Free Hypnosis Session! – Total Relaxation in 10 Minutes

Many of us live very busy and sometimes hectic lives. If you’re looking for an easy way to switch off and unwind, this free guided relaxation session, which is part of my Total Relaxation programme, could be just what you need.

Its best to use stereo headphones to get a real sense of the power of the recording and the dual delivery effect. The mp3s, apps and CDs are of course of higher quality than we’re able to produce here, but I do hope you and enjoy and benefit from it.

Let me know 🙂
All the best
Darren

Click Here for the session

iPhone & iPad Hypnosis App Video: Total Confidence & Success

 

See Darrens full range at:

www.hypnosisappstore.com

The Mail on Sunday – Cancer Support

One of my clients Adele Nicholl has just had her story published in The Mail on Sunday. I’m obviously really pleased to have been able to help her and very grateful for her kind words: http://www.hypnotherapistdirect.com/mail_on_sunday_-_cancer_support.html 

Its Never Too Late To Change

Self development is something that goes on throughout our lives. There are always new things to learn and ways to improve ourselves. In fact the desire to learn, change and experience new things is in my opinion one of the most important purposes and meanings we can apply to our lives. This approach can keep us young at heart, focused of mind and energised in spirit.

Last week I saw my oldest client so far. At the age of 92 and having been referred by a friend this remarkable lady triggered a mixed reaction within me. On the one hand, the fact that events that had occured many years in the past were still troubling her, to the extent that she was having trouble sleeping and enjoying life to the full, seemed very sad. On the other hand I found her very inspiring. If I reach the age of 92 with a mind and wit so sharp I will be very pleased! The fact that she believed she had the power to change her thoughts and therefore her experience of life, despite all those cliches which suggest otherwise when it come to senior citizens was an inspiration.

I felt humbled that I had been chosen to assist someone, who in many ways had so much more life experience than myself, in finding that sense of inner freedom and peace. You don’t have to leave it until you’re in your nineties to sort out your demons! In fact there’s no time like now to begin that task 🙂  

But somehow knowing that there isn’t a time limit and you don’t need to do it all in one go, takes the pressure off and seems to make the journey easier.

Darren Marks

Hypnosis iPhone & iPad apps: www.hypnosisappstore.com

Hypnosis mp3s and CDs: www.hypnotherapistdirect.com

London & Hertfordshire hypnotherapy practise: www.hypnotherapy-london.info

Woody Allen Fights Jean-Claude Van Damme

Two years ago at the age of 37, after a 23 year break I decided to start training in Tae Kwon Do again, this time with my two young sons. We attend a family class which is pretty tame in comparison to some martial arts classes and that suits me. Fighting was never one of my strong points, but I enjoy keeping fit and play fighting and it’s a great shared activity to do with my boys.

Yesterday a new guy, I guess in his early twenties, joined the class. Although he didn’t have a uniform and was placed at the back of the room, I quickly clocked that he was no beginner. For a start he was able to do the splits in the warm up stretches, something I’ve never been able to achieve, even when I was teenager. During the kicking drills the power, skill and intensity of this mans kicks made everyone else stop and look open mouthed. It took all the energy of the poor chap who was holding the pad for him to stay upright under the barrage. I noticed a foreign accent, French perhaps? I was reminded of Jean-Claude Van Damme in the film Kickboxer.

We were then told to put our sparring gear on, boxing gloves, shin, foot and head guards. The instructor placed me with “Jean-Claude” for the first round. Considering I had become accustomed to sparring the other Dad in the class and a few of the younger teenagers, this was a rather daunting prospect. I temporarily forgot all my self development training, and as I visualised myself being carried out on a stretcher, I regressed into a kind of Woody Allen caricature.

You can imagine it, a nervous Woody Allen in boxing gear squaring up to a grim faced Jean-Claude Van Damme, seconds away from round one. Woody decides that the best survival strategy is to make friends and starts asking questions. “What’s your name?” “Been training long?” “Where did you get your boxing gloves?”

