By: Vanesa Fimbrez, L.Ac, MSW

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By: Jessica C. Wakeman, LAc, CCHT

Since I started practicing hypnotherapy about four years ago, I’ve gotten a lot of great questions about it as a healing tool. Mostly people are curious about what it is, how it works and who benefits from it, usually followed by how it differs from guided meditation and, on the other end of the spectrum, how it differs from stage hypnosis.

I love when patients ask these questions because it shows how curious they are about hypnotherapy. These inquiries open up the conversation about healing and stretch minds to find language that encapsulates it all.
So, let’s talk about it.

What is hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is the practice of becoming deeply relaxed or in a trance- like state, similar to when you are immersed in a movie, a piece of music or a heart-opening conversation that brings you fully into the present moment. This singularly focused state allows you to concentrate your conscious and subconscious mind to experience the words, intuition and guidance of your inner, authentic self from a still and centered place.
Have you ever spontaneously accessed a deep and wise part of yourself before? Maybe you were in a conversation reassuring a friend who was having a tough time. You offered guidance and words that came from a deep, loving place inside of you. You’re not sure where they came from but they felt right. That state is always accessible; it just requires stillness and awareness. When you cut through the noise of technology, everyday stress, chronic stress and outside influence, it can be surprising to hear your inner guidance and how clearly it comes through to you.
Hypnotherapy, and life in general, is a lot smoother if you can traverse what’s coming up for you during sessions with the guidance from that wise, compassionate self.

Many people expect to be in a deep trance to get this state but all it takes is guided relaxation, sometimes with a bit of practice. The more you access this relaxed place, the easier it comes to you on-call. The person receiving hypnotherapy is conscious and remembers everything that transpires. The role of the hypnotherapist is to guide you. I always explain that I work in partnership with the person seeking answers and clarity; we are both explorers of the inner landscape.

If you are in the midst of a major transition, looking for the next steps with regards to your partnership, career, geography or identity, or seeking the root cause of pain, behavior patterns or habits, hypnotherapy is a good tool to help you find answers. It brings you to this place of stillness to access your own inner wisdom and higher perspective.

What to expect in a session:
Through guided body relaxation, breathwork and visualization, your body and mind relax so that you can connect to the many aspects of yourself from a safe, empowered place.

The power of relaxation is not to be taken lightly. First and foremost, relaxation switches the body into parasympathetic mode, which is essential for the maintenance of the body’s organs and functions. It is the rest and digest function and it only happens when your brain signals to the body that it is safe, which in our sped-up, technology buzzing society doesn’t happen as often as we’d think. If we do not feel safe, the body doesn’t fully switch out of the fight or flight function and we experience chronic stress. When we enter deep relaxation, the mind relaxes as well and the brain is able to process all that is happening at a pace that allows for integration.

Depending on your reason for coming in for hypnotherapy, there are many techniques and approaches. Most of the time, you will get comfortable and relaxed and then be guided to imagine a comforting, safe place. Most people imagine a place in nature because nature heals and many start their path to healing in its nurturing embrace. People are often kinesthetic, auditory and/or visual, so you could feel, hear or see things respectively as you imagine your safe place. Some people are dominant in one of these sensory receivers, but you will likely experience different elements of these three senses during. Once you have arrived in this meditative state, the hypnotherapist will ask you certain questions to guide and support you as you journey deeper into yourself. You may meet people, animals, colors, elements, or other versions of yourself as you venture through your inner landscape. Strong emotions may arise and the hypnotherapist will always be there to help you resource and soothe to feel safe and grounded. Once you feel complete in your inner exploration, the hypnotherapist will guide you back to the present moment. The session will end with a conversation in support of your next steps.

Being that there are so many different approaches, let’s use an example of the desire to lose weight to focus on here. Part of the hypnotherapy journey could include reframing what food represents to you then finding and addressing the true root cause of emotional states that block you from losing weight. Maybe there is a tendency to overeat because there is a desire for protection from one’s own feelings, or maybe it’s preventing you from achieving a dream because your ego doesn’t want you to fail or feel vulnerable. There are many possible reasons that lay in your subconscious for not meeting a goal.

