I wish I may I wish I might...

Warrior Pose II
neither pulled towards the future
nor weighted down by the past
equilibrium is found in the present moment

I haven't blogged for a while. Mom's death has severed the living ties to my parents (Dad died in 2002) and life has, for the time being, become a bit of an introverted journey of self-exploration. Who am I now? Who do I want to become? What do I want to do with my life? What and who do I love? How do I want to live my life now? Robert Moss contends that if you don't define yourself others will do it for you. What definitions have I embraced? Do they still apply? Did they ever? Sounds pretty heavy but really, it's liberating and has led to clutter clearing on all levels: physically, mentally, emotionally, psychically and spiritually.

More of that later, what prompts this blog is an e-mail I received recently from a client who hasn't been successful in getting rid of excess weight despite having attended a series of 6 one-on-one sessions for a weight management a few years back.

Here's the gist of it:
Why can't hypnosis for weight loss be done in a 1 shot session like I do for smoking cessation? Why can't I just implant a negative association to help someone abstain from "forbidden" foods and be done with it? It worked for a friend of mine and she lost X number of pounds and she's still kept it off. When she feels tempted she just goes back for a little top up. I think stress management would be helpful, but only if it's done in one session not if it's based on self-hypnosis as that doesn't work for me.

A few things jump out at me:

• unlike smoking, one needs to eat and faces temptation a few times every day
• smoking is a non-essential activity that is always detrimental to one's health
• what new "forbiddens" will take the place of the old ones
• hypnosis does strengthen resolve and makes things easier, and ACTION is a part of the process, action needs to be taken to re-inforce the suggestion and set up a positive feedback loop
• over time weight balancing becomes second nature and a lifestyle choice
• stress accumulates unless we address it every day, it's not the stressor that's our problem, it's our attitude towards it

I battled with anorexia in my teens. If anyone should know about aversion to food and how to induce it, it should be me. The truth is, people experiencing anorexia are consumed by food 24/7 to the exclusion of everything else - there is no joy in the life of an anorexic, only the constant companions of fear of failure and self-loathing.

I lost 30 lbs by eating the bare minimum to survive and, when I came to my senses I gained most of it back. I have maintained a healthy weight for 40 years through conscious eating and a commitment to health and living consciously.

There is no magic pill to make our demons all go away. One must commit to a daily process of: self-awareness and self-honesty; discovering one's self inside-out; taking ownership of the body we inhabit and taking responsibility for our actions - no excuses allowed. We must learn to ride the emotional roller coaster of life without resorting to food for comfort or punishment and choose to eat consciously. It takes nothing less than healing our relationship with ourselves and with food to arrive at the weight that is right for "me".

The pain my client was feeling leaked between the lines she'd written. She just wants one shot, no self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis doesn't work for her. Yet she is an intelligent, accomplished professional. How did she get through the years of training, focus and determination it took to get where she is today? All hypnosis is essentially self-hypnosis and is re-inforced by the messages we tell ourselves every day. Our self-talk either propels us in the right direction or leads to self-sabatogue. As a former anorexic I know that our mind can be a battleground where our inner cheerleader and our inner critic wage a war for dominance over our thoughts and emotions. Which do you support with your attention? The one that receives the most attention grows the strongest.

Anything we accomplish begins with a spark of inspiration and a dreaming of what could be. When it comes to weight issues we imagine how wonderful our lives will be, how successful and desirable we will become when we have lost the weight. All our problems will vanish in an instant. I wish this were true. Fact is, we need to find the wonderful life that is available to us now as we make our journey through weight loss (or anything else); we need to engage in life, take risks, experience failure and success. We need to fall down, get up and reset our course again and again if necessary.

I've been impressed by the Canadian Series X-WEIGHTED for it's inspiring and eye-opening stories centring around young people and their families learning to live healthier lives while losing weight. I encourage anyone dealing with weight issues to check it out, especially if you are concerned about passing these issues on to your children. If you are making poor food choices for yourself you are making poor ones for your kids too. Your actions set the example for your children to follow - what are they learning from you?

