In modern Wellness Land, of course, nothing has been trending more furiously than ancient energy medicines, whether Ayurveda or shamanism. The desperation with which people seem to be trying to “fix” their energy is only matched by the skepticism of critics, decrying all this NewAgey, out-there wellness. Better to think like an anthropologist, and ask, what are people seeking so fervently…and why?

And whether you’re a believer in acupuncture but laugh at crystal-mania, medicine—which ignored the “energy body” for a century—is now validating that we are very much a complex electromagnetic field, immersed in other complex environmental, electromagnetic fields. A real paradigm shift is underway, with more scientific researchers (whether from Harvard or NASA) rapidly discovering that the body is indeed a complex biofield of electromagnetic frequencies and light waves that serve as “control central” for our physical and mental functioning. It’s shaking up entrenched thinking in biology. Scientists are also uncovering the ways that the entire world is electrodynamic: We’re surrounded by both natural—and increasingly man-made— frequencies that constantly change human cells. We’re at an interesting moment: where the medical world and “ancient wellness” are finding some common (at least in principle) theoretical ground.

The future: the medical, technology and wellness worlds all innovating new tools to optimize the human energy body. Joanne De Luca and Janine Lopiano, co-founders of future-forecasting consultancy Sputnik, who’ve researched the many new directions in energy medicine for years, note: “The future of medicine is understanding the crucial relationship between the material and ‘field’ aspects of the body, and adjusting human frequencies—and light, sound and electromagnetic interventions are crucial here—to prevent illness and boost health.”

Or, as Anna Bjurstam, wellness pioneer, Six Senses, and a keynote speaker at the 2019 Global Wellness Summit (GWS) on how energy medicine is now moving far beyond “woo woo,” puts it: “Indigenous people have been the knowledge-keepers of energy medicine for centuries, but the scientific community is now taking it seriously, so the world will listen. The invisible will become visible, and energy medicine will become as important as wellness itself.”

This trend takes many directions. Medicine will be disrupted by discoveries about the bioelectric “language” that cells use to coordinate so many of our biophysical processes and will invent new technologies to positively impact/regulate the body’s “command central” electromagnetic fields. Frequency therapies (using sound, light and electromagnetic interventions) will rise in the wellness world. (Note: This year’s “Wellness Music” trend, exploring how music is being reinvented as a precision energy medicine, is very much a chapter of this trend.)

As humans get increasingly bombarded by man-made electromagnetic frequencies in our hyper-networked world (Hello, 5G)— anxiety over this potentially dangerous energy will rise, as will new solutions designed to shield us from the biophotonic blitz. And more wellness centers and travel destinations will go “high energy”: serving up even more ancient energy medicines; more high-tech, biohacking technologies to upgrade our energy field; and more blending the best of both ancient and modern solutions. In sum, energy medicine is about to get far more serious.

“In every medical tradition before ours, healing was accomplished by moving energy.”
– Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Biochemist and Nobel Prize Winner