Lemons and The Brain

I want to remind you about the power of our brains and the fact that the brain can't tell the difference between imagination and reality!  "Don't be ridiculous" I hear you cry, but it is true.  Let me prove it to you - get someone to read this to and visualize it as it's read out....

Close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths, and allow the body to start to let go and relax.  Just allowing those shoulders to drop and maybe even the head as you relax.

I want you to imagine that you are in your kitchen, a home.  Look around the kitchen and see all of the familiar things. Maybe there’s food cooking, breathe in the smells and aromas of the food.

You walk over to a counter where there is a basket of lemons and chopping board. You reach out and select a ripe, bright yellow lemon. You feel the weight of the lemon in your hand, as you slide your fingers over the lemon you can feel its smooth waxy skin... feel the dimpled texture... You lift the lemon to your face and breathe in that fresh lemony smell... and then you place the lemon on the chopping board and slice the lemon in half. As the bright yellow flesh is exposed you see the juice oozing out... a lovely lemony citrus aroma fills the room. You pick up half of the lemon and look at the juicy segments inside and then you put it in your mouth and then you sink your teeth into the lemon .... the juices run over your tongue... your mouth fills with the taste of lemon juice...be aware of how it feels in your mouth, how it feels on your tongue.  Be aware of any changes taking place in your mouth, in your body and in your mind.

Most people will find their mouth-watering after experiencing this visualization exercise. It's because in order to make sense of what you hear or read your brain has to retrieve the memories - the images, smells, and textures - that the Lemon Visualization brings to mind. The experience of eating a lemon is something that generates powerful physical reactions. Recalling eating the lemon recalls the distinctive reaction, and your body responds with a conditioned reflex. The Eating a Lemon visualization exercise demonstrates that the brain cannot tell the difference between imagination and reality because the visualisation has the same physical effect on the body as if you were really eating a real lemon.

 

Interesting stuff eh?

Sally's Story - Case Study

This week I wanted to share with you the feedback I received from a client.  I'm going to call her Sally in this article.

Sally came to me at the back end of last year suffering from stress and anxiety, particularly at work.  When she was stressed she had difficulty getting to sleep and was waking in the night, leaving her tired and unable to cope.

Her goals were simple, she wanted to be in control again, she wanted her confidence back and she wanted to find her motivation to get back to the gym.

Sally had just 5 sessions with me and by her last session, at the end of October, she was back at the gym, feeling really confident and calm and was sleeping so much better. She felt she didn't need any more sessions and that's fine, but I always say to my clients, that they are always welcome to pop back and have a top up session whenever they need to.

So last week Sally came back for a top up session.  She told me that although she knew she had improved during our work together, it wasn't until after Christmas, when everything had settled after the Christmas Madness, that she really realised just how much better she was.  It was a real WOW moment for her.  Her life was better, she was coping better and she really felt that she'd got her old self back at last.

As she was telling me this, she was absolutely glowing, work was going really well, she'd been offered her dream job, life was absolutely amazing, and it was all because she'd made the decision to seek help from a Solution Focused Hypnotherapist.

If you want to get the real you back, give me a call or seek out a local SFHypnotherapist near you at www.afsfh.co.uk.

For more information on Hypnotherapy go to www.julieshowering-hypnotherapy.co.uk

Mindfulness Meditation

I posted this back last year, but I was recently asked what Mindfulness was, so felt it was repost…

We live in such a fast paced world these days trying to juggle work, kids, home and social lives that it can be all a bit overwhelming at times.  When was the last time you actually sat down and did nothing but relax, I mean really relax?  Not very often or far worse than that, maybe never! And if you're not getting a decent night’s sleep, then odds are, you’re starting to feel the pressure and your mind just doesn't stop!  Sound familiar?

We all need to admit that sometimes we find it hard to let go of our worries, our fears and all those negatives thoughts running around in our heads.  Of course it’s no wonder when the minute our anxiety starts to go up, we start to drop into our negative brain, and it’s all too easy to stay there!

Staying in the positive part of our brain, and focusing on the positives in our lives isn't easy, but the results can be outstanding.  Enabling us to lower our stress and cope so much better with anything that life throws at us.  Mindfulness isn't just about being positive; it’s about being present in the moment too.

Meditation is one of the best way to help you cope with stress and to help you de-clutter your mind and this can start with a simple slow breathing exercise, out for the count of 4 and then in for the count of 4.

Breathing out negativity and breathing in positivity.

Breathing out stress and breathing in calm.

Breathing out your worries, breathing in love.

Breathing out pain, breathing in healing.

Once you find this easy take it up a notch and go for a count of 5, then 6 or 7.

You can even take it step further and include some colour breathing.

Imagine negativity as a colour and as you breathe out see or feel that colour leaving your body taking all your negatives thoughts with it.

Now imagine a colour that makes you feel happy and breathe in that colour so that it penetrates every part of your body, filling you with that colour.

Colour breathing is a very effective way of helping you distress and let go of all those negativities and hopefully it will leave you feeling a little bit more positive and able to cope with life just a little bit better.

Mindfulness however, is a bit more challenging.  It’s best done first thing on the morning, sitting on the bed.  Close your eyes and concentrate on breathing slowly and deeply.  Imagine relaxing every muscle in your body but always bring your thoughts back to your breathing.  Your mind will wander off and when it does, just acknowledge those thoughts and bring it back to your breathing.  Always bring it back to your breathing and you’ll eventually learn to quiete the mind

Click Here and download this FREE 10 minute Mindfulness Mediation to help get you started