Past-Life Regression and Hypnotherapy

(This blog was originally posted on January 13, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

 

                Past-life regression is based on the person’s religious belief that he or she lived before and has been reincarnated. I offer PLR when a client specifically requests it, such as to explore what happened in the person’s previous life and how a specific event(s) from that lifetime is affecting him or her, today. It is also a useful technique to help a person identify a source of distress in the following situations:

·         Resolve a fear/phobia that the client absolutely cannot identify the source or cause;

·         Open up another creative pathway in the person’s imagination;

·         Travel to another country to become familiar with the culture;

·         Unexplained medical issue/condition, but the client MUST HAVE A MEDICAL REFERRAL* from his or her physician to rule out a medical cause or condition as the cause of the discomfort;

·         Obesity/debilitating inability to gain weight (MEDICAL REFERRAL REQUIRED)*.

Most people have an authentic life experience during the PLR. I include the information that the client receives and shares with me to reinforce the subconscious message or lesson that the person received during the PLR. This experience often provides new perceptions about something that is going on in the person’s life and provides new insights for dealing with it. In addition to reinforcing this new knowledge in a post-hypnotic suggestion, I also provide an instruction for the client to “vent out” the issue in dreams so that the person can use the insight learned during the PLR session but will not be suggestible to the experience(s) of that past life.

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

Hypnosis to Help Stuttering

(This blog was originally posted on February 13, 2014)

 

 

                 According to John Kappas, Ph.D., the founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute, stuttering is a projection of incongruent behavior. For example, the person may have a way of learning (suggestibility) that is different from how he or she performs/acts. This individual may speak literally (physical suggestible) but picks up a lot of inferences from conversations and the environment. There is often another family member who stutters, Dr. Kappas explained.

                Stuttering usually begins when the person is around five years old. It is often observed in people who have very addictive personalities. “People cannot stutter when they are under hypnosis, performing visualization exercises or when they are not concentrating on what they are saying,” the hypnotherapist said However, speaking on a telephone often induces stuttering, he observed.

                There are typically no physiological causes of stuttering. As your hypnotherapist, my first objective would be to help you identify the circumstances around which the stuttering began. Once the cause of the stuttering is identified, while you are in hypnosis I would use relaxation, systematic-desensitization and behavioral conditioning techniques to help you resolve any issues that perpetuate this behavior. “Since people usually can’t stutter on purpose, one of the most effective techniques to replace stuttering with normal speech is to teach the person to stutter in hypnosis,” Dr. Kappas advised.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2014

 

 

 

 

Driving Anxiety

(This blog was originally posted on February 17, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Fotolia

 

 

                For many people, driving a car is a way of life. It is not only a way to get things done; it is practically a prerequisite for being able to accomplish many of your goals. It is a symbol of independence: if you can drive and have a driving license, you can go and do just about anything you want to do. When you can drive, you must no longer rely on a friend, neighbor or family member to chauffeur you to an event or an appointment. It is a way of getting to work or simply of getting away. Driving a car is a privilege and a responsibility; and for many people, it can be the source of great anxiety and even social debilitation.

                People can develop a fear or phobia of driving for various reasons. Sometimes, people become understandably afraid to drive or to even ride in an automobile after they have been in a car crash or narrowly avoided being in an accident. The same is true if they have been injured in a crash or if a loved one has been seriously injured or killed. Anxiety and phobias about driving can also develop in association with a sudden drop in blood-sugar level; it is common to associate (blame) driving with sudden symptoms of dizziness, feeling light-headed, confusion and nausea. However, the likely cause of this discomfort is being hungry because the person skipped breakfast to save time in the morning and then downed a quadruple espresso beverage to help stay awake for the morning commute.

                When I work with clients to help them resolve their anxiety about driving, one of the first things I do is to contextualize the origins of their fear or phobia. I explain John Kappas, Ph.D.’s, concepts of the Theory of Mind to illustrate how this current fear/phobic reaction has successfully, albeit temporarily “protected” them from perceived danger by keeping them out of cars. Finally, I employ relaxation, systematic-desensitization and visualization techniques to help my clients work through and overcome their anxiety while they are in hypnosis so they can get back in the driver’s seat of the car, and their lives, once again.

