‘Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.’

Complaining about our pain can feel like the most natural thing to do, yet at the same time, as long as we are complaining, our focus is upon it.

Moving the focus away from the pain can help and there are several ways to do this. One way involves meditating with a different focus. Another is to use distraction techniques such as watching a tv program, particularly if it is a comedy program. Laughter therapy is known to help reduce or completely dissove pain.

Yet another is to focus on a particular task that requires concentration. Maybe focusing on being grateful for those healthy parts that aren’t causing you so much pain can also help. In fact this is one of the many eft affirmations that are often included in a pain  relief program.

What does the eft process involve?

Eft means  Emotional Freedom Technique. Eft processing  starts by exactly focusing on the problem or pain (but not in order to complain). Later you can focus on what you are grateful for. Eft can bring immediate pain relief and is an easy and natural process to learn and carry out.

This natural therapy involves tapping on several acupressure points on the body. It is a form of energy healing.

In the case of pain, you first determine what level of pain you are feeling on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the least painful and 10 being the most. Then you do something called a ‘set up’, followed by two or three rounds of tapping. The idea behind it is that the energy system of the body, when it is in pain, is blocked somewhere and doesn’t flow as it should. The tapping helps to unblock the blocks and as a result the pain dissolves. This is often immediate.

Like doing a workout …

EFT can help us to support our own optimal physical health, just as a healthy diet and regular exercise can. EFT tapping is like doing a little workout on the energy system to clear any disruptions and keep things flowing nicely.

As with most meridian therapies, Eft focuses on a number of acupressure points and these points are also often associated with the particular emotional or physical states that, left untreated, can lead to blockage and pain.

Here are the main meridian points used during the EFT tapping process.

• Side of the eye: On the bony orbit of the eye at either side of each eye (asssociated with rage)

• Eyebrow point: Near the bridge the of the nose, the beginning of the eyebrow. (associated with trauma and frustration)

• Under the eye: Directly under the pupil. (anxiety, nervousness, cravings and phobias)

• Under the nose: Above the upper lip.  (embarrassment)

• Under the bottom lip: Between the lip and chin. (shame)

• The collarbone: Under the knob of the collar bone. (anxiety and insecurity)

• Under the arm: Approximately in line with the bra strap for women (anxiety, nervousness, cravings, self-esteem)

• Under the breast: Approximately where the rib cage ends (this point is often left out for reasons of discretion) (unhappiness)

• Thumbnail: On the inside tip of the thumb where the nail meets the cuticle (intolerance, arrogance)

• Index fingernail: On the inside tip of the index finger where the nail meets the cuticle (guilt)

• Middle fingernail – On the inside tip of the middle finger where the nail meets the cuticle (jealousy, addictive)

• Little fingernail: Where the nail meets the cuticle (anger)

• Back of the hand: Between the knuckles of the little and ring fingers (depression, loneliness, physical pain)

• Karate chop point: This is located on the side of the hand where the crease crosses the edge of the hand closest to the little finger (sadness)

• Forehead: Above and between the eyebrows (trauma, anxiety, addiction, depression)

• Chest: Between and slightly down from the under collarbone points (improve immune system function)

• Sore Spot: Midway between the collarbone and down toward the breast. This is often quite sore, even painful (resistance)

Eft Video Showing the basic eft tapping process