To find out more about my struggle with anorexia and how yoga transformed my life check out STORIES FROM THE YOGIC HEART available at many yoga centres, book stores, AKASHA'S DEN in Oakville, Ontario and coming soon to a ROOTS store near you!

OUR DESIRE (to commit to our goal) NEEDS TO BE STRONGER THAN OUR RESISTANCE.

So, here's the first step regarding forbidden foods:

DON'T BUY THEM OR HAVE THEM IN THE HOUSE; NOT FOR YOURSELF AND ESPECIALLY NOT FOR YOUR KIDS.

Secondly, ask yourself, in your moments of temptation:

WHO IS IN CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE?

...in a good way

Self-portrait Chillin' May 2010

Since the weird virus I had a few weeks back I feel like I've had a lobotomy...but, in a good way. Let me explain.

When I was a fledgling yoga teacher my mentors were, for the most part, middle aged women verging on menopause with households, husbands, children and ageing parents to manage. Aside from teaching yoga, participating in workshops on yoga and being part of a yoga community some of them also worked part-time at "real" jobs (teaching yoga was viewed as a form of karma yoga — selfless service and as such paid a pittance).

In comparison, during the 10 years (from my mid 20's to mid 30's) that I was with them, my life was yoga focused, simple and uncomplicated. Single, with a healthy, happy, family back in Ontario, my time was my own.

Every week we attended a class called Beyond Hatha Yoga offered at Yoga Centre Victoria's digs in the local YMWCA. Here we'd explore the works of Swami Radha through self-study, writing, writing and more writing, then discuss our responses to such questions as: what is an aspirant, who am I, what is the purpose of my life, etc.

In that class, on our yoga mats and in meditation sessions, realizations would rise up for a few, brief, shining moments. But, when my mentors returned to daily life, so easily and profoundly was their equanimity shattered that a common complaint was, "I thought yoga was supposed to make you calm!"

This comment has been directed at me by council members in the last few years.

I have informed them that, contrary to popular belief, people who are drawn to yoga, more often than not, are not naturally calm individuals. Yoga reveals what is — both the sublime and the ridiculous which is a no sweat experience for me on the mat or within the confines of a yoga studio, retreat or workshop where all have the same intention and speak the same language.

The challenge is to reside calmly while participating in life as the veils of illusion are peeled away. As we witness the reality of our lives, realize the consequences of our choices, the character of our loved ones and ourselves are exposed (in an often less than flattering light) it's difficult not to loose it, not to re-act unfavourably with anger, sorrow, frustration and all the other unpleasant moods that can befall us.

With the aftermath of "weird virus" my thoughts have been quite clear and my emotions easily manageable; as if someone has altered my sense of time. Urgency is gone, evaporated...poof... and, since time pressure is at the root of much of my anxiety, my emotional state is levelling. I am still aware of things that tick me off, that hasn't changed, it's just that they don't seem to break through to an intolerable level because they don't seem to stick to me. For the time being my hackles are down and my wei chi (defensive chi) is impermeable to negativity. In essence, I have become teflon...in a good way.

Today I'm bearing witness to the contrast between the "speed" of the Tasmanian devilish flurry that had engulfed me before the weird virus vs its aftermath, this refreshed state of calm. It seems totally unreal, incomprehensible that:

a) I could have gotten myself into such a state in the first place

b) I couldn't see it coming or building up

and

c) I could only recognize its intensity in hindsight

I know it's probably only a matter of time until I get "spun" and scattered again, but for the moment I am enjoying being in the cool, calm and collected zone and am doing all I can to identify supporting behaviours that are coming so naturally and effortlessly to me now.

I have been working with a weight management (aka weight balancing) client and one of the 4 principles of eating — to eat mindfully without distraction — she finds most challenging considering her hectic lifestyle. As an observer, it seems a simple matter of perspective and prioritizing. I don't ask clients to do anything that I can't do so I too have been eating at least one meal a day mindfully which means no reading, watching TV, talking etc.; just eat.

