Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis now available in Atlantic Canada

I'm really excited to report that I have received training and certification in Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis for weight management. The course was taught by Sheila Granger who made the trip from the UK to New York to introduce her technique to Hypnotherapists from the US and Canada. This technique was developed in England and is just starting to catch on in the US.


I am the only Hypnotherapist this side of Montreal trained and certified in Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis.

Gastric Band Hypnosis has recently gotten a lot of attention in the US media including ABC's Good Morning America and The View. Click on the link below to see an ABC segment on Gastric Band Hypnosis.

Here is the link to the ABC show.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gastric-mind-band-weight-loss-hypnosis-11743607?&clipId=11743607&cid=embedded

I plan to launch the Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis program in November 2010 after I have completed trials with a group of volunteers.

Contact me if you would like to know more.

Ray MacDonald

902-497-2332

halifaxhypnosis@aol.com

www.halifaxhypnosis.ca

Virtual Gastric Band Hypnotherapy

Gastric Band Hypnosis is directed at people with serious weight issues committed to doing whatever it takes to shed significant pounds.

60% of Canadians are overweight, with a high percentage classed as obese and suffering type II diabetes. If you fall into either, or both, of these categories then you know the health risks you live with each day, and this may just be the program for you.

This therapy uses hypnosis, NLP and powerful imagery, along with behavioral modifications, to convince your unconscious mind that you’ve had Gastric Band surgery.

Sheila Granger, a U.K. Clinical Hypnotherapist, developed her own Virtual Gastric Band technique. Over 2 trials, Granger has quoted a 95 percent rate of success with those who have used her weight loss technique.

Virtual Gastric Band Hypnotherapy uses the power of clinical hypnosis to convince the human mind that a gastric band has been fitted into the stomach. This leads to is a feeling of fullness that will happen much faster than in the past while consuming food. This is exactly what happens when gastric band surgery is done for real.

Advantages of virtual gastric band hypnosis are:

• it’s much much less expensive than the real surgery

• doesn’t involve an invasive surgical procedure

• there are no risks connected to having a general anesthetic as none is administered

• there is no danger of post operative complications

• the Virtual Gastric Band can be adjusted or even removed at a later time

As described earlier the “surgery” is performed only in the subconscious where your desire to eat (and over consume) lives. This technique, as previously mentioned, is non-surgical in nature and uses the power inherent in hypnosis to train both the mind as well as the body to take in a lesser amount of food at each sitting. It works by conveying a message to the brain that the stomach is satiated and does not require any more food.

If “adjustments” need to be made to the virtual gastric band then they can be done relatively easily. Best of all, there is no pain and no recovery time required. There is also no ongoing medical treatment required and the therapy can be done privately, comfortably and best of all – rapidly!

According to Granger, the majority of her clients have benefited from the virtual gastric band treatment. She pioneered this therapy in the United Kingdom as a component of her weight loss hypnotherapy program. Granger visited New York in mid-October 2010 to teach her techniques with other Hypnotherapists from across North America.

Halifax Hypnosis is the only hypnotherapy practice in Eastern Canada to offer this Virtual Gastric Band Hypnotherapy technique.

The process consists of 4 hypnosis sessions typically spaced 1 week or 10 days apart as well as training in self hypnosis using CDs for use at home.

There is a 3, 6, 9 and 12 month followup schedule and “adjustment” hypnosis sessions when and if required.

Coming Soon - Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis

I'm really excited to report that I'll be heading down to New York on October 14th to receive training in Virtual Gastric Band Hypnosis for weight management. This technique was developed in England and is just starting to catch on in the US.

I will be the only Hypnotherapist this side of Montreal trained and qualified in this.

The technique has recently gotten a lot of attention in the US media including ABC's Good Morning America and The View. Click on the link below to see the ABC segment.

I want to tell you also that I will be pricing this program very reasonably. I want to help as many people as possible with this.

Here is the link to the ABC show.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/gastric-mind-band-weight-loss-hypnosis-11743607?&clipId=11743607&cid=embedded

I plan to launch the program starting in November 2010.

If you’d like to know more, contact me at 902-497-2332 or visit the website at www.halifaxhypnosis.ca

What is the Virtual Gastric Band?

