Tapping and Hypnosis

Greetings from Doc Judie

Today's topic is Tapping or Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Hypnosis:
It falls under the field of energy psychology and is often believed to be a combination of hypnosis, meditation, and  acupuncture. According to EFT pioneer, Gary Craig, It is a simple and effective form of meridian energy therapy. The original founder,  Roger Callahan,  claimed to cure psychological symptoms by simply tapping on particular points of the body.  The theory is that symptoms develop when energy is trapped in meridians. For those of you not familiar with the term meridian, it is a belief by medical practioners in China that meridians are particular places on the skin that represent channels inside the body. A person's life force (called Chi) is said to flow within those channels. The life force keeps people balanced and healtlhy by nourishing all the cells in the body as it travels within the person.  However, through emotions such as fear, sadness, anxiety,addictions,  the natural flow of energy gets "stuck" or out of balance at a meridians, and when the energy is blocked, tapping certain parts of the body can get things moving again and restore balance.

I am not an airy-fairy type of practioner, I am a pragmatist, show me evidence, show me scientific studies!  I read all the literature on tapping, I use it in my practice,and  yet I always feel just a little foolish when I tell someone that with their permission, I am going to tap on different parts of their body, and that they might feel a shift in their emotional state and feel better.  So why do I use it...because it worked on me!

I was a hopeless chocaholic I could not pass up the courtesy dish of Hershey's Kisses on a receptionist desk, horded my own private stash in my pantry, my office and in my car.  I practice good health and nutrition, and give my clients literature on how bad sugar is for them, yet I was such a hypocrite-a chocolate addict.  So when tapping was introduced in one of my early hypnosis training classes, I decided to give it a try. 

The way it works is by telling your hypnotherapist exactly what it is that you want to change or get rid of.  It could be alcohol, cigarettes,emotional feelings, and obviously in my case, it was chocolate.  The practioner put a Hershey's Kiss in my hand, told me to unwrap the foil and put it in my mouth and describe the taste.  I said "I wasn't sure, could I have another one just to be on the safe side" She was on to me and started the proceedure.  I was told to say these ridiculous words as she tapped on my head: "Even though I crave chocolate, I totally and completely accept myself." Seven light taps on the top of my head, on my eyebrow line, under my eyes, under my nose, on my chin while I chanted my lines. The tapping continued to my collarbone, under my arms (hard to concentrate and not laugh, but work on it) and on the edge of my hand and my wrist.  I was then given another piece of chocolate, and the process repeated.  By the second round, and definitely on the third round, the taste in my mouth changed  I could taste past the sweetness of the sugar and felt wax and artificial additives in the confection. I remembered an article about ground up beetles and bugs that are allowed in chocolate and still meet U.S. purity standards; I could taste them ! The mixture felt like sticky slime in my throat and I could not swallow it.  I was now begging for water.  Do I still crave or eat chocolate-NO!  I can't stand it!  It ws not that effective on ice cream, but I was able to cut way down-guess I don't mind the image of beetles in my Chunky Monkey Ice Cream!  All energy work  in hypnosis depends on the willingness of the client to change.

Tapping has helped with smokers, they feel nasty chemicals, harsh smoke, and their cigarettes taste stale after a few tapping sessions.  Anxious clients report feelings of relief and chronic pain suffers report a tolerable level from extreme pain.  So does it work for everyone? No! Some people hate it, most enjoy the experience, and report a shift from Wow, that was amazing,  to I feel  a little better. Give it a try and add it to your practice.  I have copied Gary Craig's charts for you (with his permission). Enjoy and let me know your reaction.


Gary Craig: We will be tapping with our fingertips on certain key natural comfort points on the body. While tapping, we will state a truth about how we feel along with a positive affirmation. I call this “The Power of Positive Tapping.” If you are new to EFT, look at the chart below and follow along as I walk you through each point.

We start by tapping on the karate chop point. I use the tips of all four fingers of my right hand to tap the outside of my left hand. Use the same pressure you would use if you were tapping on a table to make a drumming sound. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. If you have long fingernails, use the pads near the end of your fingers to tap.

Next, we move to the top of the head and then we'll work down the body, making the points easy to remember.

Use the fingertips on one or both hands to tap the top of the head. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

The eyebrow points are located at the beginning of the eyebrow, nearest the center of the face. I use the index and middle fingers together, on both hands, to tap the two eyebrow points. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

The side of the eye points are located on the bone at the side of the eye. It's not so close to the eye that it feels like you're poking yourself, and not so far away that you are tapping at the temple. Using the index and middle fingers together, tap on both side of the eye points at the same time. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

The under the eye points are on the bone located under the eye about even with the pupils. Using the fingertips of the index and middle fingers, gently tap this spot under both eyes. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

Now tap under the nose with the index and middle finger of one hand. The spot is roughly midway between the bottom of the nose and the top of the lip. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

The chin point is not really on the chin; it is mid-way between the bottom of the lower lip and the chin, in that indentation area. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

The collarbone spots are located about one inch down and over towards the outside of where a man would tie his tie. I use four fingers together on each hand to tap the collarbone spots. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. An alternative is to pat both spots at the same time with the flat of one hand, with about the same pressure as you would pat a baby's back to help it burp.

The under the arm point is located about 4 inches below the armpit. I lift my left arm and use the four fingers of my right hand to tap under my left arm. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.

These are the points in the short form of EFT that we will be using.

Additional tip: I often find that returning to the top of the head helps the round feel complete. You can end repeated rounds at any point. You can start at the eyebrow or top of the head. You can leave out points, too. Remember that the energy system is connected; each point you tap resonates throughout the system. I also encourage you to learn to use your intuition early in your use of EFT.

These basic EFT instructions are provided as a public courtesy to help expand the use of EFT in the world and represents the good faith ideas and interpretations of Thriving Now LLC but not necessarily those of Gary Craig

Here's to your mental and physical health
Doc Judie
judie@docjudie.com
775 782-3889