Tapping as a Grounding Activity

Oct 19

I recommend tapping as a grounding activity to my clients to help them feel more connected to their bodies and more present in each moment. Tapping is a form of bilateral stimulation and bilateral stimulation is a fancy word for rhythm or left and right movement. What my clients like most about tapping is that it's discreet. In the office, at home, or on-the-go, tapping is a form of grounding activity that doesn't need any other tools, just you.

A Simple Way to Practice Tapping

Tapping can look as simple as putting your left hand on your left knee and your right hand on your right knee and alternating a patting motion back and forth, left hand to left knee and right hand to right knee.

Try a Butterfly Hug for Comfort and Connection

A butterfly hug is another style of tapping that involves the arms being placed across the chest and alternating a patting style motion with the right hand patting the left upper arm and the left hand patting the right upper arm. This form of tapping feels more like giving yourself a hug. Butterfly tapping is good for clients who want a lot of immediate comfort and connection with their bodies and are in a safe enough space to do this movement.

Choosing a Tapping Style That Fits Your Environment

For others who might be in a setting that may require more social awareness or, for whatever reason, may not feel like the safest place, simple tapping may be a better fit. A very simple tapping style could even look like alternating the index and middle finger back and forth on one knee. This is great for workplaces or family gatherings where regular or butterfly tapping may feel too intrusive. The nice thing about tapping is that you can take it with you wherever you go.

Why Rhythm Can Be Grounding

The reason that tapping tends to work for a basic grounding method is because it works using the process of rhythm. Bilateral stimulation uses the rhythm that we learned in infancy and in utero. When we are in utero our mothers will rock us back and forth to sleep by going for walks or moving their bodies. We also feel our mother’s heartbeat in the womb which generally acts to soothe and comfort us as part of co-regulation. When we are babies we feel the rhythm of our caregivers cradling us in their arms to try to soothe us.

Reconnecting With Your Body Through Movement

As adults we may find ourselves sitting for long hours and our bodies feel like they get locked into one position. Bringing back gentle movements can bring us closer to ourselves, our bodies, and our inner world. Tapping can literally tap us into our heartbeats and return a sense of natural biological rhythm. Tapping can be as big or as little as the tapper wants it to be and is a quick and easy form of grounding.

Take Tapping With You Wherever You Go

The next time you are feeling like life is moving too fast, I recommend you try this back and forth movement. You can march out a beat with your feet. You can tap along to your favorite song. You can even try to tap to your heartbeat. You might find that you were tapping subconsciously all along. As with most grounding activities the more you bring your awareness to tapping the more likely it will unlock more potential for you.

Happy tapping.