The Gift of Hypnotherapy

by Kristen Olberz

It's a wonderful time of the year to remember the amazing healing benefits of hypnotherapy.  I want to take a moment and remind you what hypnotherapy is and how it works to move our lives forward, to let go of habits, stories or behaviors that no longer serve us and to teach us how to deeply relax, both emotionally and physically, so that our bodies can easily tap into their innate healing abilities.

I always smile when people tell me they've never been in hypnosis or would be scared to try it.  We go in and out of hypnotic states everyday!  Most everyone has experienced daydreaming, automatic driving or being really engrossed in a book or a movie, sometimes all of the above on the same day.  As we go about our day, we're usually peering at the world through the conscious part of our brains.  The Conscious Mind analyzes and criticizes, filters information and likes to think it's in charge of you.  The Conscious Mind can process four thousand bits of information at a time.  Seems impressive, but really, it's only the tip of the iceberg.  The Subconscious Mind is the vast remainder.  This is where we dream, store memories, hold our deep-seated beliefs, run all of our bodily systems, unceasingly, from our first breath to our last.  The Subconscious processes four hundred BILLION bits of information at a time. 

In normal walking around awareness, the Conscious Mind sort of stands in front of the Subconscious.   When a person daydreams or purposefully goes into hypnosis with the intention of doing therapy, the Conscious Mind is asked to quiet down, take a break, go sit over "there."  So that there is direct, uninterrupted communication with the Subconscious.  This is where miracles occur.  When a person is in hypnosis, they are not asleep, they are as aware of outside noises, etc. as they want to be.  A person cannot be made to do something that would go against their inherent belief system.  The brighter a person is, the better they tend to do, though everyone gets better at going into hypnosis with practice.  In a sense, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, whether a person gives themselves suggestions, listens to a guided visualizations and affirmations or is working with a certified hypnotherapist.

Simply turning off all of the brain chatter and offering the mind and body a chance to slow down and breathe has been shown to have significant health benefits across the board.  This is generally what people consider meditation. When folks do a hatha yoga practice that ends in shivasana, this is a similar exercise of quieting the mind and the thoughts.  As is pranayama, the yoga breath practice. Simple benefits includes decreasing the body's stress response, lowering blood pressure, improving lung capacity and full-body oxygenation.

When someone comes in for hypnotherapy, I guide them into this quiet mind space and then, depending on what a person has requested we work on, go from there. 

There are so many ways to use hypnotherapy, honestly, it can be applied to practically any situation.  I'm going to list a few here and I always encourage my clients to be creative.  Hypnotherapy is a collaborative process, where the client lets the therapist know ahead of time what they would like to work on, then the hypnotherapist guides them into trance, and using different tools, allows the person's own mind to heal or find a solution to the problem.

Fertility Issues--I've been working as a HypnoBirthing Fertility Therapist for several years, helping women conceive more successfully regardless of what path they're on while doing so.

Clearing Previous Birth Experiences--sometimes when a previous birth didn't go as planned and a woman hasn't yet let it go, she will bring that into the next pregnancy.  This session clears that old energy and story, which allows for healing and space for excitement around this new baby.

Stress Reduction--technically, when one is in hypnosis, one doesn't necessarily have to be literally relaxed.  But when it comes to letting go of short and long-term stress, clients are guided through full body deep physical relaxation.   They will often come out of the session saying they felt like they've had a "verbal massage!"

Weight Loss--especially helpful for sugar issues around the holidays and postpartum weight challenges

Phobias--fear of needles, of flying, of heights, etc, are some of the easiest issues to deal with when using hypnotherapy

Test Anxiety--if you or someone you know has a licensing or board test coming up, this session can help you think more clearly and calmly on the day of, increasing your test scores

Motivation--whether it's motivation to write the book you've always dreamed of, to exercise more regularly or to change jobs, hypnotherapy can provide the jumpstart to make it happen

For the month of January, anyone signing up for a session gets a discount.  Normal fee is $70/hour, but to help you ring in the New Year with bright and shiny intentions, you can get a single session for $60/hour OR three sessions for $165!  Setting up an appointment is easy, and we can meet up at the spa or in NE.  Weekend and evening appointments also available. 503.502.6585