When we journey to find and access the multiple parts of ourselves (i.e. the part of yourself that wants to lose weight and feel healthy and another part of yourself that wants to eat non-nourishing foods etc.), we can address the conflict between these different parts and their divergent motivations. We are ask questions to to get to the heart of the divide. Change is very difficult when we have a divided will. Usually one aspect is your ego keeping you safe, or your child-self needing reassurance before making changes. The goal is to align these parts so that they are working together. In this way, you can release old patterns and find your true purpose behind your goal. When you are in this type of empowered alignment your goals are more easily achieved.

This is one approach, there are many other aspects to hypnotherapy. In some cases, there is other work to be done such as relationship dynamics to be worked through. It all applies, as it is just about quieting oneself enough to see what is happening underneath the top layer that we all use as armor.

How is it different from stage-hypnosis?
I’ve personally never seen stage-hypnosis besides in TV shows or movies, which often make light of it. My teacher says, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Meaning if you don’t want to relax into the process, you won’t. Stage hypnosis is for entertainment value. The people who volunteer want to be a part of the process, they are willingly going along with barking like a dog or whatever action is entertaining the audience.

This is the key difference, stage hypnosis is for entertainment, hypnotherapy is for healing and therapeutic benefit; it’s a process for healing, self-reflection and a driver for change.

How is it different from guided meditation?
If you have a guided meditation practice, the beginning stages of hypnotherapy might feel very familiar: following your breath, releasing tensions, quieting the mind. These are all wonderful entries into relaxation. Meditation is the practice of allowing what comes into the mind, watching it and not being attached to it. This is a passive role, which is practice for our waking life of not being attached to every outcome, emotion or action of others.
Hypnotherapy is a more active route; you are experiencing going places, maybe your childhood backyard or a greenhouse in the middle of a forest. Ultimately, you are making inquiries in this relaxed place.

Afterwards, many people report that they feel incredibly calm and renewed as if they’ve been meditating.

What if I’m nervous about it?
Many people come in for the first time feeling nervous about the session. This is for many reasons. Most likely they have been suffering from their condition for a while and have high expectations that lead to anxiety. There are also a lot of unknowns around hypnotherapy and what it is (hopefully this article helps that!) and clients are also often fearful about what they might say or do during the process. This is totally understandable, and it is also what is at the heart of the issue. Many people are afraid to look at what’s really there within them.

For example, I had one client who really wanted to be in relationship, but through hypnotherapy she saw that she was terrified of being vulnerable so she froze up whenever she met . Once she saw what was really happening she was able to look at it more clearly and realize that it was her fear taking control. She was scared because she had been hurt in the past. Once, she was able to find a safe place within herself, she developed more courage in being herself in front of others. As she came into her own, she attracted a new partner within a week! They started dating and, through her relationship, she continued to work on letting go of her fear of being truly seen to build intimacy with her partner. It was wonderful to watch!

What does it help?
What I’ve found in my 700+ hours of providing hypnotherapy is that this is a way to work on your own relationship with yourself and what more influential relationship is there?

I hope this encourages you to give it a try — try it a few times! The first time has a lot of newness to it. Try at least three times to see what happens for you as you get in touch with yourself in this way.

Some common issues I see:

• Anxiety
• Stress management
• Relationship Challenges or Transitions
• Calling in Relationship
• Infertility
• Insomnia
• Pain management
• Disease management
• Mastering Skills
• Weight Management
• Quitting Smoking
• Career Transition Support
• End of Life
• Palliative Care
• Cancer Support
• Releasing Phobias
• Dreamwork

I hope this helps to dispel any myths, make the process a bit friendlier and encourages you to discover a beautifully, fulfilling way to touch into your unique potential.

Please reach out to me or write a comment below with questions or your own personal discoveries through hypnotherapy.

About Jessica:
Jessica C. Wakeman, L.Ac, CCHT, is an acupuncturist, herbalist, certified clinical hypnotherapist. She is an all around explorer of wellness practices and wisdom traditions.

By: Jessica C. Wakeman

There is a small but growing group of people that the folks in the know call, “mushroom people.” They’re considered fanatics of the amazing medicinal and ecological benefits of mushrooms. For most people, mushrooms are the small button variety that used to come in the blue styrofoam boxes in  grocery stores, ready to go into a stir-fry. But there is so much more to mushrooms and you don’t need to be a mushroom connoisseur to take advantage of their amazing healing benefits. Mushrooms or fungi are surprisingly already well integrated into our world and our bodies already.

