EFT can help you make remarkable changes in your life

EFT can help

I have been using EFT in my practice for many years now and it never ceases to amaze me how simple and effective this technique is. If you want a technique that you can use and take with you “in your back pocket” wherever you are and whatever circumstances you are in then EFT is the obvious choice.

EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) has been around now for 20 years and was developed by Gary Craig from Roger Callaghan’s Thought Field Therapy. It is termed as an energy psychology and works by tapping on certain acupressure points around the body whilst verbalising (internally or out loud) the issues you are working on.

It is a favourite technique of mine and often clients will come in with no knowledge of it and I will demonstrate to them without initially explaining it a simple round of tapping on the specific points to see what experience they get. They may look a bit perplexed as we begin the “round” tapping on the side of the hand then tapping with the fingers on 7 points around the body whilst reciting the problem out loud. The interesting thing is that even after one or two rounds which will take only a minute of two at most, their face and body will relax and when I ask them how they feel they will usually say, with a pleasantly surprised look on their face, “well, I seem to feel a bit more relaxed”.
This almost instant reduction in the discomfort of the problem is to me proof that meaningful and powerful change has already begun. We may have only just started the session and the work we will do but now my client is also learning a technique that will help empower them on a daily basis. And this will be a technique they will soon learn and be able to take with them and use without me having to be there. As I say to clients “I don’t know what you will be thinking at 5 o’clock tomorrow any more than I know what I will be thinking at 5 o’clock tomorrow” but if it is something you want to deal with then EFT can help you deal with it on the spot.

The well respected complimentary medicine and nutrition expert, osteopath and best selling author Dr Mercola has written various articles about the benefits of EFT and has a video and information about how effective it can be for relieving stress and tension headaches.

EFT can help with many issues including:

Phobia – Sickness phobia – Animals phobia – Insects phobia
Fear of water – Fear of darkness – Social phobia – Night phobia – Fear of plants – Any simple or complex Phobia
Stress – Anxiety – Tenseness – Insecurity – Nervousness – Anger – Hate – Grief – Depression – Guilt – Feeling incompetent
Fear of abandonment – Fear of the future – Fear of persons – Fear of the unknown – Fear of death
Traumatic memory: Rejection, Failure, Duress, Abandonment, Accident, Abuse, Rape, Love pain
Headache – Nervous stomach-ache – Back pain – Pain in the neck – Carpal tunnel syndrome
Pre-menstrual syndrome – Physical pain with no organic cause – Constipation – Irritable bowel – Jaw tightness
Asthma – Constricted breath – Dyspnoea – Chronic diseases – Hypertension – Hypotension – tachycardia – Arrhythmia
Sexual problems (non organic) – Myopia – Vision problems – Allergies of any kind
Dyslexia – Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) – Learning problems – Low school grades
Panic attacks – Bulimia  – Cravings – Anorexia nervosa – Overeating – Specific food dislike
Drugs – Alcohol – Smoking – Addictive food – Nervous habits
Plus general improvement and happiness in one’s personal and professional life: 

Self-confidence – Self-image – Better relationships – Forgiveness – Procrastination – Goal achievement – Work performance – Sport performance – Personal peace
To find out more about how Emotional Freedom Technique can help you just get in touch and I will be happy help.

Have been meaning to get back to you for ages to say thank you so much for your support with myChronic Fatigue Syndrome. As you know we met just before a very big trip abroad. The two sessions really helped lift my energy levels pretty much from zero to high enough to allow me to pack and get myself to the airport, which was looking a bit doubtful at that point in time.Your techniques supported me throughout the 3 months I was away and I would recommend your methods and support for anyone living with this condition.
Thanks again

The Open Golf, Rory McIlroy, Gary Player and Self Hypnosis

Hypnosis for higher performance skills

There was a fascinating interview on BBC Radio 5 Live this morning (20/07/14) with golfing legend Gary Player discussing the pressures of competing in the final round of the 2014 British Open at Hoylake. With Rory McIlroy poised with a 6 shot lead to take the crown Gary Player was asked how, in his career he dealt with the pressure of holding onto a lead on the final day against such players as Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Lee Trevino close behind in the final round. Gary talked about the major changes that he sees in the physical and mental areas of the game as everyone looks for that extra edge that makes all the difference. He was a pioneer in physical fitness for golf and was weight training at a time when most players would have thought that that level of physical fitness unnecessary. His three important markers to optimum achievement were working on physical strength, mental strength and attention to diet.