The idea is simple, as you chew each bite of food 20 times put down your utensils and enjoy the taste, texture, sight and smell of the food, and eating becomes a form of meditation. But, as I eat I catch myself on the verge of engaging in scattering behaviours:

• Without thought, a nervous twitch reflex prompts me to reach to pick up a magazine, the newspaper or glance at the notes on the side of a cereal box (that's how addicted I am to reading and keeping an internal voice going on).
• My mind travels backwards and forwards in time like a fidgety child unable to stay in one place trying to get me to come along.
• I have to fight the compulsion to multi-task, to do something as I'm eating in order to "save time" but, I don't know what I'm "saving" it for. Aside from breathing, what could be more important than fuelling the body; my body?
• Emotions generate stories that begin to spin themselves in my mind; at other times stories generate emotions all of which threaten to crowd out the senses that are keep me anchored in the present.

Happily, I find mindful eating, intended to bring awareness to a feeling of fullness and satisfaction, is slowing me down, shifting my perspective and increasing my mindfulness during daily activities in a pragmatic way. None of my other meditation practices has done this.

This seems a horrible thing for a yoga teacher to admit, but here it goes. I am becoming aware of what my relaxed rhythm feels like. That there is such a thing seems news to me, it's been that long since I last was in touch with it.

As I bring myself back to just eating, I now notice how violent my "speedy" actions feel; how violent I feel when I violate my relaxed rhythm. When I have the inkling that something else needs to be done at that very moment I'm engaged in eating mindfully it is felt an insult; unbelievable!

How long have I been doing this and in how many different ways?

Fear is underneath it all generating my speediness. Fear that:

• I won't be able to keep up (with whom or what seems irrelevant)
• "it" (whatever it is) won't get done in "due" time (whenever that is)
• if I don't do it right now I will forget it (but the thought inevitably recurs and with it a growing sense of urgency)

To quell the rush of things that increase my sense of urgency I'm setting priorities - 3 per day. 3 things that I feel need to be done come to the front of the line, anything else I elect to deal with is a bonus and everything else can come back another day.

And, for the moment the Tasmanian devil in me is gone. Please, let me know when you see her again. To break the spell, the phrase is, "I thought yoga was supposed to make you calm!"

____________________________________________

Synchronic happening observed - as I was in the middle of writing this the other night (Sun May 30th - ignore the time stamp on this post as I worked on it over a few days, finally posting it on Tuesday June 1st) I took a break and came upon a TV show in which Stephen Hawking was talking about Time Travel and he states these facts:

• "mass slows down time"
• Time differs in different areas of the earth i.e. time moves slower nearer the pyramids.

This got me wondering. When I feel grounded I feel more present, solid, centred as if my molecules are more collected; my sense of time slows. So, when I feel scattered and spun are my molecules dispersed a little more randomly into the universe making time speed ahead and leaving me attempting to "collect" myself while seemingly forever trying to catch up? Just wondering.

...and another foot

It was really bugging me that I couldn't get the Sportline 345 info out in the last blog post. Not to the point that it brought out "computer Nance" (believe me you don't want to see her in action) but just to the point that I had to get it to work - just call this aspect "OCD Nance".
So here it is - Sportline 345. Now you have a picture and a ms pookie review of this gadget and can make your own decision.
It also dawned on me that, though most of these pedometers are clipped to your waistband or belt, some people prefer at times to just be able to put it in their pockets hence another reason my client retains a few different models. So, before you buy also consider how you want to carry the thing.
To my mind ideally it would be small, able to be clipped to your waistband or popped into a pocket, and have a cover over the reset button so that it couldn't be triggered by accident. As I said, all I want is for it to count the steps - remember the sheer simplicity of numbers gives me a soft and fuzzy feeling of contentment - the more they go up the better. You may want all the bells and whistles so check that out too. What motivates you: calorie counts, distance walked or numbers?
Whew, now I feel very relieved!
I think I'll stay away from the computer for the rest of the day - save myself from getting obsessed about my other task...making a CD from a voice recording. That brings out "Computer Nance"; not the best body worker unless you want to be poked and prodded and sworn at. Nope, today's a day for the "Walking Vallium".

