Jon Kabat-Zinn defines mindfulness as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experiences moment by moment.” Mindfulness, being present and conscious in your body is essential for weight loss and for maintaining your healthy ideal weight. Having to have a second bowl of ice cream because you don’t remember the first bowl is a classic example of being out of your body – of being anything but mindful. One of the many benefits that I have received as a result of self-hypnosis is learning to be more mindful. I am much more aware of my feet on the floor, my butt in the chair and of breath in my body.

Mindfulness is being used to treat many physical and psychological problems, including stress, anxiety, depression, borderline personality disorder, chronic pain, addiction, and eating disorders. Mindfulness is used as a methodology for treating a variety of emotional problems, among which are borderline personality disorder, anxiety and depressions, eating disorders, and substance abuse. The way most people think about anxiety is as a chronic focus on worries about the future, without acknowledging the reality of the present. An anxious person worries about what might happen in the future, rather than focusing on what is happening in the present. Even a non-anxious person, during the process of worrying, is engaged in future-oriented thinking, talking to self, and focus on anticipated events. Mindfulness provides an alternative focus as attention is drawn to the present moment, thus breaking the maladaptive cycle of worrying.

Afflictive emotions— our jealousy, anger, hatred, fear—can be put to an end when you realize that these emotions are only temporary, that they always pass on like clouds in the sky. My mental state, I think, is quite peaceful, quite calm. If there’s some sad news, some heart-breaking news that comes, for a short moment, I am very disturbed, very sad, but then it goes. So like an ocean, the waves come and go, come and go. – Dalai Lama, 1999

Jon Kabat-Zinn tells us that the “real mindfulness meditation never comes to an end – it is your life. Breath will go go, taste will go on. The real meditation practice is your life.” Showing up in your life is not trivial. It is one of the hardest things in the world is to be in your body. At Slender For Life™ I teach clients to use a stress reduction technique to become present in their body so that they can notice the food before them and then eat slowly….consciously……mindfully.

Stop eating a short distance from your body. Turn the TV off and stop texting when you eat. Allow your mouth to full appreciate the tastes and textures of the food you eat. Learn self-hypnosis and be mindful – show up in your life!

Read Eating Mindfully

Check out Slender For Life™ and call (206) 903-1232 or email for your free consultation.

Remember to sign up for your FREE 8-part audio course, Understanding Hypnosis, at the right side of this page NOW!

Do you know how to get to Phoenix?

We talked in Chapter Three about commitment. Are you really clear on what you are committing to? As I listened to Gerry in group one night, it became clear that he had no idea where he was going. He had no clear goal in mind. He sounded lost. When I pushed him for clarity, he could not tell me about life at his goal weight or why he was going there. When I asked if he ever just got into his car and headed off down the road on a vacation with no destination in mind, he made it clear that he plans the entire itinerary and stresses when he gets off schedule. He also said that he didn’t allow any unplanned or unscheduled side trips. Gerry told how he has noticed more unconscious eating and lack of focus.

I put two dots on the flip chart. One dot was Seattle and the other Phoenix. I stated that as I flew last week from Seattle to Phoenix, the pilot or the autopilot had to make continuous course corrections. There was turbulence along the way that kept blowing us off course. If there were no course corrections, we might have ended up in Oklahoma City instead of Phoenix. In life there is turbulence. There are relationship changes, job changes, holidays, birthdays and other bumps in the road of life. All too often, people move aimlessly from one bump to the next and never make course corrections. They never get to Phoenix.

Too often, people experience turbulence in life, they get off course and then use that as a reason to continue going off course. They never make it to Phoenix, because they are heading towards Fargo!

Your self-hypnosis is course correction. You refocus your mind and get back on track.

As we continued this discussion in the group, Patty told how she had no idea what it would be like to be at her ideal weight. People like myself who had been overweight all their lives have no frame of reference for their ideal weight. They have never been to Phoenix. The only time previously in my life that I have weighed what I do now was in grade school! This woman had dieted previously and lost a lot of weight rapidly, only to discover that her life was still there with all its challenges, and weighing less was not a ticket to the Garden of Eden. Patty had put the weight right back on. So she asked the question, “Do you believe that people can really change?” “Yes,” I replied. “But you have to know what you want and you have to want it. It gets back to that issue of need and motivation.”

Then Brenda asked how to deal with life’s turbulences, and I asked her what it would be like for her to be a Principled Leader of Self. What would it be like for her to be at cause and no longer at effect, to no longer be a victim in her life? When you have a clear goal, a clear plan for your life, then you can be that Leader of Self. You can be at cause, not a victim. You take back your power from food, people, work, events, life and circumstances.

