I picked up a book this week off the bookshelf off my "unread pile" called Imagery and healing by Jeanne Achterberg: a fascinating look at shamanism and modern medicine.It really gets to the heart of what is understood about shamanic practices and the relationship with western modern medical practices. An area of neuroscience which I had looked at at whilst studying for my masters degree is discussed which is that of the holographic brain. A fascinating subject, in particular in relation to hypnosis. The holographic model begins to resolve some of the brain behaviour paradoxes those that relate too the storage of memory and its retrieval. That,if the brain indeed operates like that of a hologram it is unnecessary to have leg to process leg information it is only necessary to have once had a leg or even thought about having a leg. The brain sets up patterns of storage. Similarly in the context of body boundaries: where do I begin and end? According to the holographic model we have a choice, so say for instance I decided to hug my wife from over 100 mile away my holographic brain begins to recreate what I have experienced about this event; the physical sensations, the emotions, and the symbols I have idiosyncratically adopted all of which are stored without reference to time and space . The image if strong enough will recreate the whole situation in my being. Karl Pribram who proposed the holographic model suggests that "imagery and feelings are like ghosts -but they are ghosts which inhabit my own and my patients subjective worlds they are our constant companions and I want to explain them" suggesting that words and behaviour are not enough to explain without recourse to a map IE an image of some sort. He goes on to say that when images are regarded in the holographic manner their omnipotent influence on physical function logically follows and that the image the behaviour and the physiological associations are a unified aspect of the same phenomenon. That is the the extant to which change can take place in the body and mind depends upon how much activity there is at the neural junctures and how many patterns are activated or in other words the belief system. If you do not believe that you have the ability to consciously effect mental and physical change with the imagination then you never even try! Healing requires work both physical and mental ; it does not happen accidentally. So lets just say for example a person was feeling stressed and anxious ; it would make sense to form an image of the body being relaxed and calm , and the precise body functions that would be required to bring that about so to attending to the breath, breathing deeply releasing tension in the muscles, remembering a time when they were completely calm and relaxed activates the neural patterns that are required to bring this about. This is where hypnosis and timeline therapy can be immensly helpful in allowing the mind to remember that it has all the resources required within to effect change in a postitive and meaningful way.
Best Wishes
Edd
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Uptight,Feeling Stressed & Anxious?
A lot has been written in the press of late about the negative effects of feeling stressed and anxious both on the mental body and the physical, manifesting itself in many different and often unpleasant ways (see the Times Mind Body & Soul March 2.) Here are 5 simple tips that any one can do to help reduce those feelings
1.Take 4 or 5 deep breaths with the full capacity of your lungs using the diaphragm just like a baby breathes!
2.Tense all the muscles in the body....... hold that tension for a 2nd or two.... and then relax repeat the process 4 or 5 times
3.Sitting upright in a chair focusing the eyes straight in front imagine the points on a clock face, starting at 12 oclock move the eyes only round clockwise to 1 oclock, 2 oclock, 3oclock, till 12 oclock is reached then reverse the process anti clock wise breathing steadily all of the time repeat this process 4 or 5 times.
4. Go for a short walk,walking steadily and rhythmically again taking notice of the breath.
5.Place a pen or pencil width ways in the mouth gripping gently in the teeth then making an eeeeeh sound..... smile and hold that for a few 2nds... then repeat again 4 or 5 times (this is best done in private in front of a mirror for obvious reasons!!)
You may want to try just one of these techniques or any of them in combination. Hypnosis and Timeline therapy are excellant interventions for helping to "get to the bottom" of what is the underlying reason for feeling this way.
Best Wishes
Edd
1.Take 4 or 5 deep breaths with the full capacity of your lungs using the diaphragm just like a baby breathes!
2.Tense all the muscles in the body....... hold that tension for a 2nd or two.... and then relax repeat the process 4 or 5 times
3.Sitting upright in a chair focusing the eyes straight in front imagine the points on a clock face, starting at 12 oclock move the eyes only round clockwise to 1 oclock, 2 oclock, 3oclock, till 12 oclock is reached then reverse the process anti clock wise breathing steadily all of the time repeat this process 4 or 5 times.
