Alternative Therapy In Hong Kong: Reiki Energy Healing, Acupuncture, Hypnotherapy & More

Looking for some different wellness resources? We’ve put together the ultimate guide to alternative therapy in Hong Kong, with every approach from acupuncture to gong baths, Reiki energy healing and more.

Now more than ever, it’s crucial to put our health and wellness front and centre. And sometimes, you just need a little more help — lucky for us, Hong Kong is packed full of great alternative therapy resources. Whether you’re looking to drop an unhealthy habit, support your ongoing therapies or just looking for a little emotional guidance, we’re here to help you find something that makes you feel better. Including everything from mindfulness and meditation, art therapy, Reiki, acupuncture and more, here’s a rundown of health resources and complementary alternative therapies to help you narrow down your options.

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Jump to:
Featured Centres
Acupuncture
Art Therapy
Gong & Sound Baths
Hypnotherapy
Mindfulness & Meditation
Reiki Energy Healing
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Other Alternative Therapies To Consider

Editor’s note: Alternative therapy is in no way meant to replace conventional Western medicine and traditional scientific techniques. You must always consult your doctor if you are unsure, and to make sure, that the alternative techniques will not impact or hinder your regular medicine or prescriptions.

Alternative Therapy In Hong Kong

Featured Alternative Therapy Centres

Shakti Healing Circle

This award-winning wellness centre takes a holistic approach to your wellbeing, helping you heal at every level imaginable: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. For 15 years, Shakti Healing Circle has been helping individuals awaken their “shakti”, or power to transform themselves inside out — empowering you to manage everyday stress, become comfortable with yourself and achieve clarity and peace of mind. The most popular offering here is the hands-on Reiki energy healing sessions but you’ll also find shamanism, sound healing with crystal bowls and gong, meditation classes, feng shui, relationship and career coaching, and psychotherapy.

Shakti Healing Circle, 1206-1207 Yu Yuet Lai Building, 43-55 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong, 2521 5099, www.shaktihealingcircle.com

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Renewed Edge

Renewed Edge Counselling and Hypnotherapy Centre helps you lead a healthier and happier life. Book in-person and online sessions with a qualified hypnotherapist who will help you drift off into a dream-like state, allowing you to redirect your mind’s focus entirely to the issue you want to address. With counselling and hypnosis on offer, anyone from athletes to couples can benefit. And during these uncertain times, access help with ease by downloading the UpNow self-hypnosis app to enjoy an alternative therapy session from the comfort of your own home.

Use the promo code SASSY10 to enjoy 10% off your next in-person individual session or the promo code SASSYBETTERME10 for 10% off your next hypnotherapy package (three- and five-session packages)

Renewed Edge, Suite 1108, Asia Standard Tower, 59-65 Queen’s Road Central, Central, Hong Kong, 9884 8036, info@renewed-edge.com, Facebook: Renewed Edge, Instagram: @renewed_edge, renewed-edge.com

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iLivingHK

Founded by multidisciplinary health and healing practitioner Anita S. K. Cheung, iLivingHK is a one-stop wellness practice. Its unique and comprehensive 6-Level Healing System approach addresses your physical symptoms, biofield (your nervous system), emotional and mental wellbeing, collective ancestral history, and spiritual development. Book a complimentary discovery call (on phone or Zoom) or start with the signature Bioresonance Health Consultation, where you’ll connect with the qualified team to create an action plan that might include (but isn’t limited to!) health products, dietary and lifestyle changes, life coaching and transformational healing.

iLivingHK, 4/F, 31 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong, 3904 1092, office@iLivinghk.com, Facebook: I-Living, Instagram: @ilivinghkcom, iLivinghk.com

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Acupuncture

While some of us might be less than keen to have needles pushed into our skin, many swear by this ancient technique. Acupuncture is an alternative therapy that’s a core part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It works by inserting very thin needles through the skin at different points on the body to help alleviate physical pain and psychological ailments. The principle is to facilitate free-flowing energy and balance your Qi (life force) by removing any blockages in the main pathways (meridians) in which it flows.

