Denise Billen-Mejia 0:07
Welcome to Two hypnotherapists talking with me, Denise Billen-Mejia in Delaware, USA.
Martin Furber 0:13
And me Martin Furber in Preston UK.
Denise Billen-Mejia 0:16
This weekly podcast is for anyone and everyone who'd like to know more about fascinating subject of hypnosis, and the benefits that it offers.
Martin Furber 0:24
I'm a clinical hypnotherapist and psychotherapist,
Denise Billen-Mejia 0:27
I'm a retired medical doctor turned consulting hypnotist.
Martin Furber 0:31
We are two hypnotherapists talking.
Denise Billen-Mejia 0:34
So let's get on with the episode.
Martin Furber 0:36
Yeah, let's get on with the show. Indeed. Denise Denise Denise, introduce our guest this week.
Denise Billen-Mejia 0:42
I can't! I can read her name is Beverley Densham. And I know her sister's Julie, but I don't know very much about Beverley. So let's make her Introduce herself shall we? Bev what would you like to talk to us about today? I know you're not a hypnotist. We've had a couple of people on who aren't, and we're absolutely fine with that, because there's everything's all holistic, right? How do you help people?
Beverley Densham 1:06
I love to help people with their bodies, their minds, a mindfulness Pilates teacher of over 25 years now and author. And yeah, I originally started the teaching journey through my own personal pain, and I had back pain, and I was in Australia, and I'd been to sports injuries clinic and I found I was introduced to Pilates. I'd never heard of it a form of exercise. And I realised that helps very much. And after a road trip, very quite severe road traffic accident. I was like What on earth am I going to do for a living and I've done this Sports Science degree, I was fascinated by psychology and mindset and how the mind can help the body but also and how exercise can help the body and the mind. So I ended up having in-person studios in Hertfordshire, for 16 years. Then I set a goal to move to Dorset by the sea, which is my happy place. And I now have a zoom studio teaching mindfulness Pilates with either one to one or I teach groups of small beginner groups of up to five people at a time or maximum 10 in my classes,
Denise Billen-Mejia 2:17
Has that replaced your teaching in the physical world. Have you just morphed into just doing zoom?
Speaker 3 2:24
99%. Today I have been 90% on Zoom and I have been sort of a little bit at a studio down the road in person. But 99% of my work now, because I discovered in the, it's because of the pandemic, but then it's because it works. And because clients are benefiting just as much. And I can see what they're doing as long as their camera is set up properly on their laptop.
Denise Billen-Mejia 2:51
Exactly like hypnosis, but now people are so much more comfortable in the online.
Beverley Densham 2:56
Yeah, yeah. And I think as long as as long as,you know you're teaching it properly, you can see what they're doing, you can correct their alignment, make sure they're in the correct position, yes, demonstrate each exercise, then sit up to walk the client or clients through. And it's great because you can see them side on if they're lying on their back, you can see a little bit at the floor, you can see their mat, you can see their position. And then I think half of them feel like they're having a one to one. I'm still talking to everybody, still looking after everybody, making sure it's done properly. I realised in my early days, I put my hands on the clients so much moving their feet, and you know, but actually, you have to obviously verbally cue the corrections, to make sure it's done properly, but they've got a better way. In a way it's better, because it means you're empowering them how to practice on their own better, and I am encouraging them to you know, to incorporate it into their lifestyle. And you know, practice a little six minutes of you know, Pilates exercise in the morning before breakfast or first thing and of course, they're gonna then do it better on their own because they're moving themselves into the position or the the video on Zoom is like a mirror and then they can like oh, they're like this one shoulder up one down and they're supposed to be lifting evenly they can also, look with their eyes, like having a big mirror there. So it's quite actually quite, it's actually quite useful. So if it didn't work, I wouldn't do it but because they are getting the same benefit and they can be anywhere in the world now, you know, all over the UK.
Denise Billen-Mejia 4:28
That's the other lovely part. Yeah.
