from the complete healing modalities directory.

Sources