Healing Touch: How Curiosity and a Google Search Led to Becoming a Certified Practitioner

Sometimes curiosity is enough to change the direction of your life.

For Stefanie Pinela, it started with a Google search.

In this episode of The Energy Healing Podcast, Leila Briggs welcomes Stefanie, a Healing Touch Certified Practitioner and founder of AlmaLuna Alchemy, to share the journey that took her from knowing almost nothing about energy healing to becoming a Healing Touch practitioner herself.

In 2017, Stefanie knew she was searching for something different. She explored different approaches to wellness, talked with people walking different paths, and searched countless terms online. Somewhere deep in the Google results, she came across something she had never heard of before: Healing Touch.

Something about its philosophy, foundation, and approach to healing resonated.

She signed up for Healing Touch Level 1.

But Stefanie's path didn't unfold overnight. She took Level 2, explored other modalities, stepped away for a time, and eventually felt herself being called back to Healing Touch during the pandemic. She repeated Levels 1 and 2 virtually and slowly continued through the Healing Touch training while maintaining a full-time corporate career.

On February 14, 2025, Stefanie became a Healing Touch Certified Practitioner.

Looking back, however, she realized that certification wasn't the only thing happening along the way. What initially began as a search for something outside herself became a healing journey back to herself.

Stefanie also shares some of the clients and experiences that helped shape the practitioner she was becoming.

She remembers working during her apprenticeship with a woman living with ALS who initially wasn't ready to receive Healing Touch. Their eventual work together taught Stefanie about compassionate presence, the difference between curing and healing, and why healing cannot be forced. When her client later hoped Stefanie could provide Healing Touch to her son, Stefanie was faced with another important lesson: honoring consent and allowing each person to choose when—or whether—Healing Touch is right for them.

Then there was Barry.

During the pandemic, Stefanie and her husband discovered a tiny baby field mouse alone on a walking path. After being unable to find a wildlife organization that could take him, they brought him home and learned how to care for him.

Stefanie incorporated Healing Touch into Barry's care, holding the tiny mouse between her hands with an intention of healing, love, and strength. But she soon realized healing was moving in both directions. During a period marked by uncertainty, isolation, and fear, Barry brought presence, routine, connection, and joy into their home. He would ultimately live with them for three and a half years.

Today, Stefanie is beginning to build her own Healing Touch practice while also finding ways to make Healing Touch more visible online. Her hope is that one day, when someone hears the words "energy healing," Healing Touch will be one of the modalities they already know.

Her message to anyone standing at the beginning of their own journey is simple: follow the curiosity.

You don't have to know where Healing Touch will lead you.

Level 1 may become the beginning of certification and professional practice—or it may simply give you new tools for your own self-care and the people you love.

Give yourself permission to discover what the journey becomes.

What You'll Hear In This Episode

How curiosity and a Google search first introduced Stefanie to Healing Touch
What she experienced during her first Healing Touch Level 1 class
Why Stefanie didn't rush through Healing Touch training and certification
How returning to Healing Touch virtually reignited her interest in the work
Why the journey toward becoming a practitioner also became a journey back to herself
What a client living with ALS taught Stefanie about the difference between curing and healing
Why consent, autonomy, and readiness matter in Healing Touch
How practitioners can hold compassionate space without taking ownership of another person's healing
The unexpected story of Barry, a baby field mouse who received Healing Touch—and brought healing into Stefanie's life in return
What Stefanie learned about presence and connection during the pandemic
What building a new Healing Touch practice looks like for her today
Why Stefanie wants more people to recognize Healing Touch as an energy healing modality
How she is using social media and AI thoughtfully to help educate others about Healing Touch
Stefanie's advice for anyone curious about Healing Touch Level 1 or beginning their own healing journey

Episode Chapters & Timestamps

00:00 Getting Ready & Meet Stefanie Pinela
03:00 From Corporate Life to Searching for Something More
04:18 The Search That Eventually Led to Healing Touch
05:30 How Google Helped Stefanie Discover Healing Touch
06:00 Walking Into Her First Healing Touch Level 1
07:25 Stepping Away—and Feeling Called Back to Healing Touch
08:00 Returning Through Virtual Healing Touch Classes
09:00 The Slow Journey Toward Becoming a Certified Practitioner
10:00 Why You Don't Have to Rush Through Healing Touch Training
11:30 When the Journey Became a Journey Back to Herself
12:30 The Clients Who Help Shape Us as Practitioners
13:00 Working With a Client Living With ALS
14:30 Holding Space Without Taking Ownership of Healing
16:00 Understanding the Difference Between Curing and Healing
17:00 Consent, Autonomy & Allowing Healing to Come in Its Own Time
20:00 Meet Barry: The Tiny Mouse Who Changed Everything
22:00 Using Healing Touch With a Baby Field Mouse
23:00 How Barry Brought Healing, Presence & Joy During the Pandemic
27:30 Building a Healing Touch Practice Today
29:00 Stefanie's Hope for Making Healing Touch More Recognizable
31:00 Sharing Healing Touch Through Social Media
35:30 Using AI Thoughtfully to Help Create Healing Touch Content
37:30 Why Increasing Healing Touch's Online Presence Matters
39:00 Stefanie's Advice: Let Curiosity Lead
42:00 Closing Reflections

About Our Guest

Stefanie Pinela | Healing Touch Certified Practitioner & Founder of AlmaLuna Alchemy

Stefanie Pinela is a Healing Touch Certified Practitioner and founder of AlmaLuna Alchemy. After more than two decades working in the corporate world, a period of searching and curiosity unexpectedly introduced her to Healing Touch in 2017.

Stefanie moved through her Healing Touch education at her own pace while continuing her corporate career, ultimately becoming a Healing Touch Certified Practitioner in February 2025. Her experiences as a student, apprentice, practitioner, and recipient of the work have shaped her understanding of healing as a process rooted in presence, compassion, autonomy, and connection.

Today, Stefanie is building her Healing Touch practice while using social media to make Healing Touch concepts more accessible and visible to people who may be encountering energy healing for the first time.

AlmaLuna Alchemy: https://www.almalunaalchemy.ca/

About Your Host: Leila Briggs

Leila Briggs is the host of The Energy Healing Podcast, 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.

The Energy Healing Podcast explores the world of Healing Touch through practitioner stories, education, research, and real-life experiences. Whether you're discovering energy healing for the first time, exploring your own healing journey, or considering becoming a practitioner, each episode offers practical insight and thoughtful conversations designed to help you discover, experience, and learn Healing Touch.

About the Podcast

The Energy Healing Podcast explores the world of Healing Touch through practitioner stories, education, research, real-life healing experiences, and healthcare perspectives. Hosted by Leila Briggs, the show helps people discover, experience, and learn Healing Touch—from first curiosity through practitioner education, certification, and professional practice.

Disclaimer

The information shared in this episode is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice or as a substitute for professional medical diagnosis, treatment, or care. Always consult your qualified healthcare provider regarding medical concerns and take responsibility for your own health and well-being.

🌐 Explore Healing Touch training: https://www.healingtouchprogram.com

💚Find a Practitioner: https://www.healingtouchprogram.com/find-a-practitioner

📚 Get certified in Healing Touch: https://www.healingtouchcertification.com/

Follow Us & Stay Connected

➜ Healing Touch Program Website

➜ Facebook

➜ Instagram

➜ LinkedIn

➜ Twitter/X

➜ Pinterest