Monday, April 06, 2009

Constricted Breathing Technique



This technique by EFT founder, Gary Craig, can help you find important emotional issues. This is because emotional issues often curtail our ability to breathe deeply. (Click on image for larger view)

1. Inhale 2 or 3 maximum deep breaths. Take your time and don't hyperventilate. This step will stretch out your lungs so that any EFT improvement in your breathing cannot be attributed to a normal "stretching effect" of your lungs.
2. Once you have stretched your lungs as far as they will go then take another deep breath. This time assess the deepness of your breath on a 0-10 scale where 10 is your estimate of your maximum capacity. Numbers typically vary from 3 to 9 on this. The occasional person who rates their breath at a 10 (they are usually wrong) may find that, after EFT, they will go to a 12 or 15.
3. Then do several rounds of EFT with Setup phrases such as "Even though I have constricted breathing...", "Even though I can only fill my lungs to an 8..." and so on. In between each round, ask the client to take another deep breath and assess the 0-10 deepness. In the vast majority of cases it will keep improving.
4. During the process ask probing questions such as: "What does your constricted breath remind you of?", "When in your past did you feel constricted or smothered?", "If there was an emotional reason for your constricted breath, what might it be?" Often, they will give a big clue as to an important emotional issue.

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