Feeling Stuck? Try this.
If you’re feeling stuck and want to learn a safe mind-body technique to help, you’re in the right place. This blog teaches you an easy tool you can use right now to get un-stuck.
(by Sarah Murphy, LPC) When your energy feels scrambled, leaving you confused or stuck, you can bring yourself back to balance by practicing the Collarbone Breathing Technique. This simple body-based technique helps restore left-right balance and allows you to feel more clear and connected. The technique was adapted by Phil Mollon from Roger Callahan’s Thought Field Therapy. Practice the technique right now by watching the video below and following along. You can also download written instructions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
How it Works
Cross your hands over your chest with your fingers under your collarbones. Breathe halfway in and hold, then breathe all the way in and hold; breathe halfway out and hold, then breathe all the way out and hold. You repeat the breathing sequence, this time with your knuckles under your collarbones.
Why It Works
By using energy techniques like the Collarbone Breathing, you help your energy system rebalance. This allows you to get un-stuck quickly and easily. There are a few things happening in this deceptively simple technique.
By crossing our arms, we are crossing the corpus callosum, which helps us feel grounded. By placing our hands across our chest with hands under collarbones, we are activating our meridian system ― particularly the K-27 point, which helps reduce anxiety. By breathing slowly, we are slowing our brainwaves, which helps us relax. Moving our tongue up and down also stimulates the flow of energy along our meridian system.
If you haven’t given the Collarbone Breathing technique a try yet, do it now. Take notice of how your body feels both before and after you use the technique. This technique is just one of many you can use to get un-stuck.
More Techniques to improve focus
If you found Collarbone Breathing helpful, here are a few more tools you can use to clear confusion and clumsiness: the Brain Balancer, also called the “9-gamut”; and the Cross Crawl. All of the videos and techniques in our “Try This” series were created by ACEP’s Humanitarian Committee in order to help people heal by spreading the word about the powerful effects of energy psychology techniques. We invite you to help by sharing this information!
Need Help From a Professional?
Many people are seeking non-pharmacological interventions to help improve overall wellbeing. ACEP is a nonprofit, 501c3 dedicated to the research, education, and sharing of energy psychology. Check out the ACEP practitioner directory to find a certified ACEP therapist in your area or online.
Author: Sarah Murphy, LPC
Sarah Murphy is a licensed professional counselor and coach with more than 12 years of clinical experience. She is Communications Committee Chair for ACEP and staff therapist for Unite for HER. She specializes in energy psychology, including EFT, as well as mindfulness and hypnotherapy. Learn more at www.transformative-therapy.com.
Video Resources Provided by the ACEP Humanitarian Committee
The mission of the ACEP Humanitarian Committee is to develop and implement humanitarian projects that alleviate emotional distress caused by catastrophic natural and man-made events around the globe. We do this by encouraging and assisting ACEP members in developing humanitarian projects that utilize recognized energy psychology and other modalities that meet ACEP’s standards and guidelines. Learn more here.
