According to a recent systematic review published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, hypnosis and guided imagery may not improve fibromyalgia-related quality of life.

Fibromyalgia is a complex, disabling, chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue and stiffness in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. There may also be multiple tender points, which are areas of the body which experience pain upon slight pressure. Fibromyalgia may also be associated with sleep problems, depression and an inability to think clearly.

Currently, a cure for fibromyalgia is lacking. However, some treatments may be effective at reducing symptoms, such as medications, behavioral interventions, support groups, patient education and exercise. In mild cases, a reduction in stress and certain lifestyle changes may be enough to manage the disease. These changes may include counseling, regular exercise, physical therapy, healthy sleep habits, and stress reduction.

The recent meta-analysis and systematic review combined the results of six controlled trials. There was a total of 239 patients with fibromyalgia who received an average of nine hypnosis and guided imagery sessions.

Hypnosis, which is also known as hypnotherapy, is a trance-like state of altered consciousness in which the patient experiences increased focus, concentration, and openness to suggestion. Guided imagery is the process of directing a person’s thoughts through suggestions that direct towards a relaxed and focused state.

The results showed that hypnosis and guided imagery did not statistically significantly reduce limitations in health-related quality of life in patients with fibromyalgia at the time of final treatment. Due to lack of available data, changes in fatigue, sleep, depressed mood, and health-related quality of life at follow-up were not calculated.

The researchers concluded that due to few available trials and trials of poor quality, future well-designed trials are necessary to adequately assess the impact of hypnosis and guided imagery on fibromyalgia.

In an evidence-based clinical review, Natural Standard found that hypnosis and guided imagery had unclear or conflicting evidence in the treatment of fibromyalgia. Further well-designed research may be necessary to realize their potential benefits. Natural Standard found, however, that both hypnosis and guided imagery have good scientific evidence for the treatment of certain types of headache and pain. In addition, hypnosis also has good scientific evidence as an adjunct to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and for treating anxiety and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

For more information about fibromyalgia, please visit Natural Standard’s Medical Conditions database.

References

1. Bernardy K, Fuber N, Klose P, et al. Efficacy of hypnosis/guided imagery in fibromyalgia syndrome – a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled trials. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2011 Jun 15;12:133. View Abstract
2. Natural Standard: The Authority on Integrative Medicine. www.naturalstandard.com

Book Reveals the Innovative System to Conquer the Real Estate World

Effective, relevant and winning techniques and skill-refining secrets will unravel to the readers in “HypnoRealEstate”

Miama, FL (PRWEB) August 11, 2011

From John Tur, the author of the bestselling books “How to Rampage 100 Marketing Techniques That Will Make You Wealthy” and “Help I Can’t Sell My House”, comes HypnoRealEstate, a revolutionary book that will teach readers the most innovative system to engage themselves in the business of real estate investing using the power of hypnosis unlike anything they have seen before. This system defies mental and market conditions, it will show the way to achieve wealth and at the same time improve their well being, achieve happiness beyond their analytical conscious mind.

This exclusive groundbreaking system, developed from year of personal experience applying sophisticated real estate investing techniques and refining secrets skills, will set anyone apart from all other real estate investors and entrepreneurs, allowing him or her to take control of all aspects of the deal and his or her personal life as well, making money and helping distressed real estate owners to find solutions for the real estate hardship.

Through HypnoRealEstate, readers will learn how to empower themselves and reprogram their subconscious mind to create a millionaire mind to take action and change their lives in a positive way forever beyond their imagination.

For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com.

About the Author
John Tur is the director of http://www.SchoolOfCreativeRealestate.com and http://www.AmericanHypnosisSchool.com. He is a graduate of Utah State University in science and a certified instructor for the National Guild of Hypnosis. Tur teaches throughout the United States and Latin America in numerous investment clubs and conferences. Connecting the power of the human mind has been an obsession for him since youth. Today, Tur is not only a leading expert in the area of Real Estate Investing, he is also a master of Interpersonal Communication and in the development of the subconscious aspect of businesses. He is a true fusion, his coaching blends inductions effects to reprogram the subconscious mind for real estate investors in their business ventures and at the same time he teaches entrepreneurs the ability to communicate internally and externally to improve the quality of their life and business. He has achieved great success mentoring people to create wealth, improving productivity, stopping procrastination, eliminating fears, guilt, anxieties and at the same time improving creative problem solving and critical thinking skills. While Tur has used his background in Neuro-Linguistic programming for teaching and coaching, it is teaching of real estate investing, consulting, personal development, persuasion and influence which has gotten him nationwide acclaim.

