This week I have a guest author, a long term client of Ellen’s, Yvonne Koenig. My interest was piqued when she told me that her long standing back scoliosis issue was resolving with her hypnotherapy work. That is pretty amazing, so I asked her to write an article
about hypnotherapy for my newsletter audience. Here it is!
Hi – I’m Yvonne Koenig, the owner of WAE, Wellness & Empowerment Hypnotherapy. I have spent a good portion of my life struggling with poor health, severe asthma, scoliosis, digestive issues and migraine headaches. As a result, I’ve developed a healthy amount of determination and tenacity in my search to find ways to reduce pain and feel healthy.
Roughly 15 years ago I began my journey of self-healing when a friend suggested I try more holistic approaches to address my health concerns. Over the years I’ve tried various modalities, became Reiki certified and eventually realized Hypnot
herapy was the silver bullet for which I had been searching. The clarity and rate of permanent change I experienced altered the course of my life forever, including my becoming a certified hypnotherapist, in conjunction with neuro-linguistic programming and the Emotional Freedom Technique. Given that I also love to help people, I figured this was the perfect way to pay it forward and help others achieve the same relief and benefits as I did. I have never felt more complete or more in control of my physical or mental health as I do now. My pulmonary doctor of 20 years asked what I was doing as my numbers had never looked so good. The bottom-line is when there is “dis-ease” within the body, mind or spirit it can create disease, especially if it resides for too long.
In addition to the vast improvement in my asthma, I al
so experienced significant improvement in my scoliosis as I began to resolve the various issues I set out to tackle. I became less twisted, less curved and my back was releasing tension more easily than it ever had in the past. The fascinating aspect of the story is that I was not even specifically targeting resolution of my scoliosis when I started to experience these changes. Proof that mind, body and spirit are all interconnected.
What is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis can be defined as a state of deep mental and
physical relaxation. In this state the subconscious easily accepts suggestions and imagery. Change your thoughts, change your life.
Anytime we narrow our focus, we enter an altered state of consciousness. When we’re more focused on our inter
nal emotional or physical state, and less aware of outer surroundings, we’re in hypnosis. Without knowing it, we enter hypnotic states every day — when we’re absorbed in a good book or movie (narrowed focus), when we’ve driven our car the last few blocks home without realizing how we got there (highway hypnosis), whenever we have been on “automatic pilot.” We also pass through a hypnotic state as we fall asleep at night, known as the hypnogogic state. As we wake up in the morning we pass through another hypnotic state, the hypnopompic state. As you can see, hypnosis is a very natural state for everyone.
What’s the difference between the subconscious and conscious mind?
The subconscious mind stores all experiences, feelings and beliefs, runs our autonomic nervous system, controlling such bodily functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, an
d respiration. Certain activities become subconscious functions. Think about learning to drive. Initially you had to concentrate on your every move. But after a while, it became an automatic function. That’s probably why we easily go into highway hypnosis when we’re driving on familiar roads. Since our subconscious is driving the car automatically, our conscious mind can, and does, drift off. The subconscious can, will and must act out any image, idea or concept that you allow to be imprinted.
We’re more familiar with the conscious mind. The co
nscious mind looks, listens, learns, reasons, judges, analyzes, and criticizes. The conscious mind is able to accept or reject an idea or concept. In fact, after about the age of nine the conscious mind is able to filter what goes into the subconscious.
How and why Hypnotherapy works.
One goal of hypnosis is to access the subconscious. Why
you ask? When we open our subconscious mind we can then access the root of a problem. We can recall memories that aren’t accessible to the conscious mind. We can change habits and beliefs by going into the subconscious. Our memories are partly fact, partly fiction and partly perception. This is why you can share childhood memories with your siblings and your experiences are very different. It’s what you make of a situation that forms your beliefs. You’ve heard the expression whatever you believe to be true or false, you’re right.
95% of your mind function is the subconscious, only 5
% is our conscious mind. Most of what goes on in our minds is happening in the subconscious. Hypnosis creates a bridge from the conscious to the subconscious so that we can tap into that tremendous power and knowledge.
In hypnosis, your mind is always aware and observing. Often people will say to me, I don’t think I was hypnotized because I heard everything you said. Not only will you hear my voice during the trance but it is possible to internally comment on the process. That’s your conscious mind talking.
You’ll benefit from hypnosis whether you’re in a light, medium, or deep state. Initially, you may only achieve a light state, but with practice you’ll naturally begin to deepen your trance.
What Happens in the Brain During Hypnosis or Meditation and what’s the difference between the two modalities?
