This week marked the first meeting of the Fertility Tapping Circle. Forty-five minutes before the meeting, I got a text from my kids’ school that the entire school was going to be closed for at least a week due to Covid outbreaks.
Cool, cool, cool.
Ok so here I am supposed to run this peaceful meeting where we guide people through emotional breakthroughs and I have a naked toddler escaping through the back door, a dog going nuts over the pool person and just general chaos ensuing. But it was actually perfect. It was the most perfect example of how ridiculous life can get, and how we can actually become the calmest, most powerful version of ourselves even in these chaotic moments. (And I fully acknowledge that many of my patients and clients desperately want the chaos I just described and I want more than anything to help them get there).
The universe served me this gift of chaos, so I could show up imperfectly…
It was an opportunity to rise to an occasion, guide this group through Tapping for grief over pregnancy loss, overwhelm about fertility treatments, difficulty trusting their bodies…and show them that it’s possible to move through these emotional barriers and limiting beliefs even when life is really fucking messy.
You might be wondering what the hell I’m talking about when I say “tapping.” Ok here goes: Tapping, aka EFT, aka Emotional Freedom Technique, is a why of processing trauma and emotions by literally tapping on points on the body while thinking about the pain/trauma/emotion. These points are actually acupressure or meridian points and are associated with moving stuck energy as well as helping to rewire brain pathways by accessing the amygdala.
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I was first introduced to Tapping, aka EFT/Emotional Freedom Technique in my first year of medical school. I had been struggling for years with a chronic health issue (interstitial cystitis for those who are curious) and my mom, an acupuncturist, had just taking a course in Tapping. She suggested it might help for the times the pain was distracting me from sleep, fun, studying, etc…and I was like ready to try anything. I already had a great naturopathic doctor, urologist, and plan in place but sometimes the pain would flare, the anxiety would flare with it and the questions like “will this be my life forever?” would creep in and get me really down.
When I started Tapping, not only did it take the edge off the pain in a big way, it also calmed my mind and improved my outlook, which had a ripple effect I wasn’t expecting- better sleep, better boundaries in relationships, more confidence.
Eventually I was able to overcome the chronic health issues and I kinda forgot about Tapping for a while…Until a few years ago when a patient of mine had a devastating pregnancy loss. (Every pregnancy loss is devastating and I’m still not sure why this one struck me the way it did). I was so shaken, struck with grief…and it wasn’t even MY baby who was lost. Questions came up for me like “how do I keep going in this work knowing tragedies will eventually happen? How can I be the person a grieving patient can depend on? What kind of additional support do we need to have on board when there has been this type of trauma?”
Re-enter Tapping…
For something so simple, my experience with tapping has been really REALLY powerful. I started practicing again for myself and then introducing it into treatment plans for my patients who were struggling with infertility, pregnancy losses and fear of getting pregnant again. What started as a quick byline in their chart with a link to some general tapping guides evolved into creating customized scripts for helping them get through very specific situations.
When my patients and group clients started tapping, the results were profound. Fears that had them losing sleep and paralyzed when it came to decision making were no longer keeping them up at night. They were starting to trust their bodies again. They were noticing more joy in their lives. They were able to actually relax.
These are the types of situations we are tapping about in my practice and in my group fertility program:
- Fear of getting pregnant again after loss(es)
- Fear of fertility treatments (tests, needles, etc)
- Feeling like you can’t trust your body
- Feeling like you’re running out of time
- Feeling like you want to control everything and yet knowing you have no control over anything and yet being totally unable to relinquish control (IYKYK)
- Constantly worrying about all of the above
- Generally feeling stressed, tired, overwhelmed & anxious
Does everyone NEED to practice tapping? IMHO, I think so…Here’s a list of benefits:
- Inexpensive/free
- Non-invasive (no needles involved!)
- You don’t have to talk about your fears and trauma in circles…you actually RELEASE them
- Results can be almost immediate
Ready to try tapping?
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Check out one of my favorite tapping resources for beginners: The Tapping Solution Foundation is full of helpful research and guidance on how to start tapping.
Feel like you could use more specific fertility tapping? Check out the Fertility Tapping Circle, where the motto is “bring your baggage so we can release it!” In this group we are meeting weekly to support women through fertility treatments, pregnancy loss and everything in between.
For a sample of what tapping for fertility looks like, check out Day 2 in the Free 3 Day Fertility Training. Day 2 of this training is devoted to helping you cultivate a fertile mindset and we go through a sample tapping during this training.
Ready for more comprehensive fertility support?
I’d love to work with you! If you’re trying to get pregnant, hoping to try in the next 1-2 years or are looking for a better understanding of your hormones and cycles, you’re in the right place.
If you’re an Arizona resident, you can request a new patient consultation HERE. In person and virtual consultations are available. If you’re out of state, please use the contact form to reach out and discuss your options.
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