Wither Scratches

In compliance with current WHO and CDC recommendations to minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me. However, phone and Skype consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

 

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

Baby Galahad with his dam, Alisa

Photo courtesy of Sara Fogan

When my horse gets startled or if he seems anxious or worried about something when I’m riding, I scratch his withers and speak soft words of reassurance to let him that everything is okay. This gesture mimics the way Galahad’s mother would have gently nibbled him there to comfort and reassure her foal, “I’m here. You are safe. I will take care of you.” To put this response in the context of Hypnosis Motivation Institute  founder John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind, when I scratch Galahad’s withers, he responds to this sensation with a deep sigh and fluttering his nostrils (nickering) because I have activated his known association between a specific tactile sensation and feeling secure. 

Consider how a human mother might comfort her fussing infant. Once she is confident that the baby is not hungry and doesn’t need a diaper change, she would probably pick him up and hold the child until he stops crying. She might pat or rub small circles on the baby’s back, between his shoulder blades, and whisper comforting words to soothe him. (This behavior and area of the body that is rubbed is very similar to the wither scratches I described earlier.) The baby learns by association and repetition of this interaction that when he is upset, Mom (or Dad, sibling, etc.) will protect and take care of him. If she doesn’t do any of these things, the baby will create a subconscious association between how she reacts to his distress and whether he will feel comforted and safe. In addition, when that child grows up and has his own children, he is likely to interact with them the same way his parent did, because that is what he knows.

I am not saying my horse thinks and reasons or plans the same way a human does. However, the fact that his training is based on a model of repetition and association suggests that in addition to his instinctive reactions, he also responds to some situations based on what he learned (knows) through his training. Just as a human learns to comfort a child based on his or her experiences being a comforted child, a mare learns from her own mother how to soothe her baby. My mother taught me how good it feels to feel safe and cared for, and a late riding instructor told me where and how to scratch this sweet spot on a horse’s withers to reassure him the same way. Fast-forward to today, Galahad associates particular contact on a specific part of his body as a sign of reassurance from me—someone who is not his mother but has learned how to comfort him the way his dam would.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020

Hypnotherapy and Public Speaking

In compliance with current WHO and CDC recommendations to minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone and Skype consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

(This blog was originally posted on April 22, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

This evening I came across the outline for my first-ever presentation about hypnosis. It had been an assignment for the Speech Craft class that my classmates and I took at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute a couple of months before graduation. In it, we learned all of the fine points of crafting and delivering an effective, impactful speech about some element of our new, future vocation as certified hypnotherapists. My speech was very basic: I included some personal information about me and my educational background in the introduction, and then I focused on how and why I decided to become a hypnotherapist. That should be easy, right? Not so fast.

Reading those notes again, 10 years later, I could still remember how nervous I felt while I composed the draft for that speech. As a rule, I did not like to speak in public. I hated to be the center of attention in any circumstance, as I knew I would have to be when I did my presentation. Finally, the instructor and my classmates would be grading my presentation, a prospect that not only exacerbated my anxieties about public speaking but also of taking tests.

Before I drove to class that night, I made sure that I ate a nutritious meal with protein to keep my blood-sugar level (and mood) stable, which I knew would help to lower my anxiety. I wore one of my most professional-looking skirt suits that always helped me feel confident. Once I was in class, I practiced diaphragmatic breathing to calm my nerves while I waited for my turn to speak.

When the instructor finally called me up to the podium to do my presentation, my mind flashed back to the best advice I have ever received about public speaking. The current director of HMI, George Kappas, M.A., C.Ht., once gave the class a pep talk about public speaking and doing presentations on hypnosis and hypnotherapy to the general public. He reassured us that each of us would probably know more about this topic than anyone else in the room. He told us to relax and even suggested that we probably wouldn’t (shouldn’t) even need or want to use notes or note-cards to prompt our speeches because, again, we would already be the experts on this topic. So when I stepped up to the podium that night, I took his words to heart and allowed myself to own the room. Since this presentation was about me and my experience, I could be (and was) completely confident that I was the expert in the room about this topic. That night, I was finally able to overcome a personal challenge. To my surprise, I even created a new “known” in my subconscious mind: public speaking was fun!

Looking back, this class turned out to be one of my favorites on the hypnotherapy-certification program at HMI. First, the assignment made me face and overcome my fear and discomfort about public speaking and taking tests. Second, the experience of having to do a presentation gave me an invaluable opportunity to experience the efficacy of techniques that I now also use and teach to my clients to help them overcome similar fears and anxieties.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020

Thoughts of the Day

In compliance with current WHO and CDC recommendations to minimize risk of exposure to and spread of the COVID-19 virus, I am temporarily suspending in-person hypnotherapy sessions with me in my office. However, phone and Skype consultations ARE and WILL REMAIN AVAILABLE! 

Photo by Sara Fogan

Every now and then I like (and need) to take a few moments and remind myself about what is really important to me, in my life. If you follow me on my Calminsense Hypnotherapy Facebook page you may have seen some of these quotes before on this page, or will in the future. Many of these Quotes of the Day are beautiful examples and illustrations of the work I do as a hypnotherapist, so I will probably draw on them in future essays.

• “Time decides who you meet in life. Your behavior decides who stays in your life.” – Clara Steventh

• “Every circumstance, at every given moment, calls out for the right action.” – Lolly Daskal

• “Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being excited about what could go right.” – Tony Robbins

• “But just because you're strong and resilient doesn't mean you never need someone to be there for you, to take care of you.” – Tammara Webber

• “Chemistry is great, but eventually your relationship moves out of the laboratory.” – Tim Fargo

• “Indifference is expensive. Hostility is unaffordable. Trust is priceless. It's all about Relationships.” – Ted Rubin

• “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” – Walt Disney

• “You will always be more successful being who you are than by trying to be who you think people want you to be.” – Bruce Van Horn

• “Your value doesn’t decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.” – Carrie Heinze-Musgrove, MA, LCPC

• “Whenever you feel sad, remember there are billions of cells in your body and all they care about is you.” – Anonymous

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Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. In July 2019 she was voted the Best Hypnotherapist in Santa Clarita, California. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

© 2020