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Key points:
- Story: Right there… that’s the spot!
- EFT is designed to be simple.
- We tap acupoints, and accuracy does matter.
- Acupoints are 20 to 30 times more electrically responsive.
- Review of the tapping points.
- Practice in the mirror.
- Practice with your eyes closed.
Have you ever been getting your back massaged, and the person found a spot that, as soon as they touched it, you felt yourself starting to relax? The point might even have been a little painful. The pain didn’t matter. You still found yourself saying, “Oh yeah, right there! That’s the spot!”
EFT is designed to be simple. Out of the hundreds of acupoints on the body, in the short form of EFT we tap only eight of them. Unlike acupuncture, where a needle is inserted in a precise place, in EFT we use two or more fingers to add energy at these same spots.
Since our fingers are so big, does it matter how precise we are when we tap? The short answer is: Perfection isn’t required, but accuracy does help EFT be more effective.
We know the acupoints are 20 to 30 times more electrically responsive than the tissue around them. We also know that the points we use in EFT were selected because they are powerful points, easily accessible, and which are found on the key energy pathways that help us to restore optimal health. If we are sloppy in our tapping, or we never learned the correct points to begin with, EFT may not be nearly as helpful (and quick!) for us as it might be.
That does not mean you have to be a perfectionist! Let me give you some examples:
When people hear “tap the eyebrow point,” I have seen them tap anywhere along the entire eyebrow, and even well above the eyebrow up on the forehead. The eyebrow acupoint is located at the beginning of the eyebrow nearest the center of the face. If you incorrectly tap in the middle of the eyebrow with two or three fingers, you are still likely to tap an acupoint or meridian. You may even see good results. You just won’t be tapping the one that was selected—the acupoint at the beginning of the eyebrow.
The side of the eye point is not found on the soft tissue of the temple; it is found on the bone at the side of the eye. The under the eye point is located on the bone of the eye socket, below the pupil. But it is not so close to the eye that it makes you feel like you need to blink, nor is it down on the cheek.
The under the nose point most people find easily, unless they try to tap with both hands at the same time and miss its location in the center of the lip. The chin point does not mean the end of your chin; it is located in the crease, below the lower lip and above where some people have a dimple.
The collarbone points are so powerful for anxiety that it is worth learning how to target these acupoints precisely. This can take some experimentation. The collarbone points are not located on the bone of the collarbone itself. They are also not located way down in the middle of the breast. If you locate the position where a man would tie his tie, you are at the start of the collarbone, where it meets the sternum.
On either side, move just an inch down and towards the shoulder. Press or massage with your finger until you start finding the fleshy area. Using the tips of two or three fingers, tap that area. And tap with some power, like you were tapping on a door. You should feel it reasonate throughout your chest. If you’ve found the right spots, after five or seven taps you’ll often find that you want to take a deep breath or a sigh. Those are your collarbone spots.
The under the arm points are located far enough down below the armpits that you probably would never apply deodorant to them. On a woman they are roughly in the middle of the bra strap. On a man they are even with the nipple. I use the tips of all four fingers. If you can’t use your fingertips, use the flat of your hand to clap the area.
The top of the head is rich with acupoints. You’ll often see practitioners tapping in circles or all around the top of the head. This works. What I find is that there is a point at the center of the top of the head that feels incredibly powerful. It is so helpful to me that I usually tap this spot at the beginning and at the end of each round.
I encourage you to practice in front of a mirror. Compare where you are tapping with the tapping points diagram. Once you know that you are in close proximity, practice with your eyes closed. Notice whether moving half a centimeter to the right or left, or up or down, makes a difference in the feeling. There are slight variations in acupoint locations for each person. You might notice that the acupoint itself may be slightly sore, or tingly, or feels slightly more alive.
One of my clients saw great success working with me, especially when I tapped the acupoints for her. At home she was not seeing the same results. I had her show me where she tapped. Over half the points were being missed on each round, even though she felt like she was in the right location. By learning how it feels to tap accurately, both by looking in the mirror and tapping with her eyes closed, she found that her fingers naturally returned to the right spots later—even when she was intensely processing an emotion and not thinking about accuracy at all.
It only takes a bit of practice to develop this skill. I assure you… it is well worth it.