Hypnosis works by addressing your health and wellness issues on a subconscious level, changing the way you see and think about yourself, and about the way you think about how you are taking care of your body.

Unlike what the stage show version of hypnosis portrays, there is not any magic involved. In fact, you are often actually in a hypnotic state in everyday life. For example: you are out shopping with a friend, and you see a piece of furniture you like. You begin to picture what it would look like in your living room (and what your spouse would say if you bought it) and you become so lost in the daydream that you are startled when you realize your friend is talking to you.

You have experienced the first level of hypnosis; you left the upper level of analytical, conscious, active thinking and were open to suggestion.

If you think of your mind in three distinct parts - the conscious mind, the ego mind (which holds our beliefs) and the subconscious mind. When someone thinks that they are not good enough – it does not matter how much or how often they are told otherwise… their mind defaults to the ego mind and thus the belief that they are not good enough. The purpose of hypnosis is to go to the subconscious mind and set up a new, healthy, proactive belief system which is based upon what the client wants.

When I work with clients looking to lose weight for instance, I combine suggestions to eat smaller portions of healthy food together with suggestions of boosted self-confidence and self-esteem. In many diet programs the "feeling good" aspect happens after one looks good; in hypnotherapy the client is encouraged to feel good about themselves, with successful weight loss as a valued addition to those good feelings.

You never lose the ability to make your own choices (during hypnosis).

Therefore, if you were given a suggestion that went against your morality or ethics, you just would not respond and would potentially come right out of hypnosis.

There are different recommendations out there on how long to continue for maximum benefit. Our hypnotherapist-visualization practitioner recommends four live sessions, scheduled a few weeks apart and listening to a self-hypnosis recording between sessions. Some clients like to return after 6 months or so to “freshen up” where others find that the self-hypnosis recording keeps them on track.

Hypnotherapy is a powerful tool which allows a client to release unhealthy habits and beliefs and take on empowering new behaviours and lifestyles. This includes:

• All stages of the cancer experience
• Chronic pain management
• Experiencing hot flashes
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Fear
• Weight loss
• Quitting smoking
• Stopping nail biting
• Increasing self-confidence & self-esteem
• Much more