One foot in front of the other

Did you know that walking is just a controlled fall? Well it is. An instructor told me so when I was animating my first walk cycle during my studies at Sheridan College. If you don't believe me, watch babies and the elderly walk and you'll know it is true.

I have been wearing a pedometer for a few weeks now, actually ever since recommending it to my first weight balancing pilot project group and I have to say I am extremely impressed with it as a motivation tool!

Now, I love to walk but like everyone else I find it difficult to find the time do it. There are so many other things much more pressing in my life – such as sitting at the computer for hours writing this stuff, which God knows is really, really important! And like many athletic types I discount the benefits of “just walking” vs jumping on the bike or the roller blades for a brisk all out cardio blast or sweating it out at an ashtanga class. It’s too simple. It’s crazy that, if we ate the same way we do now, just by adding 2,000 steps to our day (the equivalent of a 15 minute walk) one could loose weight.

Summarizing some research by Dr. James O Hill Centre for Human Nutrition at University of Colorado Health Sciences Centre:

Sedentary people walk 2,000 – 3,000 steps per day
Average number of steps per day for healthy weight:
- Women 18 – 50 is 5,000 total steps per day
- Men 18 – 50 is 6,000 total steps per day

In general 8,000 – 10,000 total steps will help you lose weight.

The more steps you take the more calories you burn. As your metabolism speeds up it continues to burn fat more efficiently throughout the day and night. Burn more calories than you are consuming – walk a little more, take an extra trip around the grocery store, park a distance away from the mall etc. Move your body everyday. Find “natural” ways to bring walking into your day.

Yesterday I decided to incorporate a “natural” way into my day. I walked to the grocery store to pick up a few items. The round trip would normally take 30 minutes. But, I decided to go by way of Walker’s Line (seemed appropriate) along Fairview and then down Appleby, stopping in at Starbucks for a lemonade to fortify me for the last ¼ leg of the trip. So, yes I was walking for 2 hours. It was a beautiful day and I felt great! Please bear in mind I am in good shape and work physically for a living so I don’t recommend this as a start point for anyone; you have to work your way up to this – not that most people would choose to do so anyway, but you never know maybe someday we’ll see hordes of people walking with packs of food on their backs. It could happen.

Anyway, I love the effect of this little gizmo except for the fact that, and I give this as a word of warning, you will probably go through a few models of pedometers before you find the one that works for you. After logging an incredibly paltry number of steps over the period of a few days I found that to register any steps on my first pedometer I had to run amok stomping around the house like a Tyrannosaurus Rex – the kitties flew out of my way the day I finally tested it for accuracy and found this to be so. And the one I have now (the Sportline 345), though excellent for registering the steps is also excellent for losing them as the reset button is exposed and easily triggered – mid way through my trip to the grocery store I’d registered around 8,000 steps but the Fortino’s must be located in Burlington’s own Bermuda Triangle as I’d somehow lost 7,675 along the way by the end of my trek.

They have pedometers that will tell you distance walked, calories burned, time of day, your mother’s maiden name and what you had for dinner last night – O.K, maybe I’m exaggerating here. Some will store 7 days worth of info. A client of mine who has a much more technical and analytical mind than me, has been through no less than 5 models over the last few years in trying to find just the right one.

Granted, as an engineer her demands are a little more involved than mine. Me, having a simple, easy to please obsessive compulsive side - I get a thrill out of seeing the numbers go up. That alone motivates me, weird eh? I also like pretty, shiny things…but that’s another story.

My advice; keep it simple. Increase the number of steps walked in a day, that’s all that you need to begin to make progress.

So, walk right out there right now and get yourself one (or 5) of these little task masters (after reading product reviews, I think my next purchase will be the Omron HJ112– supposed to be accurate and silent which neither of my others were); find different ways you can add more steps to your day and over time results can be yours. You’ll feel a lot better along the way, be motivated to meet an attainable goal every day which will lead you to your ultimate one.