Beverley Densham 4:30
Yeah, and it means my Mum can come as well and my sister Julie, who's been a guest on your podcast, and how lovely is that? And they live over 100 miles away.
Denise Billen-Mejia 4:39
I have a friend I'm going to be sending this episode to who moved to Costa Rica a year and a half ago and has recently qualified as a Pilates instructor. She's opening her own studio. So I will be pointing this out to her too.
Martin Furber 4:53
I would say Denise as well. This is where I first came across Bev on LinkedIn with her online Pilates And of course, we're all used to seeing a Zoom Room like this where we're talking face to face. But you can see Ben's clients in rows. They're on their Pilates mat on the floor all doing the online Pilates. It's fantastic, really inspirational stuff.
Denise Billen-Mejia 5:15
So how did it, was it the pain that you had, you're after the accident, that took you into Pilates for yourself?
Beverley Densham 5:25
Yeah, initially for myself, initially, it was the initial thing was having back pain in Australia, and that's when I initially got into Pilates. And that was in Bondi Beach in Sydney. And it really helped but then I when I was then working in Darwin in Northern Queensland, I was involved in this quite, well, very severe sort of road traffic accident when I was cycling to work one morning. And a car hit me when I was cycling to work. And thankfully, I was wearing a helmet, because my helmet did smash the windscreen. The second impact was my wrist shattered on the bonnet of the car, and I had to have that an operation here, plate and screw through the wrist, and then my back landed on the road. But I said to Martin before, it wasn't just the physical rehabilitation. Of course, I saw the surgeon I saw the physiotherapist once I was back in the UK. But it was also a mental rehabilitation thing, that I'd never experienced before.
Denise Billen-Mejia 6:29
Were you, Right? Exactly. Were you frightened of those situations, like if I cross a road, I'll get hit by something.
Beverley Densham 6:36
Yes, certain things would trigger me into a panic attack, and reliving, reliving and just constantly, until I had the right therapy, reliving the experience. And that high anxiety, and ended up with depression and chronic, very, very severe chronic fatigue, actually. And so went on a whole sort of a road to recovery. So I obviously saw the right you know, medical professionals and I did see a psychologist actually, and did the cognitive behavioural therapy. For me, it was another form of therapy, which really helped me heal from that point of view, which is, which is really helpful. And then the Pilates I was like, I'm so glad I found it because it gave me something to do, it gave me something and it gave me something positive to focus on. And I even did the, I loved it so much, and it helped me so much body and mind. And in that mental healing as well. I remember training as a teacher over 25, quite a bit over 25 years ago now, actually, with the splint still on my wrist and not being able to use that left part of my body, but they were quite happy to have me. And I was so happy to train and, and that's what inspired. I was like, wow, this, because it had helped me so much with all my aches and pains and recovery. I was like, I really would like to help other people with this. And I opened my studio straightaway, actually, I was lucky I found somewhere that had a car park amazingly, at the back of a leisure centre. And I was able to start with just a few clients and a few classes, and it built up to... It actually built up to me having a team of like five teachers and a full time admin. And then I had a second studio, a big studio and a little studio, I mean, sort of maximum sort of nine clients and maximum four, so one, two, or three or four clients. And it was just I helped a lot, hundreds of clients a week actually there and it did do well. It was successful. And and then I moved here and started all over again.
Beverley Densham 7:43
But what prompted the move?
Unknown Speaker 8:49
Okay, well.
Denise Billen-Mejia 8:51
Oh sorry, if it's bad, if it's bad, you don't have to say. You can make something up - We won't know!
Beverley Densham 8:56
It's bad, but I'm happy to share it.
Martin Furber 8:59
Are you sure? Because we can cut it out if you want and just ask a different question.
Beverley Densham 9:04
I did experience a traumatic divorce of emotional and psychological abuse. And I did end up calling police and social services who took me and my three year old son away at the time, actually. And it took a lot of healing. And I set a goal. I was like, actually, where do I want to live for the rest of my life? As I became more and more healed, and I still managed to run the studios which I think's a miracle. But four years later, I made this goal and four years later I achieved that. The sea is really my happy place, it's like, actually for the second half of my physical life here, I think I'd like to live by the sea, and I'm still really really close with my sister Julie and my mum and dad and family. But we just have to pop backwards and forwards or we see each other on Zoom many times a week. We got through it so that I started all over again. And I really did start all over again.
