Tapping In To A Better Experience (Literally)

As we enter the melting period, ie: the end of winter, I reflect on how long and grueling it felt for me. Just this morning I mentioned to someone that January felt like at least 2 months to me, if not 3. I know I've experienced seasonal depression before and am left confused about how much of that may have been the cause of my low winter feelings. Either way, I intend to build up and be aware of a plethora of personal, stress-relieving resources for next winter, including the application of self-care and the willingness to ask for support when it's needed. 

One of the resources that I used this time, which I believe was a big part of helping me to pick myself up and keep going, was EFT: Emotional Freedom Technique. EFT is a branch of energy psychology. Energy psychology is a field that considers the relationship of energy systems to mental and emotional health, as well as behaviour. Founded by Gary Craig, an American engineering graduate and ordained minister, now retired, EFT’s guiding principle is that negative emotions disrupt the body’s energy. EFT manipulates the body’s energy field, with the goal of creating harmony and balance. 

EFT combines tapping on particular points, as recognized in traditional acupuncture, focusing on an emotionally debilitating issue and repeating affirming statements that promote acceptance of oneself despite challenges and shortcomings. The idea is that negative thoughts and feelings get stuck in the energetic system just as toxins periodically get "stuck" in the body, calling for a nutritional detoxification process. Consider EFT to be an emotional detoxification process. Quite simply, where a high emotional charge exists in association with a dysfunctional belief system ("I'm not good enough"), event or trauma, EFT, in application, works to diminish this emotional charge in order that you cope more effectively with life and your own personal healing. 

Me Tapping In To A Better Life!

For example, during the winter, I got caught up in feeling responsible for others' feelings - probably as a way of avoiding my own. For a while, I was consumed with what a few people in particular were thinking and feeling, especially in relation to me, and this became draining and defeatist. I was not able to properly function because I was allowing my obsessive thoughts to pervade every part of my life. Daily application of EFT helped to bring the emotional charge around my obsessiveness down so that I could objectively look at my situation and logically compute that hey, this is this person's journey and here's mine - I am only responsible for myself and obsessing about others who may or may not even have issues with me is a waste of precious energy that I need to heal myself and care for my son. This moved me to take care of things that needed to be taken care of inside my relationships in a matter-of-fact way, which brought healing and renewal.

EFT can also be applied to old, traumatic events that have never fully been healed such as death and loss, accidents and abuse. It's difficult to move forward when we haven't shed light into and healed the wounds of the past. This is not to encourage you to stew in past wounds but rather to shed light upon them, heal them and move forward. EFT is a phenomenal way of healing wounds both from the past and the present. It also helps to eliminate jitters around public speaking, difficult conversations, traveling or anything where fear seems to be taking over. 

One of the most beautiful things about EFT is that once you've learned it, you can add it to your personal tool box forever! I recommend having a session with a skilled EFT practitioner to start so that you can talk the process through and gain the skills necessary to use it on your own. Further, it's helpful to be with someone who can offer fresh perspectives to something that may be old and festering in your life. 

Sharon is our skilled EFT practitioner here at Prana Holistic. Please call us today if you'd like to learn how to apply EFT in order to rid yourself of possibly debilitating emotions that may be blocking you from thriving in your life.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic

  

Going Into the "Eye of The Storm" - A Practice in Decreasing Emotional Charge

Here's something potentially out of the ordinary: when you're feeling strong emotions around a particular event or just in general, how about delving RIGHT into them instead of trying to alleviate them? I think we have a tendency to want to make our feelings "better" when we're upset, angry, resistant or afraid. In the long run, does it really help to try and make those feelings go away? Won't they just come back again, possibly in different format and maybe even stronger than ever? The next time you find yourself wrapped up in intense emotion, try the following:

Contemplate the specific feeling you are experiencing and explore it in these ways (in other words, ask yourself these questions):

1. Where in your body does this feeling live? Try to pinpoint an exact physical place where your feelings reside, such as in the pit of your stomach, in your heart, etc.
2. At what proximity does this feeling reside? How shallow or deep inside is it?
3. What colour is the feeling?
4. What shape is the feeling?
5. What's the texture?
6. What temperature is the feeling?
7. Does it move or change?
8. How big is it?

Now...once you've established the answers to all those questions, try sitting right in "the eye" of that feeling...right in the very center...and just stay there...observing. Stay as long as you can and notice as much as you can. Maybe try to get even more clear about the details of the feeling. See what happens when you just stay there, without judgment. Does the physicality of the feeling change? Does it get bigger or smaller? Try asking the physical form of the feeling some questions such as: why are you here? What is your purpose? What would you like to show/teach me? Upon asking such questions, it's important to be open to the answers by listening to your gut reaction, the first thing that comes into your head...your intuition. Remember to always offer gratitude such as: I know you're here for a very good reason, so thank you for being here. Try this exercise until you notice some change in the feeling.

Everything is with us for a very good reason. Everything (especially the more intense things) occurs in order to impart some level of learning and growth. I don't suppose we can really enlighten ourselves as to the lessons that lie within each feeling and event if we don't explore them fully. I encourage you to do so. Further, it would be helpful to write your experiences down for the purpose of logging change and thereby imparting more learning and growth. So put on your emotional helmet and dive right in to the eye of the storm! Chances are there's something valuable in there just waiting to be uncovered.

If you would like help or guidance with this exercise, please call us or send us a message. We are eager to help you uncover anything that will lend itself to your growing and becoming a more fulfilled and healthy person.

Roberta Shepherd for Prana Holistic