Have you made progress or did your motivation sizzle out?

Most people wait around for motivation to strike them like a lightning bolt. Well, I’ve got news: motivation isn’t something that happens to you – it’s something that you create for yourself.

If you don’t feel motivated to achieve your goals, it is likely due to mental roadblocks that hold you hostage. Read the following 21 Mindset Tips and prepare your mind for success.

1. Success comes first in the mind, so visualize yourself accomplishing your goals.
2. Remember, you are the only person who can hold you back.
3. Forgive yourself and love yourself despite past failures.
4. Decide what is important in your life, and focus on that.
5. Conquer each negative thought the moment it enters your mind, when it is weakest.
6. Give up the idea that things won’t go right unless you worry about them.
7. If you bring the body of your dreams to the point of resolve, then you’ll soon be living in it.
8. Look towards your future, if you believe the best is yet to come then it will be.
9. You become what you think about most.
10. The margin between success and failure is very small and easily bridged by determination.
11. Start your day by accomplishing your hardest task first.
12. Set small attainable goals, rather than one monumental goal.
13. Convince yourself that exercise is fun, and it will be.
14. Know your big reason why.
15. Create a motivating play list of songs to use as the sound track to your workout sessions.
16. Every decision you make leads you either closer toward achieving your goal, or farther from it.
17. If you think you’re a fat person, then you’ll stay fat. If you think you’re fit, then you soon will be.
18. Once you’ve set your goal, your attitude either pushes you toward accomplishment or failure.
19. If you don’t know exactly where you want to go, you will likely end up someplace else.
20. You can have the body of your dreams, but first you must give up the belief that you can’t.
21. You can only have two things in life: excuses or results.

If you’re sick and tired of making excuses, then contact me today to get started on a results-driven nutrition & lifestyle and fitness program.

New Baby Promotion: For the month of March, I would like to give all of you that are new to my services and those of you that I have not seen in 2010, 25% off  when paying for the month in advance. This includes Personal Training, Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching and Therapeutic Massage Services.  Try 2 – 30 minute personal training sessions per week for a month. We can accomplish a total body workout in only 30-minutes and you will love the results. How about the 21 Day  Weight Management & Purification Program (a.k.a. DETOX)?

Offer expires 3/31/2010.

I can only take a handful of new clients given my schedule is already fairly hectic, especially with a new baby, so contact me today for a FREE consultation.

Have a great rest of the week.  I hope to see you soon.

Brien

Personal Trainer, Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach

www.BrienShamp.com
www.SFBayAreaBootCamp.com

650-654-4604

P.S. Remember Every Saturday @ 8 am-FREE Community SF Bay Area Fit Body Boot Camp *We would like to see a big crowd to get the bay area fit. Please tell a friend.

P.S.S. Become a Fan of Brien Shamp and SF Bay Area Fit Body Boot Camp on Facebook

 There is no denying that we are faced with some very challenging times right now.  Many businesses have closed, homes are in foreclosure, and countless numbers of people are looking for new jobs when few are available.  Our unemployment in California right now is at 10.1%.  The last time it was this serious was Feb. 1983 when it was at 11.0%.  A hypnotherapist friend of mine in England told me that our recession has reached his town and that 25% of the businesses have closed!

This makes life very stressful indeed.  If you have been in the same job for many years, and suddenly the business is closed or downsized, and suddenly you are out of a job, it can bring up a lot of fear and uncertainty.  When was the last time you had to update your resume?  When was the last time you had to LOOK for a job?  How old are you now?  How many people are looking at the same job, causing you to second guess your own abilities now?  Even just thinking about these questions can cause your energy to spiral down.  It can feel hopeless and overwhelming. 

Here’s what begins to happen.  The more you hear and read about how bad things are in the economy, how many people are out of work, and how many businesses are closing, it begins to bring you down energetically.  Every thing is energy, even you.  Science 101: we are all energy slowed down to matter.  We learned this as children, and forgot about it. We emit energy.  Our THOUGHTS are energy!  They do not bounce back and forth between our ears as you might think.  Thoughts are the most powerful tools we actually have.  What you focus your attention on, you energize.  It’s the law of attraction.  

Have you ever noticed how some people just seem to draw good stuff to them?  It’s because they are clear about what they want, and expect that it will happen.  There is no doubt that it will not.  They do not live in negative thoughts.  They know it doesn’t feel good either. You can’t have a thought without a physiological response.  When your thoughts are low vibrational, it begins to show up in your body with illness.

In Lynn Grabhorn’s book, “Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting!  The astonishing power of feelings,”  she teaches us about how our thoughts create our lives.  She personally gave me permission to teach classes from her book. I felt so very privileged to have had this personal connection with her.

