Sports Hypnosis – All About Me Or You?

For When It Comes To Competition The Mind Matters

For most people the first image in their minds or the first comment they may make at the mention of Hypnosis will be something to do with the classic stage hypnotist reducing sane adults to chickens. This image couldn’t be further removed from the truth. Clinical Hypnotherapy is a recognised complementary medical modality that can (if the subject desires change) assist over a wide spectrum of medical / personal conditions. Dealing with the ‘deeper parts’ of the mind (a.k.a. the subconscious) when practiced by a well trained practitioner it is an ideal means of dealing with conditions such as Phobias, Stress, Insomnia, Relaxation, Stopping Smoking, Stuttering, Migraines, Teeth Grinding, Bed Wetting, Shyness, Swearing, Nail Biting, Memory Recall, Motivation, Concentration / Focus and more.

Clinical Hypnotherapy has a history of assisting sports people to be the best they can be on competition day. A competitor can learn to leave their weeks worries on the start line, improving their focus / concentration. The perfect example of this is the marathon runner motivated to push through those long dreary miles of training and have that personal best event “hard wired” in their mind, killing off the evil ‘wall’ making it easier on race day. For us mere mortals these effects can be used in everyday life with hypnosis going a long way to increase our confidence / assertiveness and comprehension bringing benefits both personally and professionally.

But Just What Is Hypnosis Anyway??

The hypnotic state is completely natural state you are guided into somewhere between being fully conscious and unconscious – although the word sleep is used you are not asleep as you are focused on the words used (so many of my clients comment on being surprised that they can hear during the session). As said previously it’s a natural state of mind, completely safe that you go through it at least twice a day without realising as you go through the hypnotic state as you go to sleep and as you wake up. When day dreaming or in deep thought it has been found that brain waves equate to the hypnotic state and when performing a repetitive process or finding yourself ‘in the groove’ when playing sport your mind has ‘clicked’ naturally into a hypnotic state.


What Can Hypnosis Be Used For ….

Clinical Hypnotherapy can be used anywhere that involves the mind so just for a moment imagine;
Finding the motivation to train better and more consistently than you’ve ever trained before
Breaking those time barriers that you’ve previously only flirted with
Staying cooler and calmer at those times when you need to
Naturally changing any doubt to an optimistic attitude
Clinical Hypnotherapy can help you with this and more as newly found confidence and relaxation is easily used in other areas of you life


What Does It Feel Like In Hypnosis.

Bluntly, hypnosis feels fantastic!!! During hypnosis you can hear the Hypnotherapist clearly and you are able to talk with the Hypnotherapist. It is sometimes referred to as a ‘mind awake, body asleep state’ as although you are physically and mentally very relaxed, almost sleep-like you are actually, mentally very alert. A hypnotic session may feel as though it lasted just a few minutes while others may seem like it has gone on for ages – it’s all perfectly normal - hypnosis can be so relaxing, you can lose track of time! And what does it "feel" like? At its best I can only describe it as total and utter tranquillity... if that's not highly enjoyable nothing is!

So no matter what you may have been told when you are in hypnosis you are conscious, you are aware, and totally in control, and while a small proportion of people actually perform embarrassingly stupid tasks for a stage hypnotist, you will not undertake dangerous things or act on suggestions which are against you moral code. Unless you are of a criminal mind you will not steal, cheat, murder or do anything else ethically / morally distasteful. Any suggestions that you disagreed with may well result in you opening your eyes and coming out of hypnosis. To sum it up hypnosis is a conscious state where the body is asleep and the mind is awake and in control.

In ending, no matter what you may hear on the news or see in second rate Hollywood movies or witness on stage, it pays to remember that you the client are totally in control, not the hypnotherapist (however you are after my skills to guide you there). There is a phrase you often hear in stage hypnosis that a person is "under hypnosis". This is 100% wrong. You the client are never "under hypnosis", however a stage hypnotist likes his subjects and audience to believe that they are under his or her power. It is not my hypnotic power that puts you into the hypnotic state, but rather the consent of you the subject that results in hypnosis.

So in a nutshell hypnosis is all about you and just a little about the hypnotherapist (kind of like the athlete, coach relationship). Hypnosis is safe, kind of enjoyable and when used by a motivated individual very useful addition to your training.