These days the rewards in sport are so great that no one can afford to leave anything to chance. Being able to control the mind and keep oneself in a state of higher awareness and intense mental clarity is the way to engage fully with every technical detail that has been painstakingly practised in training and on the practise ground. So how did Gary Player as far back as the 60’s and 70’s keep his mind focused and clear for those six hours of intense concentration when his closest rivals were breathing down his neck knowing that every shot could mean success or disaster? What was the secret method he used to keep his mind and body fully focused on the job of reaching the finishing line in first place?

Self hypnosis

So what is this optimum state and how can we achieve it? The great racing driver Ayrton Senna eloquently describes this state with an experience he had while on the way to winning the Monaco Grand Prix in 1988.

“That day I suddenly realised I was no longer driving consciously and I was in a different dimension. The circuit for me was a tunnel through which I was just going, going, going and I realised that I was well beyond my conscious understanding”

This is a wonderful description of the “out of body” heightened awareness state that any great sportsman or artist is aiming to develop as they take their skills to an ever higher level. The question is how do we access it whenever required rather than just hoping it will suddenly “turn up” at the crucial moment.

Being “In The Zone” is being in a state of trance, and hypnosis is a trance state that virtually anyone can access. All sports psychologists will talk about visualisation as a key to performance and hypnosis is the key to visualisation that gives anyone access to a greater part of their creative mind. Once that part of the mind is activated then the fluency of one’s hard won technical ability can become, as Senna describes, automatic.

Hypnosis is a fantastically powerful and accessible way to build a mental and visual repertoire of the information and mind sets required to take any skill to the highest level. Neither does hypnosis have to be a state that is only accessed with one’s eyes closed. Think of daydreaming and you have self hypnosis. Imagine being able to access the height of your skills in the best situations wherever and whenever with a mental skill that will engage your creative mind in a positive way. And with this ability being able to release simply and effectively all that information programmed into your muscles.

This heightened sate is often described by many of the top performers. Being “on a roll” or “in the zone” is a description of accessing a trance like state, and we can all do it. However knowing how to access it whenever required is a key to top performance.

So now we know that Rory Mcilroy won The Open at Hoylake with two shots to spare and this will take him even closer to the very highest level of golfing greats. All great performers have access to this state and Tiger Woods is another player said to have used hypnosis on a regular basis. Accessing hypnosis is easy but knowing how to use it to full advantage can bring amazing results.

I work with professional athletes, footballers, performing artists, snooker players and in fact with anyone who is searching to develop that next level of consciousness that allows them to access the very best of their skills day in day out.

If you would like to book an appointment, or to find out more information – please call 07970218451 or send an Email. 

I will be happy to discuss with how Hypnosis, EFT and the many other techniques I use could help take your skills to the next level.

Help cure the Yips with hypnosis and EFT

Golf Season

 

The Yips, Golf, Snooker, Darts, EFT and Hypnosis

The golf season has begun again and I am getting calls from golfers, cricketers snooker players and even a baseball player from the USA asking me how I can help with this strange affliction,the yips, whereby the body seems to take on a mind of it’s own and throw in a sudden, freeze, twitch or snatch of the hand or arm just at the critical moment of delivery.

So what can be done to help this totally frustrating condition that can ruin the enjoyment of a pleasurable game and wreck the career of a talented professional? Although on the surface this is a muscular problem in my opinion it more often than not also has it’s roots in psychological issues that are lurking below the surface of the conscious mind.

Let me illustrate the type of unconscious issue that could be behind this. It is fascinating how our unconscious can derail our best work thinking it is helping us. I have seen clients with an unconscious guilt that they are always winning or taking money from their golfing friends. What better way for the unconscious to sabotage you than to throw a twitch into that normally super smooth putting stroke. If your unconscious programme is that “nice people don’t win” then you have a problem each time it comes to that crucial moment you putt for the match or throw your dart for the bullseye. You don’t consciously understand why you missed but your unconscious does. It mistakenly thinks it is protecting you.

Although there is a relationship, I don’t necessarily believe that the yips are the same as “performance nerves” because the body does not necessarily shake nervously but can for instance in golf violently throw the putter off line in a dramatic and distorted way. However I do believe there is a relationship to Focal Dystonia which typically performing musicians can suffer from. What is happening is that there is a blip in the brainwave pattern rather like the picture on your TV screen scrambling for just a split second. This then throws the brain’s neural connections into chaos and the moment will be lost.

