Mind over matter?

With guided imagery and self-hypnosis it is possible to focus your energy, relax before surgery, ignore pain, even change your health habits.

“I’ve seen the pain on faces melt away,” says Chris Master. “The satisfaction for me, personally, is to have that kind of effect – to empower people to help themselves get a sense of control back.”

Master is a certified adult nurse practitioner and an operating room nurse. She brings more than 35 years of experience to an independent holistic practice of guided imagery at the Cordelia Knott Center for Wellness in Orange, Calif. Master is certified in both clinical hypnosis and interactive guided imagery.

Through the Center for Wellness, Master offers a mind-body surgery-preparation program, interactive guided imagery and self-hypnosis training. She sees clients on Thursdays and Fridays at the Center.

Q: Let’s talk about breast cancer patients facing surgery, since these are the bulk of your clients. How do you help them?

A: These patients are usually pretty overwhelmed. I teach them how to focus, how to be in a more relaxed state, more comfortable and with less pain, more in control and with less anxiety.

Studies show patients who are able to reach this state use half as much pain medication and recover more quickly. And that’s all types of surgery, not just breast cancer.

Q: Give me an idea how this works.

A: Relaxation alone through guided imagery or self-hypnosis will help with the pain level. Stress accentuates pain. But it’s more than that. I also work with their thinking process. Usually a lot of negative thinking stirs up the stress response.

We’re talking about cognitive restructuring changing the way you think.

Q: Mind, body, spirit right?

A: Yes. In your mind, thoughts create emotions, and that can translate into physical stress response. There are ways of stopping those patterns, such as breathing exercises, affirmations and so on. The body part is actually physical relaxation. The spirit is what meaning you give to this, how you are looking at this from a spiritual perspective.

Q: Can these techniques work with all kinds of pain?

A: Pretty much any kind of pain acute or chronic can be accessed this way. Actually, this approach has been around since the beginning of time.

There is a type of guided-imagery teaching and healing in every culture.

Q: How does “science” respond to what you are doing?

A: The interesting thing is they are now finding out scientifically how this works through functional MRIs and PET scans. They can track the pathways of pain and during hypnosis see what happens and how the brain changes.

Q: What’s the difference between guided imagery and hypnosis?

A: Imagery is the therapeutic use of imagination. Imagine something with sensory qualities, like (resting) on the beach. Hypnosis tends to be more suggestive. You get into a relaxed, focused concentration and the unconscious mind is open to taking in positive suggestions.

Q: Do most people respond positively to guided imagery and hypnosis?

A: The estimate is about 10 (percent) to 15 percent of people are not susceptible and about 15 percent are very susceptible. The rest are on a bell curve to some degree. The same applies to guided imagery.

Who’s most susceptible? People who can get involved in a movie or a book and lose all awareness of their surroundings.

People who can focus.

Q: Once you learn these techniques, I assume a person can use them over and over again for other problems in life beyond impending breast cancer surgery?

A: That’s the point of what I hope to do.

Q: Your program is just one of several at the Cordelia Knott Center for Wellness. There’s everything from yoga to tai chi, massage therapists to healing drum circles. The program is very extensive.

A: Yes, it is. Call us at (714) 541-9355 or go to www.ckwellnesscenter.org to find out what we offer. We even have a Laughter Club and a class in the magic and wisdom of doodling.

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(Contact the writer, (949) 679-6913 or jghaascox.net)

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(c) 2007, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.).

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AP-NY-06-01-07 0604EDT