No time to meditate? This easy technique could ‘change your day’

If you’ve ever felt too busy to meditate, there’s a quicker way to reset your mind and body - and it doesn’t require sitting cross-legged in silence. 

Emotional Freedom Technique, or tapping, is a simple, science-backed practice that can help calm stress in minutes, anywhere and anytime. 

I caught up with Sarah Tobin, author of Tapping Into You, who says it’s the wellness hack we’ve all been waiting for - and best of all, it can be done while brushing your teeth, waiting for the kettle to boil, or even on the school run.

As Sarah explains: “It’s about finding those little moments to reset.

“We all deserve a life with less stress and more joy. And you don’t need an hour of silence to make a difference – a few minutes can change your day.”

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So how does it work? 

“Tapping is a self emotional management tool that hacks the brain into feeling safe,” she explains. 

“So, ultimately, we're sending signals - by tapping on certain parts of our body - through the nervous system, back to the amygdala, which switches off the fight flight freeze response. 

“And it happens quickly. So it's not something you have to do for hours, you can have a really quick release in 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes, as long as you've got really."

Many of us can relate to the feeling of not having enough time for ourselves. “We are living in an extremely high stress world, and our bodies are not equipped to live with such stress. 

“And that's why we are increasingly chronically ill. Burnout is huge, stress is huge, employee absenteeism and illness – cancer rates and all sorts of things are impacted by our stress, because of our cortisol and adrenaline levels," says Sarah.

“And tapping switches them off, so the body is able to get back to its normal natural healing functionality. 

“Essentially, tapping is stopping the stress response that allows the body to get back to the job of healing itself.”

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A personal story

Training in EFT and sharing her gift with the world is something deeply personal for Sarah, who discovered how life changing the practice can be following the tragic loss of her newborn daughter Alice – to whom the book is dedicated. 

“I had a pain in my heart every day for at least three months. I never understood heartbreak as a literal knife wound, like a numbness in the heart. It was physical,” she says. 

By the time Sarah was pregnant again, the trauma of losing her first child was, of course, still there. 

“I was getting flashbacks all the time - I was diagnosed with PTSD, and in retrospect, it was severe,” she says. 

It was tapping that finally helped to release the pain and calm her nervous system. “I could cognitively and subconsciously process and let go,” she says. 

“Prior to that, just talking about things kept me in the narrative and in the repetitive victim cycle - it just wasn’t doing it for me. 

“I needed something physical. The tapping cleared the fog and allowed me to connect deeper with myself.”

There a section in Tapping Into You focused on grief and PTSD, with a tapping sequence to go with it.

Other topics covered in Sarah’s brilliant book - which has sections on soul power, tuning into energies and the ego - include grounding, overwhelm and burnout, shame and blame, forgiveness, motherhood, self-worth and inner child work. 

And, as an exclusive for HELLO! readers, she’s created a tapping sequence for stress, at the bottom of this article...

© Anja Poehlmann

The science

For anyone sceptical about tapping, Sarah - who also shares practices on her YouTube channel - says: “The science has proven that tapping can reduce cortisol by 43% in one hour of group tapping.

“When we reduce our cortisol levels, we feel better, right?

“Our heart rate drops, we sleep better, we'll have more energy, our body's then back in rest and digest and doing all the good things it should be doing.”

In fact, as of 2024, over 4000 studies have been done on EFT and have concluded that its effects are ‘moderate’ to ‘large’.

She smiles: “For the skeptics, I would just say: ‘You've got to give it a try!’”  

Tapping Into You, published by Godsfield, is on sale now. Visit tappingwithsarahtobin.com 

Tapping for Stress Sequence

Before You Begin:

• Take a deep breath and notice how you’re feeling.
• Rate your frustration on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 = no stress, 10 = maximum stress).
• Keep this number in mind as you move through the sequence.

Preparation: Set-Up Statement

• Begin by tapping on the side of the hand point (either hand) while repeating the following set-up statement three times:"Even though I feel all this stress in my body, I choose to forgive, love and accept myself anyway.”

Round 1: Acknowledging the Stress (Negative Focus)

1. Top of Head: "All this stress weighing me down."
2. "Eyebrow: "This heavy feeling in my chest."
3. Side of Eye: "I feel so overwhelmed."
4. Under Eye: "All this pressure I’m carrying."
5. Under Nose: "This constant worry in my mind."
6. Under Chin: "I can’t seem to find peace."
7. Collarbone: "This burden of responsibility."
8. Under Arm: "All this tension and fear."
9. Inside Wrist: "This stress is taking over my body."
10. Thumb: "I know this stress is not helping me."
11. Index Finger: "This stress is making me feel stuck."
12. Middle Finger: "I’m ready to acknowledge this stress."
13. Ring Finger: "I feel all this stress in my body."
14. Baby Finger:  "I’m holding onto so much tension."

Round 2: Releasing the Stress (Neutral Focus)

1. Top of Head: "I choose to release this stress now."
2. Eyebrow: "I am letting go of this heavy feeling."
3. Side of Eye: "I release this overwhelm from my body."
4. Under Eye: "I am letting go of this pressure."
5. Under Nose: "I release this constant worry."
6. Under Chin: "I am ready to find peace."
7. Collarbone: "I am releasing this burden of responsibility."
8. Under Arm: "I let go of this tension and fear."
9. Inside Wrist: "I am releasing this stress from my body."
10. Thumb: "I know I can let this stress go."
11. Index Finger: "This stress is starting to fade away."
12. Middle Finger: "I am freeing myself from this tension."
13. Ring Finger: "I am letting go of all this stress."
14. Baby Finger: "I am releasing this tension now."
     

Round 3: Replacing Stress with Calm (Positive Focus)

1. Top of Head: "I choose to feel calm and centred"
2. ."Eyebrow: "I am open to feeling peace in my body."
3. Side of Eye: "I trust that I can handle this."
4. Under Eye: "I am inviting calm into my mind."
5. Under Nose: "I choose to feel relaxed and at ease."
6. Under Chin: "I am in control of my emotions."
7. Collarbone: "I am ready to feel light and free."
8. Under Arm: "I am at peace with this moment."
9. Inside Wrist: "I am calm and grounded now."
10. Thumb: "I know I am strong and resilient."
11. Index Finger: "I feel calm and balanced."
12. Middle Finger: "I am free from stress and tension."
13. Ring Finger: "I choose peace and calm now."
14. Baby Finger: "I am focused and grounded in this moment."

Check in to finish

• Take a deep breath in and exhale slowly.
• Check in with yourself: How does your body feel now?
• Rate your stress again on a scale of 0 to 10. Notice if the intensity has shifted.

If there’s still some stress remaining, you can repeat the sequence or focus on any new emotions that have surfaced.