So just to break the book down to something that you can begin to use in your life right now, I’m going to share with you what to do in order to begin using your thoughts to create a new job, new home, relationship, more money, better health and whatever it is that you wish to bring to you.

First of all, let’s just focus on a new job, since that might be something that you are dealing with right now.  I want you to make a list of all the things that you DO NOT WANT in your new job.  Once you have the DO NOT WANT list, then it will be very clear to you as to what you DO want.  So there is your next task, write the list of your DO WANTS in your new ideal job.  Then all you have to do is see and FEEL yourself in this new space!  Literally FEEL it as you imagine the perfect place for you to be working.  Now I don’t mean that you are saying a specific place, but rather the perfect setting.  The kind of people you want around you, the money you want to make, doing what ever it is that your heart desires to do!  And then just expect it to happen.  That’s right. Just expect it.  But you must continue to see and FEEL the final outcome.  You can do this process with any category in your life.

Just a few years ago, I worked with a man who was not happy at all in his current job.  He was a Stanford graduate with huge potential, but he really hated his job.  Because of how low his energy was about his job, no matter how qualified he was for it, he didn’t make much money.  He was miserable.  So we worked on him getting in touch with his feelings.  A lot of times, men are taught to not show feelings or be in touch with them.  He admitted he was not in touch with his feelings at all. As we worked on that, I asked him what his heart’s desire was.  He said he knew that he wanted to be doing something that would help mankind.  He knew he was drawn to doing something for the earth.  His current job didn’t have a thing to do with helping the planet and this certainly explained why he didn’t do well in that job. His energy wasn’t there for it.

After writing his DON’T WANTS and his DO WANTS list, I used hypnosis for him to truly get in touch with his feelings about this new job.  Even though he had no idea what that job would be, the final outcome he wanted would be that he and his family were very happy and he was fully contributing to their well- being with his highly paid new job that had to do with helping the planet.  The hypnosis helped him to continue to FOCUS on the feelings of his dream job, and keep himself in a state of high vibrational energy to bring his perfect job to him. 

It wasn’t too long before sure enough, the perfect job came along where he was allowed to do exactly what he wanted to do, help mankind and the planet, and not only that, the company gave him a new Hybrid car and a high-paying position!  He was making more than twice his previous income and he was a new man!  His focus on the end result being his family was very happy and he was really contributing financially to their well being, was now being lived and not just imagined.

Lynn Grabhorn passed away a few years back, but her theory of law of attraction has continued through other writers.  Doreen Banaszak has also published, “Excuse Me, Your Life is NOW!”  It is a great book and she tells how Lynn’s book helped change her life and she shares the stories of so many others too.

Hypnosis helps us to find the root cause of our self-defeating thoughts and feelings, so that we can disconnect them, and move on to our fullest potential. It can help us let go of the old fears and false beliefs that we may have learned in our youth. 

Find out how Hypnosis can help you. Don’t wait to, “CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY CHANGING YOUR MIND!”

Contact me today for a FREE Consultation by calling 650-380-2494 or via email: gwenn@entrancinglife.com

P.S. For more information on hypnosis go to: HYPNOSIS

P.S.S. Summer is just around the corner, and you know what THAT means!  Bathing suit weather! Start getting ready for it NOW!  Need to change those eating habits once and for all?  Hypnosis is the way! If you contact me now, I will take $50 off of your first weight control hypnotherapy session now.  That first session is an hour and a half and the regular cost is $250.  Save $50 now so you can buy new swimwear!

Just write me at: gwenn@entrancinglife.com or call me and tell me you saw this on my article.

Stress is often a topic that comes up for most people that come into the center. Just like the word health, everyone seems to have a different definition of it. From what I have observed one feels “stressed” when they feel a loss of control of their life. However, one may feel in control, but internally their physiology is stressed and symptoms of stress present themselves (high blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar imbalances, pain, fatigue, weight gain especially in the belly area, etc).

The interesting thing about stress is that you can’t live well with too much of it and you won’t achieve your goals if you don’t have any of it! The key to achieving your goals and creating an ideal, happy, healthy life is to “manage” overall stress to the body. In order to accomplish this we must achieve metabolic balance.

Loss of balance involves a stress input which exceeds the limits we can handle at a given time.
Symptoms result when we have exhausted are limits.

Paul Chek, one of my mentors and developer of the Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching Program at the CHEK Institute in San Diego stated that there are six types of stress, which we must figure out how to balance (Nutrition & Lifestyle Coaching Seminars, 2003):

1. Psychic (spiritual, mental, emotional)
2. Nutritional (insufficient quantity or quality)
3. Chemical (toxic substances, non-nutritional dietary excesses)
4. Physical (postural, structural, traumatic, degenerative)
5. Electro-magnetic (x-ray, microwave, geomagnetic, cosmic, etc)
6. Thermal (cold or  hot)

Check out this video on stress that reviews the six types of stress in an interview with Think Mass Media.