The virtual gastric band is a way to use the process of the gastric band surgery without having to go through the surgery at all. During the surgical procedure, your stomach will be made smaller. You will only be able to eat a very small amount of food, like 4 or 5 mouthfuls comfortably. If you eat any more than that, your body will have an adverse reaction that could lead to you become physically sick. They call this dumping. It causes you to have to lie down, and continue to feel really bad physically. If you continue to eat large amounts of food, you might do some physical damage internally because the size of your stomach has been altered.

Get rid of this type of fat with the virtual gastric band program

Using the process of the virtual gastric band you will enable your imagination in a wonderful way to really access that ability that you posses to fully engage the body to respond as if you have really had the physical surgery. The mind is a very powerful part of you. There are many things that you do with your mind already that result in a physical response that is very powerful. During the virtual gastric band process you will tap into that powerful part of your mind for the benefit of your weight loss goals. And there are no negative side effects like you would experience with the actual surgery. There is no physical changes, only mental responses as if you had the physical change.

The virtual gastric band program is designed to give you back control of the amount of food that you eat, and that is just a small part of the program. Because if you are just forced to eat smaller amounts of food without taking care of the problems that have caused you to overeat, you will only be solving your weight loss problem temporarily. Until you solve your overeating problem fully, you will not be able to sustain the kind of weight loss that you really want. There’s no use to be involved in another weight loss and weight gain cycle. That’s the yo-yo dieting effect. That’s what we call a bad thing!

This is the surgical gastric band process so this virtual gastric band solution is a short term process that has long term results.

Changes Your Body Goes Through When You Quit Smoking

Hypnosis is the second most lasting way to quit smoking..the first is that smoking kills you...

Many of my clients don't know just how much their bodies and minds improve when they quit. Here is what happens...

Changes Your Body Goes Through When You Quit Smoking


Within 20 minutes of last cigarette:

• Blood pressure drops to normal
• Pulse drops to normal rate
• Circulation improves

Within 8 hours:

• Carbon dioxide level in blood drops to normal
• Oxygen level in blood increases to normal

Within 24 hours:

• Chance of heart attack decreases

Within 48 hours:

• Nerve endings start to regrow
• Ability to smell and taste enhances
• Nicotine leaves the body

Within 72 hours:

• Bronchial tubes relax, making breathing easier
• Lung capacity increases

Within 2 weeks to 3 months:

• Circulation improves
• Walking becomes easier

Within 3 to 9 months:

• Coughing, sinus congestion, fatigue and shortness of breath decrease
• Lung function is increased by 5 to 10%
• Cilia regrow in lungs, increasing ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs and reduce infection
• Body's overall energy level increases

Within 5 years:

• Risk of a heart attack about half that of a smoker
• Stroke risk is almost that of a non-smoker.
• Lung cancer death rate for average smoker (one pack a day) decreases from 137 per 100,000 people to 72 per 100,000

Within 10 years:

• Risk of lung cancer almost that of a non-smoker
• Risk of cancers, such as those of the lung, mouth, larynx, esophagus, bladder, kidney and pancreas decrease (there are 30 chemicals in tobacco smoke that cause cancer)

ALL BENEFITS ARE LOST WHEN YOU SMOKE JUST 1 CIGARETTE A DAY

Rats fed junk food pass down cancer risk through multiple generations of offspring

Rats fed junk food pass down cancer risk through multiple generations of offspring

Another great reason to look at Hypnosis as a way to change eating habits and achieve lifelong weight management...


From Natural News www.naturalnews.com

Wednesday, July 14, 2010 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

(NaturalNews) A recent study out of Georgetown University Medical Center has concluded that what you eat can affect your children's and grandchildren's health, even if they eat healthy themselves. Sonia de Assis and her colleagues observed that rats fed fatty, unhealthy food pass on an increased cancer risk to their children and grandchildren.

The study, which was presented at the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C., illustrates that a fatty diet can actually contribute to "epigenetic" DNA modifications, which are inherited changes in DNA patterns. Essentially, one's offspring can inherit DNA changes caused by their parents' unhealthy diets and other environmental factors.

The findings also seem to explain why diseases like breast cancer are more likely to manifest in certain family lines and not in others. If epigenetic DNA changes are altering genes like BRCA1 and BRCA2, then this would explain why some people are more prone than others to develop certain degenerative diseases.

"We think that there may be other means of transmission that are not genetic that can account for breast cancer," explained de Assis in response to the study's findings.