Denise Billen-Mejia 10:06
Yes, you started all over again, but now you've got this huge font of knowledge.
Beverley Densham 10:10
Oh, yeah, it's amazing.
Denise Billen-Mejia 10:12
You know that you can be successful. Yeah.
Beverley Densham 10:15
Yeah. Did you know? Yeah, a couple of my friends have said that recently, like, I've done it before, and I can do it again. And it's just educating. It's a bit like with your, um, by the way, I'm such a fan of the work that you both do. Because I've seen it transform somebody very close to me, who had, you know, horrendous mental health and four sessions turned their life around from being on a, you know, on a waiting list with the NHS and they went privately to see somebody like yourself, and four sessions, and the turnaround has been incredible. So, it's about educating people, isn't it in your work? And in my work that I'm seeing evidence of it, of course, that you're getting those same benefits and results for the client.
Martin Furber 11:04
It is isn't it? It's the preconceptions, though some of it? I mean, there are lots of preconceptions about hypnosis, you know, it's swinging watches!
Denise Billen-Mejia 11:13
Unfortunately, fuelled by the movies and TV. Yeah, but understandable for entertainment services.
Martin Furber 11:18
Well then, mindfulness, for example. My first impressions of it were that you sit there for 25 minutes staring at a blueberry and getting in the moment sort of thing. And then when somebody explained it to me fully, and then I did my own research on it, and it's like, yeah, I get it. I absolutely get it, and I could see absolutely see the benefits of it as well. One of the first questions I asked that Hypno college, back in the day was what's the difference between hypnotherapy and mindfulness? My tutor gave me a really good simple explanation. She said mindfulness is where we are getting ourselves into the moment in our own headspace and trance. Whereas with hypnotherapy, we are being guided into a trance. And I thought that was a really simple and accurate explanation. What do you think Bev?
Beverley Densham 12:09
That's really interesting. I mean, I ended up calling it Mindfulness-Pilates. I mean, I think so many things can just be mindful anyway. I mean, to me, Pilates exercise is mindful anyway, because there are eight principles of Pilates. And it's about it's about being in the moment with each, you've got breathing, the eight principles of breathing, relaxation, centric, which is your core stability, working your deep abdominals and having that back support. Alignment and being in a good posture and alignment and position during each whether it's strength exercise, core stability exercise, back strengthening exercise, stretch, whatever you happen to be doing, whether it's sitting standing lying down.
Denise Billen-Mejia 12:54
When you have a client to the table, sorry, sorry. Sorry.
Beverley Densham 12:59
The last one. Sorry, because I started describing it. Do I have it like,
Denise Billen-Mejia 13:04
You're seeing it in your head - sorry carry on.
Beverley Densham 13:06
Yeah. So relaxation, breathing, centering, alignment, then you've got concentration, coordination, flowing movements and stamina. And basically, the more Pilates you do, the more stamina you get. And when you keep learning, you keep improving and each of those areas.
Denise Billen-Mejia 13:20
Sorry, my interruption was to ask you. How do you deal with people who may have a particular challenge when it comes to the posture, whatever, obviously, when you had a broken wrist that you had some challenges, but there are people who have balance issues or have had neurological damage of some kind. Do you need to see them as individual clients? Is it just too too customised to be in a big group? Or do you see only people who've had stroke victims in this particular class?