At this point the instructor hollered across the hall “Enough Darren! Just tell him you don’t want your head kicked in!”  To which the whole class, myself and Jean-Claude included, burst into laughter.  

The spar itself, although pretty intense went fine. My opponent knew what he was doing and thankfully understood the meaning of “light contact”! He certainly kept me on my toes and pushed me to up my game, which was a good thing. I could definitely feel I’d been training at the end of that session! 

So what can I learn from this little experience? I was impressed with my instructor Chris Snows intervention. In one well timed humorous sentence he was able to put me (and the rest of the class) at ease. There is of course a place for negotiation, but sometimes it’s best to cut to the chase and just get on with it!

Some of the people who come and see me for hypnotherapy have taken years to get to the point when they’re ready to see someone like myself and make the necessary changes in their lives. But when the time is right and a good connection with the tools being used is made, those changes can happen remarkably quickly. As Julie Gill, one of my clients wrote in a review after just a few hypnotherapy sessions: “The resulting changes have been dramatic, I feel calmer and more confident, able to assert myself in situations which in the past would have triggered crippling anxiety. I take myself less seriously yet I value myself more and I’m able to approach work -and life- pressures from a much more balanced, positive perspective.” 

Self development is an ongoing process. It doesn’t end and needs to be regularly maintained. I’d like to thank Jean-Claude and Mr. Snow for reminding me yesterday of the power of being direct, getting to the point, and of course, laughter!  

All the best 

Darren Marks

Live Sessions: www.hypnotherapy-london.info/testimonials.html

CDs & Mp3s:  www.hypnotherapistdirect.com/ 

iPhone & iPad Apps:  www.hypnosisappstore.com/

Help HIV Sufferers in Madagascar with a Mouse Click

As some of you may already know we plant trees in Madagascar through the charity Azafady in direct connection to the number of hypnotherapy cds and hypnosis downloads we sell.  However they do alot more than protect the forests.

Azafady and their HIV specialist, Ailie Judd, have reached the final stage of the Vodafone ‘World of Difference’ campaign for an award which is worth some £45,000 and will bring worldwide attention to Madagascar . 

 If successful, this award will go towards their fight against HIV and other STIs in Fort Dauphin.  With a recent jump in the HIV infection rate of some 64%, twice the national average, the time to act is now – but whether this project goes ahead actually hangs in the balance, depending entirely on a public vote on facebook. So Azafady needs you to visit the facebook site and vote for AILIE JUDD, and spread the word – invite all your friends, family, and mere acquaintances to vote! Every vote counts and could bring this award with all its benefits to Madagascar .

All you need to do is go to: http://www.facebook.com/worldofdifference?v=app_10531514314&ref=ts , sign in to facebook, click on ‘vote now’, allow the polls application, and VOTE FOR AILIE JUDD! And please forward this  message to all your friends on facebook. 

Specifically, if we are successful in this public vote, Ailie’s project will target the group Azafady have found hardest to reach with our current HIV/AIDS awareness programme – pregnant and married women with children; some 6,000 individuals in Fort Dauphin. Ailie will work with healthcare providers to improve their services for women and children and to set up the first ever antenatal group. As a trained social worker with extensive experience in southeast Madagascar , Ailie is in the perfect position to implement this project. She will also train women to become leaders in their community to provide information and support about sexual health care and services. With over 40% of women already having an STI, and with HIV on the increase at double the national average, this project, if funded, will help to prevent what could otherwise soon be an epidemic.

So please help Azafady to win this public vote and make a world of difference for south east Madagascar – vote for AILIE JUDD here: http://www.facebook.com/worldofdifference?v=app_10531514314&ref=ts and please pass it on. 

Be quick! We have less than 7 days – voting closes at midday on Wednesday 28^th July.

 What you can do:

1) Vote yourself on facebook

2) Publish the poll on your facebook with a message to vote for Ailie Judd

3) Forward this message on to your contact list asking them to vote for us too

4) Post the link on your facebook/twitter and encourage everyone you know to vote for AILIE JUDD!