What can it help: There’s a wide range of ailments that can be helped from migraines to back pain, insomnia, allergies and more.

Where to do acupuncture in Hong Kong
There are many great centres across the city, the below suggestions are to get you started:

• A list of public hospitals offering acupuncture (including Hong Kong Baptist University training and research clinics)
• Alive Wellness, www.alivewellness.hk/acupuncture
• Balance Health, www.balancehealth.com.hk/acupuncture-treatment
• Dr Susan Jamieson Integrative Medical Practice, www.drsusanjamieson.com/therapies/acupuncture-traditional-chinese-medicine
• Gleneagles TCM Clinic, www.gleneagles.hk/medical-specialties/chinese-medicine
• The Chinese Medicine Clinics and Pharmacy at HKU SPACE, hkuspace.hku.hk/chinese-medicine-clinics
• Integrated Medicine Institute (IMI), www.imi.com.hk/chinese-medicine-acupuncture
• Master Ruth TCM Clinic, www.masterruth.com
• Oriental Health, www.orientalhealth.com.hk/pediatric-traditional-chinese-medicine
• OT&P (Sharon Wan or Selina Cheung)
  
• Perfect Pointe Physiotherapy, www.perfectpointe.com.hk

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Art Therapy

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so unlock your deepest thoughts through this creative alternative therapy. Used by mental health professionals, art therapy will engage your body, mind and spirit through art, and provide a new platform to express your thoughts and inner feelings. Using kinaesthetic, sensory and symbolic techniques, it’s a great practice for anyone who struggles to open up verbally.

What can it help: Art therapy can help with cognitive and sensory-motor functions, boost self-esteem, strengthen emotional resilience, improve social skills, as well as resolve conflict and distress. It can also help with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and more.

Where in Hong Kong:

• Wild at Art Studio, wildatartstudio.com/art-therapy

See also:

• The Hong Kong Association Of Art Therapists, www.hkaat.com
• Expressive Arts Therapy Association of Hong Kong, www.eatahk.org

Gong & Sound Baths

No, you don’t have to strip down and bathe in a giant metal bowl! Rather, you’ll be bathed in the sound waves from this hypnotic instrument. Gong baths are an ancient form of music meditation that is thought to date back thousands of years. This alternative therapy works on the theory that the noise and vibrations lower the frequency of the brainwaves causing your mind to slow down. Thus, helping you to focus as a form of meditation to clear the mind and become more in tune with your own energy.

You’ll lay on the floor with your eyes closed while the practitioner gently hits the gong. It sometimes starts with the gong at the front of the room, followed by the practitioner holding the gong (or other instruments) over your head and other areas of your body to allow the vibrations to take effect. Tibetan singing bowls are also used, along with other instruments.

What can it help: Relaxation, meditation and clearing the mind. It can help to reduce stress, removes emotional blockages and may even stimulate an altered state of consciousness.

Where in Hong Kong:

• Alive Wellness, www.alivewellness.hk/sound-healing
• FLOAX Floatation Therapy Spa, www.floax.com.hk
• IKIGAI, www.ikigai.hk
• Red Doors, www.red-doors.com/gong-meditation
• Shakti Healing Circle (as mentioned above)
• Sound Therapy Hong Kong, www.facebook.com/soundtherapyhk
• The Yoga Room, yogaroomhk.com

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Hypnotherapy

Using words, sometimes accompanied by music or other sounds, hypnotherapy creates a deeper (and heightened) state of consciousness. Once in this relaxed state, the therapist helps by offering gentle positive suggestions to replace old, and more destructive thought patterns. Research carried out by the Stanford University School of Medicine found that hypnotherapy alters areas of the brain and can aid “the brain’s ability to heal medical and psychiatric conditions.”

What can it help: Behavioural issues, stress and anxiety, phobias, quitting smoking, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and even stage fright! There are numerous other purposes for which this alternative therapy can be used.

