Monday, July 27, 2015

Overcoming Phobias - with Brain Gym®

One of my clients arrived for a Brain Gym session, certain that it wouldn’t work for her extreme phobia: fear of flying.

Soon after, she reported that her Brain Gym session had had “amazing” results. I asked if she would be willing to write a testimonial, and she said, “Yes, but I don’t know how to begin. Would you send me some questions to answer? I could do it that way.” Below you’ll find her responses, almost entirely as she wrote them. 

1. What was life like with your fear of flying? What kinds of problems did it cause? 

Living with my fear of flying was like having a time bomb in my pocket and an enemy in my head. I had no idea when either of them would go off and sabotage my trip plans -- which was dangerous, because most of my trips were for business!

The enemy in my head would whisper terrible things to me before a trip, like "You're going to die" or "It’s the last time you'll ever see your mother.” Most times I just got a little nervous at take off. Other times, the time bomb would blow up during bad turbulence, and I would sweat, “whiteknuckle,” and sometimes cry during the episode. Once I had a panic attack before a very special vacation I’d been looking forward to for months. I had to cancel my plans because I was crying so much and felt so desperate and certain that I would die on that plane that I was unable to get myself out of the house.

After my panic attack, I knew I had to try something different (I had already tried a highly recommended "100% guaranteed" phobia-release process, twice!) -- and my mother suggested I see you for a Brain Gym session.

2. What was your experience of the Brain Gym session? 

My experience of the session was many-fold. First of all, I could feel the techniques "unlocking" something, like they were smoothing out the creases in my wiring. I felt a lot of calming energy release inside my body. Also, it was REALLY fun -- I loved getting my body involved in the process. I enjoyed the spontaneity of the methods and of the practitioner. At one point, we were at a loss for what step was next, and I knew what it was. I suggested a hatha yoga pose called fish pose, and my body "said" yes. The session was an organic process centered on me -- SO different from the one-size-fits-all process that didn't work on me. It was very clear that I was accessing an unbroken circuit of knowledge in myself that was healing this issue with flying.
 
3. What is your experience now of flying? How has your life changed because of this? 

I won't forget that during the first flight after my Brain Gym session, the plane was traveling through a severe thunderstorm, and I was DOZING through it! I felt so relaxed, there was no danger, no enemy, and no panic! It was amazing to realize I was back in the ranks of normal, relaxed people on an airplane. Now, I always prep for a trip as you taught me during the Brain Gym session, and it feels like I'm wrapping myself in my favorite blanket -- I feel totally protected and at peace.

My experience is that many phobias resolve quickly, though some require sessions over time.

And while certain phobias seem to be very common - heights, for example, or snakes and spiders - others are less common, but just as debilitating. 

I was teaching a Brain Gym® 101 course years ago and one of the participants shared that she had an "unreasonable" fear of pet birds. They had always "given her the creeps" as she described it. Her new mother-in-law had a beloved pet bird whose cage was in a prominent place in the house that was hard to avoid, and this was making life very difficult for her. 

When this woman partnered with another course participant to share practice balances in class, she chose to use this topic for her goal: "I comfortably live around pet birds." She could hardly say the words out loud, and her pre-check, just closing her eyes and envisioning herself walking over to the birdcage, put her into a panic. 

Toward the end of her balance process, she repeated her goal: "I comfortably live around pet birds" - and her voice emerged loud and confident. Then she closed her eyes to envision her scenario, and said, "I can totally see myself going up to the birdcage! Wow! I'm not petting the bird, but I see myself right by the cage!"

When this woman arrived for the next day of class she could hardly wait to share that she'd visited her mother-in-law's home the day before, and had been completely comfortable around her pet bird. She said, "I could stand right there and look at it! I feel like I'm free! Thank you so much!

I reminded her that her practice partner had actually facilitated the balance, which led to a whole group discussion of how profound the balance process is, even in the hands of someone who is just learning it. 

If you live in or near the Phoenix, Arizona, area (or want to visit!) and would like to learn to facilitate the balance process, you're very welcome to join my upcoming Brain Gym® 101 course

If you'd like to address a phobia or any other issue in a private session, you're most welcome to contact me and we'll set up an appointment. 

There are Licensed Brain Gym® Instructor/Consultants around the world who can support you, as well, both for sessions and the BG101 course

My very best to you all,
Kathy


Copyright© 2015 by Kathy Brown. All rights reserved. 
Brain Gym® s a registered trademark of Brain Gym® International, Ventura, California • www.braingym.org
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