Tapas Acupressure Technique

Tapas acupressure technique (TAT), developed by Tapas Fleming, has you hold acupressure points on your head whilst focusing on different aspects of a problem. The problem could be anything from an event or situation that causes you distress (past, present or future), a belief that makes life harder, a person you dislike, a pattern of behaviour you want to change, thoughts or emotions that cause disturbance within you, the emotional contributors of diseases or allergies and more.

By turning towards the problem and gently listening to it rather than trying to ignore it or move past it, you allow a natural transformational process to occur. TAT helps connect all parts of you, integrate what is needed and release anything that has gotten stuck. This helps you experience more peace, power, wholeness, and freedom.

The technique has evolved over time. In learning about the history of the method, seeing its evolution, hearing other skilled practitioners share their insights, touching on the mechanics from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine as well as modern science, and working with it myself, what is written here is not the official version. Rather it is informed by all of the above in the way that I find to be most genuine and effective.

As with all transformational methods, take full responsibility for your own wellbeing, and see whether or not it’s a good fit for you.

Preliminary information

This is an adaptable method. You can change the wording of steps, skip steps if you sense one or more either isn’t right for you or isn’t needed, or even create a step.

You can group a whole bunch of problems together and do TAT for them all at once, or you can focus on problems one at a time, or even one aspect of a problem at a time. Experiment and use your own discernment to see what works best for you.

When focusing on each step / statement, it is not necessary (and often not advised) to go into the emotion. In fact, Tapas taught to not try to do anything. You don’t try to make anything happen, heal anything, make a statement feel true, let go of anything, believe something or figure anything out. You simply hold the pose, place your attention on the step / statement, relax and notice what comes up.

For each step, hold the TAT pose until you sense that it’s enough. If you’re unsure, you can simply move to the next step after a few minutes. Tapas advised to not hold the pose for more than 20 minutes a day. Ultimately, listen to your inner wisdom, use your discernment and be aware that more is not always better.

The pose

With one hand, place the tip of your thumb and the tip of your ring finger 1/8-inch above the inner corners of your eyes, thumb on one side, ring finger on the other.

Place the middle finger of the same hand on the point located halfway between, and about 1/2-inch above your eyebrows.

Place the palm of your other hand on the back of your head, cradling your skull, fingers pointing to the side, with the thumb just above the hair line.

It doesn’t matter which hand is at the front or back, you can switch hands at any point, even if you’re halfway through a step. No pressure is needed from either of the hands, instead they should be relaxed, only applying a light touch. You can rest at any point and continue the process another time. It doesn’t matter what position the rest of your body is in: eyes open or closed, standing, sitting, lying down, arms supported etc. 

The steps

The problem: Place your attention on the problem(s) or a statement such as ‘this problem.’ If you’re working on multiple problems, you do not need to mentally go through each one, you just need to know what they are.

The opposite of the problem: When we have negative experiences, we often get locked in to them. This step helps address that. If your problem is not having enough money, you could place your attention on what it would be like to be abundant. You could also place your attention on a statement such as: ‘That happened, it’s over, I’m safe now.’ Using a statement here is particularly useful if you’re working on multiple problems at once.

The places: Negative experiences and energy can be ‘stored’ in places. This can be within your body or an external place such as a house, workplace, country, group of people, a specific climate etc. You don’t need to know all the places where the negative experience(s) may be stored. Simply place your attention on this idea or a statement such as: ‘All the places where this has been stored.’

The origins: Most of our problems have origins or root causes. The possibilities here are endless: it could be something that happened earlier in your life, an intergenerational trauma, a toxin in your environment, a belief or any other possible origin. You don’t need to know what the origins are, simply place your attention on this idea or a statement such as: ‘The origins of this are healing now.’

Forgiveness: This is focusing on forgiving yourself as well as anyone and anything you blamed, including God. You don’t need to identify every person, action etc. Remember that you’re not trying to make yourself forgive. You’re placing your attention on the idea of forgiveness or a statement such as: ‘I forgive everyone who hurt me’, then relaxing and noticing what comes up. What arises may be all the reasons you won't forgive.

Parts: There can be parts of us that want to hold on to an issue while others just want to move on, parts of us that are angry about the problem while others feel sad about it, there can be younger versions of ourselves, parts of us that are distant or have felt lost ever since an event. This step helps integrate all these parts so that we can be more whole. You don’t need to consciously know all the parts of you involved in this, simply place your attention on this idea or a statement such as: ‘Thank you for healing all the parts of me involved in this.’

You can simply end the process, or you could finish by placing your attention on anything that’s left (without having to know exactly what it is), on the outcome you would like to have, integrating the transformation and / or being grateful for the transformation that has taken place. This could be done with or without the TAT pose.

Closing notes

You can go through every step, every time, in the order shown, but you don’t have to. You can listen to your intuition to discern which steps are needed and in which order, or use muscle testing if you know how. You could spend minutes on each step, one at a time, or you could cycle through them more swiftly, coming back to steps as needed. Or you could only focus on one step for a whole ‘session’.

There might be details within specific steps that you wish to focus on more deliberately. For example, ‘forgiveness’ could be done in two steps: one focused on forgiving yourself, one focused on forgiving others. There might be a particular person that comes to mind when focusing on ‘forgiveness’. In this case you could intentionally bring your attention to that person, making that its own ‘step’ in the process. You could do the same if you’re aware of a specific root cause for ‘origins’, or if there’s an identifiable part of you that needs more attention when focusing on ‘parts.’ You could also have a conversation with a part of you or another person while in the TAT pose.

This is a technique that can help get you started, but remember that it is there to serve you, not the other way around, you are the power, not the technique.

As you do inner work, more things may come up. They may be related or seem completely separate. It can be like peeling an onion. If memories, thoughts, emotions etc come up, you can add them to what you’re focusing on during the process, or work on them later. Simply take one step at a time, listen inwardly and respond accordingly. 

Sometimes noticeable transformations can happen as you’re doing TAT, other times it can take days, weeks or many months. You may need to do many sessions on some problems while others fall away quickly. And sometimes it’s not the right technique for you, or for a specific problem, and you may not get any transformation.

Drink plenty of water when doing TAT. It’s possible that a lot more is happening than you’re aware of.

TAT is typically very gentle, but it’s possible that emotions will become more intense before easing up. If it gets too intense, or you feel worse and worse, stop. Coming back to the present moment, looking around, grounding yourself in your environment and moving your body can be helpful in such situations. If needed, seek professional help.