In this article I am going to present a healing procedure you can apply to yourself or anyone else who has any sort of discomfort or distress. Of course, no one can guarantee success with something this simple, but the results are often beneficial and sometimes quite amazing. You will not need any medical training or experience to use it effectively. It is that easy, once you learn it.
I will describe the steps in using it in enough detail that you can be effective with it pretty quickly. The comments section that follows this article will allow me to help anyone who begins to use it, should they have questions.
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The first thing you will need to do is become familiar with at least about 20 or so easy to locate acupuncture points. These are points on the human body used in traditional Chinese medicine to place acupuncture needles. They are believed to be arranged in linear groups around the body, called meridians, but this is not important for this method. It is only important to locate a number of acupuncture points you can readily locate and use.
Acupuncturists must be very precise in locating their needles, since they must go directly into the relatively small point to produce the needle’s effect. For acupressure tapping, though, the location need not be very precise since when you tap with your fingers the surface area you are tapping with is comparatively large. For my acupressure technique to work well, all you have to do is get close to the acupuncture points with your fingers. Many acupuncture charts are readily available to be copied off the internet. You can search “acupuncture charts” if you want to find your own favorite source. I am placing the links for a couple useful resources here. The first is designed for acupuncturists but they are the same points that you can use doing acupressure. Any of the over 400 acupoints on the body can be useful with this technique. The second link is to an EFT site that does a good job of picturing the standard EFT points (which are just of few of the standard acupuncture points). You should at least memorize these.
I typically use about 60 different points that are easy to locate, can be used with the patient sitting and completely dressed, and which I have found to be very useful for all kinds of problems. If you use this technique for a while, you will develop your own favorite group of acupressure points. Note that the points are symmetrical across the mid-line of the body: each point has an identical match on the opposite side of the body. Here are two links to get you started; many others can be easily located with an internet search:
http://www.chiro.org/acupuncture/ABSTRACTS /Acupuncture_Points.pdf
The next thing to learn is how to select the kind of problems that often respond well to this kind of tapping technique. More complex techniques like EFT have been reported to be used successfully with just about any human problem you can imagine. The acupressure point procedure I am now describing is more limited, though, and is most efficient for discomfort or unpleasant feelings someone is actively and continuously experiencing as you are doing the tapping on these acupoints.
Obviously, you will need to introduce what you are about to do so your subject knows what to expect. I talk about Chinese acupuncture (which most people know about) and explain that I will be just tapping on those points without using any needles. (A big relief to many people.)
As your subject is sitting, have them focus their attention on their discomfort. It often helps their concentration to have them close their eyes, but it is not essential. I ask them to give their current level of discomfort an arbitrary rating of 0 to 10, with “10” being the worst it ever was and with “0” being no discomfort whatever.
Once the problem is targeted and rated, I explain that I will be tapping on acupuncture points lightly and they should expect that if a given point is helpful, they will begin to feel improvement within about two or three seconds of when I begin tapping a helpful spot. I then begin tapping on one or more points with four or five fingers of one hand grouped together to form a tapping surface. If a given point doesn’t help, I keep switching to other points. When I do find a helpful point, I will continue to tap on it for ten seconds or so, then I ask for a reassessment of the pain or discomfort level. The rating will invariably drop if the point is helpful. (Rarely, a given point might increase the discomfort. In that case, I just move on to other points.) I keep track of which points work and usually look to find two or more spots that help.
Once I find several useful points, I continue tapping on them until I either get the discomfort to zero or we hit a plateau that won’t decrease further. The improvement may just be short-lived, it may last for hours, or it may permanently remove the discomfort or permanently improve function. Alternatively, I may find nothing that helps at all. I know no way of predicting which points will be helpful for which kind of problem, but points closest to the site of the problem tend to be a little more likely to help than those more distant. For instance, points on the head neck and face are more likely the ones that help headaches. However, you can find some strange relationships. For example, you could find that a pain in the right ear is relieved by tapping on the left ankle. Things like this happen. I have used this technique thousands of times. If there were reliable rules to find certain points for certain kinds of problems, I think I would have discovered what they are by now.
How hard do you tap? I tap hard enough that I can just barely hear the sound of my tapping if I listen very closely. It shouldn’t be uncomfortable unless you are tapping directly on painful skin and tissues, but I usually try to avoid tapping directly on tender or injured areas.
I addition to using this technique for discomfort that is present at rest, you can also use it for problems that only cause pain or limitations when you do certain movements. It is a lot slower to use this method in this way, though. For example, you could use it to try to improve a “trigger finger” that hurts only when you flex the finger. For this kind of situation, you can tap a given point for thirty seconds or so and then reassess the pain having the individual flex their finger to see if it improved from that spot’s stimulation. You will need to tap the points a lot longer and reassess after trying each point to know if it helps.
Is it just wishful thinking that these procedures seem to work? Is it a placebo? I would say, unequivocally, it is not a placebo since I get no response from most points and then I get significant improvement at other points. When I do find a useful acupressure point, and I move on to different points, the improvement stops. When I go back to the effective spot, the improvement begins again. Most of my patients that have responded had little idea what to expect until their pain or disability improved. Why would so many show this same pattern (with no way to know how others reacted) if it is just a placebo?
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I suggest you give this technique a few tries on yourself or others. It is free. I know of no side effects. The only tools needed, our hands and our mind, are always right there when we need them. The time you spend learning this technique will be well spent.
Chuck
Science and Spirit 
Chuck,
Do you mean that the points relate to different issues in different people?…
Unfortunately I’m not good at these kind of techniques. I’ve watched a video about acupressure in the past where the instructor was explaining how to reduce stress by taping on specific area on one’s hand. I tried but could not get any results.