I challenged the group to take some time in the coming week to write, draw or paint a realistic picture of what their Phoenix—their destination—would be like and to bring a copy in the next week. The next week people came in with compelling reasons for obtaining their goal weight. Some were very detailed and others vague, but everyone was clarifying their Phoenix.

Becoming Slender For Life, second edition, pages 196 -197

Do you have compelling reasons to achieve your goals? Are you really committed to your goal to lose weight or to quit smoking? With self-hypnosis you can help you commit to your goals and help you to make the course adjustments to achieve your goal. Use self hypnosis and take back your power and get on course!

Read Self Hypnosis
– Powerfully Creating A New Path

Check out Seattle hypnosis and Bainbridge Island hypnosis.
Call (206) 903-1232 or email for your free consultation.

Remember to sign up for your FREE 8-part audio course, Understanding Hypnosis, at the right side of this page NOW!

Mike from Forks, Washington, lost 31 pounds with Slender For Life™. Mike lives in the home of Twilight and went from 165 pounds in March 2011 and today weighs 134 pounds. Mike credits his success to the self-hypnosis that he learned with the Slender For Life™ hypnosis weight loss program. Mike said that before he started with Slender For Life™ he had to hold his breath to bend over and tie his shoes. He didn’t like how that felt and he was lacking energy. Today he is amazed at his increased energy level and he can easily tie his shoes.

Mike Gurling at 165 pounds

I really believe in Slender For Life™.
~ Mike Gurling

Mike was committed and motivated to lose weight. He, like many others, drove 2 1/2 hours from Forks to Bainbridge Island for some of his weight loss hypnosis sessions. His other sessions were conducted via Skype and when I was in Forks. That commitment will help keep Mike motivated to his health care throughout his life and help keep him Slender For Life™.

Mike knew that he could not depend on will power to lose weight and keep it off. Self-hypnosis made the difference. My book, Becoming Slender For Life and its hypnosis CD set, along with his individual hypnotherapy sessions, provided Mike with the plant-based nutrition information and hypnosis tools that allowed him to safely and healthfully lose weight.

Anytime Mike feels stress he uses the stress reduction tools that he has learned or uses one of the Slender For Life™ hypnosis CDs to help him relax. Mike enjoys these daily blog posts here at Hypnosis Health Info that keeps him updated on the latest health information in the news.

Mike says that if anyone ever wants to talk with him about Slender For Life™, they should contact him at the Forks Chamber of Commerce and he would be happy to talk with them.

Let self-hypnosis make the difference in your life.

Check out Slender For Life™ and call (206) 903-1232 or email for your free consultation.

Remember to sign up for your FREE 8-part audio course, Understanding Hypnosis, at the right side of this page NOW!

The Joy of Connection by Frankie Pérez is this weeks featured article in the Hypnosis Health Info Article Library. “There’s nothing quite like it – the euphoria, joy, and happiness of feeling connected!  We feel connected when we fall in love, when we have a long heart-to-heart with a good friend, when we commune with God or nature, or when we spend time really listening inwardly to our heart’s wants and desires.  As social animals, human beings are not meant to exist in a vacuum.  We are relational beings who require connection in order to thrive, be fulfilled, and feel happy,” writes Frankie. I frequently use hypnosis in relationship counseling to help individuals and couples overcome the feelings of isolation and disconnectedness. Using self-hypnosis can help you make the decision and create an internal choice to move in a determined direction toward connectedness.

The Joy of Connection

Six Ways of Plugging-In to Life!

• CONNECTION TO SELF ~ Do I approve of myself?
• CONNECTION TO ANOTHER ~ Do I have one person I can trust and confide in?
• CONNECTION TO OTHERS ~ Do I feel a sense of belonging?
• CONNECTION TO PASSION ~ What fuels me?
• CONNECTION TO LIFE ~ Do I appreciate and respect life?
• CONNECTION TO SPIRIT ~ Do I have a relationship with Spirit?

Read The Joy of Connection

Do you want more connection in your life? Hypnosis can help you overcome the fear of revealing who you are, develop an ongoing relationship with yourself, and establish a relationship with your spirituality. Learn self-hypnosis so that you never feel lonely again!

Check out Roger Moore’s Counseling & Hypnotherapy LLC .
Call (206) 903-1232 or email for your free consultation.

Remember to sign up for your FREE 8-part audio course, Understanding Hypnosis, at the right side of this page NOW!

