Derek Hough defends Julianne Hough's 'wacky' energy healing video: 'Worth an open mind'

Derek Hough defended a viral video of his sister Julianne taking part in an energy healing demonstration. 

An eye-catching video of Julianne Hough participating in the demonstration at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, was shared on podcaster Jackie Schimmel Haas' Instagram.

"Gonna tell my kids this is 'The Exorcist,' " Haas captioned the video of Julianne screaming and twisting her body on a table as "somatic energy practitioner" John Amaral moved his hands over her.

Her brother took to the comment section to defend the practice.

"This stuff looks whacky (sic) and crazy but diving into it with the understanding of pure energy is a pretty wild experience,” he wrote. "Maybe ahead of its time but worth an open mind"

Julianne also commented on the clip: "I thought the same thing when I first saw it too!"

Julianne posted photos from the forum, including one of her and Amaral.

"Having the best time sharing my journey and discussing the power of movement alongside these inspiring, brilliant and innovative souls," she captioned a series of photos.

Haas, whose post garnered more than 218,000 views, wasn't the only one who said the demonstration looked bizarre.

Twitter user @treytylor shared a similar clip with the caption: "thought i'd seen it all until i saw julianne hough being exorcised"

His video gained more than 622,000 views.

Amaral is part of Gwyneth Paltrow's docuseries "The Goop Lab" (streaming on Netflix), in which he does a similar practice on Paltrow and her colleagues. Hough is part of the episode.

Amaral's website says he can "help people amplify their energy, expand their consciousness and upgrade their performance so they can experience mind-blowing levels of clarity and freedom."

Amaral admits his sessions can look strange. 

What exactly is he doing? "When I'm moving my hands in the air and I'm snapping my fingers, and I'm making sounds with my hands, I am putting energy into the field around somebody's body, and I'm changing their energy system just by the way I interact with it."

In the series, Paltrow explores psychedelic psychotherapy, female pleasure, aging and mediumship.

USA TODAY reached out to Julianne Hough's rep for comment.

Contributing: Erin Jensen

'The Goop Lab':Gwyneth Paltrow's new Netflix show is delightfully wacky

Exclusive:Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand, Goop, is going to sea with Celebrity Cruises