by Pete's Mental Gym | Jun 6, 2016 | Blog
Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation during which it is possible to communicate with the sub-conscious mind and replace negative ideas with positive suggestions. The sub-conscious mind is where behaviour patterns are created. The process is perfectly safe, enjoyable and effective. The hypnotic state is a pleasant experience and most people find it similar to daydreaming. It doesn’t control your mind or change your character but is highly motivating and very often life-changing.
Hypnotherapy has many applications and is a suitable treatment for such issues as stopping smoking, losing weight, boosting confidence, building self-esteem, boosting energy, relaxation, removing fears, phobias & habits, stress relief, pain relief, anxiety relief, calming exam and driving test nerves, business motivation, managing anger and depression, removing addictions, controlling IBS symptoms, defeating dyslexia, improving concentration etc, etc. Apart from the use of hypnosis for sports motivational purposes, many of these applications are useful to athletes with personal issues to resolve.
Hypnosis is sometimes described as an altered state or a state of intense focus. It is a state with which we are all familiar as we experience such states many times during the course of a day particularly when waking in the morning or drifting off to sleep at night because it is the state in between being asleep and awake. A universally familiar hypnotic state is when driving and not being aware of the passage of time. Arriving somewhere without being able to remember how you got there. Some find it frightening but it’s perfectly safe because the sub-conscious mind contains the blue-print of how to drive your car from many repeated applications so when the conscious mind drifts into an altered state wandering wherever it will, the subconscious mind automatically takes over and drives the car for you. Should anything happen that requires the driver’s attention such as traffic lights changing or the brake lights of the car in front lighting up then the driver simply snaps into conscious awareness and is able to deal with the situation normally.
Hypnotherapy is not the same as stage hypnosis and subjects are never required to do anything embarrassing, reveal any private information or do anything they don’t want to do. During Hypnotherapy the subject is always in control and aware of everything that happens. You can’t get stuck in a trance and can leave it at will. Even if the Therapist left the room and never returned you’d simply come round by yourself in a few moments or just drift off into a restful sleep.
It is the same with self-hypnosis, the self-induced state that Peter Gilmour teaches and encourages his clients to use regularly. Should anything happen that requires your immediate attention during a session you simply snap into conscious awareness and can deal with it normally.
During Hetro-Hypnosis (that means with a Hypnotist facilitating the session) the subject is seated, fully-clothed in a comfortable chair or lying prone on the floor (often more convenient with group sessions) listening the sound of the therapist’s voice with a background of soothing music. It is sometimes necessary to respond with finger movements, nods of the head or speech. There is usually no need for physical contact however with the subject’s permission the therapist may on certain occasions shake hands, press lightly on the subject’s forehead, touch the subject’s shoulder or hand or pull or lift their arm.
People turning up for their first Hypnotherapy session are sometimes a little apprehensive because they have no idea what’s going to happen, what it will or should feel like and most likely might have seen some daft stage hypnosis somewhere. So they can be concerned about losing control, making a fool of themselves, acting like a chicken, or getting stuck in a trance. Such anxieties are completely baseless. Stage hypnosis is purely for entertainment whereas Hypnotherapy is exactly what the word implies, using Hypnosis for therapy and is carried out by competent, qualified practitioners who are bound by the ethics and regulations of the profession. Accordingly therefore, people are never apprehensive for their second session because they have already discovered that it’s relaxing, enjoyable, highly motivational and generally beneficial and can’t wait to get on with it.
Indeed, nothing bad can happen to you. Only good things happen with Hypnotherapy.
Are there any side effects? Yes, you feel great, at the height of your powers and if you play sport your performance level improves.
by Pete's Mental Gym | Jul 15, 2015 | Blog
Sports Hypnosis has been used for many years with top performing athletes.
The first known use was with Russian gymnasts and weight-lifters in the fifties.
The Brazilian National football team that won the World Cup in Sweden in 1958 used hypnosis for team bonding.
Wigan Athletic used a Hypnotherapist in its first season in the Premiership when they were favourites for relegation but reached the League Cup Final and almost qualified for Europe.
Other clubs that have used Hypnosis are Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Stoke City, Ipswich Town, Swindon Town, Swansea City, Birmingham City, Sheffield United, Bristol Rovers, Bristol City, Cheltenham Town, Hereford United, Arsenal, Fulham, Portsmouth, Barnsley, Reading and Colchester United.
England cricket captain Mike Brearley, athlete Iwan Thomas and golfers Ian Woosnam and Nick Faldo were all known to use Sports Hypnosis.
Boxers Frank Bruno, Nigel Benn and Steve Collins used Hypnosis before many successful fights.
The Formula 1 racing driver Michael Shumacher used Hypnosis to enhance his extraordinary abilities.
Amongst other high-profile athletes who have used Hypnosis are ASP Tour surfer Russell Winter and Beijing Olympic Champions Vince Hancock (Olympic Skeet) and Steve Hooker (Pole Vault).