They grow and transform through a simple yet elaborate system that mirrors and yet predates the way humans have setup our information networks. The fruit of those interactions produces the mushroom itself and it turns out that even the common mushrooms we consume regularly are a delicious source of vitamins and minerals, powerful disease fighters, anti-inflammatory, and have the potential to save the world. There is so much we don’t know and so much that we do that’s under utilized. Mycologists, Paul Stamets, who you might know from the Stamets' mushroom blends we carry at the clinic, has spent his life studying mushrooms and there is a lot to discover in the world of fungi. Let’s find out more.

What are Mushrooms?
Mushrooms are neither plants nor animals. They were reclassified in the 1960’s into the separate Kingdom of Fungi. In some ways, mushrooms are more closely related to animals than plants. Like humans, mushrooms take in oxygen for their digestion and metabolism and “exhale” carbon dioxide as a waste product. Fungal proteins are also more similar in many ways to animal proteins. Mushrooms also differ from plants in that they lack the green chlorophyll that plants use to manufacture their own food and energy. For these reasons, they were placed in their own kingdom.

There are an estimated 1.5 to 3 million species of fungi covering the planet with only about 80,000 being properly identified and 270 that have known healing properties. That makes about six species of fungi for every one species of green plants and we share the earth with twenty five percent mycelium, or what can be considered the tree roots of mushrooms. Mycologist Paul Stamets called this mycelium network, the earth’s “internet.”
Now imagine if every tree or branch that fell down just stayed there forever, or imagine how deep the layer of autumn leaves would be after a few years if they did not rot. This is the main role of fungi and mushrooms; they’re the recyclers in nature. They break down wood and leaves back into their original components and therefore they clean the forest and they also provide food for living plants by returning dead trees and forest litter to simple organic materials, a form suitable for plant use.

Not all mushrooms grow on wood though. Another group of mushrooms grow from the ground feeding on humus and any organic materials contained in the soil, but at the same time they form a special beneficial relationship with live trees, called a ‘symbiotic relationship’ where the tree provides the mushroom with some of the glucose they produce and in return the mushroom gives the tree essential minerals for it’s growth. This exchange of nutrients takes place through the roots of the tree. That’s why some mushrooms are always associated with certain trees.

Medicinal and Nutritional Benefits
Most well-studied and known medicinal mushrooms grow on trees. Similar to the way that herbal medicine takes it nutrients from the soil, mushrooms take their nutrition from the specific trees they grown on. This is worthwhile to understand in the study of mushrooms in order to optimize their medicinal benefit.

According to a 2005 report published in the Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, mushrooms contain “compounds and complex substances with antimicrobial, antiviral, antitumor, antiallergic, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, antiatherogenic, hypoglycemic, and hepatoprotective activities.”

All medicinal mushrooms contain beta-D-glucan, a type of polysaccharide that keeps your immune cells awake. These chemical constituents are commonly found in some plant cellulose (Astragalus, Echinacea, etc) and fungi. Beta-D-glucan is responsible for physiological processes related to the metabolism of fats and sugars in the human body. Mushrooms are considered to be “immuno-modulators” attributed to their protein-bound polysaccharide nature that have strong effects on our immune system. Immuno-modulation is the effect of either up-regulation of a weak immune system that is compromised in its ability to fight infections or down-regulation of a strong but misdirected immune system that is causing autoimmune disorders such as allergies, arthritis, asthma and other gut disorders. This modulation of immune function in either direction is confounding to Western Medicine and pharmacological paradigms, which are accustomed to medicines that always “push” in one direction. The mushrooms basically know what the system needs and acts accordingly.

Nutritionally speaking, they are a good source of B vitamins, including riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid, which help to provide energy by breaking down proteins, fats and carbohydrates. B vitamins play an important role in the nervous system. Pantothenic acid helps with the production of hormones and also plays an important role in the nervous system. Riboflavin helps maintain healthy red blood cells. Niacin promotes healthy skin and makes sure the digestive and nervous systems function properly. Mushrooms are also a source of important minerals, including selenium, ergothioneine, copper and potassium. Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant to protect body cells from damage that might lead to heart disease, some cancers and other diseases of aging. It also has been found to be important for the immune system and fertility in men. Many foods of animal origin and grains are good sources of selenium, but mushrooms are among the richest sources of selenium in the produce aisle and provide 8–22 mcg per serving. This is good news for vegetarians, whose sources of selenium are limited. Ergothioneine is a naturally occurring antioxidant that also may help protect the body’s cells and reduce inflammation. Copper helps make red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. It also helps keep bones and nerves healthy. Potassium is an important mineral that aids in the maintenance of normal fluid and mineral balance, which helps control blood pressure. It also plays a role in making sure nerves and muscles, including the heart, function properly.