Beverley Densham 13:54
Okay, so it really it really depends. I mean, I do work at a physiotherapy clinic as well down the road with neurological things. One of my close local friends is a physiotherapist and a Pilates teacher and I actually shadowed her for about six weeks in her classes actually, because she wanted me to take her over her Parkinson's class. This is pre-pandemic, her Parkinson's class, and her back pain, one of her back pain classs. So I shadowed her for six weeks at the back pain stuff, is very every day for me, and I'm very, very good at helping people with that, usually needs to be one to one to start with, because there's so many levels within where some I don't know phases of the rehabilitation kind of thing, and I've worked them closely alongside a physio or a chiropractor. When it comes to neurological, some neurological thing. I'm not my zone of genius. So, I have for example taught somebody with MS. However, I worked very closely with the physiotherapist I taught them in person, their wife came along as well, just to, to know, you know what they're doing and likely join in and be a support there. And so that they knew, you know, could support during practising at home and things like that. With Parkinson's, I think it's very important something like that I'm very good at teaching that. But that isn't in for me, that is an in-person.
Denise Billen-Mejia 15:23
one on one
Beverley Densham 15:23
No, it can be group but one on one initially, then it can be in a group, but there needs to be the support of things like chairs to doing sitting work, or when they can do standing work and some balance work, but with chair support, so one of those clients from that class does work with me regularly on Zoom, but that's because I know them so well. They've really retained over probably, well, the last few years, they've retained, their level of fitness hasn't declined. But they still use the chair for support, do some sitting, they might prefer to do the relaxation lying on their side, they don't use hardly any equipment, because, or I teach things like one minute journaling in some of the classes that in my elderly class, because I do have a class for elderly and all ages. Everybody is welcome in this class, but I don't actually call it that. But it is all ages. And I've got several elderly, including the gentleman with Parkinsons, and it works so well you know, some something like my dad who's had a hip replacements in there, but I helped him in the two weeks post recovery from the hip replacement and this is not neurological. You know, it's a hip replacement not neurological, so what I'm trying to say is it really depends, and then then I taught him one to one until he was back playing golf. He's 85 years old. And then he got promotion to class when he's ready though. So, it goes through stages somebody else had arthritis in the hip who worked one to one arthritis that she's actually had balance problems as well. So different things can bring on balance problems. Her balance problems were a lot of weakness actually in the muscles and she needed a lot of what I find a lot of clients need is, they need the standing kind of hip-replaced post hip-replacement physio type of basic Pilates and then they can progress from there.
Denise Billen-Mejia 15:45
So you said that you work closely with a physical therapist? Do you cope...
Beverley Densham 17:26
Physiotherapy? Yes.
Denise Billen-Mejia 17:30
Yes. Do you co-develop programmes or you sort of see where you might fit in?
Beverley Densham 17:37
Sorry, I missed the question.
Denise Billen-Mejia 17:39
Did I freeze?
Beverley Densham 17:40
Yeah, sorry. Sorry.
Denise Billen-Mejia 17:43
No, my question was, do you co-develop a programme with a physiotherapist or do you work with them, you just sort of fit into their way of what they've already got going.
Beverley Densham 17:56
I feel I just fit in. So what happens is somebody is seeing for example, a physio they might have seen a consultant, seen their doctor, maybe had an MRI scan, seen a consultant, I've got the results of that. They're then seeing the physiotherapist for example, I then know exactly what exercises they've been given. And I either work closely alongside, or I can just work alongside knowing exactly where it's been pitched at from a physiotherapy point of view, and then we can progress from there, and that works really well, and then they get their next exercises. And it's like a natural teaching, working really in a really good synchronicity actually. It works so well actually.
Denise Billen-Mejia 18:45
So what's your catchment area? Do you have people from all over come? Obviously, Zoom it's the world, but in the area you work how big a draw do you have for people to come to you one on one in person?
Beverley Densham 19:01
Um, in the olden days, people would travel as far as London and half Hertfordshire and now...
Denise Billen-Mejia 19:09
Sorry, I am English but it's a long long time since I've lived there Yeah, how many hours of travel that is
Beverley Densham 19:16
Yeah, that's not hours of travel, so that would be like half an hour to an hour travel. Here, I just teach in Poole, Dorset by the sea for, in person work, but most people apart from the neurological side of things most people want to work with me on Zoom. They find it convenient time efficient, it fits in their day.
