A plain-language look at what the biofield is, how it can be measured, and what current research does — and doesn't yet — tell us.
If you're new to the idea of a "biofield," you're in good company — it's a concept that sounds abstract at first, yet it has a surprisingly established place in integrative health research. This page is meant to demystify it: what the term means, the tools used to measure it, where the science currently stands, and how I use this information thoughtfully and within a wellness scope of practice.
The term biofield was introduced in 1994 at a meeting convened by the U.S. National Institutes of Health's Office of Alternative Medicine (today the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). It was defined as a field that surrounds and permeates living bodies and is involved in the body's regulation and communication.
In everyday terms, the biofield refers to the subtle field of energy and information that living systems generate and respond to. Your body is measurably electrical — your heart and brain are routinely assessed with tools like the ECG and EEG. Biofield science extends that same basic idea: that the body's energetic activity carries meaningful information about how it is functioning.
Several approaches attempt to observe or characterize the biofield. Some of the most studied include:
Biofield science is a real and active area of study. Researchers — including a landmark 2015 review by Rubik and colleagues — have worked to build a scientific framework for understanding how living systems regulate themselves energetically. Ongoing work supported by institutions such as the National Institutes of Health continues to explore how these energetic expressions may correlate with physiology and healing.
Some studies have reported correlations between biofield-imaging measures and physiological markers such as heart rate variability and certain hormone levels. At the same time, other researchers caution that some of these tools show variability and need further validation before they can be considered reliable. Both things are true — and I think it's important to say so plainly.
In other words: this is a promising and evolving field, not a settled or diagnostic science. That's exactly why I treat biofield testing as one informative lens among several — always combined with your health history, your goals, and good old-fashioned listening — rather than as a stand-alone answer.
One of the most interesting bridges between the biofield and conventional physiology is heart rate variability (HRV) — a well-established measure of health that many researchers consider one of the most useful of all.
HRV is not your heart rate. It's the tiny variation in time between one heartbeat and the next. That variation is governed by the autonomic nervous system — the balance between its "fight or flight" (sympathetic) and "rest and digest" (parasympathetic) branches. A higher, more flexible HRV generally reflects a body that adapts well to stress and recovers quickly; a consistently low HRV is associated with poorer resilience. Because HRV is shaped by genetics, age, lifestyle, stress, sleep, and emotion — and is famously difficult to shift — researchers regard it as a meaningful window into overall resilience (Shaffer & Ginsberg, 2017).
In his book Testing the Human Biofield, Dr. Frank Springob describes a research project led by Dr. Tyler Sasso during his final semester at A.T. Still University — the first osteopathic medical school in America — exploring the correlation between the size of a person's biofield and their HRV. Working with the muscle-testing method (MFT / Energenomics) — one of the two biofield approaches used at Roots & Resonance, and entirely distinct from the device-based Qest4 — Dr. Sasso reported that measured HRV rose meaningfully after a single session, with some increases sustained for several days.
These are early, practice-based observations from a named researcher — encouraging and worth following, but not yet large-scale, peer-reviewed findings. Dr. Sasso himself framed them as the beginning of formal research rather than a finished conclusion. I share them here because HRV offers something valuable: an objective, well-understood physiological marker that lets biofield work be studied "apples to apples" alongside conventional measures.
A note on scope: HRV is a marker of adaptability and resilience — not a diagnosis, and not a promise of any particular medical outcome.
At Roots & Resonance Wellness, biofield testing is a way of gathering information to guide personalized wellness recommendations — nutrition, lifestyle, supportive therapies, and thoughtfully chosen supplements. It helps me see where your body may be asking for support, so your plan is built around you rather than a generic template.
In my practice I use two complementary ways of reading the biofield: the Qest4, a device-based bioresonance system, and hands-on Biofield Testing (a form of muscle testing). At in-person visits I often use them in combination, so each can inform the other. For clients working with me at a distance, I rely primarily on the Qest4.
It is not used to diagnose, treat, or cure any medical condition, and it is meant to complement — never replace — the care of your physician and medical team.
Biofield Testing has recently been recognized as a distinct wellness discipline, with its own professional standards and a board-certification pathway for practitioners — the credential Board Certified Biofield Practitioner. You can learn more about the field itself at biofieldtesting.com.
Links to external research are provided for education and transparency. They do not constitute medical advice, and inclusion here is not an endorsement of any specific product or provider.
Roots & Resonance Wellness provides wellness education, bioenergetic assessment, and personalized wellness recommendations intended to support overall wellbeing. Services are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease and should not replace care provided by your licensed healthcare professionals.