Just do it and be present – step by step.

By the way, don't you find it amazing that at the press of a few keys we can read a review by a ms pookie out there somewhere who has sorted out all of this stuff already and she likes to knit too. How cool is that! We really all are connected.

Now that I’ve blown a few hours on this I better haul my butt out there and get going before the sun goes down. If you see me on the road give a smile and a wave, you’ll know me by the clicking sound I make while I walk – at least for now.

...
One hour later: just back from my walk and I'm a little less impressed by this "we're all connected" stuff as the link for the Sportline didn't work so I had to take it out. I'm just hoping that the Omron will. Boy, one gets so jaded so quickly with this technology stuff.

However when I was on my walk (it was at 7p.m. - ignore the time stamp on the blog as I haven't sorted that one out yet) I said "good morning" to other walkers as I passed by them and then had to correct myself to say, "good evening". Well, when I was walking back - at that very same spot someone said "good morning" to me and then corrected herself. So there is there some sort of connection going on there or what?! Do do do do....(somewhere out there a Theremin is playing).

BRAINSTORM - the power of words

Continuing on from my previous post WHAT DO YOU WANT?

My teacher Swami Radha used to say that the way we use our words forms our reality.

Using hypnosis and self-hypnosis to achieve goals involves: goal setting, imagining, brainstorming, listening, reflection, restating goals from insights gained, taking stepwise action and reward (sometimes the action or the results are the reward).

In reality these are artificial divisions, aspects that shift and weave during an ongoing process of self evolution. Having said that, I believe it may prove helpful to explore the nuances contained in each aspect.

Brainstorming involves fact finding through questioning and listening to the words that we say and becoming aware of our body/mind responses to these messages.

This process develops clarity around the behavioural, thought and emotional patterns surrounding our challenge. Ask yourself questions and get specific about the answers; let the answer initiate more in depth questioning. Probe like DRAGNET’S Joe Friday – “just the facts ma’am” but with a little more warmth. Question like an insatiably curious innocent child whose response to any answer you give will always be “why?” or “why not?” Since we know the ultimate answer to why is “because”, phrase your questions in terms of: how, when, where or who to give yourself something to work with.

Taking a hypothetical example of a woman who wants to get rid of 20 lbs of excess weight let’s explore one of many goal setting questions – “What keeps you from achieving your ideal weight right now?”

Her answer is, “I have an uncontrollable urge to eat excessively at 3 p.m.”
What do you mean by this statement? Is there someone or some situation forcing you to eat? What do you mean uncontrollable? Are you aware as you are eating that you are eating excessively? When does this awareness kick in? Could you choose to stop once you become aware? What’s going on physically, mentally, emotionally around that time within and around you? How do you feel in your body at this time? What are you thinking about yourself or your situation as you feel the uncontrollable urge? Can you not physically remove yourself from the situation – what would happen if you did? What would happen if you didn’t eat? Is your initial assessment of the situation an exaggeration? And so on.

Seek more clarity regarding your challenge. Listen to yourself speak, to the words you choose. Observe emotional reactions, resistance to change, uncomfortable physical feelings as you answer goal setting questions – note these and move on to other goal setting questions to get an overview.

Most importantly, give yourself space between discoveries to allow new perspectives, awareness and possible solutions to surface. As you listen through the nonjudgmental wisdom of your body/mind you will be aware of a “feeling sense” about your answers. When there is clarity and authenticity there is a feeling of a grounded calmness and a “knowing” - that aha or light bulb moment.

As you become clearer rephrase your statement to more accurately reflect your new awareness of the situation. Using our example, “I have an uncontrollable urge to eat excessively at 3 p.m.” our new statement is filled with accurate information and contains the seeds of ideas for change.

