Tapping

All negative emotions are felt through a disruption of the body’s energy. And physical pain and disease are intricately connected to negative emotions. Physical symptoms cause emotional distress, and unresolved emotional problems manifest themselves through physical symptoms.  You cannot treat the symptoms without addressing the cause, and vice-versa.

The body, like everything in the universe, is composed of energy. Restore balance to the body’s energy, and you will mend the negative emotions and physical symptoms that stem from the energy disruption. Tapping restores the body’s energy balance, and negative emotions are conquered. The basic technique requires you to focus on the negative emotion at hand: a fear or anxiety, a bad memory, an unresolved problem, or anything that’s bothering you. While maintaining your mental focus on this issue, use your fingertips to tap 5-7 times each on 12 of the body’s meridian points. Tapping on these meridian points – while concentrating on accepting and resolving the negative emotion – will access your body’s energy, restoring it to a balanced state.

Energy circulates through your body along a specific network of channels, called meridians. You can tap into this energy at any point along the system. This concept comes from the doctrines of traditional Chinese medicine, which referred to the body’s energy as “ch’i.” In ancient times, the Chinese discovered 100 meridian points. They also discovered that by stimulating these meridian points, they could heal.

Here’s how a basic Tapping sequence works, according to Nick Ortner of The Tapping Solution:

• Identify the problem you want to focus on. It can be general anxiety, or it can be a specific situation or issue which causes you to feel anxious.
• Rate the intensity level of your anxiety, with zero being the lowest level of anxiety and ten being the highest.
• Compose your set up statement. Your set up statement should acknowledge the problem you want to deal with, then follow it with the affirmation “I deeply and completely accept myself.”

“Even though I feel this anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I’m anxious about my interview, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I’m feeling this anxiety about my financial situation, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I panic when I think about ______, I deeply and completely accept myself. ”
“Even though I’m worried about how to approach my boss, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I’m having trouble breathing, I deeply and completely accept myself.”

• Perform the set up.

With four fingers on one hand, tap the Karate Chop point on your other hand. The Karate Chop point is on the outer edge of the hand, on the opposite side from the thumb.

Repeat the set up statement three times aloud, while simultaneously tapping the Karate Chop point. Now take a deep breath!

Get ready to begin tapping! Here are some tips to help you achieve the right technique.

• You should use a firm but gentle pressure, as if you were drumming on the side of your desk or testing a melon for ripeness.
• You can use all four fingers, or just the first two (the index and middle fingers). Four fingers are generally used on the top of the head, the collarbone, under the arm… wider areas. On sensitive areas, like around the eyes, you can use just two.
• Tap with your fingertips, not your fingernails. The sound will be round and mellow.
• The tapping order begins at the top and works down. You can end by returning to the top of the head, to complete the loop.

Now, tap 5-7 times each on the remaining eight points in the following sequence:

Head (TH)

The crown, center and top of the head. Tap with all four fingers on both hands.

Eyebrow (EB)

The inner edges of the eyebrows, closest to the bridge of the nose. Use two fingers.

Side of eye (SE)

The hard area between the eye and the temple. Use two fingers. Feel out this area gently so you don’t poke yourself in the eye!

Under eye (UE)

The hard area under the eye, that merges with the cheekbone. Use two fingers, in line beneath the pupil.

Under nose (UN)

The point centered between the bottom of the nose and the upper lip. Use two fingers.

Chin (CP)

This point is right beneath the previous one, and is centered between the bottom of the lower lip and the chin.

Collarbone (CB)

Tap just below the hard ridge of your collarbone with four fingers.

Underarm (UA)

On your side, about four inches beneath the armpit. Use four fingers.

Head (TH)

And back where you started, to complete the sequence.

As you tap on each point, repeat a simple reminder phrase, such as “my anxiety” or “my interview” or “my financial situation.”

Now take another deep breath!

• Now that you’ve completed the sequence, focus on your problem again. How intense is the anxiety now, in comparison to a few minutes ago? Give it a rating on the same number scale.
• If your anxiety is still higher than “2”, you can do another round of tapping. Keep tapping until the anxiety is gone. You can change your set up statement to take into account your efforts to fix the problem, and your desire for continued progress. “Even though I have some remaining anxiety, I deeply and completely accept myself.” “Even though I’m still a little worried about this interview, I deeply and completely accept myself.” And so on.
• Now that you’ve focused on dispelling your immediate anxiety, you can work on installing some positive feelings instead.

Here are some example phrases to guide you:

“I have faith in my ability to change.”
“I am joyful about these positive changes.”
“I am accomplishing so much.”
“I enjoy the calm and peace that I have.”
“I love the person that I am.”
“I am becoming a more relaxed and joyful person.”

You can use these positive phrases with the same tapping points and sequences described above.

For more information, visit http://www.thetappingsolution.com/what-is-eft-tapping/