What Is Pranic Healing? How It Works, Research & Safety
What is pranic healing? Pranic Healing is a no-touch complementary practice based on the belief that practitioners can work with prana, or life energy. Grand Master Choa Kok Sui developed it in the Philippines and shaped it into its modern form in 1987. The Institute for Inner Studies, which he founded, reports that pranic healing is now practised in more than 120 countries. It is meant to work alongside medical care, never in place of it.
This guide answers the questions people ask most. You will learn how a session works, how it compares with Reiki, how it is priced, what the research shows, and how to begin safely.
Table of Contents:
What Is Pranic Healing and How Does It Work?
Who Started Pranic Healing? Grand Master Choa Kok Sui
Pranic Healing Levels Explained: From the Basic Course Upward
Pranic Healing vs Reiki: Key Differences
How Pranic Healing Is Priced: Sessions, Courses and Free Options
Is Pranic Healing Real? What the Research Says
Is Energy Healing Safe? Side Effects and Precautions
The Five Virtues in Pranic Healing
What Is Pranic Breathing?
What Foods Are High in Prana?
How Pranic Healing Is Used Today
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Pranic Healing and How Does It Work?
Pranic Healing is based on the belief that working with prana, or life energy, can support the body’s natural recovery processes. The healer does not touch you and does not use drugs. Practitioners believe Pranic Healing works with an energy field surrounding the body. Because nothing is applied to the skin and no medicine is involved, a session can sit alongside the care you already receive from your doctor.
What Prana Means
Prana is a Sanskrit word for life energy. The word itself means “breath”. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, prana was a central idea in early Hindu philosophy, especially in the Upanishads, and yoga has long worked with it through breath control, known as pranayama. Chinese traditions call it chi, and Japanese traditions call it ki. In his book Miracles Through Pranic Healing, Master Choa Kok Sui names three main sources of prana:
Solar prana: energy from sunlight
Air prana: energy taken in through the breath
Ground prana: energy drawn up through the soles of the feet
The Two Core Principles:
Self-recovery: the body can heal itself at a certain rate.
Life energy: within Pranic Healing teachings, increasing prana is believed to support the body’s natural recovery process.
How a Session Works: Scan, Cleanse, Energise
Scan. The practitioner moves their hands a few inches from the body to identify areas they perceive as having low or congested energy.
Cleanse. Using sweeping movements, the practitioner aims to clear what Pranic Healing describes as used or congested energy.
Energise. The practitioner then directs what the system describes as fresh prana towards selected energy centres, or chakras.
The basic course teaches 11 major chakras: the basic, sex, meng mein, navel, spleen, solar plexus, heart, throat, ajna, forehead and crown chakras.
What a Session Looks Like
A 2024 trial in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine gives a clear picture. People sat in a chair with their eyes closed and palms facing up. The healer stood 1 to 2 metres away, and each session lasted about 30 minutes. Each person had 10 sessions in total, twice a week for five weeks, alongside their usual medicine. Participants in this study remained fully clothed.
Distance healing is part of Pranic Healing practice and has been studied in small trials. It is taught from the very first course. In a 2023 randomised trial, each distance session lasted 50 to 60 minutes.
Who Started Pranic Healing? Grand Master Choa Kok Sui
Pranic healing was started by Grand Master Choa Kok Sui, a Filipino of Chinese descent. Students often call him Master Choa or MCKS. He wrote more than 20 books and taught over 20 different courses, which he standardised so that licensed instructors could teach them the same way around the world.
Fact | Detail |
Born | 15 August 1952, Cebu, Philippines |
Training | Chemical engineering |
Built the system | 1983 to 1987 |
Died | 19 March 2007 |
Key books | Miracles Through Pranic Healing, Advanced Pranic Healing, Pranic Psychotherapy, The Chakras and Their Functions |
Books written | More than 20; some titles have been translated into over 27 languages |
Organisation founded | Institute for Inner Studies, Inc., incorporated in the Philippines on 27 April 1987 |
Reach today | Practised in more than 120 countries, according to the Institute for Inner Studies |
How He Built the System
Master Choa studied many older energy and spiritual traditions, including yoga and chi kung (qigong). He drew on older energy and spiritual traditions, including yoga and qigong, and developed these ideas into a standardised system of techniques. The result was a set of simple steps that almost anyone could learn. His first book, The Ancient Science and Art of Pranic Healing, came out in 1987 and is known today as Miracles Through Pranic Healing. He went on to write a textbook for each new level: Pranic Psychotherapy (1990), Advanced Pranic Healing (1992), Pranic Crystal Healing (1996) and Psychic Self-Defense for Home and Office (1999).
