Running to Hypnosis for Peak Performance

Fall is marathon season on the east coast. 

 

Cooler temperatures and lower humidity provide a much needed reprieve from sweltering summer days.  Runners take to the streets in Washington, DC for the Marine Corps Marathon and New York City for a historic race that snakes through five boroughs.

Distance running weighs heavily on the body and the mind.  Perseverance is paramount, and many competitors have discovered the practice of self-hypnosis for confidence, physical well-being and injury recovery.

I’ve performed my Hypnotic Experience show at the Marine Corps Marathon’s Pep Rally with visualizations that focus on strength and positive energy.

I also recently came across this tutorial in Runner’s World magazine that provides a nice overview of self-hypnosis for both the serious and social racer.

How Self-Hypnosis Could Help Improve Your Running (February 2018)

Teens Talk Hypnosis Part III: The Good, the Bad and the "Unfunny"

For the past few years the health educator at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD has solicited feedback from her students after I visit her classroom to talk about hypnosis as a tool for health, wellness and confidence.   

She is kind enough to share this candid feedback with me, which is helpful as I am constantly and evaluating the content and delivery style of my talk.

Here are link to past articles I’ve published on this blog with student feedback:

Teens Talk Hypnosis – the Good, the Bad and the “Boring” (February 2015)

Teens Talk Hypnosis Part II – the Good, the Bad and the “Interested” (March 2018)

I’ve included below a selection of direct comments from high school students after my most recent on-campus talk in September.  As always, it is an interesting mix of the good, the bad and the “unfunny.”

The Good

The class went by very fast.  I was entertained.  The jokes were funny and the things I learned about hypnosis were interesting.

It was so cool!  Great ways to think about stress management.  The balloon and sand bucket trick was amazing!  I went home and showed it to my family.  Overall, a great class and performance.  I wish he could come again!

It was nice being hypnotized.  It helped me feel more relaxed.

I really liked him.  I can use the information he shared about hypnosis and stress management because it is relevant to my life.

Loved it!  I was super in to the hypnosis.  It would have been even better if the introduction was shorter and the hypnosis was a bit longer.

It was fun and I learned a lot about controlling stress.

I liked the hypnosis presentation because I am into mindfulness and practicing relaxation.  I’ve done meditations with music playing and that usually helps me get more relaxed.

I wasn’t expecting the hypnosis to work, but I fell asleep immediately and it was a really cool experience.

The Bad

He had pretty good jokes, yet it felt weird when I was participating.

The guest speaker had a positive attitude, but after being hypnotized I felt dizzy.

I thought it was scary and kind of creepy.

Hypnosis was very strange and felt like I mostly just zoned out.

The hypnosis made me tired.

I don’t know how people actually experience hypnosis.  For me, nothing changed the whole time and I felt the same way afterwards.

I did not feel comfortable with him whispering because I didn’t expect it.

The Unfunny

It was engaging and entertaining, yet parts of his talk felt too scripted.

I thought the guest speaker was nice and positive.  Some of his jokes were funny, though some were not.  I liked his energy and thought the hypnosis was cool.

Overall, I enjoyed the performance, but some of the jokes fell a little flat.

TIME Magazine's Question About Hypnosis

I wanted to share a recently published article by TIME Magazine entitled Is Hypnosis Real, Here is What Science Says that explores what hypnosis is (and isn't) and some common applications for health and wellness.

Here are a few interesting quotes from the article:

Setting aside pop culture clichés, hypnosis is a well-studied and legitimate form of adjunct treatment for conditions ranging from obesity and pain after surgery to anxiety and stress.


Hypnosis could help reduce kids’ post-surgical pain or pain related to other medical procedures.  When it comes to labor and delivery-related pain, hypnosis can in some cases significantly add to the benefits of standard medical care—including epidurals and drugs.


A 2007 randomized trial of 286 smokers found that 20% of people who received hypnosis managed to quit, compared to 14% of those receiving standard behavioral counseling.


In some ways, hypnosis can be compared to guided meditation or mindfulness; the idea is to set aside normal judgments and sensory reactions, and to enter a deeper state of concentration and receptiveness.

Volunteers at one of my Hypnotic Experience shows.  Is hypnosis real? 

Hypnotic Experience for a Great Cause - Magruder HS Post Prom

Please join me on Wednesday, October 10 at 7 PM for a Hypnotic Experience show hosted by the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) at Magruder High School in Rockville, Maryland.  All of the money raised from this event from ticket sales and concessions goes directly to help fund the school's post prom party, which will be held in May 2019.

Readers of this blog know that each year I donate my time to support the PTSAs at Montgomery County High Schools in their effort to provide students with a fun and safe environment as part of the prom celebration.  I help entertain on-site at the post prom and also perform comedy shows for fundraising. 

The Montgomery County Project Prom/Graduation committee -- which Magruder HS is a part of -- does a wonderful job coordinating the efforts of schools in the county. 

Come on out to Magruder on October 10.  It's an awesome school with a wonderful group of students and parents. 

I'll do my best to make it a fun night!

Hypnotized During His Darkest Hour

The actor Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill in the Darkest Hour. (Photo source: Revolution.watch)

I recently watched the movie The Darkest Hour, which is a wonderful character study of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the chaotic days of May 1940.  The stress Churchill experienced was extreme and relenting as he weighed decisions about how to combat the Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. 

I found myself thinking that Churchill could have been helped from the calm and clarity that can be achieved through the practice of self-hypnosis.  Out of curiosity I typed “Winston Churchill and hypnosis” into Google and…surprise, surprise…came across a number of reports about how we employed hypnosis to remain awake and alert, even though his sleep was limited.

While not a replacement for a healthy lifestyle of exercise, appropriate diet and adequate sleep, hypnosis continues to be proven as a tool to facilitate exceptional living.