Healing Emotions with EFT Tapping Therapy with Lauren Fonvielle

Jennifer Arvin Furlong interviews Lauren Fonvielle, an integrative energy practitioner, who introduces us to the transformative world of the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). EFT is an evidence-based therapeutic method that significantly reduces anxiety, PTSD, phobias, and even depression. Lauren shares her personal journey with EFT and how she discovered this fantastic tool to manage her anxiety. She also enlightens us on how to incorporate this technique into public speaking and interpersonal communication. 

We then turn our attention to the science behind EFT, revealing that it doesn't just offer relief from emotional stress; it also aids us in making better decisions by reducing cortisol levels. It's a form of self-care that can help lift the weight of stress and anxiety from your shoulders. We also discuss how to use a scale to identify and assess your level of anxiety or fear and how tapping can be used to gradually move to a better state. 

By the end of our conversation, you’ll understand how tapping can help you take control of your emotions, giving you access to your inner strength. So tune in, and let's explore the incredible benefits of tapping therapy together.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Exploring Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
• 6:45 Exploring EFT
• 19:11 Reduce Anxiety and Stress With Tapping
• 22:53 Using Body Language to Manage Anxiety
• 31:39 Manage Anxiety With Tapping and Thoughts
• 42:15 Exploring the Benefits of Tapping Therapy

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

a lot of the time, the thoughts that we feed ourselves. We think over and over and over again. If we take the time to say that thing out loud, something that feels really, really true at the onset, we can start to create this distance from it and we realize wait a second, that's ridiculous, you know, like you need to look at it from a new perspective, and when you do that, you begin to think differently. And then you feel differently. And when you feel differently, you act differently. And then, of course, when we act differently, we get different results.

Speaker 2: 0:31

That's Lauren Fonville, an integrative energy practitioner who specializes in EFT, which is short for emotional freedom technique. It's an evidence-based self-help therapeutic method that researchers have observed significant declines in anxiety, ptsd, phobias and depression. And, even better, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine, the use of EFT resulted in a significant increase in happiness, and I know we all could use a little more of that. So keep listening to learn more. Welcome to the Communication 24-7 podcast, where we communicate about how we communicate. I'm your host, jennifer Furlong.

Speaker 2: 1:39

I've asked Lauren to be a guest today because she is a practitioner in a field called emotional freedom technique. If you're feeling stress, you're feeling anxiety maybe you have experienced some childhood trauma or some other traumatic experience Lauren is able to help us because she guides her clients on a journey of self-healing. She wants us to break through this trauma, break through those obstacles. And how do we do that? Well, this is one technique that she can talk to us about. You know how we can go about doing that, whether you're obstacles or physical, or they're mental or they're emotional.

Speaker 2: 2:24

I hope that you will find today's episode helpful for you. I don't want you to feel stuck. And how does this connect with communication. Well, just real quickly, you know, if you've listened to me for some time, you know one of the things that I always talk about with communication skills is it starts from within, and I think that's something that Lauren and I will have in common. The words that we choose to use, our mindset, how we interact with others, how we interact with the world around us, is directly connected with how we are feeling. You know, we all go through similar emotions. How we express those emotions could be very different, though, and then how we identify those emotions could impact how we communicate those emotions And, of course, how we communicate in general. So, lauren, thank you so much for being a guest on the show. I'm really looking forward to having this conversation. I think it's going to be an important one.

Speaker 1: 3:23

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I'm really looking forward to the conversation too.

Speaker 2: 3:27

Can you just tell us really quick a little bit about yourself. What is your background in this area? Yeah, so before.

Speaker 1: 3:34

I got into this work. I was in corporate marketing and nonprofit marketing for over 15 years And because of that background is really why I lean towards working with a lot of entrepreneurs now and business people. I got into this because of my own journey with my anxiety and stress and looking for a holistic way of managing it. And EFT, which is also referred to as tapping this emotional freedom technique You can hear me use those phrases interchangeably is a practice that can help with a wide variety of conditions, from anxiety and fear to limiting beliefs that we may have, thoughts of feeling like you're not good enough, or even physical pain in the body, and it's a practice that is really helpful in regulating your nervous system and helping you to feel calmer, and I think that that is a very important aspect of communication, right? We want to communicate from a calm space where we can speak our truth and do so eloquently, so tapping can really help with that.

