(ˈheh·kah)nounA spoken word that guides, made real by the one who chooses to receive it.
Belief · Imagination · Conviction · Expectation
TRANCE-formations
I’m going to give you an opportunity to discover the power of your imagination.
Train the part of you that decides.
Then watch it show up when it counts.
A private practice · by appointment
Grand opening · January 1, 2027
Request a conversationFor Everyone
Most of the individuals and families I consult with, whether they’re small groups or large, aren’t famous, and none of them have to go anywhere. We meet on Zoom, from home or wherever they’re comfortable. They’re high school athletes, riders, weekend golfers, students before a big test, and parents and professionals who want to sleep better, stress less or break a habit for good. And every session can be read with your own bio data: the devices you already wear, against your own baseline.
Soccer, tennis, golf, pickleball, lacrosse, football, basketball: the free throw, the penalty kick, the first tee
Hunters, jumpers, dressage, eventing and barrel racing: the course walk, the clean round, the first ride back after a fall
Riding and show trainers: the warm-up ring, the student who freezes at the in-gate, steady nerves for everyone you coach
Test nerves, focus and recall before the SAT, the ACT, finals or the licensing exam
Switch off at night, wake up rested, stop carrying the day to bed
Build the one you want, drop the one you don’t, smoking included
The tryout, the interview, the speech, the first day
Flying, driving, the dentist’s chair, the big game
$65 a session to start. Book as many as you like at $65, and keep adding at $65 until your last booked session is over.
What is hypnosis?
Facts Not Fiction
No. You hear everything, you can stop at any time, and nothing happens that you do not agree to. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. You do not lose control in trance; you learn to use it.
Nothing bad. The worst case is that you drift into a nap and wake up the ordinary way. In every session I bring you back gently, and you can bring yourself back whenever you choose.
Done well, hypnosis is gentle, and the usual worst outcome is that nothing changes. It is training, not medical care. If you are under a provider's care for what you want to work on, I need their written referral first.
It depends on the person. Dr. Spiegel puts it plainly: for some people, one session is enough. In his research, about one in four smokers who had a single session of hypnosis had still not smoked two years later (Spiegel and colleagues, American Journal of Psychiatry, 1993). Others need a refresher, and that is normal. Why it lasts: you are not borrowing a feeling from me, you are learning a skill. Once you have felt your mind shift, you know the way back, and you can use it any time you need it. His research found that five minutes of practice a day lowered people’s average breathing rate by about one breath a minute. When you would want more: when the stakes go up, when life adds pressure, or when you are ready to go further. Think of me as your personal trainer for the brain. Just like a good coach, as you get stronger, I take you further.
That is not something I do. Memory is less reliable than most people think, even without hypnosis, and what comes back can be shaped by the questions asked. My work looks forward: the moment you are preparing for, not digging up the past.
Most people can. Children drift in and out of trance all day; call one in for dinner and see how long it takes. Adults keep plenty of that ability, and it can be measured on a simple zero to ten scale. You do not have to be a special kind of person. You only have to be willing.
Think of a movie so good you forget you are watching one. That is the doorway. Hypnosis is three things working together: your attention narrows to one point, everything else fades into the background, and for a while you get to try on a different way of being. Focus, a quieter world around you, and room to change.
Three shifts. The part of you that scans for danger and distraction turns down, so small noises stop pulling you away. The part that plans and directs takes the wheel. And the inner voice that keeps replaying who you think you are gets quieter. That quiet is why change becomes possible. Stanford has watched all three happen live on fMRI, the brain scan that shows which parts of the brain are working hardest from moment to moment.
It does. Some voices pull you in and some push you away. That is why the first thing I send you is a free recording in my voice, so you can decide for yourself before we ever meet.
Yes, and it is the work I love most. Stanford tells the story of swimmers who were faster in practice than in meets. In practice they stayed with their own bodies; in meets they watched the lanes beside them. Once they trained themselves to stay with their own stroke, the meet times came down. That is the skill I train: attention that stays where you put it.
It can, and the method is simple. Instead of fighting the seat, you float with the plane. You treat the plane as an extension of your body, the same way a bike or a car is. And you learn to separate what is possible from what is probable: the picture your mind paints is vivid, but vivid is not the same as likely.
I work on what you are for, not what you are against. Tell a mind not to think of a purple elephant and a purple elephant is all it sees. So we build something that feels good from the first session: respect for your own body, and a cue that serves you instead of the old one.
For one person, Zoom. You are already in the place where you feel safest, so your body settles faster, and the change happens where you live, not in a room you will never see again. No drive there, no drive home. For a group of two or more, a team, a family, an office or a barn full of riders, in person is better. Everyone hears the same voice at the same moment and the group settles together. That is when I come to you.
Don’t trust me. Trust yourself. Where do you feel safest? Your favorite chair, your bedroom, your office with the door closed, or your car, parked with the engine off. Never while driving. Pick the place where you would take a nap without thinking twice.
Yes. They are the one thing not to skip. My voice goes straight to your ear, so every word comes through clearly, and they shut out most of what is around you: traffic, the TV, a barking dog, an office. Fewer interruptions means you go deeper and stay there longer. Any pair works, earbuds or over-ear, wired or wireless.
The bigger, the better. A laptop, a desktop or a flat-screen TV is best, and a tablet is the smallest that works well. Avoid a phone if you can: the screen is tiny, it is harder to lock in, and calls and texts are one tap away. Set your screen on something steady instead of holding it.
