confident rider with self-hypnosis

		Have you got to the stage when you just can't face another day feeling like you do about your riding, jumping, or dressage? Ever wondered why your horse spooks when you ride him/her, but is like a dobbin when others ride him/her?			Are you finding that you are making excuses not to ride… it's too cold, too windy, getting dark, the kids will be home soon, got shopping to do, it might rain…
		ever felt like
		When you do ride or compete, do you feel sick, panicky, anxious and fearful? Do you get tense, lose concentration and confidence?			Does your horse work-in for a dressage test like a Grand Prix school master, then becomes tense, nervous and heavy in your hands as you ride up the centre line?
		hanging			your boots
		Are days, weeks, months going by, and you feel less, and less, like getting back in the saddle again? Are you putting off entering competitions or going to shows?			Frustrated by stops and refusals when jumping a course, but your horse seems confident when someone else takes him round the same course?

Does any of this sound familiar?

Well you're not alone. The feelings of fear, anxiety, and tension and a lack of motivation, are familiar territory to most riders, at some time in their lives, and this can lead to feelings of low self-esteem, anger, and frustration. Many riders spend their riding lives looking for that perfect horse, the one that does everything right most of the time. Sometimes we even find it, but low and behold, as we walk away from the stable or field, patting ourselves on the back for being so clever, they seem to change overnight. Then we are back to square one, with a whole new set of fears and anxieties.

Well, now you can do something positive about this. Once you have eliminated any possible horse health problems, or tack problems, and you know your horse is getting all that he/she needs to make their lives as comfortable as possible, it's time to look at what you might be doing to create the problem you are struggling with. You may not be aware of just how much your own body language is being transferred to your horse.

The number of activities our unconscious mind carries out for us is astounding and humbling. Whenever the situation calls for the use of the unconscious memory, ability, or understanding, it seems to appear out of nowhere, whether the conscious mind wants it to or not. Names, dates,
concepts, and insights appear in our awareness. Emotional reactions bubble up from nowhere. Without realising it, we rely upon our subconscious to master the complex skills and to provide the many insights and tools we need to cope with everyday life. Walking talking, driving a car, suddenly remembering to do something important, sensing the hidden implications of another's movements, and even the ability to ignore distracting sensations and perceptions all depend upon subconscious activities.

Why Self Hypnosis?

You may have had a bad experience with a previous horse, or come to riding at a late stage in your life, and it seems far scarier than you envisioned.

You may have been riding all your life, but something has changed, you have lost your confidence and nerve, and it seems impossible to regain that feeling of being in control. You may have just bought your first horse, having only ridden at riding schools before, and you're discovering that your dream of owning a horse, is turning into a nightmare.

Whatever your situation, it feels as though you are the only one that knows just how you feel.

Well let me assure you, there are hundreds out there in horse-land that know just what you are going through!

The feelings you are coping with, are like a negative blockage in the subconscious mind, this mental blockage can cause physiological symptoms such as nausea, a fast beating heart, rapid breathing, a dry mouth, sweating, headaches, and lethargy. The body becomes tense and stiff, and the feelings of anxiety and shear panic can reach such levels that the whole body seems to freeze, the memory grinds to a halt, the mind goes blank, jumping courses and dressage test-patterns are lost, and breathing is non existent!

When stress levels rise, the subconscious mind tries to stop whatever it is that is causing the discomfort. Then a fear/ anxiety/panic cycle is set up, and it becomes more and more difficult to do the very thing you want to do.

Approaches to jumps, even small ones, seem impossible; the mind is full of doubts and fears about the horse refusing, stopping, or the landing being difficult; worries about being out of control, off balance or falling.

During a dressage test the body can become tense, and breathing shallow, and simple movements become difficult. The more tense and anxious you become the stiffer and more resistant your horse becomes. They seem to be deaf to your commands, becoming less and less responsive. You worry about noises and distractions, the judges car, any flowers or letter stands around the arena.

When hacking out there can be worries and concerns about the horse bucking, bolting or shying, loosing control, or the horse refusing to move. You may start to foresee allsorts of obstacles and problems ahead, certain parts of the neighbourhood become no-go areas!

Some these fears, anxieties and thought processes are perhaps justified. You may have had an earlier experience that has stayed in the subconscious mind, and it makes a connection with anything that it perceives as a similar situation. The flight or fight instinct that we all have, keeps us safe from harm or even death. But, sometimes, it is over stimulated and it continues to react even when there is no longer any danger or cause for concern

Normally this isn't a real problem and slowly the mind becomes less and less sensitive, and the normal, more balanced, rational, logical, thought process take over again, but when it doesn't, the fear can become a phobia.