There are three key neurotransmitters which play a 
crucial role in hypnotherapy: serotonin, dopamine, and GABA.
Serotonin is found primarily in the intestine and regulates appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature, mood, and behavior
Dopamine facilitates the exchange of information between different parts of the brain. It’s involved in learning new ideas and its release provides feelings of pleasure and satisfaction.
GABA helps manage anxiety and pain. In moderate amounts, GABA has a calming effect on the brain and mind.
The key difference between hypnosis and meditation lies in intention. In hypnosis, we work to achieve a specific goal. In meditation, we practice cultivating awareness.
Benefits of Hypnosis:
15 minutes spent in hypnosis equals an hour of deep, 
restful sleep. Daily relaxation is extremely important. We accomplish twice as much work when we’re relaxed as we do when we’re nervous and tense with half the effort. It raises our pain threshold and reduces one’s biological age. Its benefits are multiplied when combined with regular exercise. I no longer nap, rather I gift myself 15-20 mins of self-hypnosis.
The subconscious never sleeps so it’s possible to present a problem to the subconscious at bedtime and it will do the work to provide you the answer. If you program your subconscious every night for seven nights, you’ll have an answer by the end of the week, if not sooner.
Because the trance state elevates the production of serotonin, this creates feelings of well- being, relaxation, personal security and restful sleep. It helps the brain to be more focused and less distracted. Emotions like joy, peace and happiness are usually triggered by normal or higher serotonin levels.
Facts, Fallacies and Issues of Control:
When you’re hypnotized, you’re not asleep or unconscious. Your conscious mind is always aware of what you’re experie
ncing.
Despite the deep subconscious contact, your mind can comment, criticize, and censor. You’re always in control of what you say. Hypnosis is not a “truth serum.”
After being in hypnosis, the person generally remembers everything experienced during the session. If certain parts of the session seem to be missing they often come to mind when asked, “do you remember when I said…”.
The more you practice, the deeper levels of hypnosis you can reach
There’s no danger in hypnosis. Not one has ever become “stuck” in the hypnotic state. You can emerge whenever you want.
No one has ever violated his/her moral and ethical principles.
No one can control you. You’re in complete control.
Your sub has all the answers, I’m just the facilitator to help guide the process so that you can get the insights needed to process or release whatever is in your way.
What Does it Feel Like to Be Hypnotized?
Here are the signs you are in a trance state. You’ll experie
nce at least one of these signs:
You feel so relaxed that you don’t want to move a muscle.
You may have a feeling of heaviness, or lightness, especially in your arms and legs.
You may feel numbness, tingling, or dullness in your feet or hands.
You may feel as if you’re floating.
You may feel so detached from the environment that surroundings feel quite distant.
Time distortion
If you’re ready to learn more about hypnosis and create the life you want…
Book your free consultation appointment today or
Enroll in my upcoming self-hypnosis workshop to learn more about hypnosis & how it can help you. Enroll prior to 1/23, using the code “early bird” and you will save $25.
Check out my website at WAEHypnotherapy.com. I look forward to meeting and working with you.
Yvonne
Ellen
We just make it through the festivities of my mother’s 95th birthday when we have Ellen’s 80th birthday this last Tuesday. Curiously, what she wanted most was breakfast at IHOP
, something we have not done in over 20 years. She wanted to revisit an old memory of delicious pancakes, something our keto lifestyle does not generally have. I make her almond flour pancakes, but they are just not the same.
Finally, a better definition of obesity
Using BMI to assess obesity has failed many people for a long time. Patients that are weight lifters with very little body fat will still test as obese with BMI. Likewise, fat people that are in great health are grouped in with folks with all sorts of metabolic disorders. Obesity is all about disease advancement, not size. This new classification sees obesity as a disease.
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“Brilliance in one area of your life does not substitute for balance in all areas; compensations do not count, you must be present in all parts of your life.“
~ David DeLapp
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Ambien blocks the brain’s self cleaning cycles
As you sleep your brain cleans our toxic proteins tha
t are formed during the day. Accumulation of these proteins is one of the causes of Alzheimer’s disease. The sleeping pill Ambien stops this cleaning from happening.
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“Nothing risked, nothing gained. If you do not “show up” in life by risking and being vulnerable, you do not get to play…“
~ David DeLapp
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Super Foods – a list of winners
Some common foods are actually super good for us, lik
e natural cheese and nuts for brain aging, dark chocolate for diabetes, clover honey for gut probiotic health, strawberries for allergies, and more. Here is a nice article on this.
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“You never have the right to demand anything, only ask. If you don’t like the answer, you are free to go somewhere else.“
~ David DeLapp