For more on the Optimal Fitness Stress Reduction Program go to: Stress Reduction Program.

For a free consultation on how to manage the stress in your life and reach your goals Contact Us Today.

In Health,

Brien

Wouldn’t it be great if we could attain the body of our dreams just by thinking about it? What if I told you that your mind actually plays the most important role in your success in getting fit? Sounds crazy, but it’s true…

Our subconscious mind has one all-important job, and it succeeds every time. What is this job? To prove that your beliefs are true. Note the wording here: To prove that YOUR BELIEFS are true. Not to point out what is actually true. Nope, though what a difference that would make.

Your beliefs are the truth for your life. It is that simple. Whether or not these beliefs are in fact true doesn’t matter. If you believe something to be true, then your subconscious mind will perceive the universe around you in such a way that makes this belief true.

Here’s an example, if you believe that in general people like you then when you meet a new person your subconscious will point out reasons why this person does indeed like you. You will interpret their smile and handshake in a different way than someone who has the belief that no one likes them.

So how does this relate to your fitness level?

If you have the belief that getting in shape is hard, that eating healthy is boring, or that weight loss is elusive then you will find getting in shape to be very difficult. If you think of yourself as a fat person, or an out-of-shape person, or just an average person then your subconscious mind will do everything in its power to keep you that way.

Wow – isn’t that amazing? Take a minute to let that sink in.

The great thing about our subconscious mind is that we can train it to work for us instead of against us. All we have to do is change our belief.

I’m sure you have heard the term “Believe and Achieve” – many schools have this painted on their walls and it is even printed on T-shirts. Well, the concept is absolutely true and when applied can bring success to your door faster than you thought possible.

It won’t help if you simply think that it ‘isn’t impossible’ or that ‘it could happen someday.’ These aren’t true beliefs.

In order to have your desired result you need to truly believe with every fiber of your being that you will achieve this goal. If you are overweight then close your eyes and picture yourself fit. If you have fifty pounds to lose then think of yourself as fifty pounds lighter.  You will always be what you believe yourself to be.

Gwenn Henkel, Master Medical Hypnotherapist at the Optimal Fitness Lifestyle Center can help you change your beliefs and achieve the success you desire. Sometimes it is tough to work on changing your mind by yourself. Contact us for a free consultation with Gwenn Henkel.

I have to admit something…I believe that everyone who comes to me can and will get into the best shape of their lives. This belief is so strong that most often my clients also begin to believe in themselves, and amazing results are achieved.

What proof? Contact me @ info@optimalfitnesslifestyle.com or 650-654-4604  to get started on a personalized fitness plan that will change your shape and improve your quality of life. I believe in you – now it’s your turn.

Take the first step by contacting me today – Because whether you believe you can or you can’t… you’ll always be right.

In Health,

Brien

Check out this article on medical hypnosis. Gwenn Henkel at the Optimal Fitness Lifestyle Center is a Master Medical Hypnotherapist and can help you decrease stress, pain, anxiety, depression, weight and more. The article below will give you some techniques you can do on your own for self hypnosis.

Source: Bottom Line’s Daily Health News.
www.DailyHealthNews@dhn.bottomlinesecrets.com

Hypnosis used to be considered some kind of parlor trick to make people behave in bizarre ways. But, oh, how that’s changed — nowadays people seek out hypnosis because they know it can help them with assorted health-related matters. Studies show that among other things, hypnosis is effective as a tool to reduce pain and manage anxiety, as well as a way to help people curb certain habits such as smoking and overeating. According to James S. Gordon, MD, founder and director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC, self-hypnosis can also help lower blood pressure, reduce stress and calm anxiety in fear-filled situations, including cancer treatment or surgery.

To find out more about self-hypnosis and some ways to learn it, I called Dr. Gordon, who is also a clinical professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and the former chairperson of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. He explains that self-hypnosis is very similar to deep meditation, but it goes even further in giving the mind a way to directly affect the body. Hypnosis is successful because it teaches the parasympathetic nervous system — the one in charge of relaxation — to counteract the “fight or flight” responses of the sympathetic nervous system. Although a few people still worry that hypnosis opens the mind to outside influences and so can be dangerous, Dr. Gordon says that’s not even possible. Under self-hypnosis your mind alone exercises control and what it achieves is completely up to you.