His Legacy Today
His books are still the core textbooks for each course. They are published by the Institute for Inner Studies Publishing Foundation. Research groups that study pranic healing today still name him as its founder. The Institute for Inner Studies, Inc., which he founded, was incorporated on 27 April 1987 to spread pranic healing, Arhatic Yoga and his other teachings. In India, the World Pranic Healing Foundation funds clinical research, including the 2018 depression trial and the 2024 urinary symptoms trial described below.
Pranic Healing Levels Explained: From the Basic Course Upward
Pranic Healing training begins with Basic Pranic Healing and progresses through advanced and specialist courses. The basic course is required before any other course. Most courses run over two days, often on a weekend.
Level | Course | What you learn |
1 | The 11 major chakras, scanning, cleansing, energising, self-healing, distance healing and Meditation on Twin Hearts | |
2 | Colour pranas for faster, more focused healing | |
3 | Energy methods for stress and emotional issues | |
4 | Using crystals to hold and direct prana | |
5 | Protecting your own energy | |
6 | Pranic Facelift and Body Sculpting | Energy methods for the face and body |
What Is the Basic Course of Pranic Healing?
The Basic Pranic Healing course is the entry point for everyone. You learn to feel energy with your hands, clear and energise each chakra, and use these steps on yourself and others. You also learn Meditation on Twin Hearts, a short meditation on peace and loving-kindness. The textbook is Miracles Through Pranic Healing. According to the World Pranic Healing Foundation, the book has been translated into more than 27 languages.
How to Become a Certified Pranic Healer
Formal certification is separate from completing individual Pranic Healing courses. Current certification pathways include Associate Pranic Healer and Certified Pranic Healer programmes, which may require specific courses, documented healing cases and examinations. Requirements can vary by programme and country, so check with an authorised Pranic Healing centre for the latest certification requirements.
Spiritual and Personal Growth Courses
Beyond the healing series, students can take courses such as Achieving Oneness with the Higher Soul and Arhatic Yoga. These focus on meditation, inner growth and character building.
Which Level Should You Start With?
Start with Basic Pranic Healing, even if you have done Reiki or other energy work. Every later course builds on its methods.
Pranic Healing vs Reiki: Key Differences
The biggest difference is touch and method. Pranic healing is fully no-touch and follows set steps for each problem. Reiki practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above the body, according to the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Both are energy practices, and neither replaces medical care. NCCIH describes Reiki as based on an Eastern belief in an energy that supports the body’s natural healing abilities, an idea close to how pranic healing describes prana.
Point | Pranic Healing | Reiki |
Origin | Philippines, developed by Grand Master Choa Kok Sui by 1987 | Japan, founded by Mikao Usui |
Touch | No touch at all | Hands rest lightly on or just above the body |
Method | Scan, cleanse, then energise | The practitioner channels energy to the client |
Cleansing step | Yes, used energy is swept away first | Not a separate step |
Protocols | Set steps for specific problems | Hand positions over the body |
Training | Starts with Basic Pranic Healing | Degrees, often with attunements |
Self-healing | Taught in the basic course | Taught in early Reiki training |
Which One Should You Choose?
Choose pranic healing if you want a no-touch practice with clear steps. Choose Reiki if you are comfortable with light touch and prefer a less protocol-driven approach. You can also try one session of each before you decide.
How Pranic Healing Is Priced: Sessions, Courses and Free Options
Pranic healing pricing fall into three groups: single healing sessions, paid courses, and free options. Prices change by country, city and centre, so always ask for a written rate before you book.
Option | What you get | How it is priced |
Healing session | One-to-one healing, in person or at a distance | Per session |
Basic Pranic Healing course | Two days of hands-on training | Per course |
Higher levels (2 to 6) | Advanced and specialist training | Per course, by level |
Group Meditation on Twin Hearts | A guided group meditation | Often free |
What to Ask Before You Book a Session
How long is each session? The 2024 urinary symptoms trial used 30-minute sessions. The 2023 foot ulcer trial used 50 to 60 minutes. The 2018 depression trial used 20-minute sessions once a week.
Who will do the healing? Ask for the healer’s course level and whether they are a Certified Pranic Healer.
Is it in person or at a distance? Check if the price is the same for both.
How many sessions are suggested? The research plans below ran for four to five weeks, from once a week to daily.