The problem for riders, as oppose to other sports and activities, is that we are not only dealing with our own phobias, hang-ups and fears that we may have, but the horse is able to pick up on them through our body language, and interprets them as warning signals. So a horse that may be obedient, relaxed, confident, calm and responsive, when others ride it, seems to turn in to just the opposite when we ride them! Or they are paragons of virtue at home for us, but take on a whole new persona at a show!

We also have to deal with any hang-ups that our horses may have of their own, even if we haven't got any (or at least we didn't use to have any!).

Even if there hasn't been a bad past-experience, there can be something in our past life that has made a connection with what we are trying to do now, and it seizes this connection and reactivates it in the subconscious mind.

What is Hypnotherapy & Self-Hypnosis?

An altered state of mind that allows the subconscious part of the mind to be spoken to. Here is where new ideas, concepts and affirmations can be implanted, and it is here that old limiting beliefs can be changed. Past phobias and learnt negative behaviours, feelings and concepts can be looked at and laid to rest, allowing the conscious mind to adopt a more rational positive outlook. The subconscious part of our mind has no critical awareness, and is only limited by our imagination.

So Hypnotherapy and Self-Hypnosis, allows the therapist to safely tap into the subconscious mind, and give it new, positive, information, that will override the old negative information it has.

Hypnotherapy and Self-Hypnosis cannot wipe out, or change anything that you do not want changing, and that's why, if for example you don't want to either stop smoking, or eating fatty food, no amount of hypnotherapy will make you stop. But Hypnotherapy and Self-Hypnosis can alter the way you feel about something that you really want to change. i.e. I feel really nervous when I., I feel anxious when I., I get so tense and frightened when I.,
This can be changed to: I feel really calm and relaxed when I…..., I am looking forward to…..., I know I can do……..

As long as the suggestions and ideas that are being offered during the hypnotic state, are acceptable to us in the conscious world, i.e. they do not contradict our own morals, ethics or endanger us, then hypnotherapy and self-hypnosis can alter the way we feel, think and behave.

In an ideal world, face to face Hypnotherapy is the preferred way to use this form of therapy, but in today's fast moving busy life, few of us have the luxury of time or money to go for regular Hypnotherapy sessions. With the advent of new technology, understanding of hypnotic scripts and techniques, and the public's motivation for self-help and alternative
medicines, Self-Hypnosis has become a very good alternative. Using pre-recorded audio tapes, CD's or self-made recordings; it is possible to train oneself to use self-hypnosis, and gain almost the same benefits of face-to-face Hypnotherapy.

The Cd's I have put together take you through four different parts of the Hypnotic process,
beginning with the 'induction', this clears the mind, and relaxes both body and mind in preparation for accepting the process ahead. The state of hypnosis is usually deeper each time this process is gone through.

The 2nd part is called the 'deepener' this takes you on a journey of your own imagination, and makes the hypnotic state go deeper so that the subconscious is ready for the therapeutic part.

The 3rd part -is the 'therapy part', takes you through a therapeutic dialogue that talks directly to your subconscious mind, changing how you feel and think about certain situations, changing negative thought patterns to positive ones, visualising the new changed behaviour and feeling the new found confidence An imaginary ride/jumping/dressage test is gone through, with all the new sensations and thoughts that have been offered to the
subconscious mind, and this is fixed in the subconscious so that in the waking state, it can be transferred to the conscious mind.

To help this connection 'anchor words' and 'post hypnotic suggestion's are offered that can be used to remind the conscious mind of what it has learnt, and to enable the rider to take control of any situation that may still concern them.

The 4th part is the termination. This where the hypnotic state is brought to an end with dialogue that allows the listener to bring with them all the thoughts and ideas that they want to into the waking world. Leaving them feeling alert, wide-awake, yet very relaxed.

Once the rider is in control of there inner thoughts, ideas and feelings, they can use this positive relaxed state of mind to overcome many issues.

"This form of therapy has been used in sports psychology for many years, for Olympic competitors, footballers and for many other sports, but, because of the author's own experience in the equestrian field, she has aimed it at horse riders"

Many of you will be familiar with the use of Hypnotherapy for smoking cessation, to control over eating, and helping to cure phobias and fears, but Clinical Hypnotherapy has been approved of in medical circles since the 1950's, as a serious form of therapy used to help many emotional, psychological, and physical ailments such as; anxiety, depression, insomnia, panic attacks and stress, and for confidence building.

		SHARON SHINWELL. has competed, bred and owned horses for over 25 years, is a qualified Hypno - Psychotherapist and Counsellor. 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		So the aim of The Confident Rider Series CD's is two fold, to neutralise old negative thoughts and feelings, and then replace them with new positive ones. The CD’s are aimed at riders, from those that like to stroll along the roadside on a quiet hack, to those that are competing as a profession.

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