What is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a totally natural state of mind. When under hypnosis you will feel very relaxed, just like that wonderful feeling you have when you are tired and lying in your bed and you are so overcome with comfort that you wish the moment could last forever. Through simple hypnotic suggestions and relaxation techniques you can easily attain this state; at which time it becomes easy, with the help of a trained Hypnotherapist to visualize yourself becoming healthier, happier and more confident.

What Does Hypnotherapy Involve?

Hypnotherapy is a two way process between the therapist and the client, a professional partnership. A person must agree and co-operate, in order to be hypnotized. Also, while in hypnosis, nobody can make you do anything which you do not want to do. Generally you are sitting or lying down and the job of the Hypnotherapist is to combine the power of suggestion with the power of imagination to release or transform old negative “programs,” patterns or symptoms, and reinforce motivation.

How long has hypnosis been around?

The ancients of many lands used hypnosis, especially in Asia and the Middle East. But it was introduced to popular culture by Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815). It was used in world war one for pain and post trauma. It has become more excepted and mainstream in the last twenty years in the U.S and Canada. (Source: Canadian Hypnotherapy Association Website)

What Are Some Uses For Hypnotherapy?

Traditionally it has been successful with;

• Habit Control
• Sports Performance
• Stress Management (see article below)
• Smoking Cessation
• Weight Management (see article below)
• Pain Management
• Phobias
• Nail Biting
• Stuttering
• Increasing Self-Confidence
• Motivation
• Memory
• Concentration
• Creativity
• Productivity
• Self-Esteem
• And More….

Stress Management

Stress is part of everyday life and stress management is something we all do on a daily basis. Whether you are coping with stress caused by what you see on the evening news or simply coping with the stress of day-to-day life, you are continually carrying out stress management.

As humans we are conditioned to learn through experience and formal education but when it comes to coping with every day stressors the lessons we have learned from our parents and others maybe flawed. The great thing about hypnotherapy is that the process itself constitutes a wonderful form of stress management and education. The positive suggestions and techniques traditionally used within hypnosis are a bonus and a very powerful bonus at that.

Stress and anxiety are involved to some extent in most of the reasons for clients seeking out hypnotherapy. Stress and anxiety are everywhere and can cause many problems if ignored. Relaxation exercises and other stress management techniques can be very helpful in overcoming these overwhelming feelings.

Due to a variety of socio-economic conditions, stress has now become more widely recognized by both individuals and employers. People in Canada lose several thousand days of work every year due to stress. As well, they suffer great personal anxiety that can lead to marital problems, depression, panic attacks, weight gain or loss and many other problems.

Hypnosis can help with stress by:

• Teaching relaxation techniques and relaxation exercises, thereby developing new ways to relax naturally (assisting in the management of the relaxation response instead of the stress response).
• Positive thinking and help with panic attacks, anxiety and fears. Creating a new positive approach to living.
• Creating an understanding of stress and the reasons for it, addressing those factors and helping to create a positive outcome for the future.

Remember stress and anxiety can cause problems in very clever and unhelpful ways. One of the best ways to combat stress is to exercise on a regular basis and to use the techniques learned through the use of hypnosis.

Weight Management

Hypnosis helps take off excess weight by overcoming unconscious goals which prevent you from losing weight and from keeping weight off after a successful diet. You know that eating too much is not what you desire and you know that exercise and sensible diet are important. However, these are not conscious, logical issues. Successful weight management is as much about re-educating your unconscious mind as it is about dieting. Hypnosis is one of the most natural ways to manage your weight.

Understanding what hypnosis is and is not will help you to see a more clear connection between the mind and your weight. Everyone knows that to lose weight you need to eat less and exercise more. It is also clearly established that diets don’t work in any long-term way. Statistics show that diets are almost certain to fail. To maintain a healthy weight for the long-term you need to begin thinking differently. You also need to be developing new habits and breaking down old associations. The easiest way to do this is to build new positive associations.

