Have you ever heard of tapping? Up until a year or so ago I had never heard of it. My group meditation had some flyers on the community board and I thought it looked interesting. I went a couple times a year or so ago, noticing how good I felt after, but then life got in the way and I hadn’t been again up until this last week.
Since getting back from Bali and working on my goals (see blog post Goals) I wanted to ‘tap’ into myself deeper. Daily Om started popping up more and more on my social media and I finally checked it out. If you haven’t yet check out dailyom.com. There are so many great resources there as well as courses you can take that are really reasonably priced or even free and not too overwhelming. I was intrigued by the title ‘Change Your Life with Energy Medicine Yoga’ and clicked on it. After reading the information about the course, I felt compelled to really think about it. The fact that it is a sliding scale from $20-40 was certainly a perk. What did I have to lose even if it didn’t necessarily change my life. I’ve spent much more on worse things. I slept on it. I found myself thinking about it a lot the next day and reread the information a couple times before finally enrolling.
Tapping or EFT is a set of techniques which utilize the body’s energy meridian points, much like acupuncture or acupressure. You can stimulate these meridian points by tapping on them with your fingertips-literally tapping into your body’s own energy and healing power. It’s a great way to start moving ‘stuck’ energy. My low back pain has been getting worse and worse. Before Bali I was waking up in the middle of the night and in pain pretty much every day. I was irritable and crabby and normal daily activities like simply putting my underwear and pants on caused me great pain every morning. It really sucked. I’m only 35, but at times feel like I have the back of a 90 year old, ugh!
So while in Bali I did a lot of bodywork and my back pain improved. This last week it started to flare up again. I know this is going to happen, but I also think it’s more than just how hard I’ve been on my body, I also attribute it to my emotions. My hips are chronically tight and so is my low back. I just can’t help but feel that is tied to my emotions and things I have yet to let go of. Stuck emotional energy that I need to get moving.
I got an email about the tapping circle I hadn’t been to in over a year and the topic was chronic pain and health issues. I’ve dealt with back pain on and off since I was 18-19 years old, but it’s never been as constant as it has in the last couple of years, where I’m effected by it negatively more days than not in a week. Everything just felt like I had to be at this tapping circle so I went.
Do you ever feel like you’re just in the right place or something is happening that you feel is really just for you? I feel like that all the time. I know it seems crazy, but things come up whether from random strangers I strike up a conversation with or good friends that just happen to say the right thing, also classes and workshops that I desperately need somehow fall in my lap, I love it. Well this circle definitely hit that. It was a small group led by Jenny Brav who is amazing. You can check her out at radiantwholenesshealing.com if you’re interested in her blog or working with her. She is so welcoming, open, and kind and does such a wonderful job incorporating the necessary things to the circle, meeting each individuals needs to the best of her ability.
She starts with some movement. Movement is the beginning of getting any energy flowing. Also incorporates some techniques to release anger by literally punching and stepping into the air while doing a lions breath. Then we go over the different tapping points. Each class is an intro so it’s great for beginners like me or people that have never tapped before. We do some tapping, she asks questions, people answer ‘popcorn’ style while she writes things down. We do a guided mediation, more tapping, take a break and then come back for a group tap. The group tap is so healing and powerful. With the questions she asked as well as the answers given she weaves together a powerful healing circle. We repeat back to her different answers that each of us gave and hold space for a word or a phrase while tapping different points. The combination is very powerful and you can actually feel the energy moving. I felt really buzzy but also very calm after. It’s amazing the powers that we all have, if only we ‘tap’ into them.
My back is still bothering me, but I do feel if I continue to do what I’ve been doing and continue to dive deeper into myself and what my mind and body needs, that I will be able to start healing the wounds that are tied to my emotional pain. It’s a small step in the right direction, but it’s better than no step at all.
Check out Jenny’s website as well as daily om if you’re intrigued by anything I’ve said. I’m also available for any questions or comments if you have any. Thanks for reading, it really is greatly appreciated 🙂
Mindfully Authentic 