Why my morning ritual now includes EFT Tapping

No, I'm not talking about stock trading or dancing. EFT stands for emotional freedom technique and includes tapping on various meridian points on the body as a therapeutic approach to resolving challenges. I've started including tapping because quite frankly it makes me feel so f*cking good. About three months ago I discovered tapping through my friend Jennifer Partridge, who is a tapping coach. After one class, I new I had to go deeper and ended up taking her six-week Tap for Life program. That's how powerful it is. I'd be remiss if I didn't share it with others, so I'm sharing some basics on what is EFT, the benefits and how it's helped me.

What is EFT Tapping?

My simplistic mind thinks of tapping as a blend of Chinese acupressure and NLP. The practice involves tapping on meridian points while repeating statements. Through this process, practitioners can safely acknowledge any challenges while rewiring new beliefs.  Normally we when we undergo stress, the amygdala goes off sending a fight/ flight response. However, as licensed counselor Yelena Senia explains, "Tapping as you trigger your fight/flight response sends a message that the amygdala can deactivate, even though the threatening thought is still present. With repetition, the hippocampus gets the message: this thing that was previously filed as “dangerous” is not, in reality, a threat. Through tapping, painful memories, and your focus on a specific part of them, can change." In other words, tapping helps bring up triggers in a safe way such that we decondition ourselves from going into a biological stress state.

Why Tapping?

1. There are many proven benefits with tapping, including:

• Pain relief

• Anxiety / Depression

• Stress

• PTSD

• Creating new habits

• Weight loss

More than 100 research studies have shown positive benefits and the efficacy of Tapping. For example, in a 2019 EFT Tapping intervention study, Tapping resulted in significant reductions of cravings (−74 percent), pain (−57 percent), anxiety (−40 percent), depression (−35 percent), and post-traumatic stress disorder (−32 percent), and an increase in happiness (+31 percent). In addition to these psychological improvements, participants experienced physical health benefits such as a 37 percent reduction in cortisol levels, and a decrease in both resting heart rate and blood pressure. - from Bach, D., Groesbeck, G., Stapleton, P., Sims, R., Blickheuser, K., & Church, D. (2019). Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health. Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine

2. Tapping is simple and easy. You don't need to go to some jungle in the Amazon or make an appointment to get an adjustment. You can do tapping right in your home, in your car, while you're waiting for the subway, anywhere. The best thing is that you don't need to bring any other tools or instruments around with you. All you need is your body.

3. It's efficiently effective. I've seen it work time and time again with immediate effects. After seeing the shifts in my life and how it's helped my clients in just a single coaching session, I know tapping works.

I've been on a journey of healing and growth since I was a young and often scared child. Growing up in a home of volatility brought a great deal of trauma. For years I've been searching for ways to manage severe (suicidal) depression and anxiety, which has led me down on a path of managing and healing myself-- from 10-day vipassana silent meditation, breathwork, yoga teacher training, microdosing, CBT, acupuncture, chiropractic work, chi gong, past-life regression, reiki, SSRIs, lifestyle changes, hypnosis, bodywork, reading tons of books and so much more. All these are tools I still like to use, but now I feel most powerfully moved with EFT.

4. Why not tapping? You've got nothing to lose by trying it once. Like I mentioned, it's simple and easy. If you want to try out a tapping session for free, head over to Jen Partridge's YouTube, where you'll find tapping on anything from anxiety to abundance blocks.

Conclusion

Tapping has helped me and thousands of others. Keep in mind, though, that your health journey is yours and yours alone. EFT, like any other modality, is not one size fits all. I am sharing EFT tapping because I tried so many other things, and I know from personal experience what's worked for me. If you're at an impasse with certain challenges in your life, perhaps EFT is for you.

As always, if you have any questions, send me a message / comment below <3

G

More resources:

• What is EFT with Nick + Jessica Ortner

• How Trauma Gets Stored in the Body

How fostering a rescue pup rescued me through a depressive spiral

Gotta be honest with you and tell you why I really fostered a rescue pup. I noticed some of my depressive symptoms cycling back, and I wanted to proactively do something to steer me from going down a deep dark hole. Getting a dog has been on my mind for a number of years, but given how much traveling I do, I knew it would be unfair. This summer, though, I had decided not to travel, and during that time I had space to properly care for a dog.

When I told my friend Sara, who has been rescuing pups in Tulum, that I wanted to foster, she put me in contact with Sandy @rescue.vida. They rescue dogs in Playa del Carmen and find adoptions for them in Canada. One pup in particular, needed to find a new home, as he had been found in a neglected home with a serious skin disease. Since the rescue his skin has gotten much better, but in order to fly to Canada to meet a forever family, he would have to meet top health requirements. That's where I would come into play. For a month, I'd take care of him as he recovered.

I had very little expectations of what would happen during the month, but I had a feeling after raising several dogs when I was younger, that caring a puppy could be a healthy distraction from the gray clouds hovering over me.

Less than a week after messaging Sandy, Sami, a 9-month old pup came into my life and turned my world upside down. This post is dedicated to Sami and all our four-legged friends who are truly a gift to the world.