 

 

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2014

Body Language

(This blog was originally posted on April 25, 2014)

 

 

                I am fascinated by a television advertisement for mobile (cell) phone services. In the ad, a group of potential customers puts a representative of a major, national phone company through her paces as they ask about various communications features that the company offers. Viewers are led to infer that the prospective customers are real-estate agents, because each of them is professionally rand sports a tan blazer with a large emblem of a house on the left side of the jacket. The group pretty much verifies the identity of their vocation when one of the women says, “Let’s close!” and they all cross their arms over their chest and grin. But it is what the customers and the sales representative say with their bodies throughout the ad that is of greatest interest to me.

                Throughout the ad, the phone-company representative matches every physical and facial gesture that her prospective clients make. As a customer’s voice lilts at the end of a question, the salesperson uses a similar lilt in her response. When one person points a finger to make a point, the sales rep makes the same movement during her explanation. Someone steeples her fingers across her midsection; the sales rep makes the same gesture. Another person in the group nods and raises her eyebrows; so does she. When the camera pans back a little, viewers can see that the sales rep has even adopted a similar stance as she stands with the customers. At the end of the advertisement when one of the customers crosses her arms and announces they will all take (“close”) the deal, her colleagues look at her and immediately imitate the crossed-arms gesture.

                I like this ad because it is such a fabulous demonstration of how people mirror someone’s behavior in order to build rapport with someone. If your job entails selling products or services, you probably recognized every sales technique depicted in the advertisement I just described. But you don’t have to be a salesperson or a customer to identify with what went on. We mirror each other’s various behaviors—facial expressions, physical gestures, patterns of speech—all the time, often without realizing that we are doing it. These actions are like a “fast track” to building rapport with someone you would like to get to know better. People are naturally attracted to others who behave or seem to think like they do.

Think about a conversation you have had recently: Did you nod at some point during the conversation or lean forward in your seat as if to listen to your companion’s words even more closely? And did your companion then lean his or her body closer to yours, return your nod or mirror a hand movement that you were previously unaware of having made? Did you notice when your spouse or friend took a step forward, backward or sideways to mirror your stance, or raised or lowered his or her voice to match the tone of yours? These are examples of mirroring; and mirroring is a subconscious (or conscious) behavior that creates rapport and can facilitate social bonds by reinforcing similarity or familiarity between you. Rapport is an inherent and necessary component of every kind of relationship; it is the cornerstone upon which every relationship is built. It is only when we establish rapport with someone are we likely to explore the similarities and differences between us, and know whether we want to spend the time and energy to create a social, romantic or professional relationship with that person. Without rapport, we cannot come to trust, respect, like or communicate well with him or her, and a relationship—or a successful sale—is unlikely to result from the interaction.

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2014

 

 

Watching a Dressage Master at Work, Part 3

Photo by Sara Fogan

On the final day of his 2010 clinic, Olympian Jan Ebeling demonstrated why dressage riders

must master all of the elements on the Training Scale to achieve collection.

 

                In 2010, I had an opportunity to watch several dressage clinics that were conducted by one of my favorite competitors, Olympian Jan Ebeling. The workshop was held during the Equine Affaire in Pomona, California, during which time he worked with several riders and their horses to fine-tune their communication and technique with their equine partners. There is no better way to understand how the Training Scale “looks” than by watching a dressage master ride advanced movements such as the piaffe, passage, canter pirouette and single tempi changes. These are some highlights of what I learned and observed during the third (and final) dressage clinic he conducted during that weekend.

 

Seminar #3, February 6, 2010 

Theme of clinic: Structuring your dressage training sessions.

Dressage is a team sport: horse+rider+trainer.

Everyone can do dressage. It’s good training for everyone! Dressage improves the horse’s natural abilities by gymnasticizing its body.

Sandrina: Jan Eberling’s horse for the demo. Oldenberg mare with a lot of TB.

It takes 8-10 years to create a Grand Prix horse. Not every horse can do it.

“Principles of Dressage” guidelines for the professional trainer.

