Anodynic Hypnosis - Breath Pacing Rapport technique

There are many ways to hypnotize your clients. Everything from the wildly popular Fractional Relaxation; whereby you lead your client to consciously relax everything step by step from their toes all the way up to the tips of their hair.

Any hypnotist worth their salt also knows, that if you don't establish rapport with your client before the session, you'll have a very rough time relaxing anyone!

Rapport is one of the most important features or characteristics of unconscious human interaction. It is commonality of perspective: being "in sync" with, or being "on the same wavelength" as the person with whom you are talking.

There are a number of techniques that are supposed to be beneficial in building rapport such as: matching your body language (ie, posture, gesture, and so forth); maintaining eye contact; and matching breathing rhythm. Some of these techniques are explored in neuro-linguistic programming.

A classic if unusual example of rapport can be found in the book Uncommon Therapy by Jay Haley, about the psychotherapeutic intervention techniques of Milton Erickson. Erickson developed the ability to enter the world view of his patients and, from that vantage point (having established rapport), he was able to make extremely effective interventions (to help his patients overcome life problems).

Breath Pacing Rapport technique is a very powerful method of combining synchronization of breathing with your client and delivering your suggestions on one or both sides of the breath cycle. And this technique is a favorite of mine! The rules for it's use are very simple.

1. MIrror the posture and respiration of your client. If they are breathing fast, you breathe at the same speed. If they are breathing slow, do the same. As you deliver your suggestions you can slow down or speed up the breathing when you've taken over the lead in pacing your client.

2. If you want to raise the energy and thereby energize your client, speak on the inhalation part of their breath cycle.

3. If you want to relax them, speak on the exhalation part of their cycle.

4. If you want to make a point, pick a point to stare at such as a point on their head or on the wall just behind them and speak on whatever part of the breath cycle you're working with (e.g., raising or relaxing energy).

Now some other points are:

1. If you want to anchor a statement when you're making a point. Just raise the pitch or lower the pitch of your voice. You can alternatively use a louder or softer tone as well to anchor the point. Or snap your fingers, clap your hands! Anything to mark the point!

2. Ask a rhetorical obvious questions: Don't you want to feel more peaceful and fulfilled right now? Of course you do!

3. Provide easy to remember rhymes to your point: Everyday in every way you'll always feel better and better won't you?

4. Dr. Milton Erickson stated that we love anything with "ing" and "ee": This is the most relaxing state you can achieve! You don't have to be push-ee about self-hypnosis.

Conversational Hypnosis uses all of these rules including:

1. Either/or rules,

2. Splitting alternatives,

3. Time and scale choices,

4. Double and Triple TDS.

I'll write more about these in the next article.

Have fun with Breath Pacing Rapport with your friends. Decide before hand what suggests you want to add into your point statements and let the breath deliver them effortlessly and easily.

Thank you for your time to share this,

Mike Addison MH.t., MA.t
AnodynicHypnosis@gmail.com - Contact me for session prices

Adjust your autopilot to keep yourself from crashing

Homeostasis or comfort zone is defined as:

1. The tendency of a system, esp. the physiological system of higher animals, to maintain internal stability, owing to the coordinated response of its parts to any situation or stimulus tending to disturb its normal condition or function.

2. Psychology. A state of psychological equilibrium obtained when tension or a drive has been reduced or eliminated.

And the opposite Allostasis is defined as: The process of achieving stability, or homeostasis, through physiological or behavioral change.

A few years back I watched a documentary on Animal Abuse. One scene in particular struck me more than the rest of the show. There was a female Shepard tie to a post behind a building that had been reported to Animal Control and the Police. When the Police and Animal Control arrive, they saw a badly malnourished dog with patches of fur missing and cuts. Later the Vet determined that she had been kicked and beaten and that ribs were broken as well as teeth.

What struck was that even when the police questioned and arrested the owner, the dog clung to him for comfort. It was determined that he was responsible for the terrible cruelty. Even though this dog had been beaten and starved, she still preferred the monster she knew to the unknown future she faced.
I've known countless people that have similar situations in their lives and yet they stay with the monster that tortures them emotionally or physically. Sometimes both!