Here are a few things Sami taught me...

1. Habit stacking. James Clear of Atomic Habits writes how stacking a new habit with an old one can help create the new ones– i.e. "habit stacking." So, instead of hitting snooze multiple times, I would immediately get out of bed knowing that if I didn't I would have to wipe dog pee off the floor. So I would start the day out with a morning walk while Sami relieved himself. Throughout the day I'd take Sami for potty breaks, and during those times I'd intentionally take time away from the screen. No scrolling, only strolling. Feeding Sami regularly three times a day was also a reminder for me to eat regularly, which is something I often forget when lost in work. During this time I built up a habit of morning walks, taking breaks and eating more regularly.

2. Different perspective. Even while living in Tulum, I still walk as if I'm in New York. If I'm going to walk, I wanna break a little sweat. But Sami, like many dogs, use their time to walk outside as a way to check their pee-mail. So I couldn't just bulldoze through my power walk sessions. I'd stop when he'd stop, and that made me slow down. One time, he stopped mid stride and froze staring into the distance. What was he staring at, I decided to look? Across the street there was a little girl playing in the dirt. I would never have noticed her. She was playing all by herself 11 o'clock at night. Concerned she was alone, I approached her to make sure she was okay. Luckily, her parents weren't too far, but Sami noticed the important things that I would otherwise have missed.

3. "Treat" others with kindness. As in any relationship, the two of us got on each others' nerves. Giving him baths twice a week no doubt irritated him, and his chewing on everything got on mine. Over time, though we got into a groove of mutual respect. Yelling for Sami to come back into the bathtub became a thing of the past once I learned what Sami's love language was– doggie treats. He'd jump in to the bathtub on his own knowing that a treat was waiting for him in the tub, and I would thank him for cooperating in the bath with a treat every few minutes. Baths got easier each time. That extended to all forms of communication and training. With anticipating his need for kindness and not scolding, I was able to use treats to positively communicate and train desired behaviors. This process made me reflect on the ways I talk to myself when learning new things. Do I yell at myself for making mistakes, or do I give myself the opportunity to learn positively and set myself up for success?

4. Getting out and meeting new people. Sami initiated conversations with others I would not have typically started myself. He loved walking up to strangers and hug them. Once when Sami and I were out having dinner another family came and sat at the table next to us. Of course Sami went up to them and greeted the family. As I called for Sami to calm down, the father said, "He's beautiful! What kind of dog?" I told him I wasn't sure because he was a rescue. Then he looked at Sami a little longer and said, "You know Vizsla?" Of course I do. They are the dog of my dreams. He said, "He look like Vizsla– Hungarian dog. We are from Hungary." And as I looked at Sami a bit more, I could see a resemblance. Yes! We started talking more, and I discovered that this Hungarian had built an off-grid home near Coba (outside Tulum) and had 11 dogs, four cats and several chickens. The family invited me to join their table, and we continued talking into the evening. That's how Sami liked to roll.

5. Emotional well-being. Dogs are incredible companions. Did you know that humans release oxytocin when cuddling with their dogs? There's a unique bond that we have with dogs that goes back thousands of years. Most theories on the domestication of dogs have come to the conclusion that some 20,000 years ago wolves started hanging around humans because of easy access to food scraps. Humans in turn followed wolves to locate where prey could be found. The symbiotic relationship grew stronger over time, and dogs became human companions traveling together. One got food, and the other got protection. It was a win-win. With Sami, I felt that I was getting the better end of the stick though. He kept me feeling safe and loved wherever I went. He followed me everywhere I went, even when I moved from bed to bathroom. He was always there making sure I was okay. I never felt alone.

Sami teaching me how to chill

Our last day together at the beach

Want to foster / help?

So though my intentions to foster may not have initially been altruistic, I know Sami had a blast. He got to meet tons of people, made new neighborhood dog friends, and ate like a prince. If you'd like to experience unconditional love– give AND receive, I highly recommend fostering a dog. There are so many things that our fellow species can teach us. It's truly a gift that we get to share this planet with so many magnificent creatures.

I am so grateful to everyone at @revida.rescue, including Sandy and Abril, who are doing their part in this world to keep our fellow creatures safe and loved. They have an adoption organization called Project Home Sweet Home, where they send fosters to forever homes in Canada. Please reach out to them if you're interested in fostering in the Playa del Carmen / Tulum area, or if you know of someone who would be interested in adopting.

You can also donate to Revida Rescue here. This helps aid in the medical care, food, travel and so much more for our furry friends in transition.

I'd also like to thank Sara McMahon, who has been such a source of inspiration in caring for rescues. This work is a labor of love, but one no doubt that has so much to gift to the world.

If you'd like to know more about fostering a pup or more about this experience, comment below. Would love to hear from you!

Go fetch your dreams 🦴✨🐾

Time spent as a loner

For the last few months, I've been in a bit of a hibernation period. An awful travel experience with some acquaintances in June made me withdraw and not want to be social as much. Normally, I would flag my urges to withdraw as a sign of an oncoming depressive cycle. But something told me otherwise.

