Hypnosis Helps Mary Lou Retton Vault to Olympic Gold

Gymnast Mary Lou Retton used hypnosis to prepare for Olympic success in 1984.

Growing up a fan of nearly all sports in the 1980s was an exciting time.

 

There was the magic of Diego Maradona, the star soccer player who propelled Argentina to a World Cup victory in 1986.  Watching his “hand of god” goal live was a thrill I will always remember.

On the basketball court, players like Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson owned the headlines.  For me, growing up in the Washington, DC area, I was star struck by the University of Maryland’s Len Bias.  His reverse dunk against North Carolina is forever etched in my imagination.

And then there was the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the first international competition I recall watching with friends and family.  Although I was never a huge fan of gymnastics, it was impossible to not be enthralled by the athleticism, competitive spirit and achievement of Mary Lou Retton.

I suspect her five medals and glowing personality inspired millions of girls in the United States to adopt the sport.

So, it was very cool to come across a dated report from Time magazine about how Mary Lou Retton turned to hypnosis as a tool to prepare for Olympic competition and block pain in her injured right foot.

During the past few years, I have spoken to and worked with a myriad of high school and college athletes about how positive visualization can help enhance performance, increase stamina and facilitate injury recovery.  I’ve included below links to a few of the articles I have written for this blog.

Although hypnosis and visualization is unable to make an athlete a gold medal winner, it does accelerate their own natural talent and help them prepare mentally for success.

Hypnosis Helps a Newly Minted College Athlete

Hypnosis Sharpens an Athlete’s Mindset for Recovery

Tween Athletes:  Is Hypnosis Beneficial?

Hypnosis Sharpens an Athlete's Mindset for Recovery

Athletes at all levels live with injuries. 

 

Some are dramatic and require significant rehabilitation.  Others are nagging and primarily a nuisance.  Yet, physical injuries share a common characteristic:  a mental and/or emotional impact that can also limit performance.

Can hypnosis help an athlete more quickly and effectively achieve a mindset of recovery?

Last week I met with a recently graduated collegiate basketball player who has been preparing for summer league play.  The area where a pin was inserted in her ankle after a break in 2012 continues to be tender, although she experiences no swelling after training and X-rays have been negative.

Her goal was to mitigate the discomfort, which would allow her to compete with confidence.  Plus, she desired a way to sharpen her focus to enhance her performance on the court.

Like most athletes, she allowed herself to achieve a deep level of hypnosis.  The hypnotic experience is defined by visualization, concentration and creativity, and those are attributes of people who compete in sports.

Once in a relaxed and focused state, I talked her through visualization I call “healing waters.”  It empowers a person to manage pain prior to and after any type of physical activity.

The result has been all positive.  She will still need to be tuned in to her physical health and well-being, and seek appropriate medical attention for injuries.

Yet, healing waters has given her another tool to improve her on-court performance.  And it’s a sense of empowerment that athletes desire.

Read more about hypnosis to enhance athletic performance:

Hypnosis for Hoops: How I've Stayed on the Court

Hypnosis for Exceptional Athletic Performance

Tween Athletes: Is Hypnosis Beneficial?

 

 

One Hypnotizing Weekend

A group of exceptional students give hypnosis a try.

I was fortunate to have lined up this Labor Day holiday weekend three opportunities to introduce hypnosis to people who expressed an interest in learning how it can be used for stress management, academic excellence and athletic performance.  Here's a recap of each session:

Georgetown University's Midnight Carnival

What a wonderful event!  It was produced and hosted by two rising juniors as part of the school's welcome week for new and returning students.

Held on campus this past Friday night, Midnight Carnival featured food, games, rides and interesting entertainment -- DJ, fire juggler, pie eating contest and me (the hypnotist).

I've developed a unique approach for performances at community events, fairs, carnival, parties, etc.  Rather than a traditional comedy hypnosis show, I weave together a bit of stand-up comedy, an educational overview of hypnosis and its positive applications, a hypnotic induction for volunteers and then a set of entertaining suggestions.

Turn-out for Midnight Carnival was exceptional and I had a dozen volunteers.  I kept four on stage for most of the hour long show with two young ladies sticking it out through the end.  They went the deepest into hypnosis and were the most suggest-able.

The highlight was one of the women under hypnosis doing a wonderful rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" to win the fictitious $10,000 Georgetown University American Idol competition.

I have a message in to the event hosts to see if I can get a couple of photos to post.


Helping Fix a Flawed Shoulder

The wife of a guy I play basketball with from time-to-time has had a tough go of it during the past few months due to a significant shoulder injury.  She has dealt with a couple of surgeries and is now in the middle of physical therapy, which can be incredibly painful.

She quickly entered hypnosis which allowed me to use one of my favorite visualizations - wash the pain away.  She emerged from the process energized, relaxed and focused on a successful recovery.

Amen to that!


Gathering of an Exceptional Set of High Schoolers

I very much enjoy working with young people to help them focus on academic achievement, successful test taking skills and athletic performance.  In fact, I conducted a number of informal sessions last month while on vacation at the beach with college and high school athletes.

Earlier today, a friend was kind enough to invite me to her home to introduce hypnosis to her daughter and a group of her friends.  They were all bright, smart, social and athletic.  I suspect they comprise the popular group at school, yet each acknowledged a level of stress that comes with dealing with pressures of this age.

The demonstration went well and everyone found the process relaxing, yet none of the participants actually went deeply into hypnosis.  This happens from time-to-time and is often attributed to distractions in the environment.  (In this case, there was a younger brother who raised a bit of a ruckus.)

Additionally, I suspect that because the kids are all such good friends there was a social element to the gathering that may have limited the hypnotic experience.  Next time around I'll probably sit the kids farther apart, rather than having them lounge comfortably on a couch.

Smart, stylish, athletic and popular...yet still faced with stress.