Denise Billen-Mejia 19:38
No need to worry about the weather.
Beverley Densham 19:40
No no no excuses with the weather, and come along and just get on with it and then get on with their day. So you know but yeah, in relation to, yeah, people come from the Poole and Dorset area to see me and then but mostly, it's on Zoom.
Martin Furber 19:57
I love some of the stress to calm stuff you've done with lawyers over the months, that I've been following LinkedIn. And it's sort of like, de-stress them in the lunch break or even in the afternoon break which is fabulous stuff.
Denise Billen-Mejia 20:11
So how did you acquire a sort of lawyer following? Did you happen to just have attorneys working with you in Pilates,
Beverley Densham 20:19
No, what happened was, I love doing business networking on Zoom. And this lovely lawyer had been in my group for at least two years, I had no idea that suddenly out of the blue, she said, Bev, I, you know, she just spoke to me privately and said, I'd really like you to help me with my stress levels. And I said, Yes, of course, I can help with your stress levels. And so I taught her mindfulness Pilates, but her secondary pain, as well as the high levels of stress was low back pain, sciatica, and some low, low back prolapse discs. But she only actually needed like three sessions with me with the stress to calm to really reduce her stress and feel much better than then it was about maintenance. And what I realised when I was teaching her is I can actually take the mat, the tracksuit bottoms, leggings, and most of the Pilates out of it. And I could teach all the tools, a lot of the other tools I teach within Pilates, at the desk, practically and for teams and not just individuals. So I said would you like me to help your team as well, she's a partner and her name is Anna. She's a partner in a law firm called Roby Morris in Hampshire. And she's actually going to write the foreword to our new book. I'm really proud of that, because it's like, I've worked with them for six months, the whole team. And it was amazing. So I started teaching one minute-tools, seven one-minute tools. Lots of different versions, and they can't just do the same thing all the time, obviously. You know, and it works. And I was like, wow, this is really working and helping them so much not just her, she just then needs like brushing your teeth, you have to keep doing it. You got to keep brushing your teeth to keep your teeth clean. You've got to keep doing your Pilates to stretch out and breathe and destress and keep your body strong. And your posture Okay, not slumping like a banana. And it's the same with the stress to calm tools. I sort of just pace them into one minute, often setting a timer. And they can do it as one minute individual tools. Or they could do it as a workshop for regular classes like they did with me. And it sort of went from there really teaching you know, meditation, learn how to use positive affirmations stretching for the head, neck and shoulders at the desk. Power stretching with the, you know, some high power-pose positions. I created tools like calm to happy which we've got multiple facets of benefits with it. One minute journaling, which I love the fact that quite many, quite a few doctors seem to be recommending it as well these days.
Denise Billen-Mejia 21:21
Probably using it themselves!
Beverley Densham 23:02
Yes, yes! Like Dr. Rangan Chatterjee, I'm you know, I love hearing this and goal setting visualisation. So I listened to your episode, of course on visualisation and everything. And in my sports science, that was quite a big thing in psychology, Sports Science, Sports Psychology visualisation, particularly for athletes. But I'd like well, actually, we'll use this, I might use it as well in injury rehabilitation with clients as well, who might have had a broken leg and I helped them, you know, at least they can still come to pass but not use that bit of their body and visualise what they're doing. And but I do that at the desk with the lawyers or corporate where they visualise a personal goal, take them into that relaxed state and visualise a personal goal. And it helps them with their work life balance, because a lot of people are very good at going doing their work.
Denise Billen-Mejia 23:55
Yeah, I mean, it's, it's pretty much hypnosis. Yes. Just therapeutic imagination.
Martin Furber 24:01
Yeah, take them into a state of relaxation and mentally rehearse - That's hypnosis! And this is what we were saying about other therapies, how, you know, they interlink how the commonality that's there, and the same sort of end goal that we all have, which is to get our clients where they want to be, you know, in a holistic way.