HypnoRealEstate * by John Tur
The Subconscious Aspect of Your Real Estate Business
Publication Date: August 8, 2011
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 284 pages; 978-1-4628-9138-2
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 284 pages; 978-1-4628-9137-5
eBook; $9.99; 978-1-4628-9139-9

Members of the media who wish to review this book may request a complimentary paperback copy by contacting the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 7879. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (610) 915-0294 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 7879.

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/11/08/p1850095/book-reveals-the-innovative-system-to-conquer-the-real-estate-world#ixzz1Vhc5jFUM

In for Baggs on another night of offensive offense …

A really good story came across the Associated Press wire today by the service’s longtime Bay Area reporter, Janie McCauley. It was about Bruce Bochy’s season-long ability to stay off canned tobacco snuff with the help of a hypnotist. Bullpen coach Billy Hayes and clubhouse manager Mike Murphy also signed up for the hypnosis therapy and have had similarly successful results getting off the dip. The story is still up on our site and it’s well worth a read: http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_18639348?source=rss

So now, my twisted take: If this hypnotherapy works so well between the cheeks and gums of Bochy and Giants support staff, do you suppose it might have some positive effect between Giants’ hitters ears? At this point, anything might be worth a try. Holy popup, Batman, this is like a really baddeja vu movie, only instead of Groundhog Day, it’s more like Groundout Day.

The Giants were shackled by Pittsburgh’s Charlie Morton Monday night for eight innings. OK, Morton’s probably the Pirates’ best pitcher, but this team came into town on a worse streak than the current stock market. They’d lost 10 in a row, and they just got royally strafed by the powderpuff Padres … AT HOME. You’ve gotta beat these boys while their chins are dragging the chalk lines.

Yet the Giants mounted rallies like Boy Scouts on a rainy camping trip using 30-year-old matches. Two on, nobody out in both the second and fourth innings and both times it turned to squat. Short fly to left, force groundout, strikeout in the second. Strikeout, double play grounder in the fourth. With one out and two on in the fifth, comebacker to the mound that’s quickly turned into an easy DP. There were lesser failures we won’t even delineate. You saw them, you know the perpetrators, and you continue to be horrified by them.

Bochy is at the end of his rope, which is saying something even for a guy who’s gone four months without a big pinch of Copenhagen. He said afterward, ”We have to get our mojo back. We’ve lost it and we know it … but we need to get it back sooner than later.”

Get the mojo back? Everybody’s in favor, but at this point, it may require a hypnotist, or an exorcist, or perhaps even an arsonist. But let’s stick with the hypnosis hypothesis for now: “Look into my eyes. You are getting sleepy, sleepy, very sleepy …  OK, here we go, fellas: You will not swing from your behind when a simple well-struck ball to the right side will do. You will see a situation and maybe drop a surprise bunt, even if the manager doesn’t call for it (and he didn’t on this night when maybe he should have). You will try to think about what a pitcher is going to throw you in a certain count instead of just winging it. You will remain calm and loose instead of becoming a grimacing ball of tension and trying to win the game all by yourself by hitting one off the big Coke bottle. You will try to protect with two strikes instead of gazing dumbfoundedly at a called third. And, you Mr. Rowand, enough with the goofy gyrations, just stand up there and rake. OK, got it, guys? Now I’m going to snap my fingers and I want you snap out of it — pretty please — then go win some bleedin’ ballgames with your bats!”

Truth be told, I’m not a big believer in hyponosis. But a little levity might be the order of another bad day. If fans keep grinding on this offensive ineptitude, they may need a psychiatrist, not a hypnotist.

Written by

Heather VanNest

Victoria Secret model Miranda Kerr used Hypnobirthing techniques to give birth to her son. She says the daily, relaxation breathing exercises and guided imagery she used while she was pregnant had a lot to do with the calm demeanor of her baby boy.

Hypnobirthing classes don’t actually involve traditional hypnosis. Women use specific breathing exercises to relax enough so that they don’t need epidurals or medications which are usually given to speed up labor (and can intensify contractions).

Click here to read more of what Miranda Kerr had to say about the experience
Kerr joins actress Jessica Alba who also talked about taking these classes to have a medication-free natural birth. The specific training exercises allow for a more peaceful birthing process.

While natural, medication-free births are common in other countries, it is less likely a woman in the United States would have a natural birth.

The U.S. also has one of the highest c-section rates in the world. Florida has the highest c-section rate in the country. The reasons for the high rate include convenience, medical malpractice concerns, age/health of mother. Recovery can take longer compared to natural birth.

I interviewed many Hypnobirthing mothers who told me the techniques trained them to relax their entire bodies so they could have a peaceful birth experience.

It’s another birthing option for parents to consider.

I figured I had nothing to lose so I paid for the classes to see if they would work for me.

Click here to see my Hypnobirth home video and read my personal blog about my experience.

10 News

Hypnosis is a safe and effective therapeutic procedure in the hands of a trained hypnotist, but it can be dangerous in the hands of an amateur.