4. Go for a short walk,walking steadily and rhythmically again taking notice of the breath.
5.Place a pen or pencil width ways in the mouth gripping gently in the teeth then making an eeeeeh sound..... smile and hold that for a few 2nds... then repeat again 4 or 5 times (this is best done in private in front of a mirror for obvious reasons!!)
You may want to try just one of these techniques or any of them in combination. Hypnosis and Timeline therapy are excellant interventions for helping to "get to the bottom" of what is the underlying reason for feeling this way.
Best Wishes
Edd
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Back pain Its all in the mind say scientists
A recent article in the Daily Telegraph (front page Friday the 26th of February) suggests that back pain might be all in the mind and sufferers should seek psychological help, researchers have suggested. This is following a comprehensive piece of research by Sarah Lamb professor of rehabilitation at Warwick University. During the research 468 patients were given six sessions of cognititve bahavioural therapy in a group situation and 233 were not. Those receiving therapy recorded twice as large a fall in their pain and disability the findings were published in the LANCET. The scientists believed that the therapy worked by changing the way that the patients felt. This following a recent article on pain in the Times where a professor of anesthesia at Oxford University was quoted as saying that "for too long pain has been seen as sensory when really it is an emotion".Hypnosis & Timeline, Therapy, are really effective interventions in dealing with emotions that are not working to our advantage. It is possible to feel real immediate benefits of reduced pain and also in the longer term dependence on medication.
Best Wishes
Edd
www.telegraph.co.uk , www.timesonline.co.uk
Best Wishes
Edd
www.telegraph.co.uk , www.timesonline.co.uk
Monday, February 22, 2010
8 out of 10 men out of shape?
8 out of 10 men out of shape?
A recent report in the Times states that adult obesity is expected to rise sharply by 2020. Eight of ten men and almost seven in ten women will be overweight, so it says.
The study, led by Professor Klim McPherson, of the University of Oxford, uses figures from 1993 to 2007 to predict future levels of obesity in England. It says that about 41 per cent of men aged 20 to 65 will be obese by 2020 and 40 per cent will be overweight; 36 per cent of women will be obese and 32 per cent will be overweight.
Quite alarming, don’t you think? Especially as we only have to put on the TV or open a magazine these days to be told that obesity has a direct correlation with serious health issues.
I mean it’s not surprising that the government is promoting ‘Change 4 Life’ encouraging us to eat well, move more and live longer. After all, these are simple, basic rules that can benefit everyone. And take the strain off our already over-stretched NHS.
What’s more, the British Heart Foundation has just launched its ‘BEAT’ code – ‘Be active, Eat healthily, Avoid smoking, and Take the lifestyle check’ (you have to go onto their website to do the last bit). They recommend that people take time to indulge in healthy activities that can lift their mood, whilst trying to keep established risk factors under control.
So why do so many people find it so hard to keep control of their weight? Well, if we’re honest, we all know what we should or shouldn’t be doing but sometimes something inside prevents us from actually doing it. It could be that we’ve learned behaviours as a result of past events in our lives. Often negative behaviours that reinforce our beliefs about something.
This means even if we think we are motivated to lose weight and exercise more, something inside will be sabotaging our efforts. In short, the conscious mind will be saying something positive and the unconscious mind contradicting it. The good news – Cognitive hypnotherapy can change this.
It can help you feel much more relaxed, not only about food, diet and nutrition, but about yourself. Moreover, it can help teach your unconscious mind to speak the same language as your conscious one!
You will find then yourself making better choices all round. You can say goodbye to yo-yo dieting and all those past disappointments and ‘hello’ to a happier, healthier you.
So don’t be one of the statistics that Professor McPherson warns us about. If – or one of your loved ones – want to take control of your weight once and for all, just give us a call. Or click here to find out details of your nearest SlimQuest class.
Best wishes,
Lori
A recent report in the Times states that adult obesity is expected to rise sharply by 2020. Eight of ten men and almost seven in ten women will be overweight, so it says.
The study, led by Professor Klim McPherson, of the University of Oxford, uses figures from 1993 to 2007 to predict future levels of obesity in England. It says that about 41 per cent of men aged 20 to 65 will be obese by 2020 and 40 per cent will be overweight; 36 per cent of women will be obese and 32 per cent will be overweight.
Quite alarming, don’t you think? Especially as we only have to put on the TV or open a magazine these days to be told that obesity has a direct correlation with serious health issues.