Speaker 2: 4:55

That's so I'm so happy that we're having this conversation. I'm already thinking about so many different areas of communication that I think this could help in, and the obvious one, of course, would probably be public speaking. But we have a lot of anxiety when we have interpersonal communication. Some of us struggle a little more than others with those skills listening skills, interviewing, going into the workplace, having a difficult conversation with a co-worker or maybe your boss. I can think of so many different ways that this could probably be applied. When did you actually discover this? Like, what drew you to this? You said that you were in marketing for some time. Was there a catalyst? Like, was there a specific thing that happened, that it was just the light bulb moment for you?

Speaker 1: 5:51

Yeah Well, i found EFT or EFT found me, i don't know When. I really started this journey of being able to better manage my anxiety. And so for me, that was this process of first going to yoga teacher training and really utilizing yoga to help manage my anxiety, which, being at the yoga studio all the time, introduced me to Reiki, which is another form of energy healing and meditation and sound baths, all of these different things. And I also was also in a coaching program, and when I was in that program, the coach was actually going out on maternity leave And so, because of that, she was bringing in all of these different professionals to talk to us during that time, and one of the people that she brought in was an EFT practitioner.

Speaker 1: 6:45

And I was very skeptical of this idea of physically tapping on your body to reduce stress and anxiety. But, like I said, i was at a time in my life where I was dealing with a lot of stress, and I think when you get to a point where your stress or your fear or your overwhelm is so intense, you are willing to try anything, and that's where I was, and so I did. And in that first group session within the coaching group, i noticed a physical difference in my body of how I felt. I was like, oh wow, i really I really do feel calmer. That's odd, you know. I'm like I need to, i need to learn more about this. And so I then went on to have some one on one sessions and had some big aha moments in those one on one sessions, and then I just kept going. I was really intrigued by it, kept practicing my it myself and then decided to go on to get certified so that I could share it with other people.

Speaker 2: 7:39

I'm so happy that you admitted that at the beginning you thought, hmm, I'm not so sure about this. There are a lot of people who are skeptical. Yeah, I'm not okay.

Speaker 1: 7:51

And I tell people you can be skeptical. I have no. you know, it's not my job to convince anybody, but if you are someone who is curious about it like genuinely, genuinely curious you're maybe tried other things at managing your anxiety. maybe it's worked a little bit, maybe it hasn't worked at all And you're open to trying something else. I think the great thing is is that there's no negative side effect of this. So my thought is why not? why not give it a try and see if it's going to be the thing that moves the needle for you and helps you to feel better?

Speaker 2: 8:21

I love that attitude. I agree, just try it out, why not? It's not going to hurt anything, i mean. And the best thing that could happen is you experience exactly what you were just talking about. You felt something transition, you felt better, you know, in your body, and you could tell that there was something happening, that there was some positive change going on, and I think that's what many of us are seeking. But you wouldn't classify this as a quick fix for things, right?

Speaker 1: 8:52

Now I would say that, with anything you know, they call it a practice for a reason, right. It is a tool that can be used both proactively so on a day-to-day basis, to just as a form of self-care, but then it can also be used reactively in moments of stress and overwhelm. And I do think in those moments of stress and overwhelm it can really greatly help you quickly. But it also, you know, the more you're more likely to use the tool if it is something that you're practicing on a regular basis.

Speaker 2: 9:27

Yes, practice makes better. I say that a thousand times all the time every day. Practice makes better. It does not make perfect, and I envision people using this like I would like for them to use a lot of other tools that we talk about in communication, in the field, and that it does take time. It takes effort. What may work in one situation may not necessarily work very well in a different situation, but you got to try it And, at the end of the day, just add this to your tool belt And it could be that one thing that you reach for. You know in any given moment that you find this is the one thing that you needed, and I do like the idea of practicing it, because in many things in communication it's all about the practicing, it's the effort that you put into it. It's almost like building muscle memory. You really want it to become a part of your daily practice and so that it's not so odd, it's not so foreign to you, tell the audience what is EFT Exactly? what are we getting into here?

Speaker 1: 10:37

Yeah, I describe EFT to people, i like to compare it to acupuncture, simply because people are more familiar with acupuncture. So when you go to an acupuncturist, they take those tiny little needles and they put them in at certain points of the body, and the points of the body that they put those needles in at are the end points of the meridians. The meridians are how energy moves through the body. The meridians are very commonly spoken about within Chinese medicine, right? So we think about how our veins carry our veins and our blood vessels carry our blood and our meridians carry our energy. Now, if you were to go to a doctor and get a scan, your meridians are not going to show up on a scan. However, these are points that have been identified, like I said, through Chinese medicine to help you kind of unclog some stuck energy, and so, instead of putting needles in, we're applying light acupressure to some of these same points.