CLOSE YOUR EYES… INTRODUCTORY TECHNIQUES
Dr. Gordon says there are several simple ways to start the practice of self-hypnosis. The first one he teaches is particularly easy and is called “soft belly.” Here is how to do it: Sit in a relaxed position, eyes closed and begin to breathe slowly and deeply, in through the nose, out through the mouth. Then on the inhale, say to yourself “soft” and focus on making your belly soft (this will allow your breath to go even deeper and will be even more relaxing), and as you exhale say the word “belly.” Repeat this as many times as you need to feel completely calm. The point is simply to relax you.

The next technique has a more scientific name, “autogenic training.” Dr. Gordon says it’s a great introduction to learning self-hypnosis. It consists of six verbal phrases, all of which give specific instructions to the body to produce physiological changes that induce relaxation. Again sit in a relaxed position, eyes closed and breathing deeply (in fact, “soft belly” is a good lead-in to this). Repeat each one of the six self-instructions six times before you move on to the next. (The first few times you can repeat them out loud, after that, you can simply silently recite them to yourself.) They are:

* “My arms and legs are heavy… I am at peace.” (This starts to bring the blood flow away from the body core where it heads when you’re anxious or upset, and back into your limbs.)
* “My arms and legs are warm… I am at peace.”
* “My heartbeat is calm and regular… I am at peace.”
* “My abdomen radiates warmth… I am at peace.”
* “My forehead is cool… I am at peace.”
* “My breathing is easy… I am at peace.”

Autogenic training can be used to quiet your mind anytime you feel yourself growing agitated. It can also be used to help break the cycle of longing for a cigarette or the urge to indulge in an eating binge. You could use autogenic phrases to help you achieve specific goals. Begin with the six phrases above, and then, for example, if you are having trouble falling asleep at night, add the phrase, “I am happily going to sleep… I am at peace.”

A PLACE TO RETREAT TO
Everyone should have a “safe place” in their mind where they can find peace, says Dr. Gordon, and he suggests creating one right away. Having it already established allows you to retreat to your peaceful corner anytime you feel threatened, are ill or when you just need some comfort and a sense of being safe. This is a place you can conjure up in your mind using mental imagery. Some people base their retreat on a real place they know well, but others create one that is fictional and built entirely from fantasy. “Make experiencing the place as real as possible,” suggests Dr. Gordon. “Picture what you are wearing and the smells of the place, its sounds, how it feels.” You can choose whether you want to be alone there or with others — it’s completely yours to fashion as you like.

This retreat is not just whimsical or even about the physiological relief you experience in its calm — it also brings a sense of control and hopefulness that is healing to people who are anxious, depressed or ill. Dr. Gordon suggests hospitalized patients may teach themselves to “retreat” this way when undergoing an uncomfortable procedure. Surgery patients can take themselves to their safe place on their way into the operating room and again when coming out of the anesthesia. Additionally, practicing this relaxation technique will help the healing process, he adds.

Here is how to go to your safe place: Start with a few minutes of “soft belly,” which will put you into a relaxed state in which suggestions about your safe place will have maximum effect. Now imagine you are going to your safe place. Make yourself comfortable there, look around. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you feel and smell? Relax. Breathe deeply. Enjoy yourself. Know that you can return here whenever you like. After a while, perhaps five or 10 minutes, let your breathing deepen and become aware of yourself sitting in the room where you began this exercise. Remind yourself that you can breathe deeply and return to your special safe place any time you wish. Dr. Gordon says that soon you will be able to put yourself there after just a few deep breaths.

FOR MORE TECHNIQUES
These are just a few techniques of self-hypnosis. Many people find they are all they need, but more sophisticated ones are also available to help with such issues as stress relief. The Center has a “Best of Stress Management” kit, with 10 CDs, a DVD, workbook and an electronic biofeedback monitor, which ordinarily costs $219. He is offering the kit to Daily Health News readers for the special price of $189. Go to www.cmbm.org/kit <http://link.dhn.bottomlinesecrets.com/h/25XX/NTBI/RF/260Q7S> and enter discount code CMBM189 to receive the special rate.

Source(s):
James S. Gordon, MD, founder and director, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, DC, clinical professor, Georgetown University School of Medicine, former chairperson, White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.

If you would like a FREE consultation with Gwenn Henkel, Master Medical Hypnotherapist at the Optimal Fitness Lifestyle Center contact us today @ info@optimalfitnesslifestyle.com

Hi everyone,

I saw this article on Yahoo Health and I thought I would share it with you. We have a lot of services at the Optimal Fitness Lifestyle Center, but at the end of the day it is all about stress management and the feeling of control we all have. There are many forms of stress in our lives, not just the mental & emotional stress we carry around from relationships, jobs, finances, etc. Other forms of stress are chemicals in our food, air and water supply, the physical stress we have from poor posture and for some over training with exercise when we are not able to recover from the exercise stress due to lack of sleep, poor diet, not eating enough throughout the day, etc.