Where in Hong Kong:

• Alive Wellness, www.alivewellness.hk/hypnotherapy
• All About You Centre, www.allaboutyoucentre.com/hypnotherapy
• Balance Health, balancehealth.com.hk/hypnotherapy/
• Central And Stanley Wellness, www.stanleywellnesscentre.com/hypnotherapy
• Mind Your Brain (book here), www.mindyourbrain.education
• Renewed Edge Hypnotherapy Centre (as mentioned above)
• Shakti Healing Circle (as mentioned above)
• Vitality Centre, vitalitycenter.com.hk/therapies/clinical-hypnotherapy

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Mindfulness & Meditation

Similar to hypnotherapy, meditation has been shown to alter the neural pathways in the brain to help create more positive and focused experiences. Meditation has been practised for thousands of years, with Buddhist monks being experts in the field. It helps to clear and quieten the mind, with improved focus as a result.

Rather than emptying the mind, mindfulness helps to focus more thoughtfully on singular actions or feelings. From brushing your teeth to having a cup of tea, this practice helps you to learn how to be more present, live in the moment and appreciate the world around you.

What can it help: Both alternative therapies help reduce stress and anxiety, improve creativity, enhance performance, aid self-awareness, and increase attention spans. Meditation can also help blood pressure, improve sleep, memory and more.

Where in Hong Kong: See our guide to meditation centres in Hong Kong for a list of options.

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Reiki Energy Healing

Originating in Japan, Reiki (“rei” meaning ‘universal’, and “ki” meaning ‘life energy’ in Japanese) is an alternative therapy based on energy healing. Using energy transferred from the palms of the hands, Reiki healers focus on seven chakras (energy points/gates) on the patient’s body to help with the flow of energy. Some practices also use crystals to help balance the energy of the patient and also the healing space. Some Reiki techniques (such as Siam Reiki) are also thought to go deeper into a more spiritual level.

What can it help: This alternative therapy is thought to help chronic pain, anxiety, depression, as well as a complimentary therapy in the treatment of cancer and heart disease among other benefits. It’s also believed to be a preventative therapy for certain health issues.

Where in Hong Kong:

• Alive Wellness, www.alivewellness.hk/reiki
• Balance Health, balancehealth.com.hk/reiki
• Central And Stanley Wellness, www.stanleywellnesscentre.com
• Corie Chu Healing, coriechu.com
• Shakti Healing Circle (as mentioned above)
  
• The Vitality Centre, vitalitycenter.com.hk/therapies/reiki

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Traditional Chinese Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a huge all-encompassing alternative therapy with many branches and a very long history. The main principle behind TCM is treating the body as a whole, including when diagnosing and treating an illness. TCM believes that prevention is the best cure.

TCM diagnosis is as intensive as the prescription and involves looking, listening, smelling (yep), questions and checking the pulse. Therapies include acupuncture, moxibustion (the burning of burning dried mugwort on certain points on the body), tui na massage, cupping and/or scraping, Chinese herbs and more.

What can it help: Digestive health, anxiety, IBS, infertility, arthritis, insomnia, depression, chronic pain, in fact, there’s not much that this alternative therapy doesn’t hope to treat!

Where in Hong Kong:

• A list of Public Health Chinese Medicine Clinics
• Balance Health, balancehealth.com.hk/traditional-chinese-medicine
• Integrated Medicine Institute (IMI),  www.imi.com.hk/chinese-medicine-acupuncture
• Oriental Health, www.orientalhealth.com.hk
• The Body Group, thebodygroup.com
• The Chinese Medicine Clinics and Pharmacy at HKU SPACE, hkuspace.hku.hk/chinese-medicine-clinics

See also GovHK’s information on TCM.

Other Alternative Therapies To Consider

• Aromatherapy
• Ayurvedic Medicine
• Bowen Technique
• Bowl Therapy
• Crystal Healing
• Facial Reflexology
• Gemstone Reading
• Homoeopathy
• Music Therapy
• Reflexology
• Yoga

Editor’s Note: “Alternative Therapy In Hong Kong” was originally published in April 2021 and was most recently updated in April 2022.