Speaker 1: 11:39

With EFT, there is a protocol of nine points on the body that we are continue to tap on, regardless of what the issue is. So that's just the one straight protocol. Whatever your problem is, you tap on these certain points and you speak out loud and acknowledge the emotions that you are having, and so the practice, like we've said, is called emotional freedom technique, and it really helps you do just that. It helps you find freedom from your emotions, and holding space for our emotions is not something that we as humans generally enjoy doing when the emotions are uncomfortable emotions So when we're talking about anger, sadness, overwhelm these are not the warm fuzzies We don't get excited to feel those things.

Speaker 1: 12:29

We most of the time try to avoid feeling those feelings. And when we do that, what do we do? We tend to shove it down, suppress it, and then we distract ourselves with something else so that we don't have to feel those feelings. And I think we all know that that can work in the short term. Right Like you can avoid feeling the anger maybe if you throw yourself onto the couch and you have some glasses of wine after work instead of acknowledges.

Speaker 2: 12:56

Right Watch some trash TV, you know.

Speaker 1: 12:59

Whatever, whatever, you know your vices to not feel the feelings. But I think we all know that over time that stuff begins to build up and it's going to come out in some way, and sometimes that comes out emotionally And sometimes that comes out physically. And so this practice of EFT, or tapping, is really acknowledging those feelings and tapping on the points, as we're speaking out loud and saying how we feel, and doing so really helps us to move through those emotions as opposed to shoving them down, because we can spend a lot of energy and a lot of time trying to avoid the thing right And from from it. But if we allow ourselves to feel it and move through it and grow from it, then that's where the real beauty happens and the real healing happens and you begin to feel more comfortable. And so you know, if we're talking about communication skills, if you're someone who maybe is has a fear of public speaking, or you struggle with, you know your voice being heard, or you don't know, you don't feel like you have people don't want to hear what you have to say, or whatever.

Speaker 1: 14:15

you know these thoughts are that that we feed ourselves right A lot of the time, the thoughts that we feed ourselves. we think over and, over and over again. If we take the time to say that thing out loud, something that feels really, really true at the onset, we can start to create this distance from it And we realize, wait a second, that's ridiculous, you know, like you need to look at it from a new perspective. And when you do that, you begin to think differently, and then you feel differently. and when you feel differently, you act differently. And then, of course, when we act differently, we get different results, and so this is a very gentle tool that that can help you do all of that.

Speaker 2: 14:56

It sounds amazing and I really appreciate that. One of the things that you said was you have to be able to identify the emotion. When I talk about communicating about difficult topics or, you know, if you're in the middle of a conflict, there are many times that we don't take a moment to just pause, hit the pause button and just really recognize, acknowledge what your emotions are, what are you feeling in this moment, and then questioning How might this be impacting my communication, you know, and then the other person as well, you know, take a moment to acknowledge, acknowledge what do you think they might be feeling in this moment and how might that be impacting their communication with you. So it seems a key piece is Identify the emotion, you know, bring that to the surface, be able to identify it. Let's talk about that for a couple of minutes, because What many people I've been told they have a hard time.

Speaker 2: 15:59

I'm Verbalizing, what is it that I'm feeling? You know, sometimes I will recommend that They have a list of emotions that they can, you know, just kind of draw from. You know, do you feel Frustrated? do you feel angry? Do you feel sad? Do you feel grief? You know, do whatever. It is this whole list of different words that that you think can encapsulate what that emotion is that you're feeling. Is that something similar To what you've experienced when you've tried to teach people this technique?

Speaker 3: 16:35

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Speaker 1: 16:59

Yeah, yeah, i mean, emotions can be can be challenging, for sure. And figuring out what it is that you're feeling and and for some people it is More of a physical sensation, right, and we can go with the example of grief, right, maybe it's just like this heaviness on your chest and that's what you're and that's what you're feeling. Or, with anger, maybe it's like a tightness in in your jaw, and you work with the physical sensation first and notice what thoughts start to come up. And you know, sometimes, sometimes it makes a lot of sense, right. So let's say, you're feeling really angry And then the thought of what somebody, somebody said to you today, you know, comes and you're like, oh god, it just really really made me angry.

Speaker 1: 17:48

And then, as you continue to tap on this anger about whatever this person said, then maybe another thought comes up, or another memory comes up, and it could be of something from your past, something that you might not, you know, cognitively make sense.

