Tapping, Tennis, and The Better Sister
Learning to calm my nervous system — and become the expert of my own energy (no special playlist required).
So… a character in a Netflix drama said my line. Sort of.
In the opening episode of The Better Sister, Jessica Biel’s character is spiraling after her husband’s been murdered (as one does), and her estranged sister shows up. In a moment of perfectly delivered melodrama, she pauses, taps on her face, and says:
“My husband has been murdered… and my sister is here… and though I am feeling anxiety about this… I release it.”
If you’re new to tapping (also known as EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique), it’s a simple mind-body tool where you gently tap on specific acupressure points — usually on the face and upper body — to help release stress and shift emotional energy.
🎬 This is the trailer for “The Better Sister” — watch for the tapping scene (you’ll know it when you see it 😉).
Not your textbook EFT script, but still — tapping! On Netflix! Ooh, Ooh!
As someone who’s been casually (ok, passionately) talking up tapping for years, this moment felt like a small but satisfying cultural win. I’ve had countless conversations that start with me lighting up and saying “Have you ever heard of energy healing or tried tapping?” — and the other person smiling politely and saying something like, "That's interesting! You seem really excited about it." (Translation: “I’m not interested in that woo-woo stuff, but I'm happy for you.”)
It’s understandable. I get it. It took me some time to really trust these tools too. But now, I’m sure this energy work is the real deal. It’s not just some quirky trend — there’s solid science backing it. And it sneaks up on you in the best way. I truly believe that energy healing, such as tapping, is the future, and these healing tools are here to stay.
A Little Tennis Court Confession
Just last week, I was in a tennis lesson with my partner, one of those high-speed drills where the coach is giving rapid-fire instructions and constant feedback — fix your grip, turn your shoulders, move farther back from the baseline. It’s meant to be helpful, but when too many corrections come at once, my brain starts spinning. I get overwhelmed. I can feel myself slipping into old thought loops: I should be better at this. Why do I keep missing that shot? Everyone’s watching me mess up.
This is a pretty typical response for me in a fast-paced learning environment: the more detailed the feedback, the more overwhelmed I get. With every correction, my brain starts scrambling to keep up — and instead of helping, it short-circuits my focus. The more instructions I hear, the more scattered I feel. Concentration? Gone.
My body was there, but my focus had left the court. I found myself battling those faint, familiar feelings: You’re not doing this right. You’re behind. You're not measuring up.
That sense of being watched and critiqued has old roots. It goes back to elementary school days, when I’d get called on and panic because I hadn’t been paying attention. That nervous system imprint is real.
So during a water break, while the coach was chatting with us, I looked down and realized I was lightly tapping above my upper lip — one of the EFT points. I hadn’t planned it. I hadn’t even noticed I’d started. My body just… did it.
I smiled and laughed to myself a little. At first, I felt a tiny wave of embarrassment — I’m pretty sure the coach and my partner noticed — but honestly, it was okay. These tools are a part of me now. Not in a big, dramatic way, but in a quiet, muscle-memory kind of way. They show up when I need them. No script, no incense, no special playlist — just a simple way to bring myself back to center. To ground my energy and reset.
Wait, What Is EFT?
EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is a gentle, science-supported method where you tap on acupressure points — usually on the face and upper body — while tuning into what you’re feeling emotionally or physically. You bring awareness to what’s going on, name it out loud, and let your system process it instead of ignoring it.
(I filmed a quick reel of me “tapping” with a friend — check it out at the end of this newsletter 👇)
Research shows that tapping can:
Lower cortisol (your stress hormone)
Shift brainwave activity into calmer states
Help with performance anxiety, phobias, PTSD, and more
It’s deceptively simple. But that’s part of why people overlook it — we’ve been conditioned to believe healing has to be hard to be real. (Spoiler: it doesn’t.)
Honestly, I’ve gotten more than a few confused looks over the years when explaining energy healing tools like tapping or Reiki. They’re so gentle, people often assume any shift must be a coincidence. Like, “Oh, I just feel better because I talked about it,” or “It would’ve passed anyway.”
But I know better. I’ve seen it — again and again — in myself, in friends, in clients. The energy moves. Something softens. The body breathes again.
It’s not like taking a pill and feeling obvious relief an hour later. It’s more subtle — a quiet shift you don’t always notice in the moment. But then, days or weeks later, you realize: I’m not stuck in that loop anymore. I feel more clear. More myself.
That’s the beauty of consistent energy work. Whether it’s Reiki, tapping, breathwork, or meditation — the more you practice, the more your system learns to respond. Over time, it becomes intuitive. A built-in support system. You trust it, because you feel the difference. Even if you can’t always explain it.
My Kind of Sharing Circle
I’ve been swimming in the world of energy healing for years — sometimes doing the butterfly stroke, sometimes more of an awkward dog paddle — always with the hope of helping others. I used to think I needed to master something before I could share it. But lately, I’ve realized I don’t want to be the expert in any one modality. It’s too layered, too personal, too ever-evolving for that.
What I do want? To keep becoming the expert of myself. To share what’s working (or not), connect with others doing the same, and keep showing up with curiosity and compassion — even when I forget everything mid-tennis lesson.
Turns out, the more I share the not-so-polished parts of this path — the wins, the what-ifs, the woo — the more I see we’re all just trying to find our way. And my path? It’s been shaped by my familiar travel buddy: anxiety. Not always welcome, but always teaching.
And if the idea of a low-key, live Q&A — where we explore things like tapping, intuition, nervous system tools, and maybe pull a card or two — sounds like something you’d enjoy, let me know. I’m looking into starting one. Nothing fancy. Just a real-time meetup, a little connection, and a way we can all keep learning to become the experts of ourselves.
….. until next time many many sweet blessings.
Love + Wellness to You!
Lynn
PS: This reel is a big step for me, because showing up on video still makes my stomach do somersaults. But, practicing what I preach! 😉
Come cheer me on (or tap along) over on Instagram. ✨ Watch the reel here 👇