Beverley Densham 24:22
Yeah, and I think, yeah, exactly. But I think what you're doing, that deep therapeutic work, and often, you know, might be quite a big mental health problem that you're helping with, whereas I suppose I'm helping it the in between stage it can be prevention, I think, but it's that sort of daily. I'd love to, I'm excited to teach it more. I have taught quite a few lawyers and law firms over the last year and the statistics, I'm so glad, I hated statistics at university! However, I was like this is very interesting and a bit like you getting your ED machine And I love I actually now love statistics because this is really interesting. And what I'd do I'd, I'd score some of each person's sort of stress score before and after each session, and then I do the statistics on it. And over the last year apart, apart from if someone's been on holiday, that sort of thing, the stress level might not change in that session. But overall, it's been a 40 to 75% reduction in stress and using those seven one-minute tools that I've used with them in that one session.
Martin Furber 25:31
Wow, that's impressive. It's funny you talking about the EEG machine! Because yeah, the cat's out of the bag.
Beverley Densham 25:37
Oh, how's it going?
Martin Furber 25:38
Well, yeah, the cats out of the bag. I can make an official announcement now. I'm going to be teaching hypnotherapy next year. Oh, yeah, and the school, the college I'm working for, they're the ones who are introducing the EEG machine into their teaching programme. So people can actually see their depth of trance, because it's one thing explaining it to people. And of course, as we say about misconception, pseudoscience, this that and the other. People can actually see with this imaging equipment, what happens to their brainwaves when they're in hypnotic trance as opposed to when they're just relaxing. Because there's a difference, but yes, I'm going to be teaching hypnotherapy next year.
Beverley Densham 26:25
Fantastic. I'm very excited.
Martin Furber 26:27
Yeah, I am too.
Beverley Densham 26:30
That's really, really good. And all your mental health and all your mental health first aid work as well. It's all very important.
Martin Furber 26:39
Yeah, I'm on another two week training next week. So I can deliver their entire portfolio. Yeah, so that's, that's another two weeks when I will just be blinkers on and head down concentration.
Denise Billen-Mejia 26:51
OK, well we'll get ahead and record some stuff before you go into hibernation. I think what I think is very interesting is that everybody carries their stress in a different place.
Martin Furber 27:04
Mm hmm.
Denise Billen-Mejia 27:05
Mine is between my shoulder blades. And I will notice the pain before I realise I'm stressed. I'm not sure if that's teaching me it, but everybody has it. Some people get headaches. Some people have lower back pain. So yeah, yeah. Oh, you're a headache person. Do you work much with like headache clinics or any of that?
Beverley Densham 27:23
I haven't, but I am very interested in it. Because after childbirth, I nearly died then actually. I won't tell you too many more sad stories. But I had a Pre-aclamptic fit.
Denise Billen-Mejia 27:32
And so did I. Five hours after delivery. Sorry, Martin, you'll never be able to share this with us.
Martin Furber 27:44
I'll talk about testicular trauma instead.
Beverley Densham 27:48
Well, it's important we talk about these things.
Martin Furber 27:52
Absolutely.
Beverley Densham 27:54
Like looking at all of us today you would...
Denise Billen-Mejia 27:56
Was yours postpartum, that's really..
Beverley Densham 27:58
Mine was at the very end of childbirth, actually.
Denise Billen-Mejia 28:02
But the baby was fine?
Beverley Densham 28:03
Well we went into special care. And I was in an intensive care.
Denise Billen-Mejia 28:08
Yeah.
Beverley Densham 28:10
But the headaches and the difficulty with light after that. They were wondering if there was any brain damage in any way because, anyway, had the brain scan that was okay. But having suffered from those headaches, and then a period of migraines as well, what was very interesting what I, I experimented myself sometimes, like sometimes I've managed to heal a migraine myself, within about a minute purely because of doing some head and neck stretches, which are more the physiotherapy type, you know, sort of neck stretches and neck stretches and neck stretches, eyes closed in the dark sitting on a bed and doing all the very basic, good posture and neck stretches, and sometimes that took it away. And other times I'd have to have a sleep as well. So I sort of have a personal interest in that. I haven't actually worked with any, you know, particular, you know, clinics or anything like you said, but I have noticed that there seems to be from my observation, a big correlation between posture, muscle tension and not doing enough head, neck, shoulder and stretching, because sometimes that can alleviate it without needing a painkiller. Because that's all that's needed, that people are just stuck in all positions so long. They just actually need to move more, walk more, get out in the fresh air like.
