I used to subscribe to The Whole Dog Journal because it does great reviews of dog food and treats, and had useful training articles as well.
Somebody on the editorial board went crackers and started including in EVERY issue all these weird articles about crystal healing and aromatherapy and reiki and stuff. Never any scientific studies -- just anecdotal evidence and blether. I cancelled my scrip and told them why -- they didn't get it at all.
There's certainly some evidence for the existence of some sort of vital force in the body -- the entire system of traditional Chinese medicine is based on it, and a Harvard physician went to China and studied it and is apparently trying to get together some sort of empirical study.
But it's a far cry from that to all these New Age loons running around doing stuff without knowing what they're doing.
It is interesting as you mentioned traditional Chinese medicine--in which when practiced without any element of new age hooey is something I believe in absolutely as a gift for medicinal practice. Yet the second it intersects with new age philosophy, actions, or interpretations, I believe that is where the evil psychic element is introduced and it then inserted into the psychic realm (where there is only one battle--God against the AntiChrist).
It is almost as if evil (new age) is trying to co-opt a natural element of God's world (traditional Chinese medicinal practice) and shove it into a tool of evil use by inserting such New Agey additions. This is often why when I need acupuncture I have often used only Chinese trained and Chinese acupuncturists that live in the states (although this is much harder to come by in smaller communities).
Many new age types are attracted to this profession in America, some are not motivated by anything other than pure belief in the Chinese medicine. Interpreted and practiced strictly as it originated in China is not new age to me. It is just the hippie co-opt of it in certain cities and towns etc that has dragged the new age evil into it in certain arenas. At least that is my experience of it all. What God made natural evil tries to co-opt. I guess this is true of every gift God has given us.
I hope I wrote this well. I was trying to voice my support for traditional Chinese medicine while separating it out from the new new agey interpretation or co-opt by certain folks (not all) of it. I was also trying to differentiate between the realm of psychic energy--good versus evil--and a whole other realm of natural meridian systems that God made up in our bodies that has been discovered and used for healing in China. They do not naturally intersect to my knowledge at this time (but time and God will tell :-) for who am I? LOL). I do think they are wholly separate just as the practice of Reiki is fully separate from a loving massage given the heart of the Holy Spirit to another for healing.
Yet massage can be co-opted too to introduce evil forces and energies-knowingly or from a useful tool (not physical tool of course. LOL) A bit long winded but I think that it because evil has effectively confused the issue as he often aspires to and it takes teasing the evil realm from the natural Godly realm.