“At 3 p.m. I feel extremely drowsy after sitting at my desk all day. I work in a high powered environment. We all eat our lunches at our desks. I can’t just lie down and relax for a few minutes as I don’t think that that would be acceptable at work. So since I need an energy boost I get a few cookies, which leads to more cookies and a cup of coffee. I realize maybe I’m dehydrated, that maybe I need to drink more water, but I think then I’ll have to pee all of the time. I commute an hour each way to work. When I get home from work I nibble while I make dinner for us and the kids. I clean up and by the time I get the kids into bed I’m just too tired to do anything so I relax in front of the T.V. and sometimes have some chips and pop."

As we can see in our hypothetical example, fatigue and hydration needs to be addressed but this new statement reveals many other challenges that she can address to help her balance her weight. The seeds of potential problem solving measures and actions are contained within her own words! Possibilities she would have otherwise not considered if she had accepted her initial assessment of the situation as uncontrollable.

Be prepared - Duck - mental clutter incoming!

I love how synchronicity works its magic. A few weeks ago I was wondering how could I inspire members of my weight management pilot project during the 5 week break before we meet again for the 6th and final class. I had seen Peter Walsh on Oprah a number of months prior and recalled his book DOES THIS CLUTTER MAKE MY BUTT LOOK FAT. He found that in clearing the clutter in one’s home many of his clients dropped pounds. How brilliant is that!

Should I look into the book, I wondered as I sat at my desk. At that very moment in walks one of my students having just bought said book for her boyfriend – another pilot project participant. I got the message so down to the library I trotted.

What clutters your life clouds your vision and blocks the flow of energy towards manifesting your desires. This principle is demonstrated literally through the mindless accumulation of stuff we keep in our homes. Do we know where the things we truly value are or are they buried under piles of distraction. Have we gotten so overburdened by “stuff” that we have lost connection with our inner self?

Walsh stresses, as do I that we not only ask ourselves this question, but keep it at the forefront of our mind throughout the day “what is the vision of the life I want to live?” He states, “Weight control isn’t about diet it is about your decisions.” Since the choices we make each moment determine the life that we are going to live then mindful awareness of what we want and who we want to be in this moment will guide us along the path towards self-respecting decisions.

I liked his message. He is a tough task master, throw things out, change your behaviour and don’t look back, keep in the present. Yikes!

Believing that small steps make for the biggest change, following a moderate path, could I take one of his ideas and see what happens?

My biggest challenge is that I tend to eat on the fly. So, I often resort to poor food choices such as carbs and sweets to stave off hunger until I can get some real food into me, but by then the damage is done.

So I chose - ALWAYS BE PREPARED REGARDING WHAT YOU WILL EAT. Simple, right?

Getting into a routine is his recommendation for seeing through with this intention. He loves the word routine. Resistance raises its ugly head. Despite being a very disciplined person, I hate routine. Routine = boredom in my books. But the word habit did appear now and again. Could I get into a "habit" of doing something good for myself? Sure. Sometimes it’s only a matter of semantics.

Following are his recommendations; the mental clutter that arose for me; my solution which became my revised plan and the results:

CONTROL WHERE AND WHEN YOU WILL EAT
Clutter: my schedule is very irregular.
My solution: don't try and deal with when but see what happens regarding where.
Result: When we ate still varied but we ate at home every day last week. Great on the budget! We made it a point to eat together more often as well.

SHOP ONLY ONCE A WEEK
My solution: shop only once a week but get Rod in on it.
Clutter: I have to guess what he wants (he is a dedicated carnivore and I an almost vegetarian which complicates the picture).
Result: Getting Rod in on it cuts down on the stress of having to decide for another person. I make poor food choices when I feel stressed. When we can choose the foods we want for ourselves it provides us with a win, win situation.