Rather than doing what I normally would do, which is scolding myself or forcing myself to go out more, I took a different approach. I gave myself permission to withdraw and not go out as much. Initially this was difficult, as the social gods were threatening to curse me with loneliness for the rest of my life. But the more I embraced the quiet, the less they came around.

So what did I do instead of go out, you may wonder? I mean, how much can one take before boredom settles in?

I started going on long daily walks while listening to audiobooks. In particular, I just finished Ram Dass’s Love, Service + Devotion, which is a series of lectures on the Bhagavad Gita. In Ram Dass nature, it’s hilarious and brilliantly insightful (highly recommend). These walks became a breath of fresh air for me.

In addition to walking I started learning about cryptocurrency. I've gone down youtube rabbit holes learning about crypto and have even gotten friends to invest. Never thought I would, but I've found crypto to be quite fascinating.

Though journaling has always been a part of my life, I started experimenting with a new way of writing. It's called writing with your non-dominant hand. Bea, an incredibly insightful healer in Tulum, recommended I read The Power of Your Other Hand by Lucia Cappacione. Writing with the non-dominant hand helps us access the other side of our brain, which often involves problem-solving, creative thinking and the inner child voice. This soon became a way for me to connect with my innermost thoughts and helped me deepen and own voice as an artist.

Writing with my other hand led me down a curious path back to watercolor and drawing. I've never been particularly "good" at either, but my curiosity once again led me down a youtube rabbit hole. In just a few videos, my paintings went from blah to ah– still no Picasso, but at least not trashworthy.

Then I started watching Spanish language series on Amazon. This helped me improve my Spanish comprehension and get more of the slang down.

I started regularly cooking again and have regained a sense of satisfaction in feeding myself. Years of living in New York conditioned me to eat out or get delivery. But the more I cooked for myself, the more I started to feel good.

For 21 days straight I did a 7AM kundalini practice online, through RAW Residency, taught by Prakash. Waking up to this kind of vibe set me on course for the rest of the day. It was a great reminder to me to let myself just be instead of forcing myself to go out.

A few times throughout this hibernation I got caught in the social media FOMO and judged myself for not getting out more, but that honestly would only last for a few minutes, and then I'd find myself lost in another book, drawing or idea.

I also dug into EFT tapping in a six-week course with Jennifer Patridge, and it has truly been such a wonderful gift to explore this modality. Tapping was never on my to-do list, but when the opportunity presented itself, I thought why not? Holy.Camole. If you're not familiar with tapping, I'd explain it like this: If NLP and Chinese Acupuncture were to have a baby, it would EFT Tapping. It's a powerful modality for processing blocks / any limiting belief and replacing them with empowering ones. It's helped me so much in my relationships, business and life that I enrolled to do a tapping certification program. If any of you want to learn more about it or experience it, message me. I’d love to do some tapping together.

During the quiet, I finished writing the manuscript of my memoir (and first book). For much of August, I wrote a few hours a day, feeling the spaciousness to express myself on paper with ease. In the end, I completed the manuscript with a whopping 91,000 words! For reference, The Hobbit is ~86,000 words. What I discovered during this process was such a huge gift, and no doubt I would not have been able to do it had I not taken the solo time to do so.

Once I finished my manuscript, I decided to foster a rescue dog. Living with another species is an incredible teacher. Sami who is a nine-month pup has taught me how to communicate, listen, lead, love unconditionally and to care for another with gentleness and playfulness. I taught him how to sit, lie down, stay and so many other things that it made me pause to think about what the birds and tarantulas are communicating to us in their own way. The other day a bird flew right up to my window, and it actually let me pet it. Imagine that! I’ve never pet a wild bird.

I think not pressuring myself to go out has done wonders. Instead of filling my days with meetings, I really allowed myself to just do nothing and explore the other side of busy-ness with aimlessness. And I discovered in that space how much I enjoy my own company- imagine that hahaha.

Sharing all this as I’ve been a bit silent online (and offline). But I am slowly feeling my legs and arms stretching after a long hibernation.

All this is to say, my biggest fear of being a loner is not so bad. It led me here.

Stand Out from the Competition with Your Bio

Stand out from the competition with your bio. Learn to stand out from the crowd with a kickass bio even in a competitive or saturated market and/ or niche. Stand out with your superpowers.

Mind Your Own Business

Instead of trying to please everyone else focus on you. Instead of worrying about what others think about your work, do the work that is true to you. Instead of pricing yourself to fit someone else's budget, price according to your value. That's their business and let them figure out their business. The energy you spend on worrying about others' happiness is energy not spent on taking care of your baby, your business. Set the terms of your business on YOUR TERMS so that you can create the most incredible work with the most fulfillment and joy. That is when flow happens, both creatively and monetarily.

Real Artists Don’t Starve Themselves

You think that being an artist is about starving? Well it’s not. It’s about showing up and knowing that the work you’re doing is key to our very existence. So start acting like it. Show up and share your gifts cuz there is only 1 you who can do it in this world.