There are times when I want to spend a little time tapping, but I don’t have a specific issue or I don’t really want to dive into a very emotional issue. Is there any benefit to just tapping with no particular intention? [Note: The example in this article on how to tap without words is a perfect way to tap to help you get a good night’s sleep or to just relax.]

photo by James Blann

One of the reason I love Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) is because it costs us nothing more than a little time to do. So even if we aren’t doing EFT in the most effective fashion we are just spending a few minutes thinking positively about our health and well-being.

Also, it is important to remember that if we are tapping while there is any sort of block in our thoughtfields while we are tapping (even if we aren’t consciously aware of it) we are doing work on it. It’s not the words we are saying but the thoughts that we have while we are tapping that make the change.

To this end I do some tapping every night before I go to bed in which I don’t think of anything in particular. I just let whatever needs to be bubbling up to bubble up on its own. I will either do this while taking a short walk or while listening to or watching something (podcast, DVD, or evening news).

A great deal has been written in the EvEFT community about which hand we should tap with or what side of the body we should be tapping on. (For my point of view on this topic, click here.)  To take advantage of the possibility that there is benefit from switching this up I tap in every possible combination.

The pattern looks like this:

1. Take a long cleansing deep breath to clear my mind and relax my
   
2. With my right hand starting on the top of my head I work my way down tapping on each point on the right side of the body until I have tapped on every point.
3. With my left hand starting on the top of my head I work my way down tapping on each point on the left side of my body until I have tapped on every point.
4. With my right hand starting on the top of my head I work my way down tapping on each point on the left (notice the switch) side of the body until I have tapped on every point.
5. With my left hand starting on the top of my head I work my way down tapping on each point on the right (notice the switch) side of my body until I have tapped on every point.
6. Repeat

I do this for about 10 minutes. It is very, very relaxing and puts me in a great place to climb into bed for a good night’s sleep.

Recently I have been experimenting with a slightly different approach to this tapping routine. I was introduced to it by Angela Treat Lyonin her blog. You would do the exact same exercise as explained above but would tap in the way she describes on her web site (which you should visit because it has lots of great stuff). She has come with something called Cascade Tapping.

I’ve used Cascade Tapping for hundreds of people now (both in live sessions and in my teleclasses), and I’ve found that this way of tapping helps take them from thought to feeling in seconds.

It’s really very simple. Instead of jumping from one point to the next and tapping on each one 5 – 7 times, you move gently and gradually in little half-inch increments from one point to the next, only tapping on the incremental spots once (see diagram).

There are many variations and ideas about where to start, tapping but I like to start at the top of the head with very gentle circle of tapping, then trek on down to the third eye, and on down. No hard fast rules.

I’m finding that there’s an almost instant yawn or sigh factor for anxiety and fear, in particular. I do it while I’m driving in heavy weather and am calm almost immediately.

Remember to be easy with yourself. Don’t feel like you need to accomplish too much with your tapping, knowing that any time you spend tapping is a small step forward to health and well-being. Our objective is not to be standing in the right place but to instead be constantly moving forward (even if it is only a little at a time).