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Saturday, September 12, 2009
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Hypnosis turned into a career
By RENEE RICHARDSON Senior Reporter EAST GULL LAKE - Jennifer Miller was a skeptic when she first sought out a hypnotist to help her with chronic back pain.
Miller said the results from that visit in Fargo, N.D., were so successful so quickly she had an epiphany.
"After the first session I was amazed. I felt better than I'd felt in 15 years," Miller said. "Right away when I left there I was like 'I'm doing this.'"
Miller said she always had a desire to help people, but a career in a medical field wasn't the right fit. She grew up in Avon and moved to the lakes area about five years ago with her husband. Miller studied theater in college but she hadn't found a career that really gripped her. She worked as an interior decorator at Madden's resort and found herself working more in the building line since college, even working with her husband to build their own home where she now works with her hypnosis business.
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Jennifer Miller (left) worked with client Sarah Sellnow of Nisswa during a recent session. Miller started her business, Vibe Hypnosis, in the lakes area this summer. She began seeing clients in June. Brainerd Dispatch/Renee Richardson
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After college, Miller worked as a professional actor and continues to work in commercials and industrial videos.
A friend suggested trying a hypnotist as an option for the back pain. Miller had thought hypnosis was mainly used for theater, or for people who wanted to stop smoking or lose weight.
"I was expecting something very different," Miller said, adding most of her clients express the same sentiment. Instead of an exotic setting, Miller found the process more natural and normal.
Miller's clients go to her home and find a minimalist office setting with desk, office chair and a recliner. Sarah Sellnow, Nisswa, first sought Miller out for help with her running, staying on a routine, being positive and consistent. Sellnow said the process brought results. She's remained a regular client.
"I'd recommend it for anybody who have just one thing about themselves they want to change," Sellnow said.
Miller trained more about 100 hours at the Academy for Professional Hypnosis in Wisconsin with director Mary Elizabeth Raines, who was featured on the cover of the June edition of the quarterly The Journal of Hypnotism. The course included additional reading and practice sessions. Miller became a certified hypnotist with the National Guild of Hypnotists.
"It's been way more positive than I ever thought," Miller said of the reaction to her home-based business. "I was a little afraid people would feel the same way I did - kind of skeptical."
But Miller said people have been receptive. She completed the training in May and began seeing clients in June.
"It's been actually, surprisingly great," Sellnow said. "I've had really good results."
Sellnow said she gained a self awareness and learned more about herself in the process.
"It's not an overnight process for me," Sellnow said. "It's little changes that make a world of difference."
While Miller was assuming most clients would be looking for weight loss or help in stopping smoking, their interests have been across the board. Some sought pain management. Others were looking for relief from phobias or stress, or to increase their sports execution such as relieving anxiety in competition or performance.
Miller said she spends four to five hours preparing for a first session.
"Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state," Miller said. "It occurs every morning right as you are waking up and when you are falling asleep at night."
Highway hypnosis is the term used to describe those miles driven that a driver doesn't actually remember, Miller said.
"When you are in hypnosis you are aware of what is going on around you," she said, but the person is in a deep state of relaxation. "In hypnosis you cannot be made to do anything you wouldn't want to do."
Miller charges $90 for a first session and provides price breaks for multiple sessions. She is also looking into providing small group hypnosis or hypnosis parties for small groups with a mutual goal - be it weight loss or stress relief. The group events may include healthy recipes and a question and answer session about hypnosis.
"I love it," Miller said of the decision to study hypnosis and start her own business. "I never imagined a career could be so rewarding."
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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