Have you ever watched a child playing with a tambourine and wondered why it was so “cool”? It wasn’t just because he or she was playing music, but because they were having fun feeling the rhythm of their body moving from side to side. Bilateral stimulation is when you can feel or sense movement on both sides of your body in a rhythmic pattern. It can be as simple as tapping your hands on a drum or clapping your hands together. There seems to be something uplifting about this type of activity.
Most people use bilateral stimulation on a daily basis in their life. It is a common activity that can be found throughout various cultures with different names but the same activity. We tend to use bilateral stimulation when we are doing something that we find calming or relaxing like walking, jogging, horseback riding, playing bongos, tapping on knees or shoulders. Butterfly taps are a common example where you put your hand on the left shoulder, then tap it with your right hand while repeating the sequence. The hands alternate in rhythm until the taps are registered in your brain. The key is that it needs to be rhythmic and consistent.
From the nervous system standpoint, bilateral stimulation is one way to activate the parasympathetic nervous system to generate relaxation and calming. Your body can use it when you want to relax, fall asleep or meditate. It is commonly used with some stress reduction techniques and people often combine it with other relaxation strategies like visualization or guided imagery.
But let’s circle back to how it is integrated in EMDR. The most common forms of bilateral stimulation are light, sound and touch. For example, some therapists use an EMDR light bar that flashes from side to side. Others use plastic pulsars that alternate mild vibrations, or tap on your hands or knees. You may listen to music that alternates tones in both ears, or simply sit close to the therapist who taps on your hands or knees as if they’re dancing in time with the music—but never at exactly the same moment.
So, let’s look at what happens from the brain's standpoint. Think of your brain as having layers, like an onion. These bilateral stimulation effects are experienced as a ‘bottom-up’ cascade of changes, which means they occur in the lower or older areas of the brain first. It activates both hemispheres of the brain in the same way that REM sleep does. During REM sleep, our eyes move rapidly back and forth, and we process and integrate information. Because this order works with how the brain normally processes information, the effects are often experienced more quickly and easily than with top-down strategies such as insight and conscious introspection.
Tapping, beeps and other touches can create new neural pathways that bypass the old ones in the brain. Think of it like the orienting reflex or your nervous system’s ability to self-adjust. So when you think about your problem or even see pictures or videos of it, you can remember, but without so much intensity that it causes fear chemicals to be released into your system. Additionally, as the memory is present without the same levels of intensity and your nervous system re-evaluates, it relaxes and creates new neural pathways.
The ability to calm the mind and body is not reserved for the guru. Try adding it to any type of relaxing activity to enhance total relaxation, especially meditation or deep breathing exercise.
