Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy have come a long way from the primitive notions of it being related to mumbo-jumbo and sinister magicians. Today, the world is recognizing hypnotherapy for what it really is ? a life changing force which allows you to conquer your mind. And we would all agree that our mind is indeed the greatest instrument we have to alter our life and to change its course towards success. In the recent years there has been a lot of speculation over hypnotherapy, and it has been found that one of the areas where it can really work for you is to improve your sports performance. If you are an athlete, or aspire to be a sport star; it would be an entirely wise decision to consider hypnotherapy for further honing your skills, and come up with one winning performance after the other. What's more hypnotherapy in High Wycombe and Buckinghamshire is now available at Terry Doherty's clinic. A lot of athletes in the past and in the present swear by what hypnosis has done to their sporting performance, and how they have produced master strokes in every game they have played since they started practicing it. And no other sports person displays the brilliance of Hypnotherapy, than the Golf Maestro, Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods has acknowledged the fact that he turns to hypnotherapy to calm his mind and improve his focus before every game he plays. In fact he is said to have been practicing it ever since he was 13. Golf is a mind game, where each golfer has to think well in advance what shots he/she is going to play. Visualization techniques in hypnotherapy help a golfer do just that. It helps a player to go over the winning strokes in his mind over and over again, till the stroke ? every muscle moved to create it, every angle in the body needed to achieve it, is instilled in the player's mind. Hypnotherapy also helps in calming down the anxiety and nervousness that a player faces before any big game. The soothing effect and the calming quality of hypnotherapy go a long way in instilling a feeling of peace in the player's psyche. And when a player is peaceful, his mind is uncluttered ? that way he can give in his 100% to a shot. He can overlook all distractions, as his mind is completely focused on the perfect stroke. In his mind, he can visualize the next stroke and play it near precision ? the results speak for themselves.

Tiger Woods has been quoted in the August 2001 issue of Golf Magazine saying, "I always have an inner peace on the golf course. I've learned to trust the subconscious, and my instincts have never lied to me." Much of the credit for this inner peace and calm goes to the fact that he practices hypnosis at least once a week. Jay Brunza, is the clinical psychologist who has been working with Tiger Woods for a long time; it is he who introduced Woods to the tools of hypnotherapy, the ways to conquer one's mind, and the methods for self-hypnosis. Jay Brunza taught Woods how to get himself into "the zone" at will. The zone which we are talking about here is a state of complete calm and focus, when a player can bring on his peak performance at will.

A player's state of mind is a major player in the kind of game he/she has. If one is calm, relaxed and focused, the performance too will reflect the same mastery. In fact, the next time you watch Tiger Woods play, pay close attention to his face before he tees off. You will notice that his eyes open wide, and he blink twice. Its not that he can't see clearly, it's just a nugget of hypnotherapy he is using to 'get into the zone'. It's done on purpose, and his victories go a long way in telling us that this post-hypnotic trigger has affected his game more than we give it credit for. If you want to avail of hypnotherapy sessions for sports performance in High Wycombe and Buckinghamshire, get in touch with Terry Doherty on terry@mind-works.co.uk