Much of the modern scientific research done on mushrooms is related to cancer prevention and treatment, HIV and AIDS, and other immune function disorders. Mushrooms can enhance almost every system in the body and protect from numerous diseases since they’re associated with lowered inflammation, attributed to the root of most diseases. Mushrooms also help alkalize the body, which is associated with improved immunity.
Mushrooms are even shown to have special fighting abilities against deadly multi-resistant bacterial strains and microorganisms responsible for gut and skin problems. In fact, some substances present in common antibiotics given to people when they’re sick — including penicillin, streptomycin and tetracycline — are derived from mushroom fungal extracts.
Let’s look at the major benefits on our health.

Heart Health
Eating mushrooms is one way to lower cholesterol levels naturally. Mushrooms have sterol compounds that interfere with the production of cholesterol in the liver, yet at the same time they can raise HDL cholesterol. They also contain potent phytonutrients that help keep cells from sticking to blood vessel walls and forming plague buildup, which maintains healthy blood pressure and improves circulation.

Support Energy and Improve Brain Function
Mushrooms are a great source of B vitamins, which help support adrenal function and turn nutrients from food into useable energy. B vitamins benefits include the ability to help with neurotransmitter function, which makes them stress-defying nutrients that help break through “brain fog,” prevent thyroid disorders and support a healthy metabolism. Certain types of mushrooms, especially reishi, are also considered “adaptogens” that lower cortisol, which means they can help your body to deal with stress and keep your mood more upbeat. Mushrooms also lower inflammation that can trigger a decline in cognitive function, mood problems, low energy and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

Cancer Prevention
Cancer prevention is really the field where mushroom nutrition gets the most attention. For centuries, Asian cultures have used certain mushrooms as a natural cancer treatment because of these fungi’s ability to lower the risk for cancer through many mechanisms, including supplying germanium, a nutrient that boosts oxygen use in the body and fights free radical damage. Its immune-modulating function protects healthy cells and increasing the body’s ability to detoxify itself of dangerous substances. In fact, over 200 mushroom species are used in traditional Chinese medicine practices, and 25 percent of these are found to effectively fight harmful tumors.

What about the poisonous ones?
Some mushrooms are poisonous. Most are not deadly, though, there are only a handful of mushrooms that kill someone. Most of the other poisonous mushrooms, so called, ‘Toad Stools’, are harmful, but their effect is limited to sickness and stomach upsets. That doesn’t mean we should be eating them when we go out foraging, at least not without an expert nearby.

It also may be surprising that raw mushrooms are not good for you. They need to be cooked to reap their delicious benefits. Agaritine, a toxin found in small amounts in raw mushrooms that is destroyed by cooking. A quick sauté will do the trick.

Ancestral Roots
People have used mushrooms medicinally and as food for thousands of years. The oldest written reference to people using mushrooms medicinally is from an Ayurvedic source from 5000 BP.

The Chinese have one of the most sophisticated uses of herbal and medicinal mushrooms and have a written history of using them that dates back several thousand years as well. Many medicinal mushrooms like cordyceps (Dong Chong Xia Cao) and reishi (Ling Zhi) were so highly prized and rare that only the emperor was allowed to consume them. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, reishi is part of the spirit nourishment category. As we see, it has strong effects on the nervous system and regulating the immune system to create an element of calm.

The Ancient Egyptian royalty felt similarly. Hieroglyphics found in the tombs of the Pharaohs suggest that they believed the mushroom to be “the plant of immortality.” The mushroom’s distinct flavor intoxicated these demi-gods, that they ordered mushrooms to be food for royalty alone, and prohibited commoners from handling the delicacies.

The Greeks and Romans ate mushrooms frequently. The Greeks said mushrooms were the “food of the gods.” And some South American Amazon tribes have one word that refers to both meat and mushrooms. They consider mushrooms as equivalent to meat in nutritive value.