PLAN OUT THE MEALS YOU ARE GOING TO EAT FOR THE WEEK AND BUY ONLY THE THINGS ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST
Clutter: Plan every meal? Is he nuts? For a period of time during my childhood Sunday was roast beef, Monday roast beef sandwiches, Tuesday that weird tuna casserole with the potato chip topping (which I loved - chips for dinner really?!), you get my drift. I remember the night the tuna casserole made its debut. In a rare non-routine food moment Mom decided to try out a recipe from the back of a soup can. In desperation my poor Dad pulled all 5 of his brood aside, “I don’t care what it is or what you kids think of it. Please, please I can’t go back to Spanish rice again. I beg of you tell her you love it!” And, so tuna casserole replaced Spanish rice on the "menu".
NO PREPARED FOOD
Clutter: "Well, that’s not going to happen. I am not the domestic type", I protest.
My solution: formulate a guide for 7 nights from the foods we perused as we cruised the perimeter of the store. Buying some freshly prepared grocery store meals, enabled us to use their expiry date as a guide for the order of consumption and gave us enough choice to allow us to switch it up if we changed our minds. Intersperse with freshly cooked home made meals.
I got “real food” to choose from for brekkie and lunch – things I could throw together for a quick meal – salad, veggies, sliced meats and buns for my carnivore hubby etc.
Result: We threw out far less food, consumed less “junk” and, feeling less pressure around mealtimes I cooked and froze some entrees myself which either of us could pull out and warm up, add some rice and a salad and presto.

My own addition:
Always have food on hand (grazing type items – nuts, apples etc) and ready because another rule I abide by is to eat real food (not junk) when you are hungry which fits in with be prepared.

RESULT:
In observing always be prepared I am eating better and have more variety in my diet. I have naturally implemented another of his suggestions. Clean up as you go, getting rid of the clutter in more ways than one.

Thanks for your inspiration Peter!

NIAGARA FALLS, slowly I turn...

When I lead group sessions, such as the weight management pilot project at Windsor Medical Aesthetics, I put together a generic script for the hypnosis portion drawing from shared or common answers to goal setting questions.

I also have had to develop a post hypnotic suggestion (aka PHS) for the end of the hypnosis session that will fit the needs of the group. A post hypnotic suggestion is a suggestion given while the client is in the state of hypnosis to implant a response (an action, feeling or physical change) to take place after the hypnotic experience is over. A posthypnotic cue (an action, thought, word, image or event) is selected to trigger the desired response as the client goes through daily life.

When I was a kid my friends and I, Three Stooges fans all, loved to re-enact one of the most famous depictions of the PHS’s effect ever - “Niagara Falls, slowly I turn…” an old vaudeville skit performed most famously in different versions by the Three Stooges and Abbot and Costello (their cue being Poko Moko). A man, down on his luck begins to tell a tale of woe to 2 unsuspecting listeners. In a rage and with vengeance in his heart, years ago he had tracked down and killed his quarry – the man who had run off with his sweetheart. Since this traumatic event happened in a virtual self-induced, hypnotic, state in Niagara Falls, Niagara Falls becomes the cue. Of course one or the other listeners can’t help saying the word and each time it is uttered the storyteller’s desire to kill is triggered only to be broken and triggered again and again to comic effect as he repeatedly attacks one of the people listening to his tale of woe.

But, I digress…

The cue had to be something that is common to the group. An action seemed a logical choice, something that I hoped everyone would do at least a few times every day. Since emotional issues are often at the root of poor eating habits and cravings I wanted to promote a positive and uplifting response capable of shifting ones mood to a more optimistic mode to encourage a more positive and empowered state of mind from which healthy eating habits would be more easily chosen.

And so I came up with, next to Niagara Falls, slowly I turn..., what I consider the greatest PHS ever!

Every time I smile I feel grateful for that which makes me smile.

One of the most beneficial aspects for me personally in leading these groups is that, as I repeat in a relaxed and focused manner the script and PHS to my clients during the hypnosis session I too receive the benefits of what I am suggesting.

And this one hits so many targets simultaneously. For I have found that each time something makes me smile a natural momentary pause occurs in which I become mindfully aware that I am smiling. This makes me smile inside even more, deepening the experience as it happens and increasing my awareness of the present moment. This naturally induces a feeling of gratitude for both how good it feels to smile and for that which has made me smile.

So, every time I smile I know that I am smiling and I feel grateful for that which makes me smile.

