Self-hypnosis to reduce fear and increase confidence

Learn to relax your body, mind & spirit.

First, let's clear up some misconceptions that many people have about hypnosis.  Although the appearance of a person in a post-hypnotic state would suggest it, there is no loss of consciousness.  You will be completely aware of your surroundings.  Since you are aware of your surroundings, you will be able to come out of the state at any time, should the need arise. 

Another misconception is that during hypnosis we can be programmed subconsciously to behave in a way that we would normally consider immoral or out of character.  This is also not true.  We've all seen on television people clucking like a chicken and making complete fools of themselves whenever they hear a particular sound, such as a bell ringing. That is Hollywood.   Of course, there are always risks when riding, buy self-hypnosis will not cause you to take risks you would not ordinarily.  This is about overcoming fear that you know is irrational and is interfering with the joy you know could be experiencing with your horse. 

Self-hypnosis does allow us to reprogram our brains to react in ways we DO want. You can program your own mind to replace negative emotions with positive ones.   Imagine being able to give yourself a command to relax.  Once we have our nerves under control we are able to think more clearly.  We come out of that instinctive "flight or fight" mode and are able to really focus on our riding.

When I first tried self-hypnosis, I was very skeptical.   But, my lack of confidence was in such a downward spiral, I was ready to try the unusual.   I was at the point where I would actually start feeling nervous and my palms would start sweating while driving to the barn.  I didn't realize it, but I was using negative imagery (Imagery - also very powerful) and becoming quite good at it!   Instead of imagining a picture of how well things have gone, I only relived the bad times. (See the Imagery section on this site for more information).

I am a middle-aged woman who got back into riding after raising my daughter.  After about 10 years out of the saddle, I was rather disappointed to discover that all that blind courage I'd had  in my teens and twenties was gone.   The skill was still there.  That part really IS like riding a bike, but I was completely aware of my mortality.  The loss of my confidence of my youth, combined with some other factors, such as buying a very spooky, sensitive, inexperienced six year old Quarter Horse from Impressive lines, began to slowly erode away the pleasure of riding. 

So, I ordered my Confident Rider self-hypnosis CD by Sharon Shinwell and smuggled it into the house without my family knowing.  I was sure they would think I'd gone off the deep-end.  So I waited until night when everyone was in bed, turned off all the lights and settled on the couch with my walkman. Talk about a sedative! I was able to achieve deep relaxation during the first session.   Self-hypnosis is a skill that we get better and better at with each session.  Each time, I believe I have achieved the maximum possible relaxation of  body and mind, only to find the next time I relax even more. After about two weeks of about 3 - 4 sessions per week, I started to feel a sense of calm surrounding me all the time - a sense of quiet confidence.   I no longer hide my CD's from my family.  In fact, my daughter is using them to help with her fear of public speaking.

The most exciting part is, that built into the sessions, I was given a trigger word that I can use to invoke relaxation whenever I feel the need.  I use it whenever the need arises - in working with my horses, public speaking, dealing with difficult people, etc.  I think most of us have done some muscle relaxation exercises with minimal result  - such as in child birth classes.  Self-hypnosis goes MUCH further and give us the power to achieve full relaxation of body, mind and spirit. 

I have tried several CD's by hypnotherapists and found the Confident Rider series by Sharon Shinwell to be the superior product.   Sharon is a qualified hypnotherapist and counselor who has competed, bred and owned horses for over 25 years.  She has combined her knowledge of the human psyche, especially that of the rider, with her knowledge and experience of hypnotherapy to produce a range of self-hypnosis CD's known as the Confident Rider Series.  Her soothing voice and wonderful British accent will melt your anxiety away. 

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Non-Equestrian Self-hypnosis for Immediate Download