Promoting our self-care through mindset and movement is vitally important to achieve a long and joyful life. Many struggle with exercise aversion, but taking responsibility for physical health is a powerful step towards vibrant longevity!
What health problems can result from living a sedentary lifestyle?
According to the World Health Organization, physical inactivity is a major risk factor for disease and mortality worldwide. Regular physical activity can reduce the risk of various cancers by 8 to 28 percent, heart disease and stroke by 19 percent, and diabetes by 17 percent. It also lowers the risk of depression and dementia by 28 to 32 percent. These benefits highlight the importance of staying active for our overall health and well-being.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that less than half of U.S. adults meet the recommended guidelines for aerobic exercise activity. Even more concerning, only 24 percent of adults engage in both aerobic and muscle-strengthening work. This data underscores the need to increase exercise levels and address the emotional barriers that prevent many people from becoming more active.
The Power of Taking Self-Responsibility
Although exercise extends life expectancy and supports health maintenance and emotional barriers, and negative exercise views often prevent us from achieving these benefits. As we release our negative feelings and shift from the couch to movement, we experience significant physical and emotional health benefits.
Through Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) training, we gain the ability to recognize and release limiting beliefs, which leads to personal transformation. Visualizing ourselves with good health motivates us to pursue concrete actions toward a healthier way of living and provides practical, achievable benefits.
The Science Behind Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), often referred to as “Tapping,” is a holistic healing practice that combines elements of cognitive therapy and acupressure to alleviate emotional distress and physical discomfort.
Understanding Tapping and Its Mechanism
Tapping draws from energy psychology and is rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In TCM, energy, or “qi,” flows through specific pathways in the body called meridians. Blockages or disruptions in this energy flow are thought to result in physical and emotional ailments.
The practice of Tapping involves identifying an issue, rating the intensity of distress, tapping on specific meridian points while maintaining focus on the issue, and re-evaluating the level of distress after several rounds of tapping. This powerful technique has gained widespread recognition for its effectiveness and accessibility.
Neurobiological Underpinnings
Research shows that Tapping influences brain activity. A study published in the Energy Psychology Journal indicates significant changes in brainwave patterns when individuals undergo testing before and after EFT sessions. This suggests that Tapping helps alter emotional responses by modulating brain activity linked to stress and anxiety.
Stress Reduction Mechanism
Another mechanism behind Tapping involves its potential impact on the body’s stress response system. Chronic stress has been shown to lead to elevated cortisol levels and inflammation. Tapping helps reduce these physiological stress markers by promoting relaxation and decreasing emotional arousal associated with stressful stimuli. Studies have shown that EFT can result in significant improvements in cortisol levels, down 43% in some studies, leading to better overall health and well-being.
Scientific Evidence Supporting EFT
Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of EFT in treating various psychological and physical issues, such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic pain, and fibromyalgia. For example, a 2012 study published in The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease reported a 63% reduction in PTSD symptoms in war veterans after just six sessions of EFT.
Additionally, because Tapping has been shown to reduce cortisol levels and promote relaxation, individuals feel more motivated and less resistant to engaging in physical activity after a session of Tapping. By addressing emotional blocks and promoting a positive mindset, Tapping can make exercise a more pleasant and sustainable part of one’s routine.
How It Works in Practice
- Motivation to Exercise: EFT can be used to address emotional blocks that can prevent you from exercising. By tapping on specific points while focusing on the lack of motivation and limiting beliefs, you can release these blocks and find more enjoyment in the physical.
- Reduction in Anxiety: Tapping has been shown to reduce anxiety, which can be a significant barrier to engaging in physical activity. By reducing anxiety, you may feel more comfortable and less resistant to starting and maintaining an exercise routine.
- Cortisol Levels: We have seen that Tapping can reduce cortisol levels, which are associated with stress. Lower cortisol levels can lead to a more relaxed state, making it easier to engage in physical activities without feeling overwhelmed by stress.
- Brain Activity: Research led by Dr. Peta Stapleton has shown that Tapping can alter brain activity. This suggests that Tapping will help individuals overcome emotional barriers to exercise by rewiring neural pathways associated with negative emotions and stress.
- Holistic Approach: Tapping addresses both mental and physical aspects of well-being, making it a holistic approach to improving exercise habits. By promoting relaxation and reducing emotional distress, tapping can create a more positive environment for incorporating exercise into your daily routine.