Research and Earth Matters
Scientists are still identifying species of mushrooms under rocks and clinging to old growth forests. We still have much to learn from this kingdom. This is another reason to protect our old growth forests, for the wisdom we have not yet gathered from its dense understory. We are still learning about great value in our wild mushrooms and we need places for our fungi friends to continue to thrive.

The potential for mushrooms to help us clean up our mess provides hope. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted experiments with oyster mushrooms that brilliantly cleaned up diesel-contaminated soil. The bacteria died while the oyster mushroom cleaned up the toxic oils and bloomed huge bouquets of mushrooms all over the pile.

Much like bacteria, mushrooms are found everywhere. Mushrooms could be the next frontier in scientific research for saving the planet but for as much as we have known for thousands of years we are still learning more about the benefits for our health. Mycologist Paul Stamets and the “mushroom people” believe that mushrooms can save our lives, restore our ecosystems and transform the world. Check out Paul Stamets Ted Talk if you want to learn more.

You can also ask about one of the Stamets mushroom blends we carry here at the clinic. They're fantastic to have in your medicine cabinet during cold & flu season.

Bibliography:
Adams C. “Uncloaking the Mysteries of Medicinal Mushrooms.” Nutraceuticals World.

De la Forȇt, Rosalee. Herbs with RosaLee. “Herbal and Medicinal Mushrooms”

Herbs for Health Staff. “Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms and How to Use Them” Mother Earth Living. May/June 2011.

Hobbs, Christopher. Medicinal Mushrooms: An Exploration of Tradition, Healing, & Culture, Botanic Press. 1986, Williams, OR

.Isokkauppila, Tero. Four Sigmatic Academy Online Course

Schultz. Colin. “Long Before Trees Overtook the Land, Earth Was Covered by Giant Mushrooms” July, 17 2013. Smithsonian Magazine Online.

Stamets, Paul. Ted Talk: “Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World,” March 2008.

Ulrike Lindequist, Ha Won Kim, Evelin Tiralongo, and Leo Van Griensven. “Medicinal Mushrooms” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Jessica C. Wakeman, L.Ac., MSOM is an acupuncturist, herbalist, clinical hypnotherapist and all around health and wellness explorer. She completed a Masters in Oriental Medicine from the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College in Berkeley (AIMC). She is also a writer and former editor in chief of the California Journal of Oriental Medicine (CJOM). She continues to explore her passion for healthy living in the clinic and through writing.
Read more about Jessica or book your next appointment.

We’ve had people say they wish they had us around during the work day when the afternoon slump hits or when they’re trying to fall asleep at night. And while we can’t always be there in a time of need, we do have some effective acu-points to share that you can tap on, that will often just do the trick.

Here’s a couple that are handy to have in your back pocket.

2. Having trouble sleeping? Rub Kidney 1 (Yangquan ~ Bubbling Spring)

Rubbing Kidney 1 draws the excess energy from your head down to your feet, grounding you and creating a calming effect.
Try soaking your feet in hot water with epsom salt first and bonus points for using a drop or two of lavender essential oil in your bath or as you rub the point. 

3. Having a constant runny nose or allergies? Tap Du 23 (Shang xian ~ Upper Star)

This point on the Du channel benefits the nose and eyes. We think of it as taking a clothes pin and pinning it up at the top of the head, drawing up the eyes and nose, so that it's pinning up any excess draining happening. You can visualize that happening as you tap. 

4. Feeling a headache coming on? Rub Large Intestine 4 (Hegu ~ Union Valley)

This point is the command point of the face. It strongly moves energy down and out of the head. It’s actually contraindicated in pregnancy because of that strong downward action ~ so this one is not for pregnant moms. This especially good for frontal and sinus headaches. Rub the point with your opposite hand for 5 minutes, breathing in and out and visualizing all the tension releasing through your out breath.

5. Tight jaw muscles? Rub Stomach 7 (Xiaguan ~ Below the Joint)

This point benefits the jaw, teeth and the ears. It is right in the depression between the zygomatic arch and the mandibular notch, it relieves pain by activating two channels, the Stomach and the Gallbladder channels. Rub this point for 5 minutes on one or both sides of the jaw, with your eyes closed, allow the tension to melt away.