Four Ways to Keep Healthy Fitness and Eating Habits with Sport Hypnosis

By Kate Allgood MAT, SH

"woman's eye"Get ready for the out-of-town guests, family gatherings, present shopping, picture taking, card writing, winter children recitals and company holiday parties – not to mention the turkey, ham, stuffing, pumpkin pie and egg nog. Who has time to exercise or eat healthy during the holidays?

No matter how regimented you are about your workout routine and eating habits during the rest of the year, the holidays are a challenging time. Sport hypnosis, a great way to mentally prepare yourself, can help.

You know how coaches are always telling their players to “Keep your head in the game”? This is what sport hypnosis helps do. Sport hypnosis puts you in a relaxed state of mind that helps you access and identify conscious and unconscious behaviors and motivations that affect health and fitness performance. Sport hypnotists use visualization and reinforcement techniques to help people overcome mental blocks, maintain routines, focus on specific goals and/or increase energy levels and stamina, among many other potential benefits. It is commonly used by top athletes, such as Kobe Bryant, Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods.

Here are four ways that sport hypnosis can help this holiday season:

If You Visualize It, You Can Do It

By working with the subconscious, a certified sport hypnotist can help you visualize designating a certain time of day to exercise. It’s 6 a.m. and you’re on the treadmill. A fan is blowing on you; your favorite gym mix blaring on your iPod. You pump the treadmill up to a level three, then four, then five. Sweat trickles down your neck, and you take a towel to wipe it away. Twenty minutes later it’s cool down time. As you walk briskly to slow your heart rate down, you take a gulp of cool water. Such visualizations – using all five senses – can occur through hypnosis to completely immerse yourself in the scenario.

When it’s actually time to workout, you will remember your visualization under hypnosis and apply it to real life. Sport hypnosis visualizations are highly personalized for each person’s roadblocks to help them stay on track.

Making Healthy Choices

Sport hypnosis can help you so that you are more likely to choose carrots over a cupcake (healthier choices) or a scoop of ice cream instead of the whole carton (moderation and portion control). Suggestions during hypnosis could include working on being proud of yourself for eating right and remembering how you feel when you’ve eaten a well-balanced meal.

Don’t Forget You

In the rush of the holidays, it’s easy to take care of everyone else but yourself. Sport hypnosis can help with time management and remind you to take care of yourself, too. When you remember to be present in the moment and take even just 30 minutes out of your day to exercise, it increases productivity and relieves stress.

Stress Be Gone

Hypnosis is a calming state that allows you to work on your subconscious thoughts, while still being awake and completely aware of your surroundings. Decreasing stress benefits your health, your patience and ultimately helps you to make healthy choices. It’s important to realize that during the holidays you are more likely to indulge more than normal, which is OK. Don’t stress over this. It won’t affect your workout greatly as long as you indulge in moderation.

Author Bio: Kate Allgood MAT, SH is president of Balanced Bodyworks, a San Diego-based business that improves mental and physical health and performance. Muscle Activation Techniques corrects muscular imbalances to relieve pain and boost functioning, and sport hypnosis improves athletic performance through visualization and reinforcement techniques. Visit http://www.balanced-bodyworks.com or call 858-344-5335.