How to Ground Yourself Using Tapping

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), also known as Tapping, is a great way to help relieve emotional and physical distress. Lightly tapping the acupressure/meridian points on the body creates balance in the energy system and may restore a sense of grounding and connection. It is thought to be described as emotional acupuncture without the needles. By engaging in this technique, our brain responds to this by decreasing the stress hormone, cortisol. It may also decrease intense emotional experiences and bodily sensations that are too overwhelming in our system.

When feeling triggered or activated, tapping can be a useful tool in calming the nervous system and grounding back into the present moment. To start, you can gently and gradually move throughout the points with your fingers, beginning from the top of the head. You can stay however long you need in each location. From there you can go to the eyebrows, side of the eye, under eye, under nose, chin, collarbone, underarm, and outer palm where the pinky finger is.

Notice how you feel before you begin tapping such as any body sensations or emotions that you are experiencing. You can rate on a scale from 0-10 how intense you are experiencing them. As you start tapping, you can begin to notice if there are any sensations or relief. After you have completed, you can again rate from 0-10 if the emotions or sensations have shifted in any way.