EFT 101: How to get started with EFT

What is EFT | How to use EFT | EFT Coaching Videos

What is EFT

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) was initially elaborated by Gary Craig. It’s one of my favorite tools for facilitating change in our daily thought patterns. Whether you want to get rid of an old belief or develop a new positive one, EFT can get you there!

So how does EFT work? When we experience something emotionally painful, our brain creates a negative emotional association based on the circumstances of that event. For example, if you’ve been in a car accident, you might experience very strong negative emotions when listening to people talk about driving a car, even if you are not in danger right now. This emotional response is triggered by the memory of the traumatic event.

Such memories can keep affecting us long after they happened because they have not been fully processed by the brain. The strong negative emotional response is a sort of “bookmark” left by the brain to indicate that this memory is still active.

These negative emotional associations can really make it difficult to move on. If you tense up every time you hear a conversation about money because you have suffered from poverty as a child, you are constantly blocked in your journey towards financial abundance…

EFT is a process by which we can release these negative association by tapping on specific acupuncture points while making statements that relate to the traumatic memory.

We can also use EFT to develop new positive associations, much like we would use physical therapy to rehabilitate a muscle that has been injured. A new belief can be strongly established by stating it out loud while using the acupuncture tapping points. By tapping while saying a positive statement about what you want, you are re-training (and re-wiring) your brain to easily bring up these supportive thoughts on daily basis.

How to use EFT

For beginners, EFT is a lot easier if you follow a protocol. Often time, this is called “tapping along” where you repeat the statements made by the EFT practitioner and tap where they tap. Over time, you will develop your own protocol, using sentences that address your specific needs.

Where to Tap

When tapping on the following EFT points, use your finger tips in a slow, gentle tapping motion.

1) The karate chop. Use the fingers tips from one hand (except the thumb) to tap on the flat edge of your palm on the other hand. What’s the body part used in karate to break down a 2 x 4!

2 ) Forehead. Use your middle and index finger to tap on your forehead, about 1 inch above where your eyebrows would meet.

3 ) Temple. Use your middle and index finger to tap on your temple (side of the eye).

4 ) Under the eye. Use your middle and index finger to tap under your eye at the top ride of your cheekbone.

5 ) Under the nose. Use your middle and index finger to tap under your nose.

6 ) Chin. Use your middle and index finger to tap between your mouth and the end of your chin.

7 ) Collar Bones. To make sure you hit this point, use a flat hand to tap the front of your chest, right below the ridge of your collar bones (this covers two points, one on each side). Those spots are usually sore, you can point the right spot by looking for that tenderness.

8 ) Under the arm. Raise your arm slightly and use all fingers form the opposite hand to tap on an area about 4 inches below your arm pit. This area is also usually sore so it’s easy to find if you look for that tenderness.