There are countless other examples but more recently Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Lewis Hamilton, David Beckham and Michael Jordan are all known users of hypnotic techniques for performance enhancement and these are just the most well-known amongst many others.
by Pete's Mental Gym | Jun 6, 2015 | Blog
If you ask any serious athlete to what extent their mental state affects their performances they all tell you a huge amount usually 70, 80 or 90%. Nobody says less than 50%. But if you then ask them what they do to prepare their minds for competition most of them say nothing at all. This is a crazy paradox because if athletes believe their mental state is so important for their performance level then logic suggests they should be spending as much time working on their minds as their bodies. But although these legions of ambitious athletes torture themselves with long hours of physical hard slog in the gym or pool, court or field in order to crank up their bodies to peak performance level they do little if anything to condition their minds for competition. The mental side of things is almost completely neglected and many athletes only seek help for mental issues when something goes seriously wrong such as a dramatic loss of form or a crisis of confidence (or both). But you need to be mentally strong to make it as a successful athlete and the world is littered with the broken dreams of talented individuals who lacked the mental strength to achieve the success expected of them. The truth of course is that mental training is crucial and should form an integral part of the training programme of any athlete who is genuinely interested in success because all the time and effort practicing and getting physically fit is wasted without the mental strength to be mentally strong and confident at vital moments of competition. Deep down they know this.
The truth of course is that:
You don’t go to the gym once and declare yourself fit. You build up fitness over a period and maintain it regularly with continuous exercise. The same applies to mental strength but it is amazing how many athletes think that a single session of mental training will get their minds ‘sorted out’. Whilst you certainly experience a very significant benefit from the first session it is only a beginning and using mind-strengthening methods as a regular part of your training schedule will transport you into new realms of achievement beyond your wildest dreams. In fact, it should be continually stated until indelibly emblazoned on the mind of all athletes and coaches that a programme of mental training should be undertaken by all athletes of any level every day to get their minds in top mental shape in the same way as they undertake physical training every day to get their bodies in top physical shape. There, I’ve said it again. integral part of the programme of any who is genuinely interested in for mental issues when something goes seriously wrong such as a dramatic loss of form or a
So being in top mental shape requires regular mental training just as being in top physical shape requires regular physical training. But also, just as athletes perform a physical warm-up routine prior to competition, they need a mental warm-up to drive out all negative thoughts and leave them feeling strong, confident and powerful with only positive thoughts flowing through their minds.
Few, however, are aware of even the most fundamental techniques for conditioning their minds in this way and labour under the illusion that wearing some special underwear, having the same breakfast on match day or listening to their favourite pop music will transport them to world-class heights. If you think it helps then do it but these superstitions are mere kids-stuff compared to proper mental training methods. Athletes are not always assisted much by coaches, many of whom fail to recognise the importance of mental training. Many tend to hide behind the ludicrous idea that you’re either born with mental strength or you’ll never have it. In fact, mental strength can be manufactured and built up in any willing athlete until they are positively overflowing with confidence, belief and winning feelings.
It is the great broken link that any athlete must fix without delay if they wish to stay in contention with their more progressive rivals and it is exactly what Peter Gilmour’s methods are designed for – the opportunity to be truly in the zone and experience that beautiful state at will. The optimum state for competition is to be nice and relaxed with the correct amount of positive tension which is a kind of excitement. When you achieve the correct balance you enter the zone. When you’re in the zone you switch over to auto-pilot and your mind and body click into harmony. Everything is right, everything is perfect and you achieve remarkable results. Everything flows easily and effortlessly and you feel a surge of purpose and strength. You feel amazing and at that fantastic moment your performance skyrockets and you go further than you have ever gone before. That is what these methods do for you. Not only do they improve the athlete’s performance level and help them achieve their full potential but it is absolutely certain that they cannot achieve their full potential without them. You don’t get this even with the best silk underwear.
So what is mental strength? Where does it come from? How do you get it? Why is it that some players perform at a consistently high level in training but cannot reproduce the same standard in matches? These are questions that mystify players, athletes and coaching professionals but the answers are actually quite simple and for the benefit of doubt, here they are:
- Mental strength is a mix of four ingredients – confidence, belief, motivation & focus
- It comes from inside you
- You get it by following Peter Gilmour’s mental training methods
Please listen carefully. This is not rubbish or hit-or-miss or mumbo-jumbo. If you carry out these methods, and they are not difficult, you will raise your performance level without any doubt whatsoever because this is scientific and always works. Very often the effect is rapid and dramatic and sometimes it is more subtle but there is always a significant improvement right from the start. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win every time but it does mean you’ll have a better chance of winning every time. That’s what it’s all about – Inspired performance. World-class performance. World-class happiness. If you want this then call Peter Gilmour now on 07831 699624
by Pete's Mental Gym | Mar 6, 2015 | Blog
At 211 degrees water is hot.
At 212 degrees it boils.
Then comes steam.
And steam can power a locomotive.
One degree makes all the difference.
And one degree in sport separates the good from the great.
The margin for victory between an Olympic gold medal and no medal is very small.
At the last Olympics in the 800m
the margin was .71seconds
The average margin of victory for the last 25 years in all major golf tournaments combined was less than three strokes.
At the Indy 500 the average margin of victory for the past ten years is 1.54 seconds.
On average the winner took, $1,278,813, second got $621, 321 a difference of $657,492.
The athlete decides – they are responsible for their performance.
To get what they’ve never had they must do what they’ve never done.
The only thing that stands between a player and what they want to achieve is the will to try and the faith to believe it’s possible.