Speaker 1: 18:03

It would be like a memory of, maybe from elementary school, and you're like, oh, that has nothing to do with why I'm feeling angry right now, but I can guarantee you that if an old memory is coming up, there is a reason for that and although there might not be that like direct connection that you can draw the line as to why it's coming up, it is worth exploring and tapping a beautiful tool that can help you to do that and really help you to connect those dots. And because a lot of the time these, these things that have happened in the past, maybe we didn't have the tools to process them then The best that we could at that time. But there are so many things from our past that really are impacting us today And we might not be aware of that. You know some of it we may be aware of. Maybe there's trauma that you're fully aware of, things That have happened that you haven't processed. But then there's also the possibility that there's things that happened that That you don't realize how much it really is impacting you still.

Speaker 2: 18:58

Oh yeah, things will seep through the surface, absolutely. And and I'm glad you said You made mention of, if you know, labeling the emotion, but also paying attention to your body. You know, how is your jaw clenched? Does your chest feel tight? Do you have those butterflies in your stomach? You know, are you clenching your fists? Whatever it is? you know. So, if you can't quite reach for the word, don't get frustrated that you can't quite label. Whatever the emotion is that you're feeling, really focus on how is this manifesting in your body?

Speaker 1: 19:36

Exactly And like, and for some people right, some people are really visual, right. So it's like Okay, maybe we're going back to that feeling in your chest, the heaviness in your chest. Okay, like, if you close your eyes and really begin to focus and go inward, does any sort of picture come to mind? You know, sometimes people will say, oh, it looks like a big brick wall and I don't know how I'm going to get around it. Or, you know, i see this massive volcano and I'm little at the bottom. I'm there.

Speaker 1: 20:06

There's all sorts of different visualizations that I've come across in working with clients, and In doing so, you can just tap on whatever, even if it doesn't make sense to you, right, like if you're just like what, why am I seeing a volcano? You know, we can just tap on that picture using those words I see this volcano, i don't know why, i don't know what it means, this volcano. And then we can go to go into the detail of what the volcano looks like, and doing so will inevitably bring other things up to the surface and it will begin to make sense. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 20:38

I'm thinking you're describing a volcano and I'm thinking that makes perfect sense to me. It's like it's about to erupt. It's like bubbling into the surface. It's red hot and everybody watch out. Right Yeah, it's about to occur, perfect.

Speaker 1: 20:57

I had one of my clients that was a real example. One of my clients was saying that she felt like she was this little thing at the bottom of this big volcano and we continued to tap on the picture like I described, and as we continued to tap, her vantage point of the volcano began to shift. So we're really scared and really overwhelmed because there was all this lava that was about to come down and she felt like she wasn't safe And as we continued to tap, by the end of the session she was on a different mountain. She could still see the volcano. There was a completely different relationship to it and she was able to make the connection as to what that meant to her in her life and she felt a lot calmer and she felt more at ease. That's a powerful practice right there. Yeah, if you can calm your body.

Speaker 1: 21:50

And then we haven't talked yet about some of the science behind what's actually happening inside of the brain, and so what's happening is, as we're tapping on these specific points, a message is being sent to the amygdala in the brain.

Speaker 1: 22:04

The amygdala is the part of the brain that controls fight or flight, and I always remind people that part of the brain is there to protect you. It's there if you need to fight off the bear or you need to run away or hide. But when we're talking about chronic anxiety and stress and dealing with that all the time and that amygdala firing all the time and being in that fight or flight, that's obviously not healthy. And so when we're tapping on these points, it's sending a message to the amygdala saying hello, amygdala, you do not need to be generating all of that cortisol, you are not in fight or flight. And then it slowly begins to reduce the amount of cortisol in the body, which is the stress hormone. And then it happens. Then you can begin to think more clearly and you can begin to make those better decisions, and that's a place that we all want to be.

Speaker 2: 22:53

I'm glad you mentioned the science behind it, because that was going to be one of the things that I wanted to ask you about, because so many people will hear the title of this episode like, oh, what is Jen talking about? But there really is a science to this, and there are some other techniques that I've talked about when talking about public speaking and managing your anxiety, that nervousness that happens, and so there is something to that. When you're able to move your body in such a way, it does show. Research does show that you can lower your cortisol levels by standing in a certain position. You can raise your testosterone levels by standing in a more confident type of position, so this stuff really does work. It may be called something different, something that you might not be comfortable with it, if you think this is some new age, whatever it is we're getting into, but it's really not. It's not new age. Like you said, this is something that comes from thousands and thousands of years.