Once you are more aware of all the things that are stressing your physiology you can begin to make changes in your lifestyle. Read the article below for some good stress management tips:

June 18th, 2007

by Dr. Maoshing Ni

Source: www.yahoohealth.com

Stress has become a part of the fabric of our busy lives, but it wreaks havoc on our health – and our lives. Read on to learn some measures that you can take to become stress-free.

The Impact of Stress
Epinephrine or adrenaline is produced during the stressful bouts of fight-flight and survival mode gets turned on all too often these days. The adrenaline is released from the adrenal gland when you are under mental pressure, and it tells the body to convert stored sugar from the liver to glucose because the energy needs of the body will increase substantially during the supposed fight-or-run-for-your-life scenario.
The bad news is that this scenario almost never plays out and the excess blood sugar that never got used up ends up being stored as fat.

One of two things can happen from a prolonged survival mode.

One: Your body will keep storing up excess sugar as fat and asking for more energy from more sugar. This equals weight gain (an unpleasant side-effect of stress).

Two: All of this stress and Herculean effort continually depletes your body of its energy resources until it inevitably crumples under the overload. This can either lead to adrenal exhaustion, nervous breakdown, or a broken down immune system – thereby exposing a person to disease. The vicious circle repeats itself over and over again and people never seem to be able to get out of the rat race.

Release Your Stress
Here are some healthy habits you can integrate into your daily grind to free yourself from stress forever.

1. Cut the Caffeine: Caffeine stimulates the adrenaline release. Give up the cup of coffee and opt for the therapeutic benefits of caffeine-free herbal teas. Or you can cut down on your caffeine intake by substituting green tea for coffee, which usually has 1/3 of the caffeine of a cup of coffee, but with the benefits of the antioxidant polyphenols.

2. Meditation: A daily meditation program can be your number one method to decompress at the end of a busy day and release tension.

3. Take a Breather: Exhale the stress away. Specific exercises can detoxify your body and revitalize your being. Try this exercise, adapted from Chinese qigong and make your goal to slow down, smooth out, and deepen each breath. With every exhalation, utter the word calm in your mind and breathe out the tension from a part of your body, starting from the top of your head and working your way down through each part of your body until you get to your feet. Release the remaining tension through your toes and the bottoms of your feet.

4. Cleanse the Clutter: Have you ever heard the saying that what you own soon owns you? Not only do these unnecessary items consume much of your energy for cleaning and maintenance, they also add to the clutter, making you disorganized and increasing your stress level. Cut back and let go. A good rule of thumb is that anything you haven’t used in six months can be given away to charity.

5. Lighten Your Schedule: Cut back on the commitments in your calendar of events. If you are really scrambling for some free time, try writing in a day per week to just spend alone and relax…and stick to it!

6. Reframe Your Perspective: As you move through your day, pay attention to what causes you feelings of stress. Our response has much to do with how it will affect us; by reframing our perspective on stressful situations, we can often see that the danger is largely an illusion. Then we can maintain a calm frame of mind.

I hope you take some healthy steps toward reducing daily stress. I invite you to visit often and share your own personal health and longevity tips with me.

May you live long, live strong, and live happy!

-Dr. Mao

Check out the article below:

New Year’s Resolutions for the Last Time
With Clinical Hypnotherapy
By: Gwenn Henkel, CMH, MH
It’s hard to believe, but it is that time of year once again, where we decide once and for all to lose excess weight, start exercising daily, stop smoking, stop procrastinating, de-stress, and take better care of ourselves—just to name a few of the many promises we’ve made to ourselves over the years.  With a traditional New Year’s positive outlook, we determine that THIS time our resolutions will work!

The time seems right because the New Year is the perfect time for the New You to emerge!  But what happens within two weeks or even less?  Our old patterns show their ugly faces. We find ourselves right back where we have been over and over again in our lives, following the same routines we just swore we would change.  We may even try to “start over” on a Monday (that’s a good day isn’t it?), only to find that by Tuesday we have fallen back into the old routine and stayed there ……….all year!

I was once told that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results each time.  Now here’s my question to you:  why would you continue to choose the same old route to change, when you repeatedly find yourself with the same old result?  Why does this happen?  Well, first of all, that positive mind-set that you have at New Year’s comes from your willpower, which resides in your conscious mind.

Behavioral habits, however, are controlled in the subconscious mind—the part of our mind that lies just below the surface—which makes willpower the wrong tool for making permanent changes in our behaviors.  The right tool is Clinical Hypnosis.  This is the science that gives us access to the subconscious mind; it allows us to make changes in a natural way, without struggling. 

By changing the messages that are stored in the subconscious mind, you can finally break the blocks that stop you from creating what it is that you want in life. Let the year 2009 be the last time you make New Year’s resolutions you don’t keep.  Move on to your fullest potential now!

