Alternative therapies are becoming increasingly popular in Western countries, including the United States.1,2 According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), approximately 38% of adults reported using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).3 A type of CAM, energy healing, has gained popularity as a non-invasive and non-pharmacological approach.4,5 Different kinds of energy healing work, such as Chakra healing, Reiki, Restorative Touch, Shamanic Healing, and others, have been historically associated with ritual or religious healing in Christian and other cultural traditions.6,7 These energy healing modalities are based on the belief that all aspects of life, physical and non-physical, have an underlying "energy" which is often unseen but experienced through thoughts and emotions. 8,9 Energy healing practitioners believe that the energy system can impact an individual's physical and emotional well-being, and by working with the system at the energy level, one can promote well-being on all levels.10

Some energy healing modalities like gem/crystal therapy and flower essences employ a physical object to stimulate vibrational energies.11 Other techniques use manual/hand pressure to influence the channels of subtle energy systems throughout the body (e.g., acupuncture, emotional freedom technique (EFT), reflexology).12 The emotional healing modalities place hands near or lightly on the body to help focus energy healing (e.g., Reiki, healing touch, therapeutic touch, Qi Gong).13 Energy healing practitioners are not required to be affiliated with a particular religion; they simply need to believe that there is a higher power or universal life energy that can be focused on healing the client. For example, in one of the steps for advanced healers in Reiki, practitioners can energetically and mentally connect to the positive qualities, attributes, and subtle energies of spiritual masters who have passed on, such as Jesus or Buddha.14 A new spiritual energy healing modality that has not been studied is the Magdalena energy session, which is becoming popular worldwide. This study aimed to explore clients' experiences of an energy healing session(s) based on the healing frequencies embodied by a female saint, Mary Magdalene.

Magdalena Healing, founded by Her Holiness Sai Maa is an energy healing practitioner program and society dedicated to sharing the divine feminine healing frequencies embodied by Mary Magdalena, the devoted disciple of Jesus Christ, whom they view as a spiritual master in her own right.15 Sai Maa was born on the island of Mauritius, a country known for embracing all spiritual traditions and religions. This environment helped shape Sai Maa's message of unity and compassion. She first demonstrated her gift of being able to see energy as a young girl. Later, as an adult living in France, she developed a thriving therapy practice by merging her energetic sight and healing powers with her Western training in naturopathic, homeopathic, and osteopathic therapies. After she met and became a devoted disciple of her Guru, Sathya Sai Baba, she began to teach worldwide to people of all faiths, sharing spiritual and healing practices to uplift humanity and engaging in humanitarian work. She was honored in 2007 by the Vaishnav Sadhu Society with the title Jagadguru, one of the highest in Hindu tradition. Sai Maa was the first woman to be awarded this title in the 2,700 year history of the Vishnu Swami Lineage, and this honor also recognizes Sai Maa's commitment to the re-emergence of divine feminine and the balancing of the divine masculine and divine feminine energies within each one of us.

The Magdalena energy healing program began in 2017 when Mary Sise, a social worker and spiritual teacher, was inspired to ask Her Holiness Sai Maa if Sai Maa would initiate students into the lineage of Mary Magdalena so that they could be embodiments of these energies to serve in an energetic healing practice.16 Sai Maa encouraged Mary Sise to train a group of practitioners to be capable of receiving this initiation, meaning that they could energetically embody and emanate these high-frequency energies to serve others. Mary Sise has been training a new cohort of students in this modality each year since 2017. The teaching team has since expanded to include 13 teachers who are training practitioners in Europe, North America, South America, and Japan. Since its inception, 168 trainees have become certified practitioners, and 111 have completed training. Upon completion of one year of training, trainees must be in good standing and pass a course on ethics of energy work to be eligible to receive the initiation into the Magdalena frequencies. When these steps are complete, trainees are eligible for membership into the Magdalena Healing Society, a prerequisite for receiving the initiation and before doing a practicum.17

