Day 146 of 365 - Tapping Your Way to Stress Relief
I would be very remiss if I did not blog on today's topic. That is because, The World Tapping Summit is now in progress online and, if you are reading this within a day or two of my posting, you can still catch some of the presentations, should you be interested.
What is Tapping? I am not referring to a form of dance, but to yet another therapeutic self-care practice which is both easy to learn and do. It is said to be a combination of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. If you read my recent post about acupressure, this relates to that idea.
The practice developed from clinical experimentation by psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan, who stumbled upon it during a therapy session with a client. She had been having a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and he remembered that the endpoint for the stomach meridian was under the eye. He had her tap lightly there during the session and her terrible feeling abated! He subsequently developed a set of tapping sequences.
Later, a student of his, named Gary Craig, created a single tapping sequence which he called Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT. It was designed to hit all the major meridian endpoints. It starts with the edge of the hand, called the karate chop point, moves to the inner eyebrow, the outer eyebrow, underneath the eye, under the nose, the chin, the collarbone, the side of the rib cage and ends at the top of the head. In recent years, the actual basic tapping sequence remained the same, but the practice has become widely known just as Tapping.
As you tap on each of these points you say phrases related to the issue you want to address. In the first round you use phrases describing what is bothering you, your negative phrases. You can do this just once or multiple times to really get at underlying feelings about an issue. Then you finish with a round of more positive phrases. This really makes more sense if you initially follow a script. If you go to the website called thetappingsolution.com , you will find basic instruction there. There is also a comprehensive book called The Tapping Solution, by Nick Ortner, which would do the same.
So why would this have any effect on your stress, pain, or whatever issue you are addressing (and really, you can use it for anything)? It is because the tapping of these meridian endpoints sends a calming signal to the body and the midbrain. Dozens of studies have demonstrated its effectiveness. Tapping reduces the release of stress hormones and increases endorphins, the 'feel good' neurotransmitters.
My first exposure to EFT or tapping, was several years ago, on a beach in Cuba. One of the circle of friends who was on vacation with us had recently taken a training on the topic and he was excited to share it with others. So, there a group of us were, sitting on lounge chairs on the beach, learning how to tap! Later, I also shared it with my kids to use for stress relief.
I don't often think to use tapping these days. My friend Jody, who is a psychotherapist, is an avid advocate of the practice. She regularly includes it in her client sessions and uses it all the time for her own day to day stresses. Every year she reminds me when the World Tapping Summit is starting. Then I take time to listen to a presentation each day. The value of doing that is, that you get to practice the technique along with the speaker and see how it affects common issues.
Yesterday I listened to a presentation on using tapping for sleep issues. Now, I intend to add that to my night time repertoire. It only takes a few minutes. As the presenter suggested, try it daily for a month, even if you don't really believe it will work. You, and I, may both be pleasantly surprised.
What is Tapping? I am not referring to a form of dance, but to yet another therapeutic self-care practice which is both easy to learn and do. It is said to be a combination of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. If you read my recent post about acupressure, this relates to that idea.
The practice developed from clinical experimentation by psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan, who stumbled upon it during a therapy session with a client. She had been having a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and he remembered that the endpoint for the stomach meridian was under the eye. He had her tap lightly there during the session and her terrible feeling abated! He subsequently developed a set of tapping sequences.
Later, a student of his, named Gary Craig, created a single tapping sequence which he called Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT. It was designed to hit all the major meridian endpoints. It starts with the edge of the hand, called the karate chop point, moves to the inner eyebrow, the outer eyebrow, underneath the eye, under the nose, the chin, the collarbone, the side of the rib cage and ends at the top of the head. In recent years, the actual basic tapping sequence remained the same, but the practice has become widely known just as Tapping.
As you tap on each of these points you say phrases related to the issue you want to address. In the first round you use phrases describing what is bothering you, your negative phrases. You can do this just once or multiple times to really get at underlying feelings about an issue. Then you finish with a round of more positive phrases. This really makes more sense if you initially follow a script. If you go to the website called thetappingsolution.com , you will find basic instruction there. There is also a comprehensive book called The Tapping Solution, by Nick Ortner, which would do the same.
So why would this have any effect on your stress, pain, or whatever issue you are addressing (and really, you can use it for anything)? It is because the tapping of these meridian endpoints sends a calming signal to the body and the midbrain. Dozens of studies have demonstrated its effectiveness. Tapping reduces the release of stress hormones and increases endorphins, the 'feel good' neurotransmitters.
My first exposure to EFT or tapping, was several years ago, on a beach in Cuba. One of the circle of friends who was on vacation with us had recently taken a training on the topic and he was excited to share it with others. So, there a group of us were, sitting on lounge chairs on the beach, learning how to tap! Later, I also shared it with my kids to use for stress relief.
I don't often think to use tapping these days. My friend Jody, who is a psychotherapist, is an avid advocate of the practice. She regularly includes it in her client sessions and uses it all the time for her own day to day stresses. Every year she reminds me when the World Tapping Summit is starting. Then I take time to listen to a presentation each day. The value of doing that is, that you get to practice the technique along with the speaker and see how it affects common issues.
Yesterday I listened to a presentation on using tapping for sleep issues. Now, I intend to add that to my night time repertoire. It only takes a few minutes. As the presenter suggested, try it daily for a month, even if you don't really believe it will work. You, and I, may both be pleasantly surprised.
Comments
Post a Comment