Free Ways to Try Pranic Healing
Join a free Meditation on Twin Hearts group. Many centres run these on a set weekly or monthly day, and some run them online.
Read the basic textbook. Miracles Through Pranic Healing explains the core ideas in plain language.
Ask about an intro class. Some centres run a short intro that needs no past training.
Where Can You Learn Pranic Healing?
Learn from a centre whose instructors are certified in Master Choa Kok Sui’s system. Ask which level each instructor teaches, what the fee covers, and whether you can repeat a course later.
Is Pranic Healing Real? What the Research Says
A limited body of clinical research has examined Pranic Healing. Some small trials, most of them in India, have reported positive differences in selected outcomes when Pranic Healing was added to standard treatment. The studies are small, and many were funded by pranic healing groups, so larger independent studies are still needed.
A 2022 systematic review in the Adıyaman University Journal of Health Sciences gathered 22 studies on pranic healing, including six randomised controlled trials. Together they covered healthy people and people living with cancer, chronic pain, sleep problems, depression, stress and asthma. The reviewers noted positive feedback from participants and minimal side effects, but said the studies were too varied and limited in design for their results to be generalised yet. The table below sums up some of the most detailed trials.
Year | Journal | Who took part | What was tested | What they found |
2025 | 46 children aged 6 to 12 having blood taken | Randomised, double-blind; pranic healing for 5 minutes before, during and after the needle | Lower pain scores and better heart rate, breathing rate and oxygen saturation readings than the control group | |
2024 | Complementary Therapies in Medicine | 76 men with urinary symptoms from an enlarged prostate | Randomised, single-blind; sessions twice a week for 5 weeks, added to medicine | Both groups improved; the pranic healing group had better sleep scores; within that group, the feeling of incomplete emptying and stop-start flow also eased significantly; no serious side effects |
2023 | 102 women with breast cancer during chemotherapy | Randomised; Meditation on Twin Hearts, 30 minutes 3 times a week for 1.5 months | Quality of life scores rose in the meditation group (81.3 to 88.9) and were significantly higher than the control group (75.2) afterwards | |
2023 | Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health | 30 adults with foot ulcers linked to diabetes | Randomised, double-blind; daily distance healing for 5 weeks, added to standard care | About 83% moved to a lower ulcer grade, against 44% without it; full wound closure in 31% against 11%; lower stress in 77% against 22%; no side effects reported |
2018 | 52 adults with mild to moderate depression | Pranic healing added to medicine, double-blind, compared with mock healing; 20 minutes a week for 4 weeks | Larger drops in depression scores than medicine plus mock healing (a median fall of 11 points against 6.5); everyone in the pranic healing group moved to a milder depression category, against 69% with mock healing; authors call for bigger studies | |
2017 | Australasian Medical Journal | People with COPD, a long-term lung disease | Small randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot, added to usual care | Reported gains in lung function and quality of life |
What Health Authorities Say
The US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has not reviewed pranic healing itself. It has reviewed Reiki, another energy-healing practice. NCCIH says Reiki has not been clearly shown to work for any health purpose, and most Reiki studies were not high quality. It also finds no scientific proof that the energy field behind these practices exists. That NCCIH page was last updated in December 2018, before most of the pranic healing trials listed above were published.
How to Read the Evidence
Small groups: the trials with published numbers had between 30 and 102 people.
Add-on only: every trial kept people on their normal medical care.
Funding: the 2024 trial was funded by the World Pranic Healing Foundation in India, where most of its authors worked. The Pranic Healing Research Institute paid the ethics review fees for the 2023 trial. The 2018 depression trial was also funded by the World Pranic Healing Foundation, India.
Short time frames: most trials ran for four to six weeks, and the children’s study looked at a single blood draw.
Growing reach: research is starting to come from outside India, including the 2025 children’s study in Northern Cyprus.
So, Is Pranic Healing Real?
Many people say they feel calmer and lighter after a session, and some small trials have reported positive outcomes, but current evidence is preliminary and does not establish efficacy. In the trials above, people who received pranic healing alongside their usual care often showed greater gains in sleep, mood, stress levels and wound healing than those who did not. Science has not shown how it works. The fair answer is this: use it as a support alongside medical care, never as a cure.