This week’s Hypnosis Health Radio show is with Dr. Nancie Barwick and out topic is Hypnosis and Muscular Dystrophy. Muscular dystrophy is a group of inherited disorders that involve muscle weakness and loss of muscle tissue, which get worse over time. There is no none cure for MD, but hypnosis is proven to work for stress reduction, pain management, muscle relaxation and for retraining muscle function. Self hypnosis is used in leading medical clinics and hospitals throughout the world. Learn hypnosis for your health.

Show #11: Hypnosis and Muscular Dystrophy

Clinical Hypnotherapist Dr. Nancie Barwick tells of her remarkable journey of recovery from Muscular Dystrophy. Listen to her story of how she moved from a wheel chair to ballroom dancing!

Listen to Show #11: Hypnosis and Muscular Dystrophy

While there are no known cures for the various muscular dystrophies. The goal of treatment is to control symptoms. Self-hypnosis can help you learn to control the symptoms of most illnesses and reduce the pain of physical illness and injury. Are you ready to create the dance into your life? If so, find out how you can learn hypnosis for health by clicking here.

Listen to Hypnosis Health Radio

Check out Seattle hypnosis and Bainbridge Island hypnosis.
Call (206) 903-1232 or email for your free consultation.

Remember to sign up for your FREE 8-part audio course, Understanding Hypnosis, at the right side of this page NOW!

Talking to Your Preschooler About Weight

WebMD, September 13, 2011: When your preschooler has cute chubby little cheeks or an extra roll or 2 around her middle, how do you sit down and talk about healthy weight? You don’t talk about weight, say parenting and weight experts. Talk about healthy eating and healthy habits and say things like, “This food will make you stronger!” Like you teach young kids that brushing their teeth and taking baths are important ways to stay healthy, tell them that eating healthy foods and keeping their bodies moving are also important for their bodies. This should be the approach whether your child is overweight or not. It’s really important to talk to kids at every age and over time about the importance of nutrition and physical activity.

Parents make the mistake that if kids are really small, it doesn’t matter. Like, “Young kids are picky and if all they eat are chicken nuggets and french fries, it’s OK, they’ll grow out of it.” But it’s not OK.
It’s not OK because when kids don’t eat well or aren’t active, that can lead to being overweight or obese. And overweight kids are at risk for health problems such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, even in childhood. Overweight and obese kids are also at risk of developing sleep apnea, asthma, and liver damage.

Do …

• Have age-appropriate, ongoing conversations about healthy choices
• Tell kids that healthy foods make them stronger
• Make exercise fun, think playtime
• Talk to your child’s pediatrician about any weight worries

Don’t…

• Talk about “weight”
• Make foods “bad” or off-limits, but do watch portions
• Use food for reward or comfort
• Assume kids will outgrow “baby fat”
• Tolerate weight-based bullying or teasing

What to Say

When: Grocery shopping
Talk about: Why you pick one food over another
For example: “This will make you stronger.”

When: Making dinner
Talk about: Why foods are good for you
For example: “Carrots help our eyes.”

When: Being active as a family
Talk about: How exercise helps your body and how it makes you feel
For example: “Being outside makes me happy and biking is great for our legs and hearts.”
Making Healthy Habits

At this age, your child depends exclusively on you for food and activity. So you can have a huge positive impact on his health. It’s up to you to make the changes that will help him get the healthiest foods and enough activity.
It’s important to make sure the whole family’s onboard. Mom can’t sit and eat ice cream in front of the TV while expecting an overweight child to play and move. Come up with activities — hiking, basketball, dancing — that everyone will enjoy. Then moving becomes a fun, family habit.

The same goes for mealtime. Don’t serve a separate meal for the child who’s not at a healthy weight while the rest of the family gets fried chicken and butter-soaked biscuits. Everyone at the table should eat a meal that is half made up of veggies. The other half should be made up of a side of lean meat and a side of whole grains.

Read Talking to Your Preschooler About Weight

John McDougall is right. The only words that I know to describe today’s epidemic of childhood obesity are “sad” and “criminal”. It is sad to me that as a society we are abusing our children with foods that make them fat and that is why I say it is criminal. America, we are better than this! We must act now to save our children. Make healthy eating and exercise a family affair in your household. Teach you children self-hypnosis so that they have this powerful tool throughout their life to support healthy choices (and it can help them with academics and sports performance too!) America, let’s put an end to this preventable epidemic that is condemning our children to a life of disease. Teach children to love healthy food.

Check out Seattle hypnosis and Bainbridge Island hypnosis.
Call (206) 903-1232 or email for your free consultation.

Remember to sign up for your FREE 8-part audio course, Understanding Hypnosis, at the right side of this page NOW!