By: Jaime T. Licauco
Philippine Daily Inquirer

To tackle a problem, one must address its roots. This axiom holds true for many things, and forms the cornerstone of hypnotherapy – a form of therapy that uses hypnosis to help a person overcome habits, beliefs or emotions that have a negative impact on his life.

Giselle Gianella Gabe (pictured above), a certified professional hypnosis instructor residing in Singapore, explains to AsiaOne Health that such negative beliefs, habits and emotions have their roots in the subconscious mind, which has an inbuilt protective mechanism that guards it from unnecessary changes. Unfortunately, the same protective mechanism also means that once a false belief has taken root within the subconscious mind, it is very difficult to correct or dispel it. This is where hypnosis comes in.

“For real, permanent change, you need to work on the subconscious mind in order to achieve both cognitive and emotional change,” says Ms Gabe, who was born in Peru. “Hypnosis is the only known method that successfully allows the properly trained hypnotherapist to bypass the mind’s protective mechanism and work directly on the sub-conscious mind, thus having an immediate effect on it.”

According to Ms Gabe, who is also a Master Practitioner in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), hypnotherapy can treat issues such as psychosomatic illnesses, depression, anxiety, eating disorders and phobias. It can also be used to help people achieve their goals by helping them “unlock” their potentials and talents, or by helping them overcome self-limiting beliefs and habits such as procrastination, self-sabotage and low self-esteem.

Hypnotherapy can also impact the unconscious mind, which Ms Gabe describes as the ‘body’s consciousness’. She describes a case in which one of her clients suffered from repeated miscarriages: “Her pregnancies generated enormous amount of fear that she was not able to cope as a mother and to be able to do a good job as a mother. Hence, her womb ‘s reponse was to ‘expel’ the baby.

“Once we got to the root cause of her fear, she was able to complete the [therapy] process. Her womb was then able to hold babies, and she gave birth to two gorgeous and healthy babies in a span of 3 years.”

While hypnotherapy is safe in general, and has no risk of physical side-effects unlike many medications, it is best to seek out trained hypnotherapists. “If the hypnotherapist is not well-trained and uses age regression, there is a small chance that false memories can be implanted ,” cautions Ms Gabe.

AsiaOne Health understands that unscrupulous or poorly trained therapists in the United States have been sued for implanting false memories of childhood sexual abuse in their clients – ‘memories’ that often ripped apart families and marriages.

That said, hypnosis is not a form of mind control. “No one can control your mind but you!” asserts Ms Gabe. “There is no way a person can give up her own will power unless she wants to.”

She notes that there are some who may fall victim of people who are skilled at manipulating others. However, the distinction between manipulation and mind control must be stressed – a person may be manipulated without losing control of his mind and will.

Q&A with Giselle Gianella Gabe

Some people say that hypnosis/hypnotherapy is a form of mind control. What is your response to that?

Unfortunately, I say that it is both a misconception and a sad reality.

The misconception comes mainly from the misrepresentation of hypnosis in movies that show hypnosis as a tool to control people, even to the point of making a person rob a bank!

The person who receives the suggestion ‘go and rob the bank’ must have in his subconscious mind the belief ‘It’s OK to rob a bank’ or have a fantasy of doing it – because the mind is very simple, it will accept external information that matches what already exists in the subconscious Mind and will immediately reject the information that doesn’t match. This explains also how hypnosis and hypnotherapy are safe, as you will not accept a suggestion that you do not like.

This misconception comes also from the misunderstanding of what is hypnosis/hypnotherapy and ‘Stage Hypnosis’.

The purpose of stage hypnosis is to entertain people – this is why you will never see a Stage Hypnotist ‘pick’ a volunteer (if you ever go to a show, be observant and you will see). The Stage Hypnotist knows that if he picks someone ‘unwilling’ to go on stage he will be shooting himself in the foot. Hypnosis/hypnotherapy is a dance in which the hypnotherapist leads and the client follows. If the person is not willing to go on stage, he is unlikely to follow instructions and hence be very unlikely to be hypnotised.

Anyone’s mind has a protective mechanism that is working 24/7. There is no way that a person will give up her own will power unless she wants to.

Is hypnosis sleep?

Hypnosis is not sleep. If you fall asleep during your session you will miss the whole thing and your hypnotherapist will not be able to work with you at all. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy require your full, focused attention.

You may have your eyes closed, and you may look like you are asleep, and even your Hypnotist or Hypnotherapist may use the word ‘sleep’ – but when she uses this word it means: ‘Become deeply relaxed as if you are asleep’. It doesn’t mean you will sleep!

Hypnosis/ hypnotherapy is an interactive activity that you do while being fully conscious and aware. When you emerge from hypnosis you remember everything and you are aware of what you did with your hypnotist/hypnotherapist.