And Assis' perspective is warranted based on her findings.

According to Breastcancer.org, only about 20-30 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have any family history of breast cancer. This means that the other 70-80 percent must be developing it for reasons other than simply genetics.

If a person's parents or grandparents ate a diet rich in processed, chemical-laden foods throughout their lives, then the DNA changes that likely occurred in their bodies may be passed down to their children. Even if they themselves didn't develop cancer, the children will be more likely to develop it, based on the findings of the study.

And if the children also eat junk food diets that lack proper nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and other necessary life components, then their children will be even more prone than they were to develop degenerative diseases like cancer.

But your personal diet and lifestyle choices are still the primary deciding factors for whether or not you develop a degenerative disease. Even if your parents and grandparents ate unhealthy diets all their lives does not mean that you have to get sick. Eating a strong, healthy diet and regularly exercising will do wonders for your health.

Hypnosis Before Breast Cancer Surgery Reduces Pain, Discomfort and Cost

Hypnosis Before Breast-Cancer Surgery Reduces Pain, Discomfort, and Cost
Key Words
Breast cancer, hypnosis, supportive care, complementary and alternative medicine. (Definitions of many terms related to cancer can be found in the Cancer.gov Dictionary.)
Summary
Women undergoing surgery for breast cancer who received a brief hypnosis session before entering the operating room required less anesthesia and pain medication during surgery, and reported less pain, nausea, fatigue, and discomfort after surgery than women who did not receive hypnosis. The overall cost of surgery was also significantly less for women undergoing hypnosis.
Source
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Sept. 5, 2007 (see the journal abstract).(J Natl Cancer Inst. 2007 Sep 5;99(17):1304-12. Epub 2007 Aug 28)
Background
Surgery for breast cancer, either for diagnosis or treatment, can cause side effects, including pain, nausea, fatigue, and discomfort. While drugs including traditional pain medications can help provide relief, they can have side effects of their own and increase the overall cost of a surgical procedure.
Researchers have become interested in finding approaches other than drugs to help relieve the side effects of surgery. One technique under study is hypnosis, a type of guided relaxation in which participants become more open to suggestion.
The study described below tested whether a brief hypnosis session before breast cancer surgery could reduce the need for anesthesia and pain medication, reduce side effects experienced after surgery, or ease recovery.
The Study
Investigators from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City recruited 200 women scheduled to undergo either surgical breast biopsy for diagnosis or lumpectomy for treatment of breast cancer. The investigators randomly assigned participants to either the hypnosis group or a control group. Women scheduled for biopsy were randomized separately from women scheduled for lumpectomy, to evenly distribute the two types of surgery between the groups.
Women in the hypnosis group received a 15-minute hypnosis session within one hour prior to surgery. Psychologists trained in the use of hypnosis in the medical setting used a script including suggestions for relaxation, pleasant thoughts, and reduced experience of pain, nausea, and fatigue, as well as instructions on self-hypnosis for use after surgery. Women in the control group spent an equal amount of time with the psychologists within an hour of surgery to talk and receive emotional support.
All women received the drugs propofol and midazolam (anesthetics), and fentanyl and lidocaine (pain medications) during surgery. They also had access to additional pain medications after surgery, as needed.
Before leaving the hospital, the women reported their experiences of pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, fatigue, nausea, physical discomfort, and emotional upset. The investigators also collected information on the amount of anesthesia and pain medication used during and after surgery, the time spent in surgery, and the cost of the procedures, medications, and staff time.
Because the women knew their group assignment, the investigators took several precautions to reduce potential bias in the results.
The same psychologists met with patients in both groups.
The hypnosis and control sessions took place in a private room away from the anesthesiologists and surgeons, who did not know the group assignments.
Data on anesthesia used was taken from computer records, not recorded by clinical staff.
The psychologists did not collect the patient-reported data after surgery. Instead, research assistants who did not know the group assignments asked the women about their perceptions of pain and discomfort.
Results
Women in the hypnosis group required significantly less propofol and lidocaine, the doses of which were adjusted for individual patients as needed during surgery, than women in the control group. Use of fentanyl and midazolam did not differ significantly. Although use of pain medication after surgery did not differ between groups, women in the hypnosis group reported significantly less pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, nausea, fatigue, discomfort, and emotional upset than women in the control group.
Women in the hypnosis group also spent an average of about ten and a half fewer minutes in surgery than women in the control group. The researchers weren’t able to say why this was so, only that the finding was statistically significant and resulted in cost savings. On average, the surgical procedures cost about $770 less per patient in the hypnosis group.
Limitations
One limitation of the study was that group assignment could not be hidden from participating women, since they actively participated in either the hypnosis or control sessions. When both participants and researchers in a study are unaware of the final group assignments, this is called a double-blind clinical trial, and is considered the best way to reduce potential bias in collecting results.
However, the researchers took precautions to make sure that the results were collected by staff that did not know which of the women had received hypnosis. The authors believed that their precautions “make it unlikely that either research or clinical staff were aware of study group assignment.”
Also, in this study, the hypnosis was performed by specially trained psychologists, who may not be available at every hospital. More research is needed, explained the authors, to test whether other members of the clinical team could be taught to effectively give a similar hypnosis session.
The trial design did not allow for a definitive answer as to why the hypnosis group spent less time in surgery. "It is possible that the shorter procedure times in the hypnosis group were due to the patients being easier to prepare for surgery and to sedate or due to less time having been spent administering medications to patients,” write the authors. “However, we did not investigate these mechanisms, and therefore, these possibilities are highly speculative."
Comments
“Overall, our results support the present hypnosis intervention as a brief, clinically effective means for controlling patients’ pain, nausea, fatigue, discomfort, and emotional upset following breast cancer surgery beyond traditional pharmacotherapeutic approaches,” stated the authors. “The present brief hypnosis intervention appears to be one of the rare clinical interventions that can simultaneously reduce both symptom burden and costs.”
“If you can decrease the amount of pain using a technique such as hypnosis, and you can also at the same time reduce the cost involved in treating these patients, I think it’s beneficial both ways,” said Sonia Jakowlew, Ph.D., program director in the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Cancer Cell Biology Branch. “It helps the patients and it helps the physicians as well.”
Further studies are needed, explained the authors, to measure which specific parts of the hypnosis intervention are most effective, to see whether hypnosis had a long-term effect on the control of pain and discomfort, and to test hypnosis in patients with different types of cancer and from different demographic backgrounds. “Investigators should attempt to replicate [this study] and see if these are consistent findings,” agreed Jeffrey White, M.D. director of NCI’s Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Hypnosis and Pain Control