Thank you so much for your time with this – your help is very much appreciated by the whole Azafady team and those that will benefit in Madagascar , 

Best wishes,

Darren

How Hypnotherapy Helps You

When I see people for hypnotherapy it’s always because they’ve had a negative experience of some kind, feel stuck or unable to move forward. Would you like to move from the place of feeling anxious, out of control, or like a victim to being on top of your game, relaxed, confident and successful? 

This story highlights for me (albeit an extreme example) of how it’s possible to take something positive from even the most terrible of situations. Victor Frankel, a psychotherapist and inmate in Auchwitz concentration camp during WW2 describes being forcibly marched during the Polish winter, undernourished and wearing rags to build a railway. As some of his fellow inmates  are dying around him as they march, Victor is imagining himself at the Vienna University after the war; lecturing on the psychology of a concentration camp victim.  

This mindset, thinking of a positive future helped him survive and subsequently help many thousands of people. 

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer (she eventually died from it), I decided to use the skills I’d learned as a hypnotherapist to help her through the experience. Although, obviously I wish she were still here with us today; I chose to take meaning from what seemed like a dire situation both out of respect and love for her but also to help me cope with the sadness and the stress I was experiencing.  

In the final years we became closer and I ended up working at a support centre for people with cancer. I still today receive satisfaction from the work I do. It’s like a tribute to my mum and I remember all the good times we had.

When I see someone who has recognised that their worries about doing something new, meeting new people and expressing themselves in both social and business situations no longer serves them or protects them, I help them see hear and feel that it’s possible to move on from these awkward difficult situations. To make a choice to deal with them and feel more relaxed and confident by learning simple techniques. Different techniques work for different people. 

For you then it is too glib or crass to say you can always turn a negative into a positive. If however you are brave, have a desire to face your fear and want to change an aspect of your life then you can. Some people feel comfortable doing this themselves with the help of a book or an iPhone app or iPad app. This may be a part of your journey, you can use them in your own space and time and they are inexpensive and private. 

Some of you may prefer the personal touch and seek a professional buddy to help you along the way. Using a professional like me is partly about allowing an observer to help you understand your reactions so you can get to the solution more quickly. 

Feeling more positive and better ourselves is a very liberating experience. Please have a look at some of my testimonials and reviews to get a sense of what some people have experienced through the power of my personal support and products. 

Wishing you all the very best, 

Darren Marks

 Hypnosis App Store

Hypnosis CDs & Mp3s

London & Hertfordshire Hypnotherapy Practise

Get Fit & Stay Fit Hypnosis iPhone App

One of the new ones: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/get-fit-stay-fit/id378698071?mt=8

Confident Public Speaking iPad Hypnosis App

Here is a link to one of my new iPad apps:

http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/confident-public-speaking-hd/id378723007?mt=8

All the best

Darren

www.hypnosisappstore.com

What is Hypnosis?

Well hello everyone, this is my first blog post and I’m going to begin by answering or at least partly answering a question I’m often asked. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. What I mean by that is what a hynotherapist or hypnotist does is give people instructions to think about things and imagine things in a particular way. If you follow those instructions you will go into what’s termed a hynotic trance state. If you don’t follow the instructions then nothing happens. It’s an altered state of consciousness from the point of view that its different from the everyday state of mind, yet it’s something that most of us experience regularly on a daily basis. For example, if you have ever read a book, watched a film or seen a play and been so carried away with it, it’s almost like you’re there, you’re a part of it, that’s a hynotic state. If you’ve ever been so absorbed in a task at work of some kind that you become oblivious to everything around you because you’re so focused on that one thing, that again is a hypnotic state. If you’ve ever driven or walked somewhere and when you get to your destination you said ‘How did I get here?’, you’ve forgotten the journey because you’ve been off in a daydream, highway hypnosis is quite a common experience. So the point I’m trying to make is that the hypnotic state is a natural state of mind. It’s something which we all experience pretty much on a daily basis. What’s different here is that this natural ability is harnessed and focused to help people to acheive their goals, whatever they may be.

All the best

Darren

www.hypnosisappstore.com

www.hypnotherapy-london.com

www.hypnotherapistdirect.com