Phenomena Podcast: The Science & Stories of Energy Healing

Merraki Media LLC
  • 5.0 (11)
  • Life Sciences
  • Updated Biweekly

Researchers at Harvard, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Columbia are bringing practices like reiki, qigong, and other biofield therapies into the lab like never before, testing and quantifying what has often been considered unmeasurable and unproven. And the results could be showing us the way to the next frontier in healing. Phenomena: The Science and Stories of Energy Healing is a documentary-style podcast hosted by business leader and artist Ivy Ross. Join Ivy as she explores astonishing new science alongside moving human stories of healing from chronic pain, PTSD, and even cancer through ancient practices modern medicine has often dismissed. Produced and mixed by Sounds True

Episodes

  1. 2d ago

    No One Left Behind | PTSD, Healing Touch, and the Military’s Research Into Finding Relief

    Ron served in Vietnam and witnessed many harrowing scenes in his Air Force career, both at home and abroad. Later in life, he found himself in need of a bilateral lung transplant. And while the surgery itself was a success, Ron fell victim to a surprisingly common post-op issue: ICU delirium. Most cases resolve fairly quickly, but for Ron and his memories of war and death, his delirium transformed into a monstrous form of PTSD—reality-shaking nightmares, every night, that lasted for years.  Ron was ready to give up when he was introduced to an energy healer named Maggie. What happened next is an inspirational story of healing and well-earned peace. PTSD affects an estimated 13 million Americans and is notoriously hard to treat. Even among those who seek help, dropout rates can be as high as 54%. In an effort to treat this mental health crisis—as well as the incredibly common issue of chronic pain—the US military has participated in research that might at first seem surprising.  In addition to meeting Ron and Maggie, we'll also hear from Dr. Wayne Jonas, a retired Army physician and former NIH director, who has led numerous studies with the military into alternative treatments like acupuncture and healing touch. Treatments that might seem on the surface to be too "woo woo" for something like the military.  But there's a pragmatism at work here. The military is only interested in one thing—does it work? And as we'll see in the research, that answer is a resounding yes.  For the links in this episode visit the website here: For links and resources related to this episode visit us here Music composed by Dan Baboulene. Be sure to visit us at https://www.phenomenahealing.com to find out the latest in biofield science.

    1h 1m

  2. Jun 9

    Healing as a Way of Life | Qigong, Meridians, and the Science of Qi at Harvard

    For thousands of years, healers across cultures have described a life force that flows through the body — invisible, intelligent, and fundamental to health. In Chinese medicine, it's called Qi. And for centuries, western science has had no idea what to do with it. Now, that might be changing. At Harvard, researchers are finding physical evidence for something practitioners have mapped for millennia: pathways in the body that carry Qi called meridians. When scientists injected fluorescent dye at a specific acupuncture point on the wrist, it traveled up the arm through no known vessel — vein, artery, or lymphatic — and emerged exactly where ancient tradition said it would. The meridians, it turns out, may not be a metaphor. But understanding what Qi is might matter less than understanding what you can do with it. Anne Hering has practiced Qigong every day for decades — not as a treatment for a specific condition, but as what traditional Chinese medicine calls yang sheng: the art of nourishing life. The chronic pain she was told she'd carry forever is gone. And she'll tell you the most important thing she learned wasn't a technique. It was that the body already knows how to heal — if you give it the right conditions. Two Harvard scientists and a Qigong teacher in the Netherlands arrived at almost exactly the same definition of Qi — from completely different directions. What they converged on might change how you think about your own health. Music composed by Dan Baboulene. Be sure to visit us at https://www.phenomenahealing.com to find out the latest in biofield science.

    43 min

  3. May 26

    Reiki versus Fakey | A Clinical Trial on Chronic Pain with Harvard and the University of Utah

    Be sure to visit us at https://www.phenomenahealing.com to find out the latest in biofield science.

    40 min

  4. May 12

    The Healer in the Lab: Studying Energy Healing and Cancer at MD Anderson

    Original Airing: 5/12/2026 Produced by Sounds True Studios. Music composed by Dan Baboulene. Be sure to visit us at https://www.phenomenahealing.com to find out the latest in biofield science.

    49 min
  5. Phenomena: The Science & Stories of Energy Healing

    Season 1 Trailer

    Phenomena: The Science & Stories of Energy Healing

    Phenomena: The Science & Stories of Energy Healing is a documentary-style podcast series, hosted by artist and business innovator Ivy Ross, that investigates this and other quietly urgent questions at the intersection of modern medicine and ancient healing. Join Ivy as she shares the latest research findings and the incredible, inspirational stories of energy healers and those who have found relief with them from conditions ranging from chronic pain, PTSD, even cancer. Together, we’ll explore answers to questions like what is energy healing? How does it work? And how do we separate hard facts from hopeful fictions? Because if the answers are what the research suggests, the next frontier of medicine may turn out to be something we've known in our bodies all along. Be sure to visit us at https://www.phenomenahealing.com to find out the latest in biofield science.

    2 min

Trailer

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Researchers at Harvard, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Columbia are bringing practices like reiki, qigong, and other biofield therapies into the lab like never before, testing and quantifying what has often been considered unmeasurable and unproven. And the results could be showing us the way to the next frontier in healing. Phenomena: The Science and Stories of Energy Healing is a documentary-style podcast hosted by business leader and artist Ivy Ross. Join Ivy as she explores astonishing new science alongside moving human stories of healing from chronic pain, PTSD, and even cancer through ancient practices modern medicine has often dismissed. Produced and mixed by Sounds True

Information

You Might Also Like