I was first introduced to the Emotional Freedom Technique 15 years ago when I took my son to a massage therapist for some help with obsessive thinking. That might sound a bit funny, but I knew that getting his body to relax was going to be an essential step in helping his brain to relax. She taught me this strange technique and I was amazed at the results.

The Emotional Freedom Technique was developed by Gary Craig and I have great respect for him and his work. The Gamut sequence was part of the original tapping series and I find it helpful to use when the brain is ruminating. You can learn more at:

https://www.emofree.com/es/frontpage/home/welcome.html

The Gamut Point is located on the back of the hand about an inch or so down from the knuckles between the little finger and the ring finger. 

Once you find the point, focus on something that is distressing (it could be a thought, feeling, image or even a sensation like a stomach ache) and continue to tap on this point while doing the following 9 steps:

The Gamut Sequence:

1.   Close your eyes

2.   Open your eyes

3.   Keeping your head still, look hard down to the right

4.   Still keeping your head still, look hard down to the left

5.   Roll your eyes in a full circle in a clockwise direction (take your time)

6.   Then roll your eyes in a full circle in a counter-clockwise direction

7.   Hum about 5 seconds of any song that comes to mind

8.   Count to 5 out loud

9.   Then hum about 5 seconds of any song again



The Basic Exercise:

1.   Weave the fingers of one hand together with the other hand and put them on the back of the bony part of your head

2.   Keeping your head in place, moving only your eyes all the way to the right. Hold for about a minute

3.   Bring your eyes back to center

4.   Move your eyes all the way to the left. Hold for about a minute

You may notice a swallow, gentle spontaneous breath or a sigh. These are good signs that your body is starting to relax. The Basic Exercise comes from the book "Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve" by Stanley Rosenberg.

https://www.amazon.com/Accessing-Healing-Power-Vagus-Nerve/dp/1623170249