Energetic Blockages Explained: What They Are and How They Form

Daniela Hills Author

Jan 21, 2026 |

A gentle, personal explanation of energetic blockages—what they are, how they form, how they feel, and how healing can happen

What Are Energetic Blockages?

A Personal and Grounded Perspective

Recently, someone asked me a very simple question:

“What are energetic blockages, really?”

It’s a question I’ve been asked many times over the years. But this time, it stayed with me. Not because it was complicated — but because I suddenly remembered how confusing this concept once felt to me as well.

For a long time, I didn’t even know that the term “energetic blockage” existed. I only came across it when I started learning Reiki.

I grew up in East Germany, in a system where these kinds of words were simply not used. We didn’t talk about energy in that way. I learned things like Autogenic Training, which focuses on relaxation and the body — but the idea of energetic blockages was completely unknown to me.

So when I hear people ask this question today, I understand it very well.

That’s why I decided to write this — not just as an explanation, but as a personal reflection from my own journey with energy work, Reiki, Trance Healing, Shamanic Journeying, and the many other healing modalities that have shaped my path over the years.

What Are Energetic Blockages?

In simple terms, energetic blockages are areas where the natural flow of energy in the body or the energy field becomes restricted, slowed down, or held.

This doesn’t mean something is “wrong” with you.

Very often, energetic blockages form because something was too much, too fast, or too overwhelming at the time it happened. The body and the energy system are incredibly intelligent. They hold things until it feels safe enough to release them.

How Do Energetic Blockages Develop?

Energetic blockages usually don’t appear out of nowhere. Very often, they develop through life experiences, especially in situations where strong emotions are involved.

Our experiences shape our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. When something happens that hurts, overwhelms, or scares us — and we don’t fully process it — the energy connected to that experience can stay in our system.

Over time, this can feel like a blockage.

A Simple Example

Imagine a child at school who is bullied.

A classmate repeatedly tells the child:
“You’re dumb. You’re not good enough.”

At first, the child may feel hurt, angry, or confused. But if this situation happens again and again, something else can form. The child may start to believe those words.

A thought is created:
“I’m dumb.”

This thought creates emotions:
shame, sadness, fear, insecurity.

If this is not dealt with — if there is no support, no release, no understanding — this combination of thought and emotion can settle into the energy system. Over time, it can become an energetic blockage.

Even years later, as an adult, this person might:

• doubt themselves
• feel stuck or insecure
• avoid speaking up
• feel “blocked” in learning or expressing ideas

Often without consciously remembering where it started.

How Do Energetic Blockages Feel?

People often describe energetic blockages as:

• feeling stuck or heavy
• repeating the same emotional patterns
• feeling disconnected from intuition
• sudden emotional waves without a clear reason
• tightness in the body
• difficulty relaxing or feeling safe

Not all discomfort is energetic, and energy work is not a replacement for medical or psychological support. It is best seen as one piece of a larger healing picture.

Blockages Can Be Unconscious

Many energetic blockages are unconscious. We may not remember the original situation at all.

The energy stays, but the memory fades.

This is why someone might say:
“I don’t know why I feel this way — it just happens.”

The body and the energy field remember, even when the mind doesn’t.

Blockages Can Form in Many Situations

Energetic blockages can develop through:

• childhood experiences
• repeated criticism or rejection
• emotional neglect
• trauma (big or small)
• stressful life phases
• relationship experiences
• situations where we didn’t feel safe to express ourselves

Energetic blockages can be created by external energies, including the words, beliefs, or intentions of others — but also by the thoughts and beliefs we repeat and internalize ourselves.

Sometimes it’s not one big event — but many small moments over time.

Why This Is Important to Understand

Understanding how blockages develop is important because it helps us stop blaming ourselves.

You didn’t “create” a blockage because you did something wrong.
Often, a blockage formed because you did what you needed to do to cope and survive at that moment.

And the good news is: what once formed can also soften and release — gently, in the right way and at the right time.

My First Experience With Releasing Blockages

When I received my first Reiki Level 1 attunements, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I had read about healing experiences before, but nothing really prepared me for what actually happened.

During the 21 days healing period, I would suddenly feel very sad — always out of nowhere. I would start crying, deeply and intensely, without knowing why. It wasn’t connected to my thoughts or to something specific I was thinking about. The feeling came from very deep inside, from a place beyond words.

It’s hard to explain — but maybe you know what I mean.

And then, just as suddenly, the crying would stop… and I would start laughing. Light, relieved, almost surprised laughter. This went on for a few days — waves of deep emotion, release, and then lightness.

Looking back, I understand this as energetic release. Something that had been held for a long time was finally allowed to move.

Healing the Inner Child and Releasing the Past

I experienced something similar again with Reiki Level 2, especially when working with the technique Healing of the Inner Child.