We are often our own best critic. Get video of key moments of your ride to analyze, evaluate the ride.

Goals we must achieve when training dressage: Rhythm. Relaxation. Contact. Impulsion. Straightness. Collection. You can’t have collection without establishing every other element, first.

Typically start out on the horse’s easier/better side to make it easier/more enjoyable for the horse.

Purity of the gaits is very important in dressage. Trot: a diagonal two-beat.

Change tempo of pushing poweràcarrying power. Combination of legs and hands puts the horse in frame.

Legs, seat and hands make the horse respond in a particular way. Get the horse to step actively under her legs.

In dressage, we want the horse to become more even.

When the horse gets scared, it’s important to earn their trust, to trust and listen to the aids. If the horse doesn’t trust you and spooks or something, if you punish the horse for geing scared, it will spook worse.

Shoulder-in and leg-yield helps the horse maneuver.

Balance, no resistance=good canter transition. Even a Grand Prix horse has to work on these things.

Practice sending the horse forward and bring him back.

“Leg” refers to knee on down (lower leg)

You must do the basics and know how to speak “the basics” to your horse so they understand.

In order to get good (become a good rider) it takes a lot of input.

Legs forward, hands restricting, seat assist forward drive.

In a test, the poll must be at the highest point.

Gradually work your way to the fancy transitions.

If you see that the horse is relaxed and wants to go forward, that’s good!

Profession in training, exposure to see where we are with the horse.

After movements of collection, always go forward again right away.

How pretty you sit, effectiveness of you aids, elasticity of horse and desire of horse to go forward …(?)

Backing up is an obedience exercise.

Make horse more compact and release. It should take very little aid (?)

Straight trotàput both legs on. Keep contact on outside rein so the horse turns.

One tempis: it’s like the horse is “skipping.” Keep horse straight, balanced. To train, go back to the basics, work on relieving stiffness.

Whwen horse is on a long rein, you want it to have energy. For a very eager horse, repeat stop-go.

Rhythm of the walk is easily destroyed if you mess with the hands a lot.

Get into the horse’s head to understand how it thinks/get into the horse’s psyche.

Separation of hind feet is a common mistake in canter pirouette. If frame isn’t right, the horse is too weak, back is tight, too much hand.in the canter pirouette, there’s not much to repair if it starts to go wrong.

Training is about compromise and confrontation.

JE keeps horse in a fairly round frame.

Always use positive reinforcement. Someone needs to explain what to do.

You always want to keep the horse happy: “I don’t want a slave. I want a buddy.” (Jan Ebeling)

 

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

Watching a Dressage Master at Work, Part 2

Photo by Sara Fogan

During the second clinic, Olympic equestrian Jan Ebeling explained how to

build and increase strength in a dressage horse.

 

                In 2010, I had an opportunity to watch several dressage clinics that were conducted by one of my favorite competitors, Olympian Jan Ebeling. The workshop was held during the Equine Affaire in Pomona, California, during which time he worked with several riders and their horses to fine-tune their communication and technique with their equine partners. In addition to teaching the participants and auditors how to execute a movement, he also demonstrated how to achieve each of the elements on the Training Scale while riding his Grand Prix Oldenburg/Thoroughbred mare, Sandrina. Here are some highlights of what I learned and observed during the second of three clinics he conducted during that weekend.

 

Seminar #2, February 5, 2010

 

Reflex, push at the girth produces tendency to go forward. Behind the girth prevents the haunches from falling out of pushing sideways in another direction.

Position of the rider is very important! Flex the wrist and squeeze the reins with finger like a wet sponge. Outside leg supports the haunches, inner leg sends direction forward.

Backing off is as important as pushing forward. Remember your half halts. Driving and restricting=half-halt. End in a release.

Low cross-poles, trot poles, good for gymnasticizing the horse.

Voice has a soothing effect on the horse, but don’t use voice aids in a test!

School the horse in both directions to keep him equally pliable. Start schooling the horse on his easier direction to get him looser.

Bend should always be equal. Use light pressure: “Less is more.”

Know your horse re: what type of warm-up works best.

Praising is VERY important!

