Why Use Hypnosis?

Hypnosis has been around for a few hundred years. It is the oldest tool to help athletic performance. Before sports psychology there was hypnosis. In the beginning, it wasn't always clear exactly how hypnosis worked it's magic with athletes. Today, I can tell you why it works. I'm Paul S. Palmer, Director, Sports Motivation Clinic. With the help of sports psychology and brain imaging technology, we can confirm that sports performance and hypnosis are a match made in Heaven. Hypnosis was always on the right track working with the subconscious to cure a multitude of athletic ills. Every new insight in psychology over the past fifty years has helped the hypnotherapist to refine and redesign their techniques. It's not your fathers hypnosis anymore.

What you need to know about hypnosis.

If you think hypnosis is scary, the work of the devil, mind-control or you are worried it will make you cluck like a chicken, you have to get your head out of the Dark Ages. Think of anything you ever saw in the movies where the evil hypnotist sent his helpless victims out to do dastardly deeds. And now ask yourself, have you ever seen anything like that on the 6 o'clock news? Have you ever read in the newspaper of that kind of thing happening, anywhere? No, no, a thousand times, no.
Every crackpot throughout the ages has been accused of using mass hypnosis to dupe their followers and yet there is not one speck of evidence that actual hypnosis techniques were ever employed, it doesn't work that way. Hypnosis is a powerful tool because it can help you maximize your own abilities and not because it's a tool to control the mind of others.

Here is what hypnosis can do for the athlete.

Hypnosis helps prepare the mind for competition, the moment of truth, crunch time. It puts you in the proper frame of mind to work on the mental part of your game. It helps develop the mindset for peak performance that the best athletes in the world already know about.

Am I hypnotized during the game?

No. The hypnosis process happens off the field, in my office and then in your lounge chair at home. The locker room isn't even the place to work on your mental game. You want a place where you won't be disturbed, away from any distractions. That's the surprise, you work on your mental game away from the gym or the playing field.

What happens when I'm in a trance?

One of the biggest misconceptions about hypnosis is that you are out of it or in a trance, unconscious and under the spell of the hypnotist. That's only in the movies. You are only relaxing in the same way you would relax if you were intending to take a nap. You use this relaxation process to program in what you want to have happen during the game. Think of it as getting mental reps at winning so that during the game you have this experience logged in. And that's only the beginning of what you can work on.

Can anybody be hypnotized?

Yes, unless you have some condition that prevents you from normal relaxation, you can be hypnotized. Hypnosis is not a new state of mind that you've never experienced before. You pass through the same levels of relaxation that hypnosis uses every night on your way to sleep. This doesn't mean that everyone can do it instantly, only that you were born with all the tools to be hypnotized. The relaxation experience is similar to meditation but with someone to guide you through the experience. Hypnosis has also been call "guided relaxation".

Do I become dependent on my hypnotist?

No. You learn to do this process yourself as soon as you can fly on your own. After being taken though the process several times the expectation is to start doing short sessions on your own, like any skill it takes some practice. And, like everything else, some people catch on faster than others. Another misconception about hypnosis is that the simple minded are the easiest to hypnotize. The opposite is true. The smarter always catch on quicker and simply following directions, seems to be a big factor. You can't do it your way!

Will the hypnosis process interfere with coaching or training sessions?

No, never. I don't tell you how to play your sport, only how to maximize your abilities. However, your coaching and training will always be brought into the mental exercises. I can't make you a better athlete than you are capable of being. I'm talking about maximizing your abilities and making you more consistent. Performing well when it counts is often more valuable than being the best physical specimen on the field.

Who's uses hypnosis techniques?

The list is longer than your arm, but here is a small sample. Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Rod Carew, Mary Lou Retton, Lee Evans, Ken Norton, George Brett, Jimmy Connors, Wayne Gretzky, Chris Evert, Bill Buckner, Phil Jackson and the Chicago Bulls, the 1983 Chicago White Sox, three Chicago Bears that I know of and Olympic Athletes by the thousands going back to the 1950's, all use techniques derived from hypnosis. I'd like to say I hypnotized them all but I can say I know what they are using, and I can pass that on to you.

Call for information and appointments
708-233-1111

Sports Motivation Clinic Paul S. Palmer, Director
9748 S. Roberts Road
Palos Hills IL. 60445