Speaker 1: 24:02

And you can read the studies. I mean, the study about the reduction in cortisol showed that this was a group tapping session. It showed that it reduced the cortisol up to 43%.

Speaker 3: 24:16

I mean, that's a really really good number.

Speaker 2: 24:19

Yeah, yeah, that's a significant amount.

Speaker 1: 24:22

Yeah, and so I mean, and it's so simple, right? So once you learn where the where the points are, even if you're in a situation maybe where you're in public and you don't feel comfortable obviously talking out loud and tapping and talking on the points, even if you just find one of the points that you like, for whatever reason, and you just apply light pressure to it and you do some deep breathing, that in itself is going to help you feel calmer in the moment And that can be really, really helpful, whether that's right before a talk that you need to give or if a lot of the time. I'll talk to my clients about some of the additional points. There are the points that are part of the protocol and then there's some additional points and I like to share those because they can be more discreet, right? So if you squeeze at the bottom of any finger, at the bottom of the bed of the nail of any finger on both sides so I'm using my index finger and thumb to squeeze at the bottom of the bed of the nail of my other index finger, moving to each of the fingers on my hand those are additional points that help to reduce the cortisol in the body, so you can do that very easily, right, and it can be really helpful.

Speaker 1: 25:37

If you're going to a doctor's office and you need to be present, right, you need to be able to receive the information that the doctor is telling you and not you know, sometimes it's really can be really scary and you kind of just like have that out of body experience where you're not there, you're not hearing what's being said. And if you really want to be able to focus, you can just, it looks like you're fiddling, you know, messing with your fingers, but what you're doing is taking some deep breath, squeezing these points, and it's helping to calm you so that you can remain more focused and clearheaded.

Speaker 2: 26:08

Yeah, that's so wild because I know, in body language right, you know nonverbal communication one of the things that we talk about is it's called a self soothing technique, where you are self soothing when you you know if you rub your fingers or something like that. But in public speaking, you know, we talk about it in terms of try not to do that while you're actually doing your talk, because it will come across to the audience as, yeah, you're feeling nervous right now. It's pretty clear you're feeling nervous. So it's a technique that I can see you could apply it before you go out on stage, absolutely.

Speaker 1: 26:46

Or if you're, or if you're in a boardroom and you're just sitting there, your hands could be under the desk and you could be doing Yeah, yeah, really discreet.

Speaker 2: 26:54

So it seems like these techniques that you're talking about, I can see how it could have an immediate you know, your body could have an immediate reaction to it. You know, with the self soothing, the calming down, having you, you know, be in the moment, How long does it last? Is this something that you know, just five or 10 minutes later you're going to be, your stress levels are going to be at the previous levels, Or is this something that, the more you keep doing this technique, you can find that you'll find that your body is reacting differently and maybe you're not as stressed as you used to be in certain situations?

Speaker 1: 27:36

Yeah, I mean, I do think the more that you practice it, you know, the more resilient you become. for sure, and I think it depends, you know, how long it lasts for or how long it takes. It really depends on the person and it really depends on, you know, the issue that you're dealing with. If it's been an issue that you've been dealing with for years and years and years, it's probably going to take a longer amount of time as opposed to if it's a newer issue. But you know, i often give this analogy of weeding your garden right.

Speaker 1: 28:09

If you have dandelions in your garden and you first just pull off the flower, you know it's going to grow back, and then maybe the next time you pull off the flower and the leaves, it's still there and it's going to grow back. But if you go in there and you pull the whole thing out at the root, it's going to be gone. And so that's not to say that you're not going to have to do some weeding later on down the road, but it's like you can get to the root of these things, you know, and release it. It's not something that you have to continue to hold on to Now. there may be things that happen again in the future that then trigger something, but then you have the tool to be able to deal with it.

Speaker 2: 28:49

I love that analogy. It's you know it applies so well to so many things in life. I mean we really do have to pay attention to weeding right.

Speaker 2: 28:58

You got to make sure the weeds don't take over, and if we ignore it, yeah, the weeds are going to take over, and it's going to be even harder, you know, to get those out of the garden rather than just maintaining. So could you take us through just maybe one example of something that you would teach someone who maybe they're giving a TED talk for the first time? they're going to be on that big stage and they're backstage right now and they're feeling really uncomfortable, which is, by the way, perfectly normal. Congratulations, you're human, right, this is a big deal. Like you have every right to be a little nervous, so there's nothing wrong with you, you know. So you have your TED speaker and they want you to kind of help them calm down before they walk out on that big stage. What would be one thing that you could take them through to kind of help them in that scenario?

