nutrients that widespread studies show stop pain better than pharmaceuticals. He’s also a strong proponent of eliminating sugar entirely because it causes infl ammation.


Exercise—Daily exercise speeds the healing process and after 10 weeks following the fi rst four SHINE steps, will increase the capacity to exercise.


For migraines, Teitelbaum advocates vitamin B2


(ribofl avin). Numerous studies


support the effectiveness of dosages of 400 milligrams per day to prevent migraines. After just six weeks of use, a German study published in the European Journal of Neurology shows thats taking a daily ribofl avin supplement cut the number of migraine days in half for participants and signifi cantly reduced the amount of migraine medication needed.


Tap for Relief: Also known as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Tapping Solutions founder Nick Ortner, of Newtown, Connecticut, says “Tapping sends a calming signal to the amygdala in the brain, turning off the fi ght or fl ight stress response and allowing the body to heal.” The physical tapping opens up the body’s energy meridians and allows them to relax so the natural healing process can take place, Ortner explains. EFT combines tapping on specifi c


body points while repeating appropriate affi rmative statements such as: “Even though I have this [pain], I love, accept and forgive myself.” He recalls a woman that arrived at a seminar he led with a toothache that had lasted for years. Doctors had done X-rays, seen an infection and prescribed antibiotics to no good effect. He asked her if she recalled when the pain began; without hesitation, she answered, “When my mother passed away unexpectedly.” “So we started working together and the pain reduced signifi cantly right away and eventually disappeared completely,” says Ortner. A follow-up with her dentist showed no sign of the former problem. Up to now, the EFT research is positive. One study from the Energy Medicine University, in Mill Valley, California, found it helped people with chronic pain (some coping with severe fatigue and fi bromyalgia) feel physically and emotionally better in as little as a month; another from the Foundation for Epigenetic Medicine, in Santa Rosa, California, showed substantially reduced


trauma in institutionalized abused teenagers after just one EFT session.


Meditation vs. Medication: Meditation may not resolve the underlying cause of chronic pain, but research from the University of Alabama demonstrates it can interrupt pain signals to the brain. It’s at least as effective as opioid painkillers in relieving chronic pain, according to a study led by Cherkin at the University of Washington. His team’s 342 subjects that had experienced back pain weekly for at least a year were offered either eight meditation and yoga classes, eight cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) sessions or just keeping up their own regular daily routines that did not include yoga and meditation. The results, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, confi rm what numerous other studies have reported: 44 percent experienced a “meaningful


reduction” in pain within six months of the meditation or CBT sessions, equal to results reported by people taking addictive opioid pharmaceuticals. More, the pain relief continued for up to two years, even if the subjects stopped doing actual sitting meditation. “Meditation changes the way people think about pain and how they develop skills to keep it from becoming a major focus in their lives,” observes Cherkin. Regardless of the mechanism, experts in a holistic approach to chronic pain relief agree that encouraging self- control, self-determination and self- empowerment makes a huge difference in patients’ abilities to control pain more naturally and effectively.


Kathleen Barnes is author of numerous natural health books, including Our Toxic World: A Survivor’s Guide. Connect at KathleenBarnes.com.


How to Tap Away Pain T


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apping, or Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), soothes the


body by turning off the “fi ght or fl ight” stress response that can cause infl ammation and worsen pain, according to Tapping Solutions founder Nick Ortner, of Newtown, Connecticut. Here’s how to do it:


Identify the problem (e.g., pain in back of neck).


Rate the intensity of feelings about the problem on a scale of one to 10.


Compose a statement about it (e.g., “Even though I have intense neck


pain today, I deeply and completely accept myself”).


Using one or two fi ngers on one hand, tap the “karate chop” area on the outer edge of the other hand while repeating the statement three times.


While repeating, e.g., “intense neck pain,” using fi rm, but gentle pressure, use either two or four fi ngers to tap these areas, on either side, fi ve to seven times in sequences as follows:


 side of eyebrow  side of eye  under eye  under nose


24 Central Florida natural awakenings


 chin  inner collarbone  under arm  top of head


6


Refocus on the original problem and rate its intensity. Restate what you’re feeling, as needed.


Source: The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief, by Nick Ortner; instructional video at Tinyurl.com/JessicaOrtnerTapping.


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