From my experience in Reiki and Pranic Healing, I know illness and energy field distortions are closely related. These distortions are reflected as a high, an area where the energy is blocked and stagnant, or a low, an area receiving too little energy. Quite by accident, I discovered another type of energy, an energy that has life and an intelligence of some sort or very strong survival instincts. I am not sure if this is a psychic virus or thought form that inhabits the ill person but it is there, it is real.
According to some Shamanic tradition, the Shaman extracts the illness by sucking it out. This sounds and is extremely dangerous according to what I have been told. I don't do this and have no desire to do this. Contaminated energy must be handled and disposed of with care. If not disposed of properly, this energy can cause illness in the person handling the energy, reinfect the person whom the contaminated energy is being removed from, or damage an innocent bystander.
The extraction method I use is a combination of techniques I discovered or learned from several sources. While working with Pranic Healing, I discovered the ability to 'reach' inside the person I'm working on. I do this by intending to expand or lengthen the aura of my hands. This allows me to pull the energy from deep inside the person. Advanced Reiki or Personal Mastery (the step between Level II and Master as taught by the Rand proponents) teaches a formal way to do this.
Pranic Healing taught contaminated prana should be disposed of in salt water or burned in a psychic flame. Personal Mastery teaches contaminated prana should be given to the light. I give the energy to a spirit animal to dispose of in a 'proper manner'. This seems useful, especially when dealing with intelligent energy. In this way, the energy is taken to the light, returned to the initiator, or disposed of by the spirit animal in the proper manner.