For a free ½ hour consult call:

Gwenn Henkel, CMH, MH

650 380-2494
OPTIMAL FITNESS LIFESTYLE CENTER
951-A Industrial Rd. San Carlos, CA. 94070
www.EntrancingLife.com

Check out the article below:

Fibromyalgia and Hypnosis, Gwenn Henkel’s Personal Story
By: Gwenn Henkel, CMH, MH
Certified Medical and Master Hypnotherapist
The day was June 21, 1995 at 4:45 PM, when my life changed from a very physically active 43- year -old, 112- pound runner and weight trainer. That was the moment when I fell victim to a prank played in the Coronary Care Unit where I worked at Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, California.  I fell on my tailbone and sustained injuries to my spine and neck.  To make things worse, I fell again 6 months later in the bathtub, on my tailbone, compounding all the injuries I had spent 6 months trying to heal.

More medications were tried to help the daily pain and migraines than I can even recall.  I am a very drug sensitive person, which made it difficult for the doctors who treated me.  After a year of failed procedures and therapies, the symptoms became far more intense than just back and neck pain.  I hurt from head to toe.  It felt like having a really bad flu, and exhaustion that came over me as if I were a narcoleptic.  Doctors were baffled, and my story was becoming less believable.  One QME (Qualified Medical Examiner) assigned to examine me for Worker’s Comp, accused me of just not wanting to go back to work!  It seemed impossible for me to be experiencing all that I was describing when all I had done was fall on my bottom!  And besides that, I LOOKED fine.

Fortunately, my chiropractor believed that my pain was real, and referred me to the Sequoia Pain Clinic.  It was a good thing I was finally in the care of a group of doctors who treated me mind and body, because by this time the constant flaring pain had made me feel suicidal.  I would stand in the shower crying and pounding the walls and begging to die. I had changed from that 112 pound athletic woman who’s goal was to be fit, fabulous and fifty, to a 190+ pound professional patient.  I was dead weight with depression, and my new marriage in serious trouble because of all that I was going through.  I was not myself anymore.

I was shortly thereafter diagnosed with FIBROMYALGIA, MYOFASCIAL PAIN SYNDROME and CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME.  Big words that meant that I had three conditions that there was no cure for.  Strange as it may seem, I was relieved to just have names for what I was feeling, because I was beginning to think I was crazy.
My doctors at the pain clinic suggested that since drug and physical therapy were not helping me, I should try hypnosis.  I laughed.  But my doctor, who I trusted and respected, talked to me about how the mind/body connection worked, and I decided to look into it.

Because of how the Fibromyalgia affected my cognitive abilities, I didn’t trust just anyone doing hypnosis with me, so I began hypnosis classes, hoping that I could help myself with the pain levels.  Even massage didn’t help because it hurt to even touch me.

It became my goal to now find out all that I could about Fibro and what was causing the pain.  After much research, I discovered a case study done on 100 Fibro patients by a doctor who had Fibro herself.  This study gave me the answers that I needed to change what was happening in my brain, where the false pain messages were being sent to my nerve endings, telling me I was in pain for no good reason.  For the first time I could help myself, because I knew where to draw my focus for hypnosis visualization.  By this time, I was in Medical Hypnotherapy classes.

After just three months of working with the techniques I had put together, I was 50% better!  My doctor weaned me off my medications.  After three more months, a total now of six months, I was 85% better and was actually getting my life back on track.  I had also lost 25 of the 80+ pounds I had put on. 

I may still have all of these conditions, but they do NOT have me!  I can control a Fibro flare in just seconds.  I literally eat, sleep and breathe what I do and teach others to do the same.  I can work out again and have released the weight thanks to hypnosis. 

I am one of those people who believe that things happen for a reason, and I admit; that years ago, I couldn’t think of a good reason for what had happened to me at all.  Believe me, I tried to find one.  Now I know that I had to experience these awful conditions in order to become the person I am today.

 Hypnosis can help you:

“Change Your Life by Changing Your Mind!” TM
Gwenn Henkel, CMH, MH
Optimal Fitness Lifestyle Center
951-A Industrial Road
San Carlos, CA. 94070
650 380-2494

Check out the article here:

High Blood Pressure, Hypertension and Hypnosis
By: Gwenn Henkel, CMH, MH
Certified Medical and Master Hypnotherapist

In a world with many stressful things to be concerned about, one thing that we often hear about is the danger of high blood pressure, or hypertension.  We hear these words all the time, but may not really know what they mean.