Is Hypnosis mind control?

No IT IS NOT. No one can control your mind but you!

How is hypnosis carried out? E.g. is it done by swinging a pendulum in front of the client, as we often see in the movies?

The pendulum usage is what you see on TV and in movies, and it is very old fashion.

In the old days the pendulum was used to help induce hypnosis.

Nowadays, I don’t think you will find a properly trained Hypnotherapist using this method. First of all it is boring - your mind will get so fed up that it won’t pay any attention after a while, hence you will not do hypnosis or hypnotherapy properly!

Now there are modern methods that are effective and take little time to induce hypnosis. For instance we use Rapid Induction Techniques that are fast and effective. Compared to the traditional ways of inducing hypnosis (that in some cases could take up to half an hour), we can do it in less than a minute or even in seconds.

Giselle Gianella Gabe is a Certified Professional Hypnosis Instructor and a Neuro-Linguistic Programming Master Practitioner.

amyyeong@sph.com.sg

“Can you teach me how to relax Carole?” was the question a client asked me not too long ago.  Yes, as a matter of fact I can (and did)  and if you’d like to give yourself the gift of relaxation, keep reading.

You can learn how to slow down and totally relax.  It’s important to do this at least once per day.   So I’m going to teach you how to do self hypnosis.

Find a quiet comfortable spot where you know you will not be disturbed for ½ hour – 45 minutes.  Turn off your cell phone.  Get nice and comfy.

Sometimes it is helpful to have meditation music playing in the background.

Close your eyes and become mindful of your feelings.  Identify any feelings of stress, anxiety or other issues. (see if they are affecting any parts of your body – sore shoulders, achy bits, tension headaches, etc.)  Visualize these feelings leaving.  See yourself waving good-bye to them.

Identify the tension in your body.  Starting with your head, concentrate on relaxing your skull, your forehead, all the little muscles around your eyes, your cheeks, your mouth, your nose, jaw and work all the way down your body, finishing with the feet.  Visualize each part of your body as you do this and consciously relax to the point you feel like you may be floating.  Try to become as relaxed as a rag-doll.

Take nice deep breaths in and out.  Breathe in calmness and peace and breathe out tension and negative emotion.

Once you have completely relaxed your body, imagine yourself stepping into an elevator that has 10 floors that go down.  See the elevator and notice that the inside of the elevator is surrounded by a beautiful aquarium.  In your minds eye, push the DOWN button.  Visualize the word “DOWN”.  As you are going down – 10 – nine – eight – feel yourself becoming lighter and more relaxed.  Do this slowly and really ‘see’ the numbers.  When you finally arrive at floor number one, imagine the elevator doors opening and see yourself stepping out into a beautiful garden, filled with your favourite flowers, or shrubbery or animals (you can imagine anything you like at this point – if you’d prefer a beach, or a lake, you can use that as a visual instead of a garden).

In your minds eye, visualize five steps that go down into your special place (garden, beach, lake, etc.), so counting the steps down to the scene, becoming aware that when you get to the bottom, you will feel the surface that you are stepping onto (grass, sand, etc.)  Concentrate on this feeling and allow peace and calmness to wash over you.  Really feel it.

As you become aware of the grass/sand, you will know that you are very relaxed.  This is a good time to give yourself some positive messages (i.e.  I am very relaxed and calm; I am confident; I am healthy; I am happy and content). When you feel nice and relaxed, you can begin to return slowly to the room.  Step onto the elevator and push the button that says “UP”………….and slowly counting from one to 10, start to come up.

Once you get off the elevator on floor 10, become more aware of being in the chair or couch you are seated in and begin to bring yourself back into awareness.

Once you have opened your eyes and are back in the room, say, out loud, “I am now awake,” and this will bring your mind back to the conscious state (or if you are doing this at night – just drift off to sleep if you haven’t already done so).

This is an excellent exercise to do at night if you have sleep issues, or after a stressful day at work.  It helps to slow down your brain waves and is mentally and physically very beneficial.

But like anything that is good for our body and minds, only doing it once will not make a huge difference.  It is something you need to incorporate into your life.

If you have chronic pain issues, self hypnosis can help to ease the pain, because pain causes tension in the body. Self hypnosis can help to ease the cycle of pain.

It will take some practice to become deeply relaxed, but don’t give up.  And don’t worry if you don’t remember all the steps – make up your own steps.

The more you practice encouraging your mind to quiet and slow down, the happier your body will be.

Enjoy.

Carole Fawcett is a clinical hypnotherapist, registered professional counsellor and freelance writer. www.amindfulconnection.com

A treatment originally developed by Dr. Edwin K. Yager is to be the subject of a textbook out this fall.