Denise Billen-Mejia 29:36
I think, I think we've got the fourth, the title for your fourth book. Mindfulness for headaches! I think that it's very exciting. I'm really interested in talking to my friend Amy who's now is newly a newly minted instructor she has practised Pilates for a long time. I don't know if she's, if she's got a particular niche that she's working with, or just anybody wants to go down to Costa Rica and have lovely time.
Martin Furber 30:11
Ooh, that sounds fun.
Beverley Densham 30:13
Yeah, exactly, exactly. It's funny, I did all the training and absolutely everything. And I had all the big equipment that I had eleven reformers, four rehab-reformers at one point, with all the springs and pulleys and Cadillac, and you name and everything. And it's funny, I've now gone back to basics, back to that work, back to something that people can practically use in their everyday life. And, and then yeah, adding in, being able to create a book, you know, as well like the stress to calm in seven minutes for lawyers and teachers and nurses, you know, that it's lovely that people can grab that and have a go and make a difference themselves in that way as well. It's quite nice.
Denise Billen-Mejia 30:13
Yeah, just knowing that they'll be able to do something about it is huge help.
Martin Furber 31:00
Well, what you were just talking about then, about when we're carring stress and headaches. You're too young to remember it, but Denise will and I do. And, Denise was still in this country at the time, so you will as well then. The Anadin adverts, 'tense nervous headache' at the back of the neck, you remember it?
Denise Billen-Mejia 31:23
It's anasin here. I don't think you see it anymore. I do remember those ads. Yeah,
Martin Furber 31:28
Just it's funny, isn't it? You know we talk about these little triggers in your old neural pathways and things going back, I immediately visualised that anadin advert with the 'tense nervous headache?'
Beverley Densham 31:41
I don't know that one.
Martin Furber 31:42
No, you're too young.
Denise Billen-Mejia 31:44
We're too old!
Beverley Densham 31:44
I was sitting, I was teaching Pilates today, and some of the clients turned up so stressed, and actually we did the rather, we did a relaxation at the beginning, and a tense and release relaxation. Whereas other times I might teach a body scan meditation. But I think one of the best times to practice that it's like at the dentist because you might really tense up a bit of your body, and release that your body and it sort of trains you to not be you know, so tense.
Martin Furber 32:15
I know we do the same thing in hypnosis, with the progressive muscle relaxation, we can get somebody to really clench their fists, and then let go, and feel that relaxation going up your arm, and that kind of thing.
Beverley Densham 32:26
Yeah, I did that one this morning, to these very stressed clients on arrival.
Martin Furber 32:32
No, but it's great. It works. And this is why, you know, we wanted to get different guests on the show, because the commonalities are there, across all the holistic type of things. And that's really good. Really, really good. We're almost at the end of the show, believe it or not. So what I'm going to ask you is, would you, is there anything you'd like to tell our viewers and listeners about mindfulness that they may not know? Okay, you know, if they have any misconceptions or anything like that, is there anything you'd like to tell?
Beverley Densham 33:03
Yeah, I mean, I had somebody ask me this the other day in one of my business networking, how much, he said how much mindfulness is in it? And I said, Well, you're a golfer, I would also call golf, being very mindful. You've got to concentrate on your, you're aiming to hit that ball towards that, you know, hole or whatever. So that is also mindful. He's like, Oh, right. You know, you can be playing tennis, you can be playing badminton, golf, squash, you can go on a mindful walk. But you know, I think everyday life for everyone has mindfulness in it. But whether you like the word or not, is another matter. Some people don't like the word.
