What Meridians Are
You don’t need to know anything about Chinese Medicine to use EFT. This page is purely for those of you who like to know all the background of things.
Meridians are central to Traditional Chinese Medicine, which has been the primary form of medicine in China for more than 5000 years. They are pathways in the body, which energy flows along. Meridians are usually associated with an organ, so there are meridians for Stomach, Spleen, Gall Bladder, Liver and others.
Pictures of where each meridian runs in the body
Traditional Chinese Medicine is about achieving balance in what’s called the 5 element system, and between the yin & the yang.
Yin is : | Yang is : | |
Feminine | Masculine | |
Calming | Stimulating | |
Cooling | Heating | |
Negative | Positive | |
Matter | Energy | |
Night | Day | |
Winter | Summer | |
Moon | Sun | |
Earth | Sky | |
Water | Fire | |
Inward | Outward | |
Stillness | Motion | |
Degenerative states | Generative states | |
Deficient conditions | Excess conditions | |
Hypo-functional conditions | Hyper-functional conditions | |
Chronic diseases | Acute diseases | |
Deep pulse | Superficial pulse | |
Slow pulse | Fast pulse | |
Weak pulse | Strong pulse | |
Always working | Works, then rests |
The Five Elements each include two meridians, one Yin, one Yang (except Fire, which has two pairs) and are associated with certain emotions. There are also two extra meridians called Central and Governing, which like overseers of the whole system. If either of these is out of balance, the whole system will be.
Element | Emotions | Organ or Meridian | Yin or Yang |
Earth | Empathy, Sympathy | Stomach | Yang |
Spleen | Yin | ||
Metal | Grief, Guilt, Regret | Large Intestine | Yang |
Lung | Yin | ||
Water | Fear, Anxiety | Bladder | Yang |
Kidney | Yin | ||
Wood | Anger, Resentment | Gallbladder | Yang |
Liver | Yin | ||
Fire | Joy, Love, Hate | Small Intestine | Yang |
Heart | Yin | ||
Triple Warmer (Thyroid, Adrenals, Thymus) |
Yang | ||
Circulation / Sex | Yin |
One of the ways that Chinese physicians diagnose is by feeling the different pulses in the body and seeing how deep, fast & strong they are. They will also look at your tongue, and ask lots of questions about how your body is functioning. Some of the questions may seem to have no relevance to the problem you’re consulting them about. Imbalances can be treated with acupuncture, herbs, food & Tai Chi like exercises.
The following chart shows the tapping points, and which meridians they are on.
Tapping Point | Organ or Meridian | Yin or Yang | Comments |
Eyebrow (EB) | Bladder | Yang ~ | |
Side of the eye (SE) | Gall Bladder | Yang ~ | |
Under the eye (UE) | Stomach | Yang ~ | |
Under the nose (UN) | Governing | – | |
Chin (Ch) | Central | – | |
Collarbone (CB) | Kidney | Yin ^ | |
Underarm (UA) | Spleen | Yin ^ | |
Ribs | Liver | Yin ^ | |
Thumb (Th) | Lung | Yin * | |
Index Finger (IF) | Large Intestine | Yang # | |
Middle finger (MF) | Circulation / Sex | Yin * | |
Little finger (LF) | Heart | Yin * | |
Gamut | Triple warmer | Yang # | |
Karate Chop (KC) | Small Intestine | Yang # | |
Extra points: | |||
Top of the head | All Yang meridians | # or ~ | Do not use with high blood pressure. |
Back of the wrist | Upper yang meridians | # | Between these two points, they cover all the finger and hand points, and are sometimes added to the basic recipe instead. |
Inside of the wrist | Upper yin meridians | * | |
Above outside ankle bone | Lower yang meridians | ~ | Do not use the ankle points during pregnancy. |
Above inside ankle bone | Lower yin meridians | ^ |
This does not necessarily mean that if your issue is anger, for example, the Wood elements will be most affected. We still use all points for all issues, as more than one meridian is usually involved in any situation.
While EFT has produced remarkable clinical results, it is still be considered to be in the experimental stage and each user must take complete responsibility for their own use of it.