I mean it’s not surprising that the government is promoting ‘Change 4 Life’ encouraging us to eat well, move more and live longer. After all, these are simple, basic rules that can benefit everyone. And take the strain off our already over-stretched NHS.
What’s more, the British Heart Foundation has just launched its ‘BEAT’ code – ‘Be active, Eat healthily, Avoid smoking, and Take the lifestyle check’ (you have to go onto their website to do the last bit). They recommend that people take time to indulge in healthy activities that can lift their mood, whilst trying to keep established risk factors under control.
So why do so many people find it so hard to keep control of their weight? Well, if we’re honest, we all know what we should or shouldn’t be doing but sometimes something inside prevents us from actually doing it. It could be that we’ve learned behaviours as a result of past events in our lives. Often negative behaviours that reinforce our beliefs about something.
This means even if we think we are motivated to lose weight and exercise more, something inside will be sabotaging our efforts. In short, the conscious mind will be saying something positive and the unconscious mind contradicting it. The good news – Cognitive hypnotherapy can change this.
It can help you feel much more relaxed, not only about food, diet and nutrition, but about yourself. Moreover, it can help teach your unconscious mind to speak the same language as your conscious one!
You will find then yourself making better choices all round. You can say goodbye to yo-yo dieting and all those past disappointments and ‘hello’ to a happier, healthier you.
So don’t be one of the statistics that Professor McPherson warns us about. If – or one of your loved ones – want to take control of your weight once and for all, just give us a call. Or click here to find out details of your nearest SlimQuest class.
Best wishes,
Lori
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Quit Smoking For Good!
It's only the middle of January and already more than 20 people have told me they want to quit smoking. That it was their New Year resolution but already they are struggling. If they are not back on the tobacco already, they are eating more junk food or sweet stuff than ever before - literally replacing one undesirable habit with another!
I can totally understand why they'd want to give up. After all smoking is said to account for 90% of lung cancer deaths. What's more, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) states that tobacco smoking can also cause cancers of the following sites: upper aero-digestive tract (oral cavity, nasal cavity, nasal sinuses, pharynx, larynx and oesophagus), pancreas, stomach, liver, bladder, kidney, cervix, bowel, ovary (mucinous) and myeloid leukaemia.
It's also pretty anti-social these days, now it's banned in public places. And it's a jolly expensive habit to boot. So quitting (or rather stopping) would seem to make good sense, whether you're a seasoned smoker or a part-time puffer.
You wouldn't be alone in your quest to stop either. In a survey carried out last year for the Office of National Statistics, 66% of smokers said that they wanted to give up. Health concerns were the most commonly mentioned reasons for quitting, with 86% of people who wanted to give up mentioning at least one health reason. After health, the next most common reasons were costs (27%), family pressure (20%) and the effect on their children (15%). A similar picture to this year, I imagine.
So just how do you stop smoking, and not get addicted to something else?
Well, it's easier than you may think. At Sahasrara we deliver a highly effective programme around stopping smoking for our clients to achieve success. We help them explore the emotional reasons why they smoke and resolve these at cause. The programme teaches them how to overcome cravings and change habits for better more supportive ones for them. We use the power of suggestion to undo the desire to smoke and replace it with a desire to do something far healthier for them. And it's a really pleasant experience. In a trance state you get to relax in a way that you probably haven't done for a very long time. Plus you are more likely to enjoy a good night's sleep that evening too.
We also follow up on our clients, to make sure they have really kicked the habit once and for all. To our delight, over 90% of people tell us that they have and because the programme includes a follow-up session the rest conquer it then. The feedback we get is that they've not even had any craving to do so - quite the opposite in fact. And it doesn't matter whether they're immersed in a room with other smokers or not.
Now considering the cost of a stopping smoking programme of Hypnotherapy (often less than heavy smokers spend on cigarettes in one month), that is a good reason alone to try it?
So, if you'd like to quit smoking for good, just give us a call.
Or if you've a question you'd like to ask about the programme, just post a comment below.
Best Wishes
Edd
I can totally understand why they'd want to give up. After all smoking is said to account for 90% of lung cancer deaths. What's more, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) states that tobacco smoking can also cause cancers of the following sites: upper aero-digestive tract (oral cavity, nasal cavity, nasal sinuses, pharynx, larynx and oesophagus), pancreas, stomach, liver, bladder, kidney, cervix, bowel, ovary (mucinous) and myeloid leukaemia.