Hypnotherapy can help with weight management in many ways including:

• Developing a new self-image. See yourself in the future after losing weight and make that your desired future outcome.
• Learn to be more relaxed about weight management. Stress is often a serious factor associated with bad dieting and comfort eating.
• Positive thinking about weight and diet. Stop worrying about your weight and about weight loss and start looking forward to managing your weight and achieving your goals.
• Create a self-fulfilling prophesy. In other words, start to feel better about yourself. This will help you manage your weight and, of course, losing weight will help you to feel even better about who you are and what you can achieve. The whole process becomes a very positive cycle. Most people expect to have to lose weight in order to feel good about themselves. However when you start to feel good about yourself, the weight will start to come off and health and happiness will grow.

Hypnotherapy can also compliment other weight management programs by helping you to maximize your willpower and increase your chances for success. If you can picture yourself in the future at your ideal weight, meeting the goals that you have set for yourself then you will succeed. How wonderful and simple it is to use a familiar tool such as your imagination to accomplish your goals.

So take the first step by trying hypnosis and begin to take back control of your LIFE.

Understand your Mind through hypnosis.

How does one start to understand one’s mind?

We have all heard the expression “A mind is a terrible thing to waste”!! So what does this mean? This suggests that the mind is physical in some way, that if you don’t use it, it will waste away just like muscle groups not exercised on a regular basis. We like to think of the mind as the part of the body that controls everything. If we get stressed and can’t cope, we will say things like, “I’m so stressed that I’m on the verge of loosing my mind”. So does that mean that as stress increases, the likelihood that we will loose our minds also increases? What happens after??

As you read on, please try to “keep an open mind”.

The mind as we like to refer to it, many times will be substituted for the conscious self, subconscious self and for those of you who believe in a higher conscious, it sometimes sits in for that one too. The mind really does not exist in a physical sense. It’s akin to a wave on the ocean that moves across vast greatness but has no physicality of its own. Does this mean that a wave that does not have its own mass is therefore incapable of causing any damage in the physical realm? People, who live in certain parts of the world accustomed to conditions like tidal waves, know all too well the damage that they can cause. So even though a wave has no physical self and is propelled along by the wind and ocean currents it still strikes fear in many coastal dwelling communities. The mind works in very much the same way. It also does not have any physicality but we all know how destructive it can be, or not…

The big question is “does the mind control us or do we control the mind”? We, in the western world tend to believe that our conscious self is our mind and that everything that influences our conscious self makes us who we are. Since we interact with each other at a conscious level everything that happens to us at work, at home, while commuting, ends up having a cumulating affect and over time becomes extremely stressful. The overall affect is usually an increase in health problems and mental health issues which ends up affecting our relationship with others and ourselves.

What if you were to learn that we are more then just our conscious self and that because of this anything that affects you at the conscious level can’t penetrate the deeper levels of consciousness unless you allow it? In keeping with the water/wave analogy, imagine yourself as body of water and a storm is fast approaching. Once the storm hits, the surface of the water becomes rough with waves and anyone on the water gets tossed around and should seek shelter. However, as you go deeper into your body of water, you will find the affects of the storm lessen and eventually if you go deep enough you won’t even know that there is a storm at all.

The same thing applies to us. If you allow yourself to interact with the world with all it’s levels of consciousness, you will find that anything impacting your conscious self will not impact your subconscious self. What I am saying to you is, that we are in control of ourselves and no matter how hard others try; we can only be influenced if we want to be. If we allow these influences to filter down through all our depths into our deeper selves. When you begin to realize that you are in control of your mind not the other way around, you begin to see the possibilities. If I control my mind, then this must also mean that I am in control of my actions. If I’m in control of my actions, then should I choose to stop acting in a certain way my mind will have no choice but to obey my decision.

At this point your probably saying to yourself, this is all great but how do I apply this to me? Well this is where I come in and all I can offer you is the truth. What I can tell you is, that there is proven processes that can help you achieve your goals while teaching you to manage your stress and while giving you back full control over yourself. Would you not want to learn more??

The answer to your question is HYPNOSIS!! Hypnosis is a natural process that has been used for centuries to help us become the individuals we want to be. A hypnotherapist can show you and guide you through the process for personal growth that allows you to be in control at all times. You will make the positive changes that you want to make. You will also learn to use self-hypnosis to successfully accomplish your goals permanently and effortlessly. No magic pill, just you and me working together to help you become the person you have always wanted to be.

So take the first step by trying hypnosis and begin to take back control of your MIND.

If you would like more information or to book an appointment please call 416-926-8794 or e-mail us: info@sageclinic.ca