Alison Munro

Hypnotherapy is increasingly becoming a choice for people that wish to improve their game in any sport or activity, it's not just for top athletes anymore!
Usually, people are seeking to improve the skill level they already have and realise that they need more than physical practise alone. One of the most important factor's in achieving sporting excellence is belief and hypnotherapy can profoundly increase inner beliefs.

It's long been known by sport's psychologists and champion players alike, that the vital ingredient to sporting success is in the mind, not the physical playing and that's where hypnotherapists become involved!

Within the hypnotherapeutic framework, we'll assess clearly where your level of skill is at and then build a detailed picture of where you would LIKE it to be. We'll look at any and all of the pitfalls along the way. Ouch! Honesty IS the best policy here!

Once we've established the goals and got the game plan, we can begin the exciting part - the hypnosis with mental rehearsal and visual imagery.

Top players and athletes readily accept that their mental rehearsal is equally as important as their physical practise. Mary Lou Retton, the gymnast, mentally rehearsed and saw herself performing her routine perfectly the night before she won her Olympic gold medal in 1984. She used all of her senses and felt her grip on the bars, saw her body perfecting the moves and heard the cheers of the crowd. Likewise, today's Tiger Woods, never hits a tree because there are no trees in his visual imagery routine! Simple!

Often we make the mistakes that we suggest to ourselves we will make. Therefore, belief and a positive mental attitude are essential. Before knowing EFT, hypnosis alone made big improvements in ability and performance, but now with EFT, we are really able to clear the blocking beliefs held in the mind and played out through the body. A golfer knows when he’s hit the ball wrong and will be the first to admit that with that goes a very negative episode or damning self talk! Plus, it’s much easier to do a quick round of tapping on the golf course, to improve the next shot than it is to drop into trance!

I always employ ego-strengthening and self-esteem suggestions, no matter what the presenting symptom or treatment plan, which itself enhances the way we feel about ourselves at a core, fundamental level. Having the belief that you CAN do something is a huge motivating factor in enhancing sports performance.

As with all therapy, I personally feel that one of the main reasons hypnotherapy is so quickly effective is because we directly address the issue and talk about it fully and openly plus we truly allow ourselves to relax and this we rarely do. When you think about it, the more you miss a shot or hurdle, the more annoyed and irritated you become and the more negative your self talk will be. We can reverse all that in trance and you'll learn the mental rehearsal techniques for your own practise in self hypnosis. We'll do that over 3-5 sessions and I bet very soon, you'll be amazed at what you've achieved but at the same time, your belief in yourself will have changed.

Nobody ever thought anyone would run a four minute mile, until someone did it, but look how many have run it since? It's all about belief, believe me!