What is EFT?
EFT can be briefly explained as:
- A relaxation technique
- A stress-reduction technique
- A tool at your fingertips that that regulates your nervous system and down-regulates your stress-response
EFT as a stress reduction technique:
- It combines physical stimulation and remembering an event (exposure)
EFT is an emotional version of acupuncture:
- Acupuncture sends stress-reduction signals to parts of the brain that are activated by fear
- EFT is an energy psychology technique – there are about 30 methods of these alternative healing techniques being used
- EFT is the most widely used
Gary Craig, the founder of EFT recognized that the cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body’s energy system.
EFT seeks to correct these disruptions within a person’s energy system, as well as the energetic impact of thoughts, beliefs, and emotions on the body.
EFT combines the powerful Eastern energy techniques of acupoint stimulation (minus the needles) with and the relatively new sciences of Epigenetics (the idea that your genes are being turned on or off by influences from outside your body) and Neuroplasticity (rewiring the brain) that they are growing new synaptic pathways – from thinking, feeling, and our experiences.
EFT has even been shown to work when nothing else has.
EFT is often called just tapping, because the basics consist of you tapping on nine specific meridian points focusing on an issue you desire to release. By doing this, tapping will help you feel better in your own body by restoring your body’s energy, releasing emotional blockages, and bringing it back into balance.
Although we often think of EFT for dealing with pain and many other unwanted emotions, it is also good for helping us with performance issues… and everything in between.
The reason EFT works with such a varied list of symptoms is it decreases stress.
One of the nice things about EFT it can be learned quickly and so after a few sessions working with a practitioner it can be self-applied.
Watch this video where Heather shows EFT’s Basic Tapping Points.
How does EFT work?
EFT focuses on the emotions around a situation, yet when the emotions decrease in intensity they can dissolve a physical problem, even pain by 40%.
Any unpleasant or traumatic experience can be encoded in the brain as a nasty memory between the event and the pain. To keep us safe the limbic system or midbrain (which is responsible for conscious thought) is always on high alert for potential dangers. As we go through life it searches for matches between our current experiences and our past.
Any unpleasant or traumatic experience can be encoded in the brain as a nasty memory between the event and the pain. To keep us safe the limbic system or midbrain (which is responsible for conscious thought) is always on high alert for potential dangers. As we go through life it searches for matches between our current experiences and our past.
When it perceives it has found one, it is quick to alert us, otherwise known as going into a fight or flight mode.
The fight or flight response is our body’s natural reaction to danger, and kicks in very quickly to something that it perceives as stressful or frightening in getting the body ready for a life-or-death action. This perception activates the sympathetic nervous system and triggers an acute stress response that prepares the body to escape or fight.
In addition, high levels of cortisol are raised during the fight of flight response. Tapping the meridian points while repeating a reminder phrase (a brief phrase that keeps the problem at the front of your mind while you tap on the acupressure points) brings about a decrease in this stress hormone.
You’ll feel your stress level receding as your levels of adrenaline and cortisol drop, and your sympathetic nervous system calms down. You’ll quickly understand that you don’t have to be afraid of dealing with your past emotional wounds. You now have a tool that allows you to release that stuck energy and your old biological patterns. It gives you the gift of emotional freedom, trains you in the basics of Clinical EFT, the science-based EFT method that has been validated by dozens of clinical trials. (“EFT Manual” by Dr. Dawson Church).
Of special interest to anyone with an autoimmune disease: “Without EFT what will happen, is that the circulation of these stress hormones through your system on a regular basis will compromise your immune system, weaken your organs, and age you prematurely. (“Genie in your Genes” by Dr. Dawson Church) Premature aging is something that anyone suffering from an autoimmune condition is already being challenged with.
According to another report, “Bruce McEwen, PhD, director of the neuroendocrinology lab at Rockefeller University in New York, says [such stress] wears down the brain, leading to cell atrophy and memory loss” (“Genie in your Genes” by Dr. Dawson Church).
Memory loss is something a person with an autoimmune disease is constantly battling against.
Click to download this 49 page PDF: The Science Behind Tapping by Dr. Peta Stapleton
“Because you (Heather) are openminded you listen carefully. Which I think are 2 top ingredients of helping/coaching someone through their issue/problem with EFT. These 2 components help also intensively to open your heart and mind for someone. And in this ways Heather is able to add words or feelings and emotions that can guide you more through the topic of the issue/problem. Your listening skills in which you can help translate the emotion behind the issue helps to unblock the energy that has been blocked and was connected to this issue/problem. Being open minded this gives no shame or reservation and therefor you can explore more the issue complete in all aspects and turn it around from blocking in to healing and flowing again. Therefor neutralize the triggers surrounding or connected to the issue/problem.” – Yara Huisjes