The EFT Original Basic Recipe, as taught by Gary Craig, involves tapping on the Karate Chop Point or rubbing the Sore Spots while emphatically saying your Set-Up Phrase out loud three times.

A typical Setup Phrase uses the following format:

“Even though I have (this problem, uncomfortable emotion or physical sensation), I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

The Set-Up prepares us for the change the tapping will create and it softens any internal resistance we may have. The Set-Up is designed to acknowledge the problem at hand while creating a moment of positivity, self-acceptance and compassion. The Set-Up is a safe way to acknowledge and express the uncomfortable feelings we are facing and allows us to acknowledge our emotions/symptoms. Doing the Set-Up can help you give yourself permission to release your discomfort.

A Classic EFT Set-Up Phrase involves:

1. Acknowledging the problem (“Even though I have this ___”)

2. While at the same time affirming self-acceptance (“I deeply and completely love and accept myself”).

The Set-Up can effectively get rid of internal resistance to change (also called Psychological Reversal). This has the effect of opening your energy system to healing and positive change. The standard wording may or may not fit for everyone, and when it does not feel right, there are many variations that work equally as well, or better:

“Even though ______, I’m okay anyway.”

“Even though ______, I accept all my feelings without judgment.”

It is important to allow the healing process to unfold at whatever pace you are most comfortable with. You might not feel like accepting yourself right away and so the standard phrase Set-Up may feel like it doesn’t fit. Use a Set-Up Phrase that feels respectful of your true feelings. All of the following expressions will create a moment of openness in your system which can allow EFT to transform the energy of your emotions:

“Even though ______, I acknowledge my feelings.”

“Even though ______, I honor myself for how hard it has been for me.”

If you’d like to talk to me about how EFT can be used to help you address your personal challenges, contact me anytime.

Think about what part of the problem makes you feel most intense. Notice how you experience the emotion in your body – like tightness in the chest or a knot in the stomach, for example. In other words, how do you know you are feeling what you are feeling? Give your problem a specific label. For example:

• “This anger at myself for not being able to conceive”
• “This fear of that childbirth will be painful that gives me sweaty palms”
• “This nausea that makes me feel like I will vomit”

Sometimes you might feel afraid, worried, hopeless, or have some other strong feeling about starting to do EFT – it is important that you tap for these feelings before moving forward with anything else. As you think about doing starting to do EFT, you might feel that your issues are too complex or scary to approach by yourself – consider consulting an experienced practitioner.

2. Create Your Setup Phrase and Tap on the Karate Chop Point While Saying the Set-Up Three Times

A typical Setup Phrase uses the following format:

“Even though I have (this problem, uncomfortable emotion or physical sensation), I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

Examples of Set-Up Phrases:

• “ Even though I’m very angry at myself for not being able to conceive, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

• “Even though I am afraid that childbirth will be painful and that gives me sweaty palms, I deeply and completely love and accept myself anyway.”

• “Even though I feel nauseous and all I want to do is vomit, I deeply and completely accept myself anyway.”

If you are working with a physical discomfort ask yourself a few questions and use the answers in your Set-Up phrase.

• What does it feel like to have this problem?

• If my physical pain had a color, what would it be?

• If there were an emotional contributor to this issue, what might it be?

• What was going on in my life emotionally when this physical problem started

Why We Perform the Set-Up

The Set-Up prepares our system for change and softens any internal resistance we may have. We acknowledge the problem at hand while creating an atmosphere of positivity, self-acceptance and compassion. The Set-Up is a safe way to acknowledge and express the uncomfortable feelings we are experiencing; it allows us to acknowledge our emotions and symptoms. Doing the Set-Up is way to give yourself permission to release your discomfort. For an in-depth explanation of what the Set-Up is read this.

3. Tap through the Sequence using the Reminder Phrase

After you have done the Setup, tap through the Sequence of points, repeating a Reminder Phrase at each point. The Reminder Phrase simply states the uncomfortable feeling. It is a way to hold the problem in focus while tapping and transforming your energy.

