Before we start tapping,
Take a moment to get still and notice where you are feeling the anxiety in your body.
You might notice that you have tension in your shoulders,
Or a slight headache,
Or a tight feeling in your chest,
Or maybe you are feeling a constriction in your throat,
A clenching in your jaw,
Or an uneasy sensation in your stomach,
Or maybe some other sensation in your body.
Just slowly scan your body and notice where the anxiety is being felt.
Once you have located the sensation or feeling,
Give it a rating on a scale of 0 to 10,
With 10 being the most uncomfortable and 0,
No discomfort at all.
We will use this rating as a reference point to see what shifts happen after we complete each round of tapping.
Now that we have identified how the anxiety is showing up on a physical level and scored its intensity,
We are ready to start tapping.
Using four fingers,
Tap on the side of the hand and repeat after me,
Tweaking any of the wording to better suit what you are experiencing if need be.
Even though I can feel this anxiety in my body,
And it doesn't feel great,
I'm open to seeing if tapping can help me to release this fear of the future.
Staying on the side of the hand,
Even though I can feel all this anxiety in my body,
And it doesn't feel great,
I can see that I'd feel better if I start to let it go.
And one more time on the side of the hand,
Even though I can feel this anxiety in my body,
And it feels uncomfortable,
I give myself permission to start to relax so that I can begin to feel calm and at peace.
Going to the top of the head,
All this anxiety in my body.
Eyebrow,
Caused by anxious thoughts.
Outer eye,
It doesn't feel great.
Under the eye,
All this anxiety.
Under the nose,
It feels so uncomfortable.
Under the mouth,
This anxiety is clouding clear thinking.
Collarbone,
I'm feeling overwhelmed by these anxious thoughts.
Under the arm,
I can't seem to let them go.
Top of the head,
All this anxiety in my body.
Eyebrow,
I feel so anxious.
Outer eye,
And it feels overwhelming.
Under the eye,
All this anxiety.
Under the nose,
Maybe this tapping will help to relax my body and mind.
Under the mouth,
I'm open to giving it a go.
Collarbone,
It would be good to release all of this anxiety.
Under the arm,
Open to letting it all go.
Release the tapping for a moment,
And take two short inhales through the nose.
Followed by a slow extended exhale through the mouth.
Repeat again,
And breathe out fully and slowly through the mouth.
Now tune back into your body and notice what has changed.
Are you feeling calmer and more relaxed?
Has the intensity of what you were feeling at the start of the session eased,
Stayed the same,
Or increased?
If your score is moving in the wrong direction,
Don't worry,
It means that the energy is starting to shift.
Just keep tapping and it will start to decrease as the body begins to relax.
Return to tapping on the side of the hand.
Even though I often have anxious thoughts,
I give my body and mind permission to release them now.
Staying on the side of the hand,
Even though I'm feeling anxious,
I choose to release anything and everything that is getting in the way of me feeling relaxed and at ease.
One more time on the side of the hand,
Even though I'm still feeling anxiety in my body,
I know that I'm calming my nervous system with each tap and with each exhale.
Going to the top of the head,
I recognize the fact that this anxiety I'm feeling,
Eyebrow,
Is being caused by fear about something.
Outer eye,
That may or may not happen in the future.
Under the eye,
But at the same time,
Under the nose,
I recognize the fact under the mouth,
That it is in my power,
Collarbone,
To calm my nervous system.
Collarbone,
To calm my nervous system.
Under the arm,
I'm lowering stress hormones in my system with each tap.
Top of the head,
I'm mindfully releasing the anxiety with each exhale.
Eyebrow,
I'm giving myself permission.
Outer eye,
To release anything and everything.
Under the eye,
That is getting in the way of feeling calm and relaxed.
Under the nose,
Feeling calmer with each tap.
Under the mouth,
Giving myself permission to let this anxiety go.
Collarbone,
Letting it all go now.
Under the arm,
Releasing all of these anxious thoughts and letting my mind fall still.
Release the tapping for a moment and take two short inhales through the nose,
Followed by a slow extended exhale through the mouth.
Repeat again and breathe out fully and slowly through the mouth.
Now tune back into your body and notice what has changed.
Has the feeling of anxiety in your body diminished?
Or is it showing up differently?
Just notice what is happening in your body as we work towards creating a state of inner peace.
Let's return to tapping on the side of the hand for one last round of tapping so that we can release any remaining anxiety.
Even though I can feel some residual anxiety in my body,
I choose to let it all go now.
Still on the side of the hand,
Even though I can still feel some anxiety in my body,
I give myself permission to relax anyway.
One more time on the side of the hand,
Even though I can feel some remaining anxiety in my body,
I choose to feel calm instead.
Going to the top of the head,
This remaining anxiety.
Eyebrow,
I can still feel it in my body.
Eyebrow,
I can still feel it in my body.
Outer eye,
But that is okay.
Under the eye,
Because I'm now choosing to let it all go.
Under the nose,
I choose to release any remaining anxious thoughts.
Under the mouth,
I choose to feel calm instead.
Collarbone,
Choosing to release fear of the future.
Under the arm,
And bring my thoughts to the present moment.
Top of the head,
Noticing that I am safe in this moment.
Eyebrow,
Allowing my mind to release all concerns and worries.
Outer eye,
Allowing my eyes to fall on three different objects in my current surroundings.
Under the eye,
Allowing my ears to detect three different sounds.
Under the nose,
Noticing my fingers tapping on my upper lip.
Under the mouth,
Choosing to wiggle my toes.
Collarbone,
Feeling the texture of my top or my bare skin as I tap here.
Under the arm,
Allowing a sense of calm to fill my whole being.
Release the tapping and take two short inhales through the nose.
Followed by a slow extended exhale through the mouth.
Repeat again.
And breathe out fully and slowly through the mouth.
And breathe out fully and slowly through the mouth.
Now bring your awareness back to the body and notice what has changed.
Does anything feel different?
Are you feeling more at peace?
And has your score out of 10 come down close to zero?
Hopefully you are now feeling calmer and more relaxed in both your body and mind after layering these three different techniques.
Tapping,
The physiological sigh and the 3-3-3 rule.
Having multiple tools in our tool belt to choose from can be very helpful when dealing with anxiety and being able to layer them can help us reach a state of inner peace more quickly.
Until we tap again,
Keep practicing returning to present moment awareness using any or all of these tools and watch your ability to effectively cope with anxious thoughts continue to improve.
