Becoming a Healing Touch practitioner: Anisaβs path through shame, doubt, and compassion
Becoming a Healing Touch practitioner is not only about learning techniques. For Anisa Zahir, it also meant meeting self-doubt, shame, and inner shadow work with compassion.
In this conversation, Leila Briggs talks with Anisa Zahir about her path from Reiki and mindfulness-based healing into Healing Touch. Anisa shares how her Healing Touch apprenticeship helped her build confidence as a healer, complete her 100 practice sessions, and learn to trust the work even when she did not always feel energy clearly.
The episode moves through the deeper inner work behind becoming a Healing Touch practitioner: the inner critic, chronic pain, the dark night of the soul, shame, self-compassion, community, and the sacredness of offering healing without needing it to be transactional. Anisa also reflects on how compassion changes our relationship with suffering and how Healing Touch helped her see her own hardships in a new light.
Energy Healing Podcast is the show for people exploring energy healing, Healing Touch, holistic healing, and the path from personal transformation to professional practice. Hosted by Leila Briggs, the show helps listeners discover, experience, and learn Healing Touch through real stories, education, research, practitioner perspectives, and healing conversations.
What Youβll Hear In This Episode
- How Anisa first found Reiki, energy medicine, and Healing Touch
- The spiritual experience that encouraged her to keep going
- Why the 100 Healing Touch sessions became sacred growth work
- How she worked through self-doubt and the inner critic
- What βdark night of the soulβ meant in her healing journey
- Why compassion is essential when working with shame
- How Healing Touch helped Anisa trust herself as a practitioner
β± Episode Chapters & Timestamps
00:00 β Introduction: Meet Anisa Zahir
01:05 β Discovering energy healing during the pandemic
01:40 β Finding Reiki and beginning a healing journey
02:00 β Why Healing Touch became the next step
03:00 β Becoming a Healing Touch Practitioner
03:20 β Reiki experiences: hearing guidance and encouragement
05:00 β Growth work, healing sessions, and giving back
06:10 β The sacredness of healing work
07:20 β Transformation through the 100-session journey
08:45 β Growth beyond intuitive abilities
09:10 β "Just do the work": trusting the Healing Touch process
10:20 β Healing yourself while learning to heal others
11:00 β Presence versus technique in healing
11:45 β Finding belonging in the Healing Touch community
13:10 β Working through self-doubt and the inner critic
14:30 β Healing unworthiness through compassion
15:20 β Reiki guidance versus the voice of self-criticism
16:00 β Chronic pain, self-care, and the dark night of the soul
17:05 β What is a dark night of the soul?
18:10 β Fear, doubt, grief, and the gifts hidden within them
19:20 β Becoming your own healer
20:20 β Authentic self-knowledge and self-mastery
21:00 β Why compassion is essential to healing
21:45 β Healing shame through self-compassion
23:00 β Gratitude, goodness, and changing your perspective
24:00 β Advice for those struggling with self-doubt
25:00 β "Keep going. You're loved, guided, and supported."
25:20 β Closing reflections
Popular Episode Topics Include: Becoming a Healing Touch practitioner, Healing Touch, energy healing, Reiki, self-healing, shadow work, self-doubt, compassion, spiritual awakening, Healing Touch apprenticeship, practitioner development, and personal transformation.
About Our Guest Anisa Zahir
Anisa Zahir is an Afghan-American Healing Touch practitioner candidate, Reiki practitioner, and compassion-centered healing guide. Trained in mindfulness-based Hakomi psychotherapy, mindfulness meditation, and Stanford University's Applied Compassion program, she brings a unique blend of energy healing, self-inquiry, and embodied awareness to her work. Through her own journey of healing, Anisa helps others reconnect with their inherent goodness, cultivate self-compassion, and awaken their natural capacity to heal.
About Your Host: Leila Briggs
Leila Briggs is the host of The Energy Healing Podcast: Exploring Stories, Practices & Science, presented by the Healing Touch Program. A Healing Touch Certified Practitioner since 2015, Leila brings a lifetime of intuitive experience into grounded,
heart-centered conversations about energy healing and lived spiritual practice.
About the Podcast
The Energy Healing Podcast is the place to explore the world of Healing Touch and energy healing through real stories, practitioner experiences, research, and education. Hosted by Leila Briggs, each episode helps listeners discover what Healing Touch is, how it supports healing and personal transformation, and the many ways it is used in everyday life, healthcare, and professional practice. Whether you're new to energy healing, seeking your own healing journey, or considering becoming a practitioner, you'll find inspiration, insight, and practical wisdom to support your path.
Disclaimer
The information contained in this video is provided only as general information and for educational purposes. It does not offer medical advice and is not intended to be a substitute or replacement for qualified medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please take responsibility for your own health.
π Explore Healing Touch training: https://www.healingtouchprogram.com
π Find a Practitioner: https://www.healingtouchprogram.com/find-a-practitioner
π Get certified in Healing Touch: https://www.healingtouchcertification.com/
Follow Us & Stay Connected
β Healing Touch Program Website
β Facebook
β Instagram
β LinkedIn
β Twitter/X
β Pinterest