What is High Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure refers to the force of blood that is pushing against the artery walls as it flows through the body.  Just like air in a tire or water in a hose, blood fills the arteries to a certain capacity.  Too much air pressure can case damage to a tire or too much water trying to push through a small hose, can cause damage to the hose. The same is true of too much blood pressure.  It can threaten healthy arteries and lead to life-threatening conditions such as heart disease and stroke.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is the most common of all the cardiovascular diseases in the world.  It is the leading cause of stroke and a major cause of heart attack.  In the U.S. alone, approximately 80 million people over the age of 6 have high blood pressure.  That’s one in four Americans and one in three adults.  One -third of people with high blood pressure is unaware that they have it.

Years ago when I was a Nursing Assistant at Stanford University Medical Center, I had to take patient’s blood pressure.  I remember how interesting it was learning about what BP was and what the numbers meant.  With all my interest in cardiology, I became a Unit Coordinator in Coronary Care and Cardiac Surveillance for eight years.

A blood pressure has two numbers.  The first and higher of the two is a measure of systolic pressure, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats and fills them with blood.  I remember my nursing instructor telling us to think of the “S” in systolic as the “sky” or “top” number.  The second number measures diastolic pressure, or the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats.  My teacher said to think of the “D” in diastolic as “down” or bottom number. 

Normal blood pressure rises steadily from about 90/60 at birth to about 120/80 in a healthy adult.  If someone were to take your BP immediately after you had been jogging or if perhaps you were nervous about something, your reading would no doubt read a bit higher than normal.  This is not necessary for concern.  It is natural for your BP to rise and fall with changes in your activity or emotional state.

People with a BP of 140/90 or higher on at least two occasions are considered as having high BP.  If the levels remain high, the doctor will probably begin treatment. Patients with BP readings of 200/120 or higher need treatment immediately.
People with diabetes are treated if their BP rises above 135/80, because these people are already at a high risk for heart disease. 

People identified with blood pressures slightly higher than 120/80 as a category at high risk for developing hypertension.  This condition is called prehypertension and affects about 50 million men and women in the U.S.  It is now known to increase the likelihood of damage to the arteries and the heart, brain and kidneys so that many more doctors are recommending early treatment.

Consistently high blood pressure forces the heart to work far beyond its capacity.  Besides injuring blood vessels, it can damage the brain, eyes and kidneys.  Even so, many people with high BP do not realize they have the condition.  It’s not surprising that sometimes hypertension is sometimes called “the silent killer” because it rarely causes symptoms even as it inflicts serious damage to the body.  If it goes untreated, high BP can lead to vision problems, as well as heart attack, stroke or other potentially fatal conditions, including kidney failure.

Hypertension may also lead to heart failure, a common but disabling condition that can cause breathing problems.  Patients who have very high BP are said to have malignant hypertension.  The diastolic pressure in such cases usually exceeds 130 or a systolic pressure above 200.  Malignant hypertension is a dangerous condition that may develop rapidly, causes organ damage very quickly and requires immediate medical attention.

People at risk of high blood pressure are:

• Those with family history of high BP, heart disease, diabetes
• African American
• Pregnant or take birth-control pills
• Over 50 (men: after age 50, women after menopause)
• Overweight
• Not active
• Drink excessively
• Smoke
• Eat foods high in fat or sodium

There have been many studies where hypnosis was used to help people with high blood pressure.  Patients diagnosed as hypertensive, whose BP’s were normal while they were hospitalized, were often found to require to have their medication increased when they were seen as outpatients.  Self-hypnosis was taught to one group of hospital patients; a second group received equal attention and time to relax without the specified procedure; and a third group was monitored with no intervention.  On the follow-up, the hypnosis group showed greater downward change in the diastolic BP than the monitored group, with the attention-only group in between.  In addition, no subject in the hypnosis group required an increase in their medications.  The results suggest both replication with a larger sample and the value of adding self-hypnosis to the standard medical treatment for hypertension.  (Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, LTD)

Also: Friedman, H. & Taub, H. (1977) The use of hypnosis and biofeedback procedures for essential hypertension. International Journal of Clinical and Experiential Hypnosis. 25, 335-347

Friedman, H. & Taub, H. (1978) A six- month follow up of the use of hypnosis and biofeedback procedures with essential hypertension.  American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. 20, 184-188

In the above two studies, all groups showed a significant reduction in blood pressure after four weeks of treatment.  But at the six-month follow-up, only the patients receiving hypnosis had maintained the reduction.

Fortunately, high blood pressure can be controlled effectively. The first step is the discovery of it, so have it checked regularly!  Better yet, start learning stress-reduction techniques early, and possibly ward off high blood pressure completely!

Learn how you can:
 “Change Your Life by Changing Your Mind!”

Gwenn Henkel, CMH, MH
Optimal Fitness Lifestyle Center
951-A Industrial Rd
San Carlos, CA 94070

650 380-2494
www.EntrancingLife.com

For years it has been widely known that the mind exerts a tremendous influence on our physical well being, and many times determining the difference between good health and disease.

