By Susan Temple, MA, BCC, ACEP
As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk says in his book, “The Body Keeps the Score,” traumatic experiences are stored in our bodies, and may be triggered when we experience something similar. You’ve probably experienced this when you find your whole body going into fight/flight/freeze over a current experience that doesn’t warrant it. If we want to heal and release trauma from the body, we need to use healing modalities that include a body component.
EFT, also called Emotional Freedom Techniques, or tapping, is one of these modalities. The idea behind EFT is simple: we tap on the endpoints of energy pathways (in Chinese medicine, these are called “meridians”) in the body. I think of these as little doorways to the energy stored in our bodies. The combination of tapping on these “doorways,” while focusing on something (past or present) that disturbs, frightens, or upsets us, has the effect of getting the stuck energy moving, and often completely releasing it.
For past trauma, or deep, long-standing issues that you want to work on, it is recommended that you work one-on-one with a certified EFT practitioner. Working one-on-one in a series of sessions, your practitioner guides you in tuning into those things that bother or stop you, so that you can gain clarity and resolve them. EFT is gentle, and we work in tiny steps through a traumatic event. It is possible to process a traumatic event without even describing it. You are supported in resolving past traumas, shifting limiting beliefs, and making the changes you want to make, thus freeing you to move forward in the ways you choose.
You can also tap on your own, to relieve stress and feel better in the moment. It can be used as a tool for continuing your personal growth, as you tap for things you want to increase in your life. You can tap alone, in a group, or following a video, like this one. It can be a powerful, yet quick way to calm your nervous system.
The usefulness of tapping is now supported by over 100 research studies. For more info, check out EFT International’s research page.
Learning how to tap gives you a lifelong tool, literally at your fingertips, for supporting yourself! The best way to learn about it is to experience it for yourself. Try out one of these FREE, one-hour upcoming groups:
June Tapping Topic: FREE Introduction to Tapping
Tapping can help you: lighten the heaviness you feel, lessen your stress, calm anxious thoughts, feel more at home in your body, free yourself from past traumas that keep you stuck, and more. Join us as we explore tapping, what it is, how it can help you, and what it feels like to try it. If you are tired of feeling the way you feel, and ready to explore a new way to feel lighter and freer, join us for one of these two FREE groups.
Two options are offered:
In-Person at The Healing House of St. Paul: Saturday, June 8th, at 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Online: Monday, June 17th, at 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.