I am buzzing again tonight with all the information that was given during training today. We spent the majority of the day soaking up as much of Jennifer’s vast wealth of information on hypnosis as possible. She walked us through the process of testing clients for their primary way of processing: kinesthetic, visual or auditory. I was riveted the whole time with all the information as we went through each exercise, and it was so immensely valuable for me to be taken through the process of discovering my own primary sense (and now I know that I can chalk that up to the fact that I am highly kinesthetic, and so I learn best by doing…).
And even better, I then came home and tried some hypnosis out on a friend, thinking that Jennifer had made it look easy, so why not? Well, I got an opportunity to learn that this is going to take a lot of practice! The words came easy, but that amazing soothing voice and unwavering confidence I quickly discovered does not just happen right away.
Nevertheless, each new step is teaching me to consider both my potential clients and myself in a whole new light. I can see how much learning to be a doula is about becoming not just well versed, but fluent in the language of the body. A language that, oddly enough, not many people take the time to translate and understand. It is reading someone elses body as much as it is being in touch with your own, and these are skills that are not just important in a doula practice, but in all areas of life – parenting, co-workers, and being in relationship. I feel like while I am learning tools for a specific path, I am simultaneously being blessed with new tools for life.