The Benefits of Tapping For Better Exercise
- Experience Improved Emotional Balance: Using EFT to address exercise aversion helps you tackle the roots of negative emotions associated with physical activity. By reducing anxiety, fear, and reluctance towards exercise, you can approach it with a sense of calm and resilience. This emotional balance allows you to enjoy the benefits of exercise without the burden of negative feelings.
- Improve Your Self-Confidence: EFT helps you build a stronger sense of self-worth by validating your emotions and releasing negative self-talk. This increased self-confidence empowers you to set and achieve fitness goals, making exercise a more rewarding and enjoyable experience.
- Free Yourself from Harmful Patterns: Many people develop unhealthy habits and avoid exercise due to past negative experiences or self-sabotaging patterns. Tapping allows you to break free from these cycles, creating new, positive habits that support a healthier lifestyle.
- Enhance Your Physical Health: By addressing emotional barriers and promoting a positive mindset, EFT encourages you to incorporate exercise into your daily routine. Regular physical activity has numerous health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, better weight management, and increased energy levels.
Embracing EFT for exercise aversion is a journey of transforming negative emotions into positive actions. It’s about breaking free from old patterns and stepping into a healthier, more vibrant life. Removing any limiting belief that ‘exercise is drudgery’ allows you to develop a lifetime habit of self-care, and it’s easy!
By Tapping, you’ll find greater peace, motivation, and joy in your fitness journey. Whether you’re just starting or looking to deepen your commitment to exercise, each step you take brings you closer to the healthier, empowered person you aspire to be.
Connect with Bonnie on The Wellness Universe and follow her on Facebook and LinkedIn.
A Magical Journey Workshop
with Bonnie Sheldon
SATURDAY 3/29 12 noon ET/9 amPT
Vibrant Longevity Through Movement
Join Bonnie and experience the following:
- Discover your hidden blocks and challenges to building fitness.
- How to use EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques or “Tapping”) to release your limiting beliefs and best support yourself on your journey.
- How to manifest a fitter, healthier you in your future using Matrix Reimprinting!
Register and Join Live
Get the bundle and save!
Learn from 25 experts as they guide you through transformative workshops based on their bestselling book. Gain tools for healing, balance, and personal growth. Can’t join live? Lifetime access to all recordings is included.
Register now to join the journey! https://bit.ly/AMJWorkshops
Amazon #1 Best Seller!
The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care, 25 Tools for Life
Twenty-five experts from The Wellness Universe share heartfelt stories and transformative self-care tools, offering guidance for personal growth, healing, and a balanced, fulfilling life. This book aligns with The Wellness Universe’s mission to inspire and contribute to a better world, empowering readers to embrace their extraordinary potential.
Grab Your Copy Now
The Wellness Universe is honored to support our charity of choice, the Karina LeBlanc Foundation. Empowering young women to bring to light their inner greatness.
Wellness Quarters with Gayle Nowak
Guest: Bonnie Sheldon
Topic: Discover Your Power to Manifest
Harness the transformative power of Matrix Reimprinting with EFT to visualize and manifest your ideal future. In this guided meditation, you’ll learn to channel your energy and bring your aspirations to life, creating a powerful and empowering experience.
Register & Join Live: https://bit.ly/WellnessQuarters
LAST CALL! Opportunity closing soon!
Interested in adding your brave, bold words to
The Wellness Universe Guide to Complete Self-Care series?
Join Book 6 – 25 Tools for Transformation!
This is the last book project for 2025.
Learn more HERE!
Bonnie Sheldon, an EFT Master Trainer and Somatics expert and guides professionals in achieving stress relief and mindfulness through body-mind integration. Her programs promote self-care, ensuring workplace wellness and success without sacrificing personal well-being or relationships.
This is such an insightful article, Bonnie. Thank you.! It’s so true that our mindset plays a huge role in our ability to stay active and care for ourselves. I love the connection between Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and overcoming exercise resistance—it’s amazing how shifting our emotions can make movement feel more joyful and natural. Tapping seems like a powerful tool for breaking through those mental blocks that keep so many of us stuck. Thanks for sharing these valuable insights on making self-care through movement more accessible and sustainable!