Is Energy Healing Safe? Side Effects and Precautions
Published Pranic Healing studies have reported few direct adverse events, but the evidence base is small. NCCIH states that Reiki has not been shown to have harmful effects. The 2023 foot ulcer trial reported no side effects, and the 2024 urinary symptoms trial reported no serious ones. A 2022 systematic review of 22 pranic healing studies also described side effects as minimal. The significant risk is skipping or delaying medical care.
What People Report During and After a Session?
In the 2024 trial, people described their sessions in their own words. Common reports included:
Feeling calm, relaxed and at peace
A sense of lightness in the body
Tingling in the hands or legs
Warmth in the soles of the feet
Nursing students who practised Meditation on Twin Hearts for eight weeks, in a 2021 study published in SAGE Open Nursing, described similar experiences: a relaxed mind, better focus, and tingling or warmth in the hands. A few noticed headaches or body aches in their early sessions, which is worth knowing before you start.
These are personal reports, not medical results. How you feel after a session can differ.
Safety Tips Before You Book
Keep seeing your doctor. Never stop or change a prescribed medicine without their advice.
ell your doctor you are trying energy healing. NCCIH advises people to talk with their health care team about any treatment decision.
Check your healer’s training. Ask which course levels they have completed.
Walk away from big promises. A healer who promises a cure, or tells you to drop your treatment, is a red flag.
Get urgent care first. For chest pain, trouble breathing or any emergency, call a doctor or emergency line right away.
Check before joining Meditation on Twin Hearts. Pranic healing teaching materials advise that children under 16, pregnant women, heavy smokers and people with severe heart conditions avoid or limit this meditation.
The Five Virtues in Pranic Healing
Master Choa Kok Sui taught that a healer’s character matters as much as their skill. Students are asked to build five virtues. Each is paired with the habit it replaces.
Virtue | The habit it replaces | In daily life |
Loving-kindness | Causing harm (the pair is called non-injury) | Speak and act with care, even when upset |
Honesty | Lying | Say what is true and keep your word |
Generosity | Stealing | Give time, help and resources freely |
Moderation | Excess | Avoid extremes in food, work and emotion |
Constancy of aim and effort | Laziness | Keep practising, even when progress feels slow |
Why Character Building Matters
In Master Choa’s teachings, healing skill and good character grow together, so the virtues are part of every student’s training. Some centres word the list a little differently, such as “accurate perception and correct expression” in place of honesty. The core idea stays the same.
What Is Pranic Breathing?
Pranic breathing is a breathing method used in pranic healing to take in more prana. The book Your Hands Can Heal You, by Master Stephen Co, John Merryman and Dr Eric Robins, says it rests on three things: a steady rhythm, a set count, and short breath holds at set points.
How It Differs From Normal Breathing
Feature | Everyday breathing | Pranic breathing |
Pace | Uneven, often fast under stress | Slow and steady |
Depth | Often short and shallow | Deep |
Counting | None | A set count for each breath |
Holds | None | Brief holds at set points |
Aim | Take in oxygen | Also meant to draw in more air prana |
In Miracles Through Pranic Healing, Master Choa Kok Sui teaches that slow, deep, rhythmic breathing takes in more air prana than short, shallow breaths. This builds on a much older tradition: Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that yoga philosophy emphasises control of prana through pranayama, both to support meditation and for what it sees as its therapeutic effect.
Where It Is Taught
Pranic breathing is part of the basic course and its textbook. Learn the exact counts and holds from a certified instructor, who can check your form in class.
Who Should Check With a Doctor First
Breath holds are not right for everyone. Talk to your doctor before you start if you:
Are pregnant
Have a heart or lung condition, such as asthma
Have high blood pressure
Often feel dizzy or faint
If you feel lightheaded at any point, stop and breathe normally.
What Foods Are High in Prana?
In pranic healing, fresh, whole and colourful foods are seen as the richest in prana. Master Choa Kok Sui taught that fresh food holds more prana than preserved food. Food is a secondary source of prana; the sun, air and ground are the main ones.
Food group | Examples | What the teaching says |
Fresh fruit and vegetables | Leafy greens, fruit in season | Fresh food holds more prana than preserved food |
Colour prana foods | Corn, garlic, onions, lemon, cucumber | Named in Advanced Pranic Healing as sources of colour pranas |
Colourful mixed dishes | Salads, vegetable stir-fries | Master Choa advised meals with many colours |
Preserved foods | Canned or heavily processed foods | Hold less prana than fresh food |
Simple Ways to Eat for More Prana
Buy fresh and eat it soon after.
Fill your plate with several colours.
Pick whole foods over packaged ones.
Talk to a doctor or dietitian before any big change to your diet.