Example Reminder Phrases:

• “This anger – I can’t conceive”
• “This sweaty palm fear – childbirth will be painful”
• “This nausea – I feel like vomiting”

Performing the Sequence:
After you finish tapping, relax and take a deep breath. When you have done the Setup and the Sequence, you have completed one round of EFT.

4. Evaluate the Results

After a round of tapping taking plenty of time to notice any results from the tapping process. How does your body feel? Is there any change in the emotional intensity you were feeling? Has your intensity gone down? Rate your intensity again. Let’s say you started with nervousness at a 7 and now you may still feel nervous but the tapping took the edge off of it, and you would now rate it a 5.

5. Refocus on the Issue and Repeat the Tapping Process

For subsequent rounds of tapping, change the words slightly to reflect how you feel more accurately. Perform the Setup three times. Tap on the Karate Chop point (or rub the Sore Spots) while saying the adjusted Setup Phrase.

Adjusted Set-Up Phrase

“Even though I still have some of this fear, I deeply and completely accept myself.” Tap through the Sequence again with the adjusted Reminder Phrase, using the word “remaining” where appropriate:

“This remaining fear…”, “This remaining anger…”

If you would like to ask me any questions about EFT please feel free to contact me anytime.

EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Techniques and it is a self-help method that combines gentle touch with mindful attention to thoughts and feelings. EFT involves tapping with our fingertips on acupuncture/acupressure points on the face, hands and body while focusing on a problem or issue we wish to resolve.

EFT allows us to release and transform the way feelings like guilt, fear, or anger may be affecting our bodies and our health. EFT can also be used to help transform the thoughts and beliefs behind our emotional experiences.

Our emotions contribute to infertility, pregnancy discomforts, birthing pains and complications, difficulty nursing, and problems with postpartum healing. EFT gives us a way to change the manner in which our emotions affect us; this allows us to enjoy our body’s natural state of well-being.

Although scientific research is still deciphering the exact mechanics of how EFT works, what is astonishing is that it works so often and so thoroughly. The vast majority of people who try EFT often report feeling calmer, more balanced and able to breathe more easily – after just a few rounds of tapping. With the help of EFT it is possible notice, acknowledge, and transform how we feel & express our emotions.

EFT was originally developed by engineer Gary Craig and was partly based on the work of Roger Callahan. EFT is easy to learn and incredibly flexible. With EFT we can start to respond to our own emotional states and help ourselves feel better more quickly. Our thoughts, beliefs, and emotions affect our bodies and the way we live our lives. EFT is a tool that can we use to consciously make the changes we desire.

Emotions, Energy, and the Brain

Emotions have an energy to them and when we release uncomfortable emotions – our energy changes. EFT works with the body’s subtle energy system – a complex system of energy pathways, called meridians in traditional Chinese medicine. These pathways, or channels, can be accessed when specific locations on the body are stimulated. These points are often referred to as acupoints.

Acupuncture stimulates acupoints by using needles to release stuck, stagnant energy and to re-balance the system; acupressure uses finger pressure. EFT can be thought of as “emotional acupuncture” or “mindful acupressure.” During the EFT process, the act of tapping directs kinetic energy through blocked energy channels (meridians), clearing them while simultaneously removing certain negative emotions.

How EFT Works

It is no secret that our body, mind, and emotions are intimately connected. When we apply EFT to something that is wrong with us – our thoughts, our feelings, and our bodily responses seem to shift. Interestingly, EFT also has an effect on the brain. MRIs have shown that stimulation of acupoints (as is done with EFT tapping) sends signals directly into the “survival” parts of the brain. This is the part of the brain where the fight-or-flight part reflex come from. Rational language centers do not communicate with this area of the brain and so words alone cannot activate this brain center. Some experts suggest that the EFT process reaches the survival-instinct mechanism of the brain and helps to reprogram our reactions at that fundamental level.

If you’d like to ask me a question about EFT or how to use it feel free to contact me anytime.