In this blog post, Robin Friedman explains what EFT is and how easy it is to use for relieving stress.
EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique, and it is sometimes also called meridian tapping. EFT is a simple-to-learn, powerful technique where you tap on meridian points of the face and body while saying affirmations about something that bothers you. This clears the energy system of the block and often the issue that bothered you will no longer have an emotional intensity.
How Does EFT Work?
EFT works by calming the fight-or-flight response in the brain, and reducing the stress hormone cortisol. What this means for us, in practical daily life, is that we have a simple way to change how we feel about an emotionally charged situation.
The ancient Chinese mapped out the energy meridians about 5,000 years ago. This is what is used in acupuncture. The meridians are pathways of energy that run throughout the body, kind of like rivers or highways. There is a system of 14 different meridians that are all connected.
This combination of tapping the energy meridians and voicing positive affirmation works to clear the “short-circuit” – the emotional block — from your body’s bio-energy system, thus restoring your mind and body’s balance, which is essential for optimal health and the healing of physical disease.
EFT is very easy to learn and can help you to:
- Remove negative emotions
- Increase self esteem
- Reduce food cravings
- Reduce or eliminate pain
- Implement positive goals
EFT is easy to learn, takes only about 10 minutes, and is very simple. Even small children have learned EFT, and one of my friend’s children taught their whole soccer team and then proceeded to score their first goal, and they also used it before their national test, with results scoring better than that class had ever had.
How Did EFT Get Started?
In the early 1980’s a psychiatrist who specialized in anxiety disorders, Roger Callahan, had been treating a woman named Mary for severe water phobia for over two years. Mary had such an overwhelming fear of water that she couldn’t even get into a bathtub without this precipitating an anxiety attack. He had tried many anxiety reduction techniques, but the progress had been slow and discouraging. Mary couldn’t even allow water to contact her body without feeling panic.
One day, she told him that the fear felt like butterflies in her stomach. Since Dr. Callahan had just been studying the meridians, he knew that there is an acupuncture point under the eyes related to stomach meridian. So he told her to tap on that point, as he thought it might help her stomach. Instead of merely experiencing relief from her stomach symptoms, she called out in surprise that her fear of water was suddenly gone! She got up and ran to the pool and began splashing water on her face. Her fear of water was gone and never returned.
Roger Callahan went on to develop TFT (Thought Field Therapy) which used specific meridians and sequences for specific issues. EFT founder Gary Craig came along and said, “Why not tap on every meridian for every issue, since it only takes a few minutes?” So that is basically what EFT is. We tap on the end of every meridian for every issue, which makes it simple to learn.
EFT has been proven successful in thousands of clinical cases, and it has been endorsed by notable experts, including Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. Bruce Lipton, and Dr. Joseph Mercola, just to name a few.
Research into EFT has shown it to be effective in many conditions including phobias and post-traumatic stress disorder. It is easily learned by individuals, has no negative side effects, is inexpensive and self-empowering.
About Robin Friedman
Robin Friedman is a Certified EFT Practitioner, Certified Hypnotherapist and Life Coach, residing in Portland, Oregon.
She loves helping people find practical tools that they can use on their own to literally transform their life.
Her website is www.EnergyToolsForDailyLiving.com.
She has monthly a monthly online Tapping Circle Meetup, and an Energy Tools Study Group as well.
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