The two circumstances you described is really impressive.
Oldooz,
My experience is that I cannot predict which acupuncture point will benefit any given individual for any given problem. I tend to search first those points which have tended to work for others that I have successfully treated in the past with similar problems, but there is no hard and fast rule that works. You have to try and see each time (trial and error). Just because certain points did not work for you for stress in the past does not mean other points would not have worked nor that the technique would not work for other problems. I would encourage you to give it a try. There are some people, however, that do not seem to benefit from this type of therapy no matter what the problem. Also, one particular type of stress seems to almost ALWAYS respond to this therapy: acute grief reactions. What I do when someone is in distress while talking about their loss is explain that the tapping can be a “relaxation technique” and just do continuous tapping shifting from point to point every ten seconds or so. People almost always find this helps them a lot. This usually works as a calming method for any kind of overwhelming emotion.
Hope this helps. Please let me know how it goes if you give this a try.
Oldooz, dear, nice to find you here. I’ve missed you.
The tapping technique didn’t work for me either although I did try for quite a while and with the help of a certified EFT practitioner trained in America. Don’t know why. Probably resistance.
Resistance? Resistance to well-being? Well, it can look that way, but I think it’s something else really. Although I am all for practical measures that can relieve suffering in case of illness or functional or even “just” emotional disturbances, there is always this second voice insisting there must be a direct approach to healing.
Strangely, I found its exact formulation only two or three days ago. It’s HL #1992. I am very happy with it. Well, what I’m really happy with, of course, is that I’m finally able to hear it – which might not have been the case months or even weeks ago.
How is life now where you are living? You okay?
Oh.. Jochen, hello!!!… GREAT to see you here. I’m sorry.. I should have returned to Heavenletters to see how my friends are keeping up.
For me there are two things getting in the way… first I find myself lazy to try, second I cannot focus for a long time. It’s the same about meditation. In simple situation I’m able to relieve the pain by mindful breathing for a short time… it’s as if you dive into the painful area, fully embrace it with. It disappears within a few breath. In complicated situations I prefer to pay an expert to do this for me. I lean back and watch the energy work. Much enjoyable than trying!!.. (wink)
I’m fine. Have decided to go back to school to make a dream come true. Just when everything were seemingly ready for the jump I realized that it’s a wrong choice. So I quitted the process and now going to begin again. I hope you are having the most wonderful time.
Love to see you here again.
Much love to you,
Oldooz
Nice place, Chuck. Looking forward to more ideas of yours and your “mission statement”.
Jochen, Jochen, Jochen, you cannot know how thoroughly delighted I am to see your comment here. It does seem like a long time since we have talked. My fond hope is that you will comment more here and use this blog to share your fine mind and wonderful heart with our readers.
For readers who do not know what HL #1992 is, Jochen is referring to a “Heavenletter” published by Gloria Wendroff whom I mentioned in my first blog. I plan on doing another article specifically designed to much more thoroughly introduce the nature of Heavenletters to the readers on this blog. One of my goals with this blog (I have many) is to be able to direct some of my patients to it to so I can introduce resources like Heavenletters for their immense healing value. For now, let me just say that Gloria started out asking questions of God and she feels inspired to write down what she feels that He answers. Whether or not you can accept that such a thing is possible, the real value of Heavenletters is what you experience when you read them. No matter whether they come from Gloria’s heart or from God Himself, the value is still there. Here is the direct link to the letter Jochen is referring to:
http://www.heavenletters.org/mind-and-body.html
What you say about your experience with my acupressure tapping technique is very important. Thank you for your input, it allows me to explain further. I teach this technique to my patients in my office all the time. I do so after I have used it to help them in some way. They are always surprised, often shocked, to find such a simple technique can provide such immediate and sometimes profound benefit. It is much tougher to teach it in a written format without the benefit of demonstrating it, though. I would encourage you to stick with it and maybe even try it on others who might benefit. The worst that can result is that you waste a few minutes and don’t help them. I would say that when I try this technique in my office it is helpful about 50% of the time. About 5% of the time, the problem I am treating is dramatically resolved and does not come back. So, if a few efforts are unsuccessful, I encourage you to keep trying. Once you get the first success you will never doubt it again.
People who talk about mind-body healing often mention resistance. I do not know where the failures come from. I do not find this concept of resistance to be helpful in any way and it may in fact be harmful.
I am working hard on my “mission statement.” Just so everyone is clear on what we are referring to, at the top of this blog you will find a link to a page called “Who I am and the purpose of this blog” next to “Home” in the header picture, bottom left. I expect to have this posted soon. Doing it has been a powerfully moving experience for me. I go over and share some pretty unpleasant experiences in my life to help explain just what I am all about here. I greatly look forward to your reaction when you read it (and anyone else who might do the favor of providing feedback).
I am doing superbly well. I love the direction my life is headed in. I have always enjoyed my work as a physician quite thoroughly, but now, with efforts like this blog and the book I am writing, it is even more fun.
Thanks again my wonderful friend……..Chuck
Lovely Oldooz,
Since your last post does not have a “reply” button, my response will end up somewhere on this page. But it doesn’t matter. I was only going to say that I bless your every step.
Love,
Jochen
Thank you so very much, Jochen.
Hugs,
Oldooz
Jochen and Oldooz,
It does my heart good that my blog has been useful in reconnecting two lovely people that have have lost touch with each other. Sharing our love with each other may well be the most important thing we do in our lives.
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