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 Healing the Healers: Why Practitioners Need Self-Care, Too
 Healing the Healers: Why Practitioners Need Self-Care, Too

Healing the Healers: Why Practitioners Need Self-Care, Too

by Courtney MacGinley

          In the quiet between breaths, just before the next session begins or the next call is answered, there is often a sacred pause—the kind that wellness practitioners know all too well, yet rarely take for themselves. We call them healers: the acupuncturist with kind eyes and calloused hands, the sound therapist who cradles a room in vibration, the Reiki master who senses grief before it’s named. But who holds space for them? Or better yet, how do they hold space for themselves?

This is the question at the heart of our story.

Healing the Healers isn’t about burnout, though that word hovers like a shadow on the edges. It’s about the human beneath the practitioner. The soul who connects all day long to pain, to trauma, to unprocessed energy—and then quietly carries their own. It’s about the unspoken weight of being the safe space.

“When you become a vessel for healing, you have to learn how to pour back into yourself or you’ll start to hollow out,” says Anodea Judith, a globally renowned teacher, speaker, and author on the chakra system and energy body. Judith’s decades of work have mapped the architecture of inner transformation, helping countless individuals awaken their spiritual and energetic intelligence. She is best known for her groundbreaking books such as Wheels of Life and Eastern Body, Western Mind, which bridge psychology and spirituality through the lens of the chakra system. 


“To listen to myself, to keep up my spiritual practices, and to realize that saying no gives me the space to say yes and show up more fully,” Judith says. “If your cup is full, you have a lot to give. If it is empty, you have little to give. You wouldn’t spend money you don’t have in your bank account, why spend energy you don’t have? That just puts you in debt.”

She continues, “Like taking a shower, simple energy practices help you stay clean. Cleaning out your office with sage, washing your hands often, shaking the energy out of your body. Just because we can’t see the energetic residue of a day’s work doesn’t mean it isn’t there.”

Jonathan Goldman, a pioneer in sound healing and the author of more than a dozen books and award-winning audio recordings on frequency and consciousness, reminds us that the voice we use to guide others must also be tuned inward. His groundbreaking book The Humming Effect explores the science and spirituality of using our own voices as instruments of healing. “When we hum, we’re not just making sound—we’re massaging our nervous system,” he notes. “It’s one of the most accessible, overlooked tools we have for shifting our state.”

He shares that his most effective tool is simple: “Conscious Humming. It can be done on a moment’s notice, takes an incredibly short amount of time, and the results are very beneficial and very powerful.”

When asked how he recognizes it’s time to pause and replenish his own energy, Goldman says, “Usually, things simply don’t flow. There’s disruptions that don’t normally occur... That’s because we’re out of resonance with the vibrations of the universe and we have to retune ourselves.”

He continues: “We can become a much greater conduit for healing energy once we take care of ourselves. The more depleted we get, the less this is true—it’s that simple and that important.”

Goldman emphasizes that while humming is a powerful entry point, chakra resonance is a more advanced, deeply transformative practice that shouldn’t be overlooked. “Working with chakras is a bit more advanced than humming but most important and effective,” he says. “My first book, Healing Sounds, revealed a chakra/vowel sound resonance I’ve worked with for over 40 years.” His award-winning albums and online teachings, such as the 7 Minute Chakra Tune Up, help practitioners self-resonate and rejuvenate at a deep level.

“Sometimes it’s important to learn to say ‘no’,” Goldman adds. “When we’re beginning to experience burnout, we need to stop and recharge. We’ll be in a lot more resonance with Divine Source that way.”

Goldman believes that Healing the Healer is not just for professionals. “Everyone is ultimately involved with healing themselves and hopefully helping to heal others—perhaps even working to heal the planet... We are all this wonderful conglomerate of beings that needs to energetically connect—for the betterment of ourselves and our planet.”

For Dr. Kelly Ann Parish, D.Ac, LMT, founder of Alternative Approach Healing and Wellness and an advanced practitioner of acupuncture, bioenergetic testing, and Eastern bodywork, it’s a layered approach. “You have to create rhythms in your life that ground you in the same way you’re trying to ground others,” she shared.

“When I need an energetic reset, I tend to reach for a blend of practices that support me on multiple levels—physical, emotional, and energetic. Qigong is one of my main go-to’s; it helps me recenter, regulate my breath, and gently move energy without depleting myself.”

Parish continues, “Massage is also key—both giving and receiving. It’s a way I rebuild and strengthen my qi.”


She adds, “I’ve learned that my own centeredness is part of the treatment... There’s a deep discipline in caring for yourself as a healer. It’s not indulgent—it’s necessary.”

She also reminds new practitioners, “Your presence is your tool—protect it. One practice I recommend—and do myself—is intentionally washing my hands after each session, not just for hygiene, but as an energetic reset... I also wear protective crystals like white quartz or hematite, which help absorb and deflect energy that isn’t mine.”

The Light System (TLS) and UNIFYD Healing have emerged as innovative touch-points in this conversation. TLS, a revolutionary frequency-based technology, uses sacred geometry, photonic light, and resonant energy fields to help restore cellular coherence and promote internal alignment. Designed not only for those seeking healing but for those offering it, TLS provides a structured, restful energetic reset—particularly vital for practitioners whose nervous systems are continually attuned to the needs of others.

Through UNIFYD Healing, a global network of over 400 centers in 50+ countries, this technology is made accessible in dedicated wellness spaces—offering environments where both clients and practitioners are replenished. These centers are more than just clinics; they are sanctuaries of recalibration. They remind us that healing is not a one-way current. The healer’s wellness is just as sacred, and just as essential to the ripple effect of transformation they help create.

As the healing world evolves, so too must our understanding of sustainability. Not just for the planet. For the practitioner.

This story is for the ones who never stop holding space—may you feel, deeply and truly, that someone is holding it for you too.

Because the future of healing isn’t just about more modalities or tools—it’s about nourishing the very people who carry the torch. It’s about remembering that sustainability starts within. That no matter how intuitive, gifted, or grounded we are, we cannot pour from an empty vessel.

And so, as the collective continues to awaken, may the healers remember: their light is not just a tool; it’s a treasure that deserves to be tended to with reverence, rhythm, and rest.

 

Jonathan Goldman | Website | Instagram

Anodea Judith | Website | Academy


Kelly Ann Parish | Website