In ten years of doing my work, I have learned many techniques for tapping into the mind’s healing energy enabling us to influence our own health with amazingly fast, positive results. The medical use of guided imagery is not new. It has existed in many cultures around the world, in Tibet, India, Egypt, Africa, among Eskimos and American Indians, for centuries, even into Bible times. 

So just what is guided imagery? Sometimes it is referred to as “mental imagery” and what it really is, simply put, is the mind thinking in pictures. There are many ways that we can think. The most familiar to us is logical thought. Since the 17th century, this type of thinking has been given precedence over all others because it is the basis of science. However, there are other forms of thinking, non-logical, intuitive forms, which coexist with logical thought. Think about when you have an epiphany of insight, when all of a sudden you seem to have a new understanding of something, or you find a solution to a problem that you were having that didn’t seem to have a solution. This kind of thought is called intuition. As the educator Caleb Gattegno has suggested, without intuition, we would not be able to think of anything new.

Mental imagery, or guided imagery, like intuition, is a type of non-logical thinking. Logical thinking is used for making contact with people in our everyday world and with what can be called objective reality. Mental imagery is the thinking used for making contact with our inner subjective reality.

The language of images is most common to us in our night dreams or daydreams. We can work with this language as easily as we work with spoken language. The ability to understand and communicate in this language of images probably precedes the ability to communicate words. Becoming aware of this language of images really only requires you to turn your attention to it.

As you will see from a story I will share with you, the most amazing feature of imagery work is that it can be accompanied by physiological changes. This is the result of the mind/body connection. For over three hundred years, Western medicine has separated the mind from the body. And it is very interesting to know that no other medical system in the history of the world, including Western medicine prior to the seventeenth century, has made such a distinction.  It hasn’t been until the past few years that Western medicine has tentatively begun to explore the connections of the mind and body. Behavioral medicine and psychoneuroimmunology are two examples of this exploration. In fact, many studies in hypnosis have shown more directly the impact of the mental to the physical. 

Even though Western medicine (and Western science) has been reluctant to accept that the mind can alter the body, it already firmly believes the opposite, that the physical can affect the mental, and tranquilizers, antidepressants and anesthetics are all examples of this. Since it is so obvious that the body can affect the mind, doesn’t it stand to reason that the use of mental power, such as will or imagery, can affect the body?

In my experience of using guided imagery for so many years now, I have witnessed not only the effect of mind on body but also the power of mental imagery to help heal the body. I have seen this healing power across a wide range of physical disorders and maladies. Now for the story I said I would share…

I was called to Children’s Hospital at Stanford Medical Center, where a previous client of mine had a little 5 year old boy who was suffering from a rare illness where there were actually very few cases ever documented in the world. I’m sorry that I am not remembering the name of this illness (his chart is in storage) but the symptoms were a fever that wouldn’t go away and his skin began flaking off of his body. He had been in the hospital for a week, being hydrated with IV fluids and his medications, and he was hooked up to a machine that registered his vital signs, temperature, pulse and blood pressure. He hadn’t had an appetite since this illness began. 

Since children have WONDERFUL imaginations, they are so easy to work with So I began by asking him to close his eyes and imagine what all of the sick cells looked like in his body and what color they were. He explained to me that there were several drab colors. Then I asked him to tell me what color his healthy cells were. There were many bright colors. Then I asked him to picture a place in his body that was called a “Cell Wash.” It would look just like a car wash, but instead it was a place where all of the sick cells would go to receive all of the medicine that was pumping through his IV. They would all travel through the entrance of the Cell Wash, and be infused with all the good medicine and other healthy things that his healthy cells already had in them, and then they would exit the other side in all the bright colors! 

While this process was taking place in his mind, I happened to look at his monitor. His temperature had come down from 103 to 99 and his blood pressure and pulse had come down to normal rage for a child! I pointed to the monitor so his parents would see it. We were amazed that this had taken place in about 15 minutes! I then taught him how to reactivate this with an “anchor” to enable the cells to continue this process.

He was so excited that he felt so much better, that he asked his father if he could have a Mac Donald’s burger, fries and a chocolate shake! He continued to recover without a reoccurrence. I saw him with his mother a couple of years ago. He was 12. He didn’t recognize me until I did the “anchor” sign and he said, “You’re the CELL WASH LADY!”  Guided imagery can be used for so many things such as Acne, PMS, Infertility, Hypertension, IBS, Fear, Guilt, Cancer and so much more. Controlled use of the imagination is one of the most powerful and readily accessible means of healing that we have. What you can do with your mind is limitless. Imagery work can help us all to be healthier. It can also bring us a deeper, more meaningful life.