A foundational belief of the Magdalena Healing Society is that practitioners' energy and state can have an impact, positive or negative, on others, particularly clients, when they are offering a Magdalena Energy Session.15 The Magdalena energy healing session is based on the premise that all "energy," particularly human thoughts and emotions, exists on a continuum of different frequencies. On the fear/contraction/separation end of the spectrum are emotions like terror, panic, blame, shame, guilt, judgment, and anger, while on the expansion/uplifting/love end of the spectrum are emotions like love, joy, compassion, clarity, tenderness, kindness and gratitude. Magdalena energy considers the most expansive, uplifting frequencies to be the most promoting of healing, and practitioners must embody those frequencies, not merely contemplate them, to be successful. A Magdalena energy session activates the masculine and feminine energies through the powerful healing frequencies of Mary Magdalena. As a technique, Magdalena energy sessions focus on emanating the specific vibrational frequencies of Mary Magdalena, which include the frequencies of light, love, and joy to infuse deep relaxation to the physical, mental-emotional, subtle body systems, and heart center. A Magdalena energy session is an opportunity to experience these specific vibrational frequencies. Much of the Magdalena energy training focuses on coaching practitioners in methods that are believed to transmute, heal, or shift lower energies within themselves to better hold, embody and emanate the high frequencies needed in the Magdalena energy sessions. Thus, practitioners must maintain a high state of energy whenever offering Magdalena energy sessions. Similar to other energy healing modalities, practitioners of Magdalena energy sessions are not required to practice a certain religion; however, the spiritual attributes and qualities of Mary Magdalena, as a prominent female figure and spiritual role model, serve as a focal point for practitioners to focus the healing energy for the client.

A typical Magdalena energy session consists of a set appointed time between the practitioner and client where they meet in person in a quiet, often very sacred, space. Before the start of the session, the practitioner takes a few minutes to align him/herself with a spiritual Higher Self using the centering technique: Activate, Energize, and Anchor the Light to invite the energy of Mary Magdalena. Connecting with a Higher spiritual or authentic self entails being part of something greater than self, which allows the practitioner to connect to a higher state of consciousness and be fully present with the client. The practitioner welcomes the client and invites him/her to lie on a treatment table in a relaxed state or, in some instances, be supported in a chair if that is more comfortable. Clients stay fully clothed, and the practitioner moves his/her hands a few inches over the body in a specific sequence with the intention of infusing the energetic layers around the body, the chakras, and organs with healing light.18 The energy work is hypothesized to occur in the client's energy system (or subtle anatomy), including the energetic layers around the body (sometimes called the aura) and chakras. At the end of the session, the practitioner assists the client in descending from the table to a comfortable chair. The client is given water and can rest for a few minutes. A typical session lasts about an hour and can be offered remotely or in person.

For remote sessions, the practitioner notifies the client by phone or by email when the sessions will begin. The name, Magdalena energy session, is standardized across practitioners, and there is no standard scripting for how to introduce the session to a client; practitioners can focus on the logistics of the session and describe as much or as little about Mary Magdalena as makes sense for their practice and the client. The client finds a comfortable spot to sit or lie down during the appointed time in the client's own home. The practitioner has a table set up in their own space. The practitioner imagines the client on their table while doing the same physical movements/energy activations that they would do if the client was physically on their table.18 Other studies have described distant healing for practices such as Reiki, therapeutic touch, and reconnective therapy.19 Often, the practitioner reaches out by phone or Zoom to let the client know when the session is complete and to check in with how the client is doing during and/or after the session.

There have been personal testimonies of the benefits of the Magdalena energy sessions, including testimony from the second author. Anecdotal experience suggests that Magdalena energy may help promote oneness, peace, a greater perception of meaning and purpose in life, more connection to the divine nature, and tenderness. Our epistemological assumption is that truth and reality vary, are subjective, and are socially constructed through the interaction of research participants and the researchers, including how data are collected and analyzed (context).20 Context includes investigators’ and participants’ cultural and personal histories.21 Author 2 experience of one Magdalena energy session gave us a glimpse of the cultural and historical context within which claims were made. It also allowed us a window into the interpretation of the context. Author 1, who did not have the experience, analyzed the results with a fresh open eye, minimizing bias. So, our findings will represent many possible truths of what participants experienced during and after attending the Magdalena energy session(s). Hence, we conducted this initial qualitative exploratory research to understand the perceptions and experiences of recipients of Magdalena energy sessions.