How to use the Tapping technique for Stress Relief

Throughout my tough times in 2012, when I experienced a significant degree of stress, I would confer from time to time with my friend Allison. During the months that my career and health were in decline, Allison clarified that on occasions when adversity seemed prolonged, it was due to the blockages in the body’s ‘energy’.

Having spent over 15 years training, practising and researching at the highest levels of Western medicine, I had never heard ANYTHING about a body’s energy system.

As you can imagine, I was quite sceptical about the existence of a body’s energy system. In fact, I have been a total sceptic of any form of alternative medicine—whether it is naturopathy, homeopathy, natural herbs, holistic medicine, “spiritual healing”, or anything else I had not encountered in medical training.

However, Allison did not represent my typical idea of alternative medicine. I trusted her completely and was curious to learn more about her theory.

Allison explained how disruptions in the energy system can lead to emotional imbalances, stress, and disease. She also said she could fix it, if I wanted her to, as she had done for many people in the past. She instructed me on a technique called “tapping”, which required me to tap on various points on my face and body whilst repeating positive affirmations.

Again, this seemed quite weird and something else that I had never heard about, so my scepticism remained. But the pain of my current situation was much stronger than my scepticism, and so once again, I placed my trust in Allison.

After about four sessions of tapping with Allison, I was a completely changed man. My outlook was brighter and I felt much more confident and happier. Even my body started to recover from my condition and I began live and feel healthier.

What was all this tapping stuff? And how can it transform an anxious, physically-ill person into a revitalized and energetic individual in just a few sessions?

I had to learn more and spent the next three months on a hunt for knowledge and more proof. I bought books and surfed the internet on human energy, energy medicine, Chinese medicine, healing, yoga, meditation, “new age” genres, religious healings, genetics, emotional basis of disease and much more. I dug up clinical research on Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping), Reiki, Acupuncture, Ayurvedic medicine, Healing Touch and other similar modalities.

I reached out and interviewed to as many experts, gurus, doctors, quantum physicists, healers, psychologists and thought leaders in the space and what their findings were. At the same time, I kept referring Allison to everyone I knew, and she was solving their individuals issues one by one, using the same tapping methods she used on me.

Eventually I had seen, heard, read and experienced enough to convince myself that tapping worked. And so, what I’ve done here is include a quick three-minute tapping sequence that you can try to help you reduce your stress at home or at work.

Find a quiet space, perhaps a private office or even the bathroom. Start with a few deep breaths.

  1. Using the fingertips of your index finger and middle finger start by tapping on your forehead, an inch above and between eyebrows. For each point, tap at least seven times. While you are tapping, repeat to yourself out loud or in your mind, “Even though I am stressed, I deeply love and accept myself.”
  2. Next, tap on the outside corners of each eye with both hands. Keep repeating the words, “Even though I am feeling this stress and anxiety, I deeply love and accept myself.”
  3. Then tap just under the nose, repeating the above.
  4. Tap just under your lower lip, repeat, “Even though I am too frustrated, I choose to love and accept myself.”
  5. Tap one inch below your collarbone corners, just below your neck.
  6. Next, tap under your arms, about four inches below your armpits and repeat, “I am free of stress.”
  7. Finally, tap the fleshy part of either hand, beneath your pinkie finger (karate chop point).

You may repeat the seven-step cycle a few times with affirmations such as “I choose to feel more calm; it’s safe to feel calm; even though I have learnt some unwanted behaviours by feeling stressed, I deeply love and accept myself.”

When you have finished, take 3 deep breaths again.  Now you are more relaxed!

(Note this sequence can help many people with a relieving stress, however, if there are more serious underlying issues such as long term depression, a chronic medical condition or deep seated emotional trauma it is less likely to produce effects – those issues should be handled in coordination with a healthcare professional).

Did this tapping routine help you in any way?

A movie that changed how I saw my body

You are probably aware that my personal journey into energy medicine and healing is relatively new, I made the discovery of the body’s energy system only in mid 2012. Yet, I gained amazing clarity toward my higher calling, and despite being a ‘high achiever’ personality all my life, I now have greater fulfilment in what I do.

Nonetheless, the transformation can be confusing, as you try to rationalise all these new insights, with what you thought to be ‘true’ in the past. From my perspective, it is OK to BELIEVE in something, but I also needed some FACTS to help justify my new BELIEFS. I needed to see the science!

Whilst trawling through all the scientific literature behind energy therapies, I came across many trials, research institutions, ‘gurus’ and books explaining the scientific basis behind energy medicine and healing. Methods such as Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping), Thought Field Therapy, Reiki are becoming more mainstream, evolving into terms like ‘Energy Anatomy’ and ‘Energy Psychology’.

One form of energy therapy, which everyone has heard of, is Acupuncture, which now has a widespread body of evidence so clear that Western medical practitioners use it to treat lower back pain in Emergency Departments and General Practice – Hallelujah!

We could not imagine this to be the case 10 years ago, yet things have changed because Western science has caught up. A similar scenario is occurring with Energy Coaching and Healing, as the science in this area is growing rapidly, there is a lot to cover!

However, in my good fortune, whilst reviewing all these clinical papers, scientific journals and books, all of which go into quite a level of detail, I came across A MOVIE that explained EVERYTHING in one place! It is called the Living Matrix was probably the most rewarding discovery for me a number of reasons:

  1. It was a feature length movie, and I love movies (don’t we all)!
  2. It had interviewed the top scientists around the world in Biophysics, Cell Biology, Quantum Physics, Medicine, Energy Healers which presented the concept of bioenergy fields and healing in a holistic context.
  3. It was viewable on Vimeo for free (woohoo!), which is licensed through Creative Commons -, while the DVD can be purchased from the Living Matrix website.
  4. It has high production values – it has strong visuals and animations, well directed and edited. It must have had a decent budget.
  5. Whilst it is a little science-heavy, most people would be able to understand the gist of the research and there are some fascinating experiments, particularly around the role of the heart in our energy fields.

Needless to say, this movie was one of the key answers I was looking for –  it does point you in the direction of which centers are leading the research in this area around the world, and how far the science has come. It also shows you case studies for the healing effects of your body’s own subtle energy.

This is not suprising, when you look at the high rates of satisfaction from many practitioners of Pranic Healing, Reiki, etc and how quickly those practices have grown. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the future of medicine in the next decade lies in the understanding of the Energy System, which is why I created Energesse to help that process along.

Bioenergy therapy and Energy Medicine certainly has it skeptics, but my strong view is that this is changing thanks to the vast numbers of people around the world that have been gaining benefit over the years – and as is the case now, Western science is catching up.

These are exciting developments, transforming lives everywhere and it is our duty to be able to view such therapies with an open mind as well as to continue to ask the important questions about how we can build on this work, for the good of all.

I look forward to the future of scientific discoveries in this area and will continue to dissect the theories, practices and developments in future blogs.

Do you think there is enough awareness of our body’s energy system? I’d like to hear your opinion.