MindSpa History
Why and How I created the MindSpa
‘It never rains but it pours’
Misfortunes or difficult situations tend to follow each other in rapid succession or to arrive all at the same time.
(Oxford Languages)
For 20 years, I had a few challenges with physical and mental health.
Two misdiagnosed injuries left me in significant pain most of the day and night. To follow, I got a chronic health problem that left me with long-term fatigue. I couldn’t work full-time.
The lack of sleep, lack of energy, and constant discomfort brought gradual isolation and less social contact.
The inability to focus or work brought financial hardship which, of course, made things worse: worry, stress, despair.
I could no longer use exercise to help my mood or to burn off excess energy and stress. It was looking pretty bleak.
needed something I could do to feel better with minimal effort, rescue my mental health, get some respite from the discomfort and heal.
Finding Hope
I’d lost most of my coping strategies, but I wasn’t about to let this be the rest of my life.
Researching and practising hypnotherapy, I discovered skills, techniques, philosophy and psychology that made a difference: I helped friends and clients relax, manage pain, improve mood and free themselves from phobias. If it works for them, it can work for me.
Studying Applied Sport Science, I found research showing that plenty of healing happens without sleep – as long as we can keep the body still.
I also had a small library of hypnosis recordings that I found adequate, but not ideal: I enjoyed the experiences, my body was still, I loved the beautiful trances and the break from constantly thinking; but, each recording was frustrating or missing something important
Creating Sanctuary
I needed something unifying for these beautiful, calming, absorbing hypnotic experiences I was creating.
I needed a setting that would be tranquil, where I could go to feel better, to rejuvenate, to heal and take care of myself,
somewhere peaceful and indulgent…
perhaps a spa ... in the mind
a MindSpa.
I wanted to create something I loved, something I could enjoy again and again. I really needed to keep my body still, help me get some breathing space from all the discomfort, and help me get to sleep. A room for relaxation seemed like the perfect place to start – and, with a little refining, the Journey into Relaxation was born. I got what I needed and more.
Some talented friends created beautiful music, added gradually deepening binaural beats to make things easier (even if I’d had a really tough day), and improved the audio quality. I loved it!
It works!
‘I needed something I could do to feel better with minimal effort, rescue my mental health, to get some respite from the discomfort, and to heal.’
The MindSpa made everything a little easier. It made my life a little better. It bought me a little time and space so I could figure out some other challenges. It helped me keep my body still, my mind occupied and soothe the stress, so that I could get the natural healing done.
Did it cure anything? No. Of course not. It’s not intended to. It’s hypnosis (and, if you like, meditation); it’s not magic – although sometimes it can very much appear magical.
Perhaps, most importantly, at a time when I felt like I couldn’t do anything and I had no agency in my own life (beside spending a lot of time in bed), I used to gently take back control of my life.
With the support of the MindSpa, I experienced powerful transformation.
I used its imagery to access relaxation in seconds, with or without the recording.
I could be present, inside my body, or escape it and leave my body behind.
It helped me get to sleep.
I used it on the bus, on the train and on longer journeys by aircraft.
But that was just the beginning …
Using your imagination and
self-hypnosis
Gently take back control of your life
I found the MindSpa a really useful way of helping people discover, learn and use self-hypnosis. No tricks, no hacks. There’s no need for lengthy rules or instructions, no language patterns to remember. Let’s keep it simple and something you can use immediately.
Imagine you, too, have a spa for your mind. When you enter, you’re greeted by Reception, who takes care of you and your MindSpa, time keeping and can show you around.
Heading deeper from Reception, you find a room for Relaxation, comfortable and easy to find.
Beyond here, there’s a room for scrubbing away stress and, just a bit further on, there’s a room for valuing yourself more.
There’s a library for organising thoughts, sorting your inner filing system and clearing up your mental working space.
And, just outside, there are magnificent gardens for planting and nurturing ideas, dreams, ambition and more; and where you can take out the ‘weeds’.
You might even start adding your own rooms: a room for finding ways to work a little smarter; one for helping your kids through a rough patch; perhaps one for getting creative, designing and painting that spare room.
No such thing as 'perfect'
I’d love to tell you things are perfect now, but that’s not what life is really like. There’s still plenty I want to improve. My MindSpa has seen me through some pretty tough times and has grown with me. Sometimes it has made a big difference; sometimes it has been a small help, and that’s been enough.
Community
Now I host weekly events that people love to attend. The MindSpa structure is so simple and flexible, each week we create something unique. Some love to attend just to hear and be a part of the experience; others like taking what they’ve found and using it in their own lives.
Joy
All this brings me great joy. I’ve found the MindSpa an engaging and enjoyable way of helping people explore ways to empower themselves, making changes as and when they want in their own lives.