Today, I often like to ask Reiki Level 2 practitioners if they ever really took the time to work with the Healing of the Inner Child. And I’ve learned that many did not — and some never even heard about it.

This is one of the reasons why I included this method in my own Reiki Level 2 course.

When you heal your Inner Child (which is, of course, symbolic), you are healing the past on an energetic level. You can release old blockages that are connected to situations which created certain thoughts and emotions — even if you don’t consciously remember them anymore.

And honestly, I like that a lot 😊
There are some memories I really don’t need to go back into. I don’t need to relive them or analyze them deeply. I’m happy to just let them go.

And you can truly feel the difference.

For me, this work made it possible to forgive. I gained a completely different perspective on many things. I could suddenly understand why my parents acted the way they did — because they had never healed their own Inner Child or their past.

This understanding didn’t excuse everything. But it softened something inside me. I could truly forgive through understanding.

Have you ever worked with your Inner Child?

It doesn’t have to be complicated. You can do it with Reiki — or even without it. You can imagine yourself at any age from your childhood. Remember yourself. See yourself. Or use a photo of yourself as a child.

Then gently send love to that child — maybe just in your thoughts, or by placing your hands over the picture and imagining healing flowing to the child. You can also simply say to that child:
“I love you.”

When doing this, you really can release blockages, and the energy can begin to shift.

Have you ever tried something like this?

By the way, Soul Retrieval is also a beautiful and powerful way of healing the Inner Child.

Releasing Blockages Looks Different for Everyone

Another powerful example was my husband.

During a Reiki session, instead of tears, he started laughing. Not nervously — joyfully. He felt incredibly good afterward, almost “high,” very present, very light.

His body had released in a different way, but the result was the same: deep relaxation and relief.

This is important to say, because energetic release does not always look emotional or dramatic. Sometimes it looks like laughter, warmth, clarity, or simply feeling more like yourself again.

Ways Energetic Blockages Can Be Released

There are, of course, many helpful ways to work with energetic blockages.

Reiki, energy work, Trance Healing, shamanic practices, Soul Retrieval, changing thought patterns — and also practices like acupuncture, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, yoga, and therapy — can all be very supportive. For many people, therapy plays an important role in healing and understanding emotions and life experiences.

All of these approaches can work beautifully together.

And it’s important for me to say this clearly: energy work does not replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic help. It can be a wonderful complementary path — but if you feel you need professional support, please reach out and take it. That, too, is an act of self-care.

There is no single “right” way. Healing is deeply individual.

Can You Feel Energetic Blockages in Energy Work?

When I work with people — and when I introduce them to Reiki, chakra work, or energy awareness in general — I always tell them something important: energy can be felt. And yes, that includes energetic blockages.

For some people, this sounds surprising at first. Others immediately recognize it, because they’ve already felt it before — they just didn’t have words for it yet.

When you become more sensitive to energy, you may start to notice subtle differences in a person’s aura or chakras. One simple way is by gently scanning the body with your hands, without touching, and simply paying attention.

You might notice very subtle sensations in your hands. These can feel warm or cold, tingly, heavy, pulsing, or simply “different” in one area compared to another. These sensations are not something you need to judge. They are simply information.

They can give you clues about where energy is flowing freely — and where energy might be held or restricted.

In my Reiki Level 1 course, I show how this works in a very simple and safe way. Of course, I can guide and demonstrate it, but the real understanding always comes with practice and personal experience.

You do need a bit of practice to feel energy more clearly. But I’ve seen this many times: most Reiki practitioners I’ve taught were able to feel these sensations surprisingly quickly — often already during their very first practice sessions.

It’s not about being “special” or having a gift. It’s about slowing down, listening, and trusting what you feel.

Gentle Reminder

Energetic blockages are not enemies.

They are often signs of strength, resilience, and self-protection. They form because, at some point, your system did exactly what it needed to do to keep you going.

Healing isn’t about forcing release. It’s about creating enough safety for release to happen on its own.

Closing Thoughts

If you feel drawn to explore energetic healing, trust your pace. There is no deadline, no “right” experience, and no competition.

Energetic blockages don’t mean you are broken.
They mean something within you is ready to be met with care.

Healing doesn’t need to be forced. Sometimes, all it takes is the right moment, the right support, and the permission to let go.

One Last Thought (Before We Create Another Blockage 😉)

I could go on and write much more about energetic blockages and their many causes — there really is a lot more to say. But that might get a bit overwhelming… and we don’t want to create another blockage while reading 😉

I hope you could relate to this post. And if you have any questions or would like to share your thoughts, you know where to find me in the GateLightElearning.com Community.

Categories: : Chakra, Reiki, Spiritual Cleansing, Trance Healing