Rather than writing a gratitude list at the end of the day I am giving myself permission to be in and enjoy the moment, to immediately appreciate the event as it happens. This sets a tone for the rest of my day helping to keep me engaged in the present and as I live more in the present moment I become more observant of my thoughts and feelings.

Paradoxically since I am fully engaged in the experience while being aware that I am fully engaged in the experience the stance of the witness is being cultivated and what began as a post hypnotic suggestion has evolved into a mindfulness practice.

And another thing, since initiating this PHS I find I choose to become more aware of things to smile about. In fact like the man in "Niagara Falls" skit stalking his quarry, I consciously seek them out and make space for them in my life. In recognizing the opportunity for joy to arise I am welcoming it into my life.

20 Chews - Conscious eating

Here I am leading my 6 week weight management pilot project at Windsor Medical Aesthetics. My class consists of a small group of committed, intrepid, explorers navigating this new pathway in the world of healthy eating called conscious eating. One of the first tools to steer us in the direction of conscious eating and stay the course is to chew our food 20 times. Since I make it a point to have first hand experience of anything I teach I took it upon myself to revisit this territory.

20 chews, doesn’t sound like much. Many a parent has said to their little ones, “chew, chew, chew your food well”. Now, I know they encourage this so they won’t have to Heimlich their kid, but it also serves other purposes. As we chew much of our digestion, especially of carbohydrates, is initiated in the mouth, the saliva breaks down the food into smaller bits making it easier on our stomach and digestive tract, not to mention our elimination system, to do their job.

Did you know that “fish can taste with their fins and tails as well as their mouth” but we only have our tongue and mouth to do the job? Since our tongue is crammed with taste buds for sweet, sour, bitter, salty the ability resides in our mouth for us to really savour the flavours released as we chew our food. For sweetaholic like me – root veggies, bread, rice all taste sweeter the more they are chewed thus helping to satisfy a sweet tooth.

One almond actually takes more than 20 chews, rice was even possible and crackers a breeze; apples and veggies no problems. Bananas were a little bit of a stretch, I found myself taking bigger bites in order to reach the required number.

But it was 20 chews that just about did me in when 20 odd years ago, after 15 years of vegetarianism I decided to re-introduce chicken and fish into my diet having fallen in love with a carnivore. I remember it like it was yesterday. As I chewed the flavour of the chicken quickly subsided and my brain wouldn’t shut up. “You realize don’t you that you’re chewing FLESH”! The gag reflex kicked in big time. As discretely as I could I brought my napkin to my mouth to cover my embarrassment, stifle the retching sound and pocket the wad. I was a charming date that night let me tell you.

And just 2 weeks ago that same lucky guy (my husband) and I went out for a meal we treat ourselves to on occasion– fish and chips. There I was wolfing down my food; washing it down with the obligatory can of coke, to dissolve the grease, when I remembered my commitment to consciously eat 20 chews.

I cut off a piece from my halibut fried in batter and put it in my mouth. Put down the knife and fork as I proceeded to chew. The first few chews released the grease from the batter – it squished into my mouth leaving it with that familiar fuzzy coating. As the batter disintegrated the smooth texture of the fish was replaced by dried out flakes of flesh. And, I swallowed. And the chips were no better grease, vinegar, and salt were added to the mix. I did this about a dozen times before I’d had enough. It wasn’t so much that I was full just that I couldn’t stomach it any more.

One thing that night did for me though was to initiate 3 days of craving for veggies, rice and fruit, as if I was compelled to eat lighter fare to clear the pipes.

Not everyone in our group found the 20 chews to be satisfactory. Sometimes the change in texture had a negative impact on food they normally enjoyed. Often this food fell into the category of “junk” food. The group and I agreed that it is probably easier to 20 chew “real” food.

And, I guess that’s the point. If we really allowed ourselves to take the time to taste our food we would make better choices about what we consume

This experience also taught me that, on the rare occasion when I have a hankering for fish and chips, the only way to really enjoy it is to snarffle it down. And that I can live with.