Denise Billen-Mejia 33:48
But that's because of the the prejudice from the 'woo-woo' side of things.
Beverley Densham 33:50
So yeah, okay. Well, you know, it's just being in the moment. Of course, there are in depth ways of teaching that but I would say if a practitioner or teacher like yourselves resonates, and you know, it's it. By the way, hypnotherapy is wonderful for anyone with a mental health problem, please don't wait on a waiting list. Just book in with them, please. That's what I would like to say very strongly today. Yeah, and I think you know, you like somebody's teachingh style, you like their personality, you know, they've got the qualifications, the experience. It's a bonus, if somebody has a personal experience, like Martin has that, you know, personal experience of recovery from, you know, both, you know that traumatic past work situation, and from a weight loss situation. I mean, you know, that person then becomes a role model as well. And then obviously, Denise, you've got that, you know, your doctor's background as well. And I think, it's just whatever resonates from that, and what I think, you know, you can tailor it to each client as well. So that particular golfer I know he wants to book in. He's had back problems on and off, and on and off, and eventually he'll book in when he realises he doesn't have to do one minute chaneling and a ten minute meditation, and that is absolutely fine. You know, I think you work you tailor it to each person that comes along. I think that works, but of course you've got your, each person's got their own style, as well I think, mindfulness you know, and mindfulness Pilates, or as you say, the mindfulness in what you do, is just incredibly valuable.
Martin Furber 33:50
It is important to, you know, get rid of these misconceptions people have by explaining it clearly as you've just done. It's the same with hypnosis. As soon as you explain to somebody, that they actually go into hypnosis several times a day naturally, and you give them examples of it, they click, they realise, yeah, okay. Yeah, they get it, as it were.
Beverley Densham 35:48
Exactly. It's like you were saying in one of your other episodes on your podcast, you were talking about visualisation, and people can't think they can't visualise and then you saying well, what colour's your front door, what's the number on your front door? And they're like, Oh! Is that all that visualisation is? It's the same when I do it with people, and they're like, Oh, okay.
Martin Furber 36:08
You've got to make it relatable. And then people realise, oh, yeah, I can be mindful. I do go into hypnosis. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
Beverley Densham 36:15
When there's a bit of, I think, also, I find a lot of people I work with appreciate the science and research behind things. And that's what we're doing with our books as well. There's science and research behind every single tool. But one of my favourite studies I heard from Dr. David Hamilton was called the piano study. And I find it very, quite fascinating. So half of the participants in the study had played the piano, I think it's for about two hours, they played, you know, certain notes, or physically on the piano, and the other half of the participants had to visualise playing those notes on the piano. And then the brain scans afterward. They couldn't tell who had physically played the piano and who hadn't. And I think when you bring these other research, I think a lot of people find that very motivating. Wow. So if I do that, and that right, what a difference take it to creating action and working in the mind is so powerful. So yeah, thank you. Yeah, thank you for that.
Martin Furber 37:13
There's increasing evidence out there all the time on things, which is great, which is great. But we're almost at the end of the show. So I'd like to thank you for coming on. We're gonna put in the show notes, how people can get in touch with you, and the title of your upcoming book as well. But Denise, I'm going to leave the final words to you.
Denise Billen-Mejia 37:32
I'm gonna be in touch with you. I think there's some collaborative work we may be able to do. So I'm very it was really nice meeting you. It was a pleasure to meet your sister, and it's a pleasure to meet you. And next time I'm in Britain, I will come down to the Poole area, because I used to spend my Sundays there quite often as a child.
Denise Billen-Mejia 38:03
We hope you've enjoyed listening. Please remember, this podcast is designed to give you an insight into therapeutic hypnosis, and is for educational purposes only. So remember, consult with your own healthcare professional. If you think something you've heard may apply to you are a loved one.
Martin Furber 38:19
If you found this episode useful, you can apply for free continuing professional development or CME credits. Using the link provided in the show notes. Feel free to contact either of us through the links in the show notes. Join us again next week.