Speaker 1: 29:56

Yeah, So if the main thing is just feeling really anxious in their body, we can tap using words like that. If there's another thought that's going on, like I don't know, i'm afraid I'm going to forget all my words. Right, that's a big one.

Speaker 3: 30:12

Yep Right.

Speaker 1: 30:14

If that's the thought, i'm afraid I'm going to forget all my words, and so we would use whatever the specific thing is for that person. I want to share how important it is to use words that really resonate with you. The more specific the better. So what we would do we would start tapping on the pinky side of the hand And so you can tap with either hand on the opposite pinky side of the hand. I tend to tap with my right hand because I'm already, but so I'm tapping on the left pinky side of the hand, right below the pinky on the on the hand, and we would use a phrase that's like. That would be like this even though I'm really anxious right now and I'm afraid I'm going to forget all my words out there, i love and accept myself. Even though I'm feeling really anxious and I'm afraid I'm going to forget all my words, i love and accept myself, and so you would say that three times on the pinky side of the hand, and then we would move through the other points and we do what's called a reminder phrase, and so we would say coming to the top of the head, which is the next point, i'm really anxious, i'm afraid I'm going to forget all my words. And then we move to the eyebrows Really anxious, i'm afraid I'm going to forget all my words.

Speaker 1: 31:31

Side of the eyes, i'm afraid I'm going to forget all these words. Right, so you can keep it really simple, whatever is most present for you in that moment. And we continue to move through the points, and we also use a scale on one to 10. Like, how anxious am I right now in this moment, how afraid am I that I'm going to forget all of my words? And so maybe on that scale, you're at a seven out of 10. And so you continue to tap, you continue to say those words and you go through what we call a round of tapping And then you check back in And maybe another thought is arising, right, maybe it's a memory of a time that you forgot your words when you were a kid, right?

Speaker 2: 32:10

Yeah, that big essay in school, or the time you had to do a report in front of the class.

Speaker 1: 32:20

Change the words and it's like, even though this memory from school is coming up, it's okay and I'm okay, or even when I'm having this memory right now, that was then and this is now Right. And so you can change what we call flex the statement at the end to match with what feels best for you. And the idea is that we are holding space and acknowledging the fear, we're acknowledging the anxiety, and then we are intentionally and slowly moving towards that better thought, or feeling.

Speaker 1: 32:57

As opposed to this idea of like okay, i recognize that I'm feeling really anxious right now, and then, instead, i'm going to go all the way to the other end of the spectrum and just be like I'm super confident, i'm going to go out and full.

Speaker 2: 33:12

Who are you trying to fool, right?

Speaker 1: 33:13

There's a big disconnect, like of you know saying the positive affirmation, but you don't feel that Right. So in spread with tapping, we're acknowledging how we're really feeling And then we're slowly moving towards that better, that better thought or feeling And in the process, reducing the anxiety, helping you to feel calmer so that you can, so that you can go out there and kill it, you know right.

Speaker 2: 33:36

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Speaker 2: 34:08

So this has some really great immediate applications for you know, like that example that I just gave with giving a TED talk, getting ready to be on the big stage What if you're someone who, just every day you wake up and I know a lot of people will relate to this you immediately wake up and you feel it in the pit of your stomach.

Speaker 2: 34:28

It's just no matter what you do, you always feel like you know you're not in the pit of your stomach, you feel like I need to be working on something, or I should be doing this over there, or you know I'm always feeling I think this happens with women a lot especially you know you've got work, you've got kids, you've got your friends, you've got you know everything else under the sun that is happening And I think a lot of times we end up feeling that we're falling short somewhere And there's so that feeling in the pit of the stomach. You know we can't help but to wake up to it. Is this something that you recommend? you wake up and it's like the first thing you do, or maybe do it a couple of times throughout the day, maybe the last thing you do before you go to bed at night. What do you recommend?

Speaker 1: 35:21

Yeah, Well, first I want to say that I literally had a tapping session with a client today about not feeling like they were enough, but they were doing enough they are enough, right.