These tips come from pranic healing teachings, not from nutrition science. Treat them as a guide to fresh, varied eating, not as a treatment.
How Pranic Healing Is Used Today
Today, pranic healing is studied in clinics, taught in centres from the Philippines and India to the UK, the US and Thailand, and practised at home as daily self-care. The Institute for Inner Studies reports that it is practised in more than 120 countries. In Bhutan, for example, pranic healing has been available since 2012.
In Clinics and Research
Diabetes care, India: the 2023 foot ulcer trial ran at the Karnataka Institute of Endocrinology and Research.
Urology, India: the 2024 urinary symptoms trial ran at a urology clinic in Mysuru.
Community groups: researchers have also studied it with working women and with inmates at Mysore Central Prison, in papers published in 2018.
Research funding: the Pranic Healing Research Institute in New Jersey, USA, gave out its first research grants in 2019.
Paediatric nursing, Northern Cyprus: a 2025 trial in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing used pranic healing with children aged 6 to 12 during blood draws.
Cancer care: a 2023 trial in Archives of Breast Cancer taught Meditation on Twin Hearts to women having chemotherapy.
Nursing education, India: a 2021 study followed nursing students who practised Meditation on Twin Hearts five days a week for eight weeks as a way to manage stress.
Community care, Bhutan: a 2020 survey of 150 clients and 50 healers found that clients valued pranic healing as an add-on to other treatment, and the researchers recommended more centres and greater awareness.
Distance and Online Healing
In the 2023 trial, 10 certified healers in different countries worked on each person from afar, every day for five weeks. Because distance healing is taught from the basic course, you can often book a session without travelling.
Group Meditation
Meditation on Twin Hearts is often run as a free group session. Some centres hold it in person, and others stream it online. The meditation centres on the heart chakra and the crown chakra, and includes blessing the earth using the Prayer of St Francis of Assisi. It begins and ends with light physical exercises.
Everyday Self-Care
Students use self-healing, pranic breathing and fresh eating habits as part of their daily routine. These tools need no equipment and fit into a short daily slot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can pranic healing be done from a distance?
Distance healing is part of Pranic Healing practice and is taught in the Basic Pranic Healing course. In a 2023 trial on foot ulcers linked to diabetes, healers in several countries worked on each person from afar every day for five weeks. Ask your centre how it runs distance sessions.
How long is a pranic healing session?
Most sessions run between 30 and 60 minutes. Published trials have used sessions of 20 minutes (a depression trial), 30 minutes (in person) and 50 to 60 minutes (distance healing). Ask your centre for its session length before you book.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no medically established number of Pranic Healing sessions. Centres may recommend different schedules depending on their approach.
Can I do pranic healing on myself?
Yes. Self pranic healing is taught in the basic course. You learn to scan, cleanse and energise your own chakras. Pranic breathing and Meditation on Twin Hearts can support that routine.
Can pranic healing replace my medicine?
No. Pranic healing is meant to work alongside medical care. Every published trial kept people on their usual treatment. Keep following your doctor’s advice.
Is pranic healing a religion?
No. Pranic Healing is generally presented by its organisations as a healing system rather than a religion, although some of its courses and meditations include spiritual concepts and practices.
What are the 11 chakras in pranic healing?
The basic course teaches 11 major chakras: the basic, sex, meng mein, navel, spleen, solar plexus, heart, throat, ajna, forehead and crown. In the system’s teaching, each one links to certain organs and functions. Healers scan these centres to find where energy seems low or blocked.
Do I need experience to take the basic course?
No. Basic Pranic Healing is the starting point and needs no past training. It is also required before any higher course. Most basic courses run over two days.
Where is pranic healing practised?
Around the world. The Institute for Inner Studies, founded by Master Choa Kok Sui, reports that pranic healing is practised in more than 120 countries. Clinical research has so far come mostly from India, with recent studies from other places such as Northern Cyprus.
Final Thoughts
Pranic Healing is a no-touch complementary practice built around three core techniques: scanning, cleansing and energising. Grand Master Choa Kok Sui developed the modern system in the Philippines, and it is now practised internationally. Some small clinical studies have reported positive findings when Pranic Healing was used alongside standard medical care, but the evidence remains preliminary and larger independent studies are needed. It should be used as a complementary practice rather than as a substitute for medical treatment.
If you would like to experience Pranic Healing, you can book a session with Saksit Meditation and Healing Centre or contact us to learn what to expect before your first visit.
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