Thursday, July 26, 2007

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) part 1

It's taken me a while to write this post because of the enormous impact that EFT has had on my health and well-being. When something affects a particular symptom or system it is easy to report on, but when something affects your whole being on every level, it's less easy to define. Yet the more I use and experience EFT, the healthier and happier I become. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning.

In January I was flicking through the various support group information on CFS/ME when I came across a comment which said that one of the groups were using EFT to amazing effect. I didn't know what EFT was at this point, but this stuck in my head, and I had an overwhelming urge to research and find out more. First of all I downloaded the free manual from www.emofree.com. Yes, you can learn EFT for free, as it's founder Gary Craig wants it to be universally available. I also bought the book EFT, Energy Medicine and Energy Psychology, as at the time learning from a manual was not easy for me - I was still having trouble focusing on the computer screen. I read the book which in all honesty blew me away. I was also fortunate to have one of my therapists lend me the first series of DVD's on EFT.

The technique itself is very easy to learn, and only takes a couple of minutes to practise. You can do it on yourself or with the aid of a practitioner. It involves tapping on various acupuncture points. The idea is to redistribute the energy in the Chinese meridian system. So, how does it differ from acupuncture/acupressure or shiatsu? As a shiatsu practitioner I am very clear what the difference is. Where as these traditional Chinese techniques focus on the redistribution of energy in the meridian system, EFT adds something extra. While you tap on the points you also focus on any particular physical or emotional problem that you have experienced. Any problem that we have, be it physical or emotional, creates a disruption in the bodies energy system. This disruption can either register as a pain and illness, or as an emotional/psychological problem such as anxiety, stress, depression etc. However, by simultaneously tapping on the points whilst focusing on the problem, EFT helps to create a balance in the bodies energy system. Of course, the traditional Chinese systems such as acupuncture often create balances in emotion, but EFT works so precisely because it focuses directly on the individual problem.

My first EFT awakening experience was phenomenal!! Like many people with CFS/ME I had been plagued with severe pain in my calves. At times this was so bad that I to get my partner to move my feet backwards and forwards as they would seize up and I couldn't move them myself. I would say that the pain in my legs was my worst and my most disabling pain - like a tooth ache running all the way down my legs. Enter EFT! I had watched a number of DVD's and seen a number of miracles, but I was not prepared for what happened next. The pain in my legs had set in as usual so with some skepticism and a feeling of doubt that however good this technique was it couldn't take my pain away, I did my first round of tapping. What followed was amazing. First of all I had a feeling like ice freezing and cracking throughout my calves, then the pain shot backwards up my legs and straight up my body. It felt like it literally shot up and out of my head! At the same time I had an unaccountable rush of emotion. I burst into tears (I'm not the tearful type). Then to my amazement, the pain had totally disappeared. I felt completely stunned! There are no words to describe the shock of finding a technique that could move my disabling pain in seconds. It was, to me, a miracle.

After my EFT awakening, I immersed myself in EFT and energy medicine. In later articles I will outline my phenomenal experiences training with an EFT master who himself has overcome CFS with EFT.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Hi Sacha, I really like your comments. I'm very curious about EFT, I will search more info about it. Please tell us how you are doing with all those things you are trying. Regards,