I recently attended a fascinating workshop in New York that focused on the uses of hypnosis and other alternative techniques for pain control...I brought back a lot of new knowledge as well as new techniques and tools and a reading list that shoud keep me up late for a long time to come.
The effectiveness of medical hypnosis and related techniques is truly amazing.
Considering that hypnosis was approved as a form of alternative therapy by both the British Medical Association and the American Medical Association way back in the 1950's has allowed a lot of time for evidence gathering to prove that this stuff works!

Some of the conditions that respond positively to hypnosis (read hypnosis, NLP, EFT etc.) are:

Chronic Pain
Pain during dental and surgical procedures
Headaches (including migrane)
Gastrointestinal problems including ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis and Crohn's disease
Skin disorders including burns, eczema and psoriasis
Nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy
Fibromyalgia
Pre and post operative pain
Asthma and allergies
Fear and anxiety surrounding interaction with medical professionals

Whats Your Secret?

I was reading about someone who started a..what would you call it?..The idea is that people would send this person a postcard (anonymously) and write their secret on it..a secret that is known only to themselves.
It was an instant hit and now some of the postcards are being put together into a book...
Seems like everybody has a secret.
Hypnosis is kind of like that..before I started doing hypnosis and working with clients I kind of had the idea that everybody was more or less "normal". At least most people look normal.
It turns out that not everybody is as normal as I thought. Seems that everyone has an issue of some kind and many people decide that hypnosis is a great way to change whatever is bothering them or in many cases decide that they can do something better.
And they are right, hypnosis is a great way to change..especially if its used in conjunction with techniques like Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)..go to wikipedia if you want to learn more about this and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) www.emofree.com

Whatever your little secret is..well, its safe with me. My (and the National Guild of Hypnotists) code of ethics has the same rules about confidentiality as your doctor or lawyer.

But if you do have an interesting little secret or "thing" that you'd like to share with the world (anonymously of course) then feel free to post it here.