People are very fast to notice/punish a mistake. We need to notice and reward efforts!

You want energy, praise horse when he bursts forward. It’s better to have natural energy than to have to use spurs.

Use as little hand as necessary to propel the horse.

Half-pass is designed to help force the horse to loosen up and bend at the hips.

Leg intensity must match on both sides of the horse’s body

The more active you can make him, the easier the transition will be.

To push forward, activate the inside leg at the girth to go forward. The outside leg goes back to support the forward motion. Come back to the outside leg.

Simple walk-canter transitions are good to make the horse listen to you.

How you combine the various aids you use, determines the outcome of the movement. Make sure the horse understands the nuances of the language you are speaking to him.

When you have problems doing a technique, “pick it apart” in elements to fix it.

Make sure the horse understands cues for walk-canter and trot-canter, right away. Inner leg, outer leg, weight, what we do with our hands.

Use driving aids to push the horse back. Get active behindàcarries weight in the hind.

Piaffe-diagonal-equal two beats. Save areas as forward trot.

Strength takes a long time to build in dressage horses.

Aids are very simple to give if you know how to give them.

More engagement/less engagement is achieved through half-halts; you need to ride a lot of transitions.

Goal is to have a relaxed, steady rhythm (trot)

Push horse forward into the contact and then release (less than 0.5 seconds.)

Always end movement in relief; get out of the horse’s face.

If horse has problem with his tongue, there’s a submission problem: Horse isn’t accepting the bit. Make sure the tack is correct to communicate with him.

You always want to keep the training interesting for the horse.

Make sure the horse uses muscle on top of his neck, stays in frame.

Full seat-bonesàstraight

Everything in dressage is very minute. These kinds of adjustments can be difficult to make.

Part of riding is understanding how horses “talk” to us.

Principles of riding…. Sometimes you have to be tough, not rough.

 

 

 

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

Watching a Dressage Master at Work, Part 1

Photo by Sara Fogan

Olympian Jan Ebeling taught several dressage clinics during
the 2010 Equine Affaire in Pomona, California.

 

                In 2010, I had an opportunity to watch several dressage clinics that were conducted by one of my favorite competitors, Olympian Jan Ebeling. The workshop was held during the Equine Affaire in Pomona, California, during which time he worked with several riders and their horses to fine-tune their communication and technique with their equine partners. In addition to teaching the participants and auditors how to execute a movement, he also demonstrated how to achieve each of the elements on the Training Scale while riding his Grand Prix Oldenburg/Thoroughbred mare, Sandrina. Here are some highlights of what I learned and observed during these clinics.

 

Seminar #1, February 5, 2010

Building on a training scale, how to improve horse in using the training scale. Blue-print used in training is in chronological order: balance, rhythm, relaxation, develop contact, accept connection to the hand. Steady reins. Always give the impression that the horse has to want to go forward.

Rhythm, relaxation, contact, suspension, balance, collection. Carrying more weight behind is as important as neck frame. Poll should always be the highest point.

Spend 10-15 minutes warming up to avoid injury. Allow the horse to stretch forward and downward.

Forward is good, natural thing for a horse. Use forward energy to make the horse use its body correctly. Never punish the horse for that; use and try to control forward impulsion. Try to NOT yank the horse, back it up. Let him go forward.

Look for relaxation. Gradually bend the horse in rhythm. Find the tempo for the horse to give a steady contact/connection.

Rhythm, relaxation, contact. Alternate big and small transitions. Work on these goals every day.

Listen to your horse to feel what it’s ready to do. Training scale gives you a guideline as to what it’s comfortable with/ready to do.

Impulsion: when the horse gets more advanced. Then straightness: push hind into the front.

Piaffe, passage and canter pirouette uses the highest level of collection.

You must always follow the basic exercises. Rhythm is the basic element.

Ride the quality of the gait.

Quality of the canter is rhythm and how much jump/elevation into the air he has.

The walk should have a clear, four-beat gait.

Forward and sideways=half-pass. Lateral bend in the body, looks in the direction he’s tracking. Steady bend, frame and rhythm.

