From the July 2011 Newsletter…
Self-hypnosis can be an effective tool for relieving stress and controlling headache pain. Headaches occur when stress overwhelms a person and their capillaries (small blood vessels) constrict under pressure or get smaller. When the stress lets up, these small capillaries open up and blood flows faster than usual, causing the pounding effect of a headache. In many cases the headache occurs after the initial stress has already happened. There are more common migraine headaches which may have other causes and may be blindingly painful.
Release the emotional conflict that is causing your headaches. Train your brain to release the pressure instantly, anytime, anywhere. The session for Healing and Release can be used to diminish the pain of a headache, or any other part of the body, when there is pain, tension or stress.
Although many have to be treated with ongoing medication or injections of powerful pain killers, self-hypnosis offers a different avenue for pain control, especially for the common headache. The object of hypnosis is to to bore the mind or confuse it (or both) in order to cause it to go deeper into itself or a state of trance so that suggestions can be made directly to the subconscious mind. This can even change one’s brain wave patterns in a positive way similar to sleep. The procedure for going into trance with self-hypnosis is relatively simple.
Below are steps for key parts of the process:
1. Stretch first, then find a comfortable chair or couch. Make sure you are reclined and not flat on your back. This is a relaxation exercise so the intent is to relax and not go to sleep.
2. Give yourself permission to relax, becoming aware of every sound and scent around you. Become aware of all that you have on your body (clothes, jewelry, shoes, glasses) breathing in and out easily and gently. It will be best if you closed your eyes, though they will close automatically even if you try hard to keep them open. It is a natural way for the body to validate relaxation and focus. Become aware of feeling yourself relax more and more with each number and breath.
3. Then as you are feeling yourself becoming more relaxed and slipping into a trance-like state similar to daydreaming, concentrate and focus on the pain in the back of your head – as you do, focus on the bottom of your feet. Are you wearing shoes, socks…or are you bearfoot? Now focus on each toe. From your big toes to your little toes and back to the top of your head, your eyes, the ridge of your nose, down to your cheekbones and around your lips, swallow your saliva and take another nice deep breath – by now you are ready to give yourself the self-hypnosis suggestion.
4. Visualize your headache come and go like waves in the ocean. How everything is part of the Grand nature. In your own mind’s eye, imagine pouring all the tension from your head and pressure from your temple to shore to be washed away with each wave that comes to shore and recedes back into the blue pool of water. As it does, you feel the pain of your headache being reduced and going away. Repeat it for seven to nine minutes. Finally it washes away, and there is nothing left but lightness.
5. You can now bring yourself to full awareness counting up from 1 to 5 breathing in and out and instructing yourself to feel more relaxed, calmer and refreshed as you open your eyes – out of self-hypnosis.
This is a simple and easy method of reducing a headache. Self-hypnosis is an excellent methodology with so much flexibility. It may not be for everyone, but it has been successful for many. For persistent headaches and migraines, we can help you release your headache for good in less than four sessions. Creating a calm, peaceful environment has been proven to help balance the immune system, change the chemicals released in the brain and create a different physiological state when a person is subjected to stress.
The first session will help you clear the pain away for quick relief when you feel a headache coming on. The second session will help you to find and release the root cause of the headache. The next session will help arm you with tools to maintain a healthy mental and emotional state. Often there is a cause and something in the environment is triggering the headache.
Next week…stay tuned for other natural techniques to release your headache.