Speaker 1: 35:31

So I think that that is a very common thing And I think that that physical sensation of that pit in your stomach is also pretty common. And so, yeah, i think you know, when you're creating a practice, any type of practice is always best to attach it to something that you are already doing. So if perhaps you have some sort of morning routine that you are already doing, maybe that's meditation, whatever it may be tapping, even if it's just five minutes of tapping to that in the morning would be great, i mean. But it doesn't matter whether you do it in the morning or you do it in the evening or at any time during the day. But, yeah, you can start with the physical sensation and describing in detail what that feels like.

Speaker 1: 36:19

Or if you get some you know, it feels like a boulder in the pit of my stomach and using words to describe the feeling that you're getting in your stomach. And if there is that awareness of like I'm not doing enough, i'm not, you know, making enough money, I'm not reaching out to enough people, whatever the not enoughness is, you know, for you, like I said, getting as specific as possible with it, using those words and tapping on the points and seeing where it goes, seeing what other other thoughts come up, noticing if the physical sensation shifts, because that is that is common. And if you do notice that the physical sensation moves right, maybe it moves to a different area of the body. We call that chasing the pain And it's typically an indicator that there is absolutely an emotional component to the physical sensation that you're experiencing, and we can usually find some relief from that.

Speaker 2: 37:21

I'm just blown away and I'm already thinking about, you know, implementing this. I'm already thinking about, you know, from the moment I wake up to the time I go to bed at night. You know, kind of fitting this in throughout the day. My listeners are going to get so tired of me talking about this because this relatively fresh for me, but I'm freshly divorced, after my husband and I were together for 27 years, and so it's like this is a big, big change for me.

Speaker 2: 37:50

And I know there are, you know, others out there who have gone through something similar or are going through something similar, so I can see how this could be applied even to those types of situations. It absolutely is something that I think everybody goes through at some point in time or another. So I just so appreciate you sharing this technique with us because I think it could help so many people. It's not going to solve the problem that might be causing these feelings, these emotions, you know, like the pain and the anxiety, but I can definitely see how this could help us manage, you know, maybe manage more effectively if you will.

Speaker 1: 38:38

Yeah, one of the things I always like to say is that we need to feel it to heal it. That's right.

Speaker 1: 38:43

And if you're like, if you're avoiding feeling it, you know it's just it's going to sit there until you feel it or until it makes you sick. you know, sometimes, when, like all the stress and anxiety, when we don't listen to our bodies, when our bodies really are trying to talk to us, whether that be with an ache or a pain or maybe something even more severe, and we're not listening to that, you know, we really need to learn to communicate with our own bodies and listen to our bodies and what they're trying to tell us so that we can heal it, because nobody wants to hear their body scream. So we really need to listen to our bodies when they're whispering, we don't have to hear them scream.

Speaker 2: 39:27

Have you had any clients that you've worked with over time that they have found wait a minute, there's been a shift. There's, you know it's not that same foreboding, the feeling, that abyss, you know that existed beforehand. Now I'm starting to feel actually lighter. You know, i'm not feeling as often, i'm not feeling that heaviness as often as I used to. Are they still practicing the technique even though they're not needing it as often?

Speaker 1: 40:03

Yeah, so the client that I have worked with for the longest has been two and a half years and she in the beginning we were meeting every week and now we're on a just twice a month, little maintenance and she came to me she was an accountant, she was working a corporate job, she was dealing with a lot of anxiety and stress. She felt very stuck in this job. Yeah, i think it was also a toxic work environment as well, but lots of fear around creating any sort of change in her life and around the. I think it was like the seven or eight month mark. We, or she, came to me and she said that she decided she was ready for a change. She left her job.

Speaker 1: 40:54

She has since moved into a new career, she has written a book and, yeah, like and she we were talking our last session and she was just like you know, i'm really, she's just really able to feel into joy now and happiness and that you know we were both reflecting on how much of a change it has been since the beginning of our working together and how grateful I am to be a small part of her story and helping her to create the change that she deserved and she desired and was in there, right, like all of these answers are within us, and sometimes so much crap right, that's like shoved up on top of it that we can't access those answers.

Speaker 1: 41:40

And so by holding space for these past events that are basically clogging up your system and those emotions, we're able to really find freedom from those emotions. And what I like to remind people of is that the definition of emotion is energy in motion. So it's this idea that our emotions want to move, they want to be felt, they want to be processed. They do not want to be shoved down and ignored. That's right. They need to escape. Yeah, they need to be, they need to be felt so that we can move through them. And that's what she did and what so many of my clients have been able to do, and it's an honor to be able to help people with that process.

