Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as “tapping”, is a modality that is gaining recognition in integrative medicine because it is showing measurable results: EFT can promote mental, emotional, and physical balance. Many are familiar with the concept of acupressure and its use of the meridian system to reduce or eliminate physical pain in the body. This technique, originated by the Chinese, has successfully been in practice for more than 5,000 years. Acupuncture is an adaptation of this process that uses needles and is equally successful in alleviating everything from migraines and upper-respiratory issues to skin conditions and gingivitis.
The premise of EFT is that all “dis-ease” is rooted in an emotional block or negative emotion. In fact, that is the foundation of most, if not all, energy work – the blueprint starts in the energetic and manifests in the physical.
Tapping along the meridians while focusing on the negative emotion works to release that block and relieves the “dis-ease”.
So what are meridians and do they really exist? Meridians are electrical channels that run through the human body; more specifically, they are energetic channels and thus not physically seen in the body. When we hear of “chi”, “qi”, “prana” or “life force” traveling through our body, that energy is flowing through the meridians. Decades of science certainly supports the fact that we are energy and that acupuncture/acupressure is effective. Further, quantum physics continues to find more evidence supporting the concept of meridians and chakras (energetic power centers). As for energy practitioners, there is no doubt in our minds that we have energetic pathways running through our body – it’s the basis for our work.
The grandfather of tapping was Dr. Roger Callahan who discovered Thought Field Therapy (TFT) around 1980. He developed a series of algorithms (sequences) of tapping patterns for various issues: anger, fear, physical pain, trauma, etc. It proved to be quite effective but it was rather involved – remembering the steps took some time. In the early 1990’s, Gary Craig took the algorithms and condensed them into what he called, “The Basic Recipe”. The sequence was the same for each issue which made it easier to remember and therefore, easier to practice. He then added variations to The Basic Recipe that targeted difficult aspects of getting to the root of the problem. In the last thirty years, Gary Craig has created tapping programs that can address any issue as well as fortify affirmations and goal-setting.
There is evidence that chronic conditions (including pain) can be triggered by emotional stress, like fear. Worse, emotional stress can also block healing. In either case, you are not experiencing a desired level of health and well-being – that is where EFT can come to your rescue. There are a number of videos on-line that can introduce you to EFT, The Basic Recipe and just about any tapping protocol you can imagine; joint pain, PTSD, weight-loss, smoking cessation, phobias, asthma…anything! These are great resources and I firmly believe that any focused tapping is more productive than no tapping. I also know that working with an EFT practitioner gets you to the root of your issue much faster than winding your way through a series of videos. I have my own real life example to share.
I fell ill with an upper-respiratory issue in mid-October. In spite of doing everything right homeopathically, it was hanging on. In the beginning of December, I got a sinus infection and I still had congestion deep in my chest from October. In mid-December, I did see a doctor and was given chest x-rays, a spirometry test and had blood work done. In spite of still being quite congested, tests showed nothing serious. I was relieved and decided I’d just wait it out, resorting to guaifenesin to reduce mucus.
I was still coughing in the beginning of January and still having my sleep very affected because lying down at any angle caused nightly coughing jags. I was pretty miserable. In mid-January I met with my EFT mentor for a group EFT session.
While there, it occurred to me that Annette may be able to zero in on the problem, so we tapped on deep congestion.
Within 20 minutes, she was able to pull from me the idea that the negative emotions I had associated with the chronic bronchitis I experienced for the first 9 years of my life were in part, responsible for my current situation. As a child, I was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night every year, twice a year for 9 years, because I couldn’t breathe. I never associated that part of my life with this part of my life.
We tapped for a total of 25 minutes on this subject. That night, I slept. The congestion was greatly reduced and improving rapidly every night thereafter. In spite of being an EFT practitioner myself, I needed another practitioner to see what I was missing in my own healing.
Emotional Freedom Technique really CAN set you free!
Christine Chubenko – The Practical Practitioner, LLC. Emotional Freedom Technique • Reiki • Energy Work. Visit: www.practical-practitioner.com or call: 248-619-6788