“I was in a positive frame of mind on Sunday at Muirfield and performed better than I ever have round the course.  In foursomes format and playing with a 15 handicapper we shot a gross 84 in the morning and won our match and in the afternoon (with a 6 handicapper) shot a 79 gross (back in 1 over par) and halved the match. I didn’t miss from inside 10 feet in the morning, although missed a couple in the afternoon – can’t sink them all but much improved putting performance all round.” MG

To begin the process of recovery the old unconscious patterns need to be resolved. Since faulty neural pathways will have been installed these will need physically and mentally reorganised into healthy robust connections and of course confidence will need to be rebuilt. To do this I use a variety of techniques underpinned with EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and Hypnosis. The value of using these techniques lies in the fact that our conscious mind does not know how to resolve the issue however EFT and Hypnosis are brilliant vehicles for connecting with unconscious understandings and creative change. These techniques communicate with the unconscious mind and that is the part that has the key to help resolve these sorts of issues.

Just recently I helped turn round the game of a talented snooker player who’s cue was just “sticking” at the crucial moment. He had been struggling for over a year and was beginning to resent a game that he once loved. After just two sessions he could not believe the difference as he cleared the table while I just watched! Last season I helped club golfers make real improvements in their putting and chipping and professional musicians suffering with forms of Focal Dystonia, in the lips for wind players and hands and arms for string players, literally get their professional careers back on track.

“Since we met I have worked away at the swing thoughts we spoke about and have banished completely my short game problem. I don’t even acknowledge that word anymore my game is great even if its not went as well as I would have liked. I don’t have the same feeling of dread I used to have on approaching short shots or chips and my enjoyment of the game has improved greatly. So thanks again Roger.” CW

I have worked with many amateurs and professionals looking for help to enhance their performance and my experience as a performer has helped me put together a unique and powerful set of tools and strategies designed to help my clients achieve the very best results from their chosen sport. If you would like more information please call 07970218451 or email rogerfoxwell.therapy@gmail.com and I will be very happy to chat with you.

Got the Yips? Clench your left fist!

Got the Yips? Clench your left fist!

An article appeared in The Daily Telegraph today (yips tip) (10/07/13) with a tip that could help competitors in various sports “beat the yips”.

 

I work on a regular basis with both amateur and professional golfers and musicians and other sports people who suffer from the yips in various forms. Almost any sport or activity that relies on fine motor control can be a target for this issue whereby certain muscles refuse to cooperate thus sabotaging the intended movement. Darts players can find their fingers refusing to let go of the dart, a golfers putter hand can be hijacked by an uncontrolled movement at a crucial putt, musicians fingers can suddenly decide not to cooperate and as I noticed at Wimbledon the tennis player’s hand and arm tossing the ball up into the air can seem to go wildly out of control. At Wimbledon and on the golf tour these are all players at the top of their game with every facility available to them to hone their techniques to the finest degree. But the yips can strike right out of the blue seemingly from nowhere.

Now some of these issues can be put down to nerves and to a degree that can be part of the problem. Lack of confidence can easily lead to the body going into fight and flight mode, taking all finely tuned and organised movements out of the part of the brain that has set the sequence into the unconscious and throwing it back into the conscious mind putting us back into what feels like “beginner” mode.

In my opinion when working on this issue an important and vital part of the process back to muscular control has to be a real cleanup of the unconscious baggage that we carry around. Just imagine your brain attempting to carry out a finely tuned muscular sequence. To be able to repeat this sequence correctly we must practise the movement until it has become to all intents and purposes automatic. Now imagine giving that command to the command centre in your brain but suddenly a contradictory command appearing simultaneously! Total disaster ensues with no conscious understanding of why the movement was hijacked. Of course our unconscious knows why and also knows what this old programme is all about but it is a programme we won’t be able to think our way out of. Like a computer with a virus, until that virus has been removed the system will never return to it’s previous smooth operational state.

EFT is a technique that has in my experience and according to a study at Sheffield Hallam University a good track record in helping amateur and professional golfers overcome the yips. When working with my clients on the yips I use EFT, Hypnosis and NLP plus various mental programming techniques that I have designed to help reprogramme the internal emotional thinking and the external physical movements. So that is where the idea of clenching the left hand to activate the right side of the brain, as the article in The Daily Telegraph suggests, makes a lot of sense because the negative messages have found their way into a space in our minds that we don’t want them to be in. By doing this we are making a positive change in our mental programming system.

Below is a review from one of my clients and I know it worked because I went out and played golf with him after just three sessions. I could see no sign of a yip and he beat me!

“I had suffered from the yips for over twenty years … I tried all possible strange grips and combinations … today I am free of the yips and shot a 72 on my par 69 course…”

Roger Foxwell is a qualified Hypnotherapist, EFT and NLP practitioner. If you would like to contact him for more information just call 07970218451 or email roger@rogerfoxwell.co.uk or visit.www.rogerfoxwell.co.uk