Speaker 2: 42:25

I bet it's a fantastic feeling to be able to witness that change. 100%, Yeah. And you know, I think, the good news for the rest of us you know what I'm hearing how you're describing it. All too often, we feel like we have no control over the things that are causing us this pain, But this gives us something that we can control, you know, and, in a way, by controlling that by you know, activating this by you know, getting involved in this, you know, I think, of course, that's going to be very therapeutic, you know, at some point, to be able to exercise some agency, you know, over this. I think that's fantastic. I love hearing that there are people who are being able to they're able to take this, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, And take this to the next step. That is absolutely wonderful. So how many clients do you work with? Like, like? are you a full time practice? Are you doing this part time?

Speaker 1: 43:23

Yeah, I'm a full time. I'm a full time practitioner, So you know, based on you know, the needs of the clients, how often we need to meet kind of depends on how many clients I work with at a time. I do also have a small group that I run, as well as a free group that is for specifically for entrepreneurs to come to. I host that once a month And it's a great opportunity. If you are curious about tapping, you want to try it in real time, you want to see how this works, I ask for volunteers in the group to share what it is that they're struggling with in their business And then we tap collectively together And there is a real positive energy that happens when these entrepreneurs come together, are supporting each other And, you know, something that one person might share might be something that you have dealt with in the past or could be dealing with in the future, And so there's always some sort of synchronicities that come up in that space as well. So there's a variety of different ways that I work with clients.

Speaker 2: 44:29

Yeah, it's great to be able to establish that connection with others who kind of know where you're coming from because they've been there. They're experiencing something similar. So do you do this in person? Do you do it online?

Speaker 1: 44:43

So the majority of my clients are virtual and we meet online, but I do have the ability to meet with clients in person if they are local to the Delaware area.

Speaker 2: 44:54

Okay, okay, so a few lucky people. If you're in that area, i'll make sure to have your contact information and all that out there as well. So why don't you share with the audience? you know how do we get in touch with you if we're interested in pursuing this.

Speaker 1: 45:12

Yeah, so my website is mindshiftwithlaurencom. I do have a free masterclass that's listed on my website, which is mindshiftwithlaurencom forward slash masterclass. I go into some more of the science and then I walk everyone through an actual tapping practice so they can experience it for themselves. And I think that's where the real magic happens, because you can talk about it and kind of think about what it might be like, or. But when you really get to experience it in your own body, that's that's when you're like Oh, yeah you get, you get excited about it.

Speaker 1: 45:44

At least that's that was been my experience with it.

Speaker 2: 45:47

Oh, i bet, I bet. So I'll make sure that all of that information is in the show notes and we'll provide the links and all of that, because I really want to encourage our listeners to try this out. I know that you know there's somebody out there who is searching for something, some way to kind of help with whatever it is that they're going through in this moment in time, and if just one person you know can activate this and it can help them, i think it would be well worth. You know, our time here. Do you have anything else you'd like for the audience to know? any parting words of wisdom, something that I forgot to ask? What would you like to end on?

Speaker 1: 46:25

I would just how? would just tell people that if you are someone that's dealing with anxiety or fears or worries, and and you haven't found something that that's helpful helpful yet don't don't give up, like the answers truly are all within And there's so many different healing modalities out there that can help you access them, and tapping tapping is one of my, one of my favorites, but it's just go, continue to continue to give yourself that gift of of allowing yourself to try new things. If something's showing up in your universe, it's showing up for a reason, and trust that and give it a go and see if it's going to be the thing to help you. I love it.

Speaker 2: 47:05

Y'all heard it here from Lauren Give it a try. And I'm telling you, give it a try. I think we're all going to give it a try And then at some point we'll all come back together And then we'll talk about it. You know what kind of amazing experiences that we've had. You know what kind of transformation that we've had. Because I truly believe in this, i really am going to put an effort, you know, to add this to some of the things that I'm trying, because I can see I hate. I've done acupuncture before and absolutely loved it. So, as you were describing that, you know, as a way to understand how this works, i can absolutely see how this could be beneficial, so I'm excited to try it out. Thank you so much, lauren, for being a guest on the show. I am so thrilled that you wanted to be here and talk about this technique. You're sharing it with the world And I appreciate you doing that because I know it's going to help a lot of people.

Speaker 1: 48:01

Oh, thank you so much for having me. This has been so much fun. I appreciate it All right.

Speaker 2: 48:05

Take care everybody. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media or leave a rating and a review.