How to determine the correct tempo? The horse will determine it. Too fast, and the back won’t swing. Slow down if necessary.

Both sides should be even.

Allow top-line to lower to get back to relax mentally and physically. Search forward for the bit.

Time: don’t ever get pressed for time. Hurrying it never helps.

The highest level has three or four flying changes in the tempi.

If the horse makes a mistake or gets distressed, make the horse just repeat the exercise.

Ground cover is very important in the canter, to get more “jump”/elevation in the gait.

Pirouette: larger with haunches-in for suppleness and submission. A larger pirouette helps the horse to gain confidence, relaxation, rhythm.

Impulsion, straightness, collection: we always want the horse to carry.

Medium and collected canter position is always the same.

We always want it to look like we’re doing nothing when we ride dressage.

Eyes up, hands down.

Look at the process of developing the horse in dressage.

When the horse slows down, the hind feet get more animated (?) even if slower…. Light connection, head elevated.

“Quiet hands, keep horse in frame, or the judges will kill you.” (JE)

Rhythm, relaxation, contact.

Develop the extended trot gradually.

It takes discipline to stick with the training scale.

Pirouette canter is the highest degree of collection. Pick up reins, length of walk shorter.

Use the training scale to see if there’s balance in the horse. If you missed something, go back!

The essence of training is compensation. Get through to the horse to keep mental attitude positive. Rhythm doesn’t change.

Even when collected, think of energy!

Pirouette coefficient is 10x2.

When a horse can do a pirouette with a loose rein, you know you’re riding with you’re seat.

Medium canter keeps the horse just in front of the vertical. In tempi, keep the rhythm even. Ground coverage!

Don’t be afraid to make a mistake. Just don’t keep making the mistakes. Let the horse show you where he needs more work.

Horses need their breaks when they get tired. They can’t stay relaxed, keep rhythm and do the work when they’re tired.

Take your time!

Develop collection for passage by doing extensions.

When a horse is willing, you can see how well-trained he is. Nothing is forced, everything looks easy.

Not every horse is a huge mover; they can still be well-trained and happy.

Understand how progress in training happens: Rhythm. Relaxation. Contact… then, Impulsion. Straightness. Collection.

Some horses get claustrophobic in piaffe. The trainer has to realize where the horse works best.

 

 

 

 

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2014

Weight Loss and Hypnotherapy

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

(This blog was originally posted on January 2, 2014)

 

 

Whenever I work with a hypnotherapy client to help the person lose weight, the first thing I do is to establish the motivation for losing the weight. Is there a health reason such as diabetes control? Does the person want to improve his or her physical fitness or just take off a few pounds after indulging during the holidays? Sometimes friends or relatives in the person’s social circle put on pressure to drop the pounds. Or, a client may use excess weight as a “shield” to protect against emotional rejection or even a subconscious fear of returning to a previous lower weight where an emotional trauma may have occurred, said John G. Kappas, Ph.D., founder of Hypnosis Motivation Institute.

“If you are not personally motivated to achieve the weight-loss goal, the weight-loss program is unlikely to be successful,” Dr. Kappas explained. 

Once the client identifies what is motivating him or her to lose weight, I help the person to resolve any previous issues or resistance to losing weight* and develop a strong, positive self-image about being at the desired weight and feeling comfortable with being physically attractive. When appropriate, I also refer the client to be examined by a physician for guidance about an appropriate exercise and nutritional regimen, which I will reinforce during the hypnotherapy sessions. All hypnotic suggestions would incorporate the client’s feeling motivated to feel physically, emotionally, mentally healthy and happier every day and to project positive feelings and ideas of successfully losing weight in a healthy way.

*California law allows access by California residents to complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are not providing services that require medical training and credentials. The purpose of a program of hypnotherapy is for vocational and avocational self-improvement (Business and Professions Code 2908) and as an alternative or complementary treatment to healing arts services licensed by the state. A hypnotherapist is not a licensed physician or psychologist, and hypnotherapy services are not licensed by the state of California. Services are non-diagnostic and do not include the practice of medicine, neither should they be considered a substitute for licensed medical or psychological services or procedures.

 

 

 

 Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy®, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.