Dr. Milton Erickson - The Father of Medical Hypnotherapy once said that we unconsciously determine our future! This doesn't mean that we are predestined to a fate. But that, our future occurs in our subconscious first before it becomes apparent to our conscious mind.
Dr. Albert Ellis - The Father of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) derived what he calls an ABC Model. Or an Activator, Belief and Consequence Model. For ever stimulus/activator there is a belief tied to that stimulus/activator which causes a consequence. As we mostly bumble about, we have a Belief Model of experiences which are compose of those ABCs. The more experiences we have, the stronger the belief until ultimately, it becomes a zealous conviction. This doesn't mean that Belief Model is rational and healthy, it just means we've figured out how to survive sometimes terrible comfort zones.

By taking inventory on ourselves and asking ourselves, do we really want to be in such and such a situation. And then taking further inventory on what activators actually trigger those events. As well as what do we believe we should do or not do about those triggers. We can begin to shape the new consequences we'd like to achieve! We're re-wiring our reactions to a trigger.

Imagine your mind as a Theater. You can control the picture. You can make it clearer or fuzzy. Close up to you or far away. You can be in the movie or just observe the movie. You can change the sound, smell, taste, touch and your gut reaction to the movie at anytime!
Take a situation that you'll like to work past. Examine it frame by frame, process step by process step. Now just simply start playing with the perspectives. Change the angle of view. Make it bigger and smaller. Different colors. Really experiment with it.
Just by taking control of the movie, you've change your reaction to the movie! The more control you give yourself permission to change, the more empowered you become about that event. The more empowered, the more secure you feel. It's the simple changes that have the most profound effect! Metaphorically, we only have to nudge the asteroid to move it off course from hitting our world!

We don't have to just survive an unhealthy comfort zone. We were meant for better things! A better, happier and more healthy life!

Thank you for your time!

Mike Addison MH.t., MA.t
AnodynicHypnosis@gmail.com - Contact me for session prices

Anodynic Hypnosis Buttons

In this fast pace world we love buttons! Press a button and wahlah! A cup of coffee! We like our food fast! Our answers quick and our remedies faster! In fact, very few things these days are sold with the brag: Take this for slow prolonged results unless it's pleasurable and soothing right?

The body and mind are full of buttons if you know where to find them! In fact, we have four basic buttons according to Dr. Albert Ellis - Developer of Cognitive Behavioral Science (CBT)!

Our first button is what he calls the "What-if?" Button. And the answer the mind gives back to this What-if is always something bad! We can totally spin ourselves up into a frenzy just with this one button! In Anodynic Hypnosis we recognize that the What-if button is as dangerous as a loaded gun if not used right. We always use the what-if button to spin up someone into a positive state by using the What-if button for a positive outcome. What-if such and such treated you the way you enjoyed instead of meanly?

The next button is known as the Absolutes-button. It's normally rules that make no sense that we impose on ourselves or other poor innocent bystanders. And we can really paint ourselves and others into a corner using this button. Here again, in Anodynic Hypnosis we only use this button for good as well! We make Absolute-Freedom-buttons or Absolute-Kindness-buttons. Rules such as freedom will absolutely overtake you! If you resist, it will only take longer! Or, you are the kindness you've been looking for in others! Kindness will uncontrollably start leaking out of every pore of you sooner or later!

The next button in this parade is the Rationalization-Button. This button is composed usually of rationalizations for things that just don't have a rational explanation. We chase our tails round and round rather accept something that we know we need to accept. For that, we identify our tail chasing, and then let things be as they are without the need to explain. Everything eventually always comes back to balance.

The most powerful button in our button parade is the I-choose, I-prefer-buttons. Rather than pressing the other three. Next time something is making you uncomfortable. Just say: I choose to do such and such! Or, I prefer to do this instead of that! Give yourself permission to choose and prefer. You'll be very surprised how liberating you'll feel!

Go through your versions of these buttons and think about the absolute rules you make for yourself and ask: Really??? Think about the What-if spirals you enter into and ask yourself: Do you really want to chase your tail that way forever? All of the rationalizations you give yourself for things you may need to just accept. Tell yourself: Even though such and such seems to happen over and over again, I completely and totally accept myself!

And finally, give yourself permission to choose. To prefer something! Or to choose not to do something. Not to prefer something you feel forced on you!

It's never too late to have a happy childhood! Remember, you are the person you've been waiting to become! You are that comfort and kindness you so desperately crave. Just let go and let that kindness you're composed of shine like the birth of a star!

Thank you for your time,

Mike Addison MH.t., MA.t
AnodynicHypnosis@gmail.com - Contact me for session prices