EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) or “Tapping” is a body/mind self-help method. It combines a gentle touch together with mindful and vocal attention to thoughts and feelings.

EFT involves tapping with our fingertips on acupuncture points on the hands, face and body
while focusing (temporarily) upon an issue we wish to resolve.

While ongoing scientific research continues to document and validate EFT as an effective
treatment worthy of being mainstreamed, what is remarkable is that it works so well.

EFT allows us to release and transform the way uncomfortable feelings like hurt, guilt, fear, or anger may be affecting our experience. EFT can also be used to help transform the thoughts and beliefs behind our emotional experiences. After just a few rounds of tapping, people often report feeling lighter and calmer and able to breathe more easily – almost as if they now have more space inside. They may report that their thinking has changed, they have gained new insights or that they are feeling better, overall.

As we begin to notice, acknowledge, and transform how we carry our emotions, we
begin to see just how this may be contributing to pain, illness, or other personal challenges. By using EFT, we can reconnect with our innate sense of unshakeable wellbeing.

Developed by engineer Gary Craig and inspired largely from the work of Dr. Roger Callahan, EFT is easy to learn and flexible enough to be used by anyone. As we explore EFT for ourselves, we become empowered to respond to our own emotional states and help ourselves feel better. With the aid of this simple and natural healing tool, we can discover just how our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions affect our bodies and our lives – and how we can more consciously make the changes we desire. 

“Emotions are our body’s reactions to our thoughts.”
– Eckhart Tolle

Emotions, The Body’s Energy System and The Brain

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EFT works with the body’s subtle energy system – a network of energy pathways, called meridians in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Some people are very skeptical of the existence of pathways that previously could not be detected. However, with the development of more sophisticated medical technologies, the existence of the primo vascular system has been established. These documented pathways are accessible via specific locations on the body called acupoints.

 

Acupuncture uses needles on these points, ostensibly to release stuck, stagnant energy and rebalance the system; acupressure uses finger pressure. EFT has been called a psychological version of acupuncture, as the simple process of tapping certain acupoints while focusing on an emotional upset has the effect of releasing the intense charge of troubling emotions.
When we are upset, and uncomfortable emotions like worry, fear, or guilt arise, it feels as if our systems are no longer in a state of peaceful harmony. In this case, what if our body is telling us that something we are feeling (or thinking) requires our attention?

We can think of EFT as helping reboot our personal energy system in relation to the issue at hand, similar to the way we reboot a computer, which has gotten stuck or has crashed. EFT can help us reset our personal energy system little by little at a pace that is right for us. Once our system begins “rebalancing” as we tap, we usually start feeling better – more relaxed, peaceful

and serene – in relation to our specific problem or issue.

Our body, mind, and emotions are intricately connected. When we apply EFT to something that is bothering us, we can feel the shift in our thoughts, our feelings, and our bodily responses (i.e. stress or tension).

Uncomfortable emotions have an energy pattern to them that we can feel (i.e.feeling bad), and we can be keenly aware of the change in the energy (i.e. feeling better). Using EFT, we may get noticeable relief and ease – quantum leaps of healing – with seemingly insurmountable problems, often where nothing else has worked in the past.
(eftinternational.org)