When Iyanla Vanzant worked with a wife who was struggling through a sexless marriage, she had the woman perform a powerful but simple healing exercise to rid the body of negative emotions and toxic energy. The exercise requires no equipment, no large space and no complexities, yet Iyanla says it works wonders on the mind, body and soul.
Called progressive EFT, the exercise is commonly known as tapping -- and it is exactly what it sounds like. To do it, begin by turning your hands palm-side up and gently tap the sides of your hands together in a rapid motion. (Watch Iyanla in the above video for a clear demonstration.)
"It is a spiritual technology, a healing technology, that allows you to move energy through and out of your body," Iyanla says. "Tapping has … a physiological, a psychological, an emotional and a spiritual impact on your body."
This healing exercise works by pinpointing deliberate parts of the body, according to Iyanla. "The reason it's called tapping is because we work with certain energy centers in your body to move the energy through," she says. "There are over 300 energy points or energy centers on your body."
Tapping, Iyanla explains, is like a form of needleless acupuncture. "The way acupuncture would move pain, tapping removes energy," she says.
As she demonstrates tapping, Iyanla also discusses the importance of expressing the negativity that you want to get rid of -- and then letting it go by literally shaking it off. "In tapping, you have to be willing to let it go," Iyanla says.
In the video, Iyanla also identifies several energy centers other than the hands through which she says energy moves. "These are the spots where all of the nerve endings that hold emotional energy live," Iyanla explains. "Remember this: Feelings buried alive do not die."
Iyanla helps others heal on a special fatherless sons episode of "Oprah's Lifeclass," airing Sunday, July 7, at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
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