It's also pretty anti-social these days, now it's banned in public places. And it's a jolly expensive habit to boot. So quitting (or rather stopping) would seem to make good sense, whether you're a seasoned smoker or a part-time puffer.
You wouldn't be alone in your quest to stop either. In a survey carried out last year for the Office of National Statistics, 66% of smokers said that they wanted to give up. Health concerns were the most commonly mentioned reasons for quitting, with 86% of people who wanted to give up mentioning at least one health reason. After health, the next most common reasons were costs (27%), family pressure (20%) and the effect on their children (15%). A similar picture to this year, I imagine.
So just how do you stop smoking, and not get addicted to something else?
Well, it's easier than you may think. At Sahasrara we deliver a highly effective programme around stopping smoking for our clients to achieve success. We help them explore the emotional reasons why they smoke and resolve these at cause. The programme teaches them how to overcome cravings and change habits for better more supportive ones for them. We use the power of suggestion to undo the desire to smoke and replace it with a desire to do something far healthier for them. And it's a really pleasant experience. In a trance state you get to relax in a way that you probably haven't done for a very long time. Plus you are more likely to enjoy a good night's sleep that evening too.
We also follow up on our clients, to make sure they have really kicked the habit once and for all. To our delight, over 90% of people tell us that they have and because the programme includes a follow-up session the rest conquer it then. The feedback we get is that they've not even had any craving to do so - quite the opposite in fact. And it doesn't matter whether they're immersed in a room with other smokers or not.
Now considering the cost of a stopping smoking programme of Hypnotherapy (often less than heavy smokers spend on cigarettes in one month), that is a good reason alone to try it?
So, if you'd like to quit smoking for good, just give us a call.
Or if you've a question you'd like to ask about the programme, just post a comment below.
Best Wishes
Edd
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Is Weight Loss all in the Mind???
So, what do you actually think . . . is Weight Loss all in the Mind?
Recently, there has been much added excitement around the benefits of hypnosis for aiding and supporting weight loss.
We read all about Paul McKenna promising “I can make you thin!” and our latest celebrity Hypnotherapist Susan Hepburn has recently hit the headlines in National papers for her Hypnodiet podcast and her weight loss successes amongst the celebrity world of Lily Allen and the Duchess of York.
So what does that mean to people on the street?
Can everyone afford the Harley Street prices of £270 plus per hour to enjoy the benefits of slimming through Hypnosis?
Generally and especially this time of the year, after the Christmas bills have come in, the answer maybe to just buy the book and listen to the CD or podcast. However, often the self-motivation starts to wane and things get put to the back of the shelf.
So how does hypnosis work for weight loss?
Well our minds are very powerful tools to create new behaviours and change.
If you think “I am fat!” then guess what, your body will help you prove it and weight will always be an on-going battle.
What you focus on you attract.
So changing your thoughts to support you in your weight loss goals helps you to achieve these much more easily. If you can imagine yourself in the future looking slimmer, feeling fitter and happier, then your unconscious mind has a positive direction for you to go in.
Do you believe this will work for you?
Recently, there has been much added excitement around the benefits of hypnosis for aiding and supporting weight loss.
We read all about Paul McKenna promising “I can make you thin!” and our latest celebrity Hypnotherapist Susan Hepburn has recently hit the headlines in National papers for her Hypnodiet podcast and her weight loss successes amongst the celebrity world of Lily Allen and the Duchess of York.
So what does that mean to people on the street?
Can everyone afford the Harley Street prices of £270 plus per hour to enjoy the benefits of slimming through Hypnosis?
Generally and especially this time of the year, after the Christmas bills have come in, the answer maybe to just buy the book and listen to the CD or podcast. However, often the self-motivation starts to wane and things get put to the back of the shelf.
So how does hypnosis work for weight loss?
Well our minds are very powerful tools to create new behaviours and change.
If you think “I am fat!” then guess what, your body will help you prove it and weight will always be an on-going battle.
What you focus on you attract.
So changing your thoughts to support you in your weight loss goals helps you to achieve these much more easily. If you can imagine yourself in the future looking slimmer, feeling fitter and happier, then your unconscious mind has a positive direction for you to go in.
Do you believe this will work for you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)