Expert uses EFT to help athletes with mechanical improvements

By Stacey Vornbrock, M.S., Sports Performance Pioneer

Hi Gary,

I have been using EFT to help professional and amateur athletes make mechanical changes since 2003. It’s an easy and fast way for these guys to get results that would normally take months or even years to accomplish.

When you are attempting to make a mechanical change, you’re fighting against a habit that is literally held in every cell membrane of your body. Every time your body makes the new movement your cells fight to re-establish the old pattern. It feels hard and uncomfortable because you’re not only fighting the habit that is trying to re-establish, but also you’re directing your body to make a new movement it isn’t used to or comfortable with. With EFT it’s easy to give your body the instruction to release the old habit and easily adapt to the new movement.

All I need to know is what the athletes are currently doing that is causing a problem for them and what is it they want to be doing. One of the first questions I ask them is “what are you afraid will happen if you do it the way you want to do it?”  I’ve discovered that frequently, but not always, there is a fear of an unwanted result that drives them to make the mechanical movement they’re currently making. Let me give you some examples.

“Robert” is a talented college football kicker destined for the NFL next year. Mechanically his issue was bringing his right leg across his body when he kicks. He was afraid if he kicked with his leg straighter he would hook the ball left or punch it right. Here are the things we tapped on (each bullet point represents something said at a different tapping point):

• I’m holding this habit of bringing my leg across my body when I kick in every cell of my body
• I can’t kick straight
• I’m afraid I’ll hook it left or punch it right
• I don’t have the velocity I need
• I don’t have the power I need
• It feels so uncomfortable when I keep my leg straight
• I played soccer all those years and my body is used to brining my leg across
• I feel like I’m doing something wrong when I keep my leg straight
• It feels unnatural to keep my leg straight through the kick
• This habit of bringing my leg across my body is locked in every cell of my

right leg

• When I get anxious, my body reverts to this old habit of kicking across my body
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the muscles of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the ligaments of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the tendons of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the bones of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the joints of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the cartilage of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the tissues of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the nerves of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the fascia of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the membranes of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the skin of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the fluids of my right leg
• I’m holding this habit of bringing my right leg across my body in all the fibers of my right leg

I’ve found that it makes a significant difference if you tap on the habit residing in the body. The body responds by releasing the habit much faster this way. Robert and I tapped for this one time and that took care of it.

Here are two mechanical examples with “John” an MLB player. The first issue for him was that he was using his arms and shoulders to swing the bat rather than using his lats. His fear was that he would lose his eye/hand coordination if he were to swing using his lats. Here’s what we tapped on:

• I’m not using my lats to swing
• I’m relying on my arms and shoulders
• It doesn’t come natural to me to use my lats
• I don’t remember to use my lats
• It feels comfortable to use my arms
• It feels safer to use my arms and shoulders
• I’m not exploding from my upper legs
• I’m afraid to get my legs involved
• My upper body and lower body aren’t working together
• I only pay attention to my upper body and my eyes
• I’ll lose my eye/hand coordination if I use my lats to swing
• I won’t make solid contact with the ball if I use my lats
• My body is in the habit of swinging and moving with my upper body only

After tapping on this one time, John was able to swing using his lats and explode from his legs. It felt natural and easy for him as if he’d always been doing this. A change like this would normally take hundreds of swings to achieve a similar result. 

I tap with all my pro ball players on picking up the ball faster out of the pitcher’s hand. After tapping on this issue, players report that the game slows down for them, the ball appears big and bright to them, and they can pick up the ball at the release point. We tap on fastballs, sliders or curve balls, and change-ups. Here’s what John and I tapped on for fastballs:

• I can’t see the ball release from the pitcher’s hand
• I only see the ball when it’s on me
• The ball looks so dark
• I can’t see the seams when they’re end over end
• My eyes can’t pick up the seams
• My brain can’t register the direction of the seams fast enough
• My eyes and brain aren’t in harmony with seeing the fastball
• I can’t slow the ball down
• Nothing is in slow motion
• The ball looks so small
• My mind is not in harmony with the fastball
• My body timing isn’t in harmony with hitting the ball
• I’m out of sync with responding to the ball
• My head moves and everything jumps
• When I’m jumpy the ball appears smaller
• I feel so anxious when the ball appears small

“Stan” is a Gateway Tour golfer. He was working on a small mechanical change in his golf swing with his teaching pro but he was struggling to get this last little piece in place.  His fear was that the club would get too far behind him and he would lose control during the swing. Here’s what we tapped on:

• I can’t take the club back with my right side
• I push down with my thumb and shove it back
• I squeeze with my right thumb
• I can’t relax my right thumb
• It’s such a habit to push with my right thumb and index finger
• I’m still trying to keep from getting the club behind me
• I especially do this when I feel pressure or a tough shot
• I’m trying to control the shot and this is how I do it
• I’m afraid the club will get too far behind me
• I’ll end up coming over the top

We tapped on this issue once and he was able to make the change he wanted to easily and comfortably. The standard thinking in the world of golf is that it can take up to a year to change a swing. Thankfully that’s no longer true with the use of EFT!

Best Regards,

Stacey Vornbrock, M.S., Sports Performance Pioneer
"Helping elite and amateur athletes turn blocks into breakthroughs”