Yes. Sessions start at thirty minutes, from home, the office or your parked car. Give yourself a few minutes afterward before you drive, fly or jump into your next thing.
Nothing bad happens. You come back to full awareness on your own, like waking from a nap. Rejoin the same link, or call (406) 404‑6988, and we pick up where we left off.
If you can open a link, you can do this. Charge your device, put your headphones in, and open the Zoom link a few minutes early so nothing is rushed.
No. NLP works on language patterns. This works on your state: a custom visual, music with a focus rhythm built in, and my voice, designed to bring you into deep focus so you can rehearse what you want inside it. And you don’t have to take my word for it: if you wear a Muse, you see what your own brain did.
How to go from the thermometer to the thermostat. A thermometer reacts: the pressure goes up and it goes up, the pressure drops and it drops. Most people live that way, their stress and cortisol rising and falling with whatever happens. A thermostat sets the temperature and holds it. I train you to be the thermostat: to set your state and keep it there, through focus, brain training, meditation and hypnosis.
Several of these answers draw on Dr. David Spiegel, Stanford Medicine, in conversation on StarTalk and with Dan Harris. Dr. Spiegel and Stanford Medicine are quoted from public sources only and are not affiliated with HEKA TRANCE-formations.
The Right Voice
Language + timing + technique = art.
Hypnosis runs on language: the words chosen, the pace they arrive at, what is said and when, and what is left unsaid. A word too soon breaks the moment; the right word at the right time opens the door. That is why the voice you go into trance with matters, and why finding the right hypnotist matters as much as finding a good one.
So the first conversation is me listening. Not selling, not scripting. Listening, to learn whether we are the right fit. If we are, you’ll know without either of us saying it. If we aren’t, I’ll tell you, and point you to someone who is.
The Wall of Hypnotic Fame
Olympic and world champions, Oscar winners and Hall of Famers who trained their minds with hypnosis. Every name comes with its proof: their own words, or at least two independent published sources. Tap a source to check it yourself. If we could not prove it, it is not on this wall.
The earliest start on this wall is age 12. That is the age young drivers are racing karts and dreaming of Formula 1. The mind can be trained as early as the reflexes.
Everyone here is named as public record only, from the sources linked. None of them is affiliated with or endorses HEKA TRANCE-formations.
Started at 12
Jay Brunza, a Navy psychologist who caddied for him as an amateur, trained his concentration through hypnosis and self-hypnosis, long before the majors.
ProofGolf Digest (age 12)
Cigar Aficionado, June 27, 2008
Publishers Weekly, 2002
Kirkus Reviews, Feb 1, 2002
Golf.com, Jan 25, 2019
Two-time Olympic champion, 2026
She shattered her leg in April 2025 and used hypnosis through ten months of recovery. In February 2026 she won two Olympic golds at Milano Cortina. She had worked with hypnosis since before the 2022 Games.
“Many people helped me, including with hypnosis.” — Federica Brignone, translated from Italian
ProofSky Sport Italia, Feb 16, 2026
Adnkronos, Feb 16, 2026
Il Giornale, Feb 12, 2026
Il Napolista, citing Corriere della Sera, Feb 1, 2022
Started at about 14
Under Cus D’Amato he was hypnotized regularly as a teenage fighter, from about 14 and early in his career. He has said so himself, in two separate interviews.
“They sinked all that into me when I was younger.” — Mike Tyson
ProofBleacher Report, Jan 18, 2019 (Joe Rogan)
Ambrosia For Heads, March 2020 (Snoop Dogg)
Three-time World Champion
With psychologist Willi Neumann she relived her 1999 world title under hypnosis. A few weeks later she won the 2005 world title in Helsinki, and in 2007 she won a third.
“Maybe you need a nudge like that.” — Franka Dietzsch, translated from German
Prooftaz, Aug 13, 2005
Der Spiegel 43/2007, “Im Kopf zum Sieg”
2024 World Champion
He credited a hypnotherapist during his run to the 2024 World Championship final. He began working with hypnotherapist Chris O’Connor two weeks before the tournament, and says he probably would not have won without him.
“It’s just about emptying your stress bucket.” — Kyren Wilson
Academy Award winner
Before filming Wild, the role that earned her an Oscar nomination, she had weeks of panic attacks and used hypnosis to get through them.
“I had hypnosis, I was so scared.” — Reese Witherspoon
ProofInterview Magazine, June 15, 2021
Entertainment Tonight, June 16, 2021
Hall of Fame hitter
In 1975, hypnotist Harvey Misel helped Carew play through a hamstring injury. Misel went on to work with some 200 major-league clients.
ProofSlate, July 28, 2006
Chicago Sun-Times, July 13, 2019
SABR Biography Project, Mike Witt
BallNine, Aug 24, 2023
Academy Award winner
The Best Actress winner for The Favourite told the National Theatre she tried hypnotherapy for stage fright.
“It’s an awful feeling.” — Olivia Colman
ProofShropshire Star (PA), April 23, 2021
Castanet (WENN), April 23, 2021
Hall of Fame pitcher
Deep in a 1974 slump, he saw Los Angeles hypnotist Arthur Ellen.
“I credit Ellen for giving me back my ability to relax and pitch to my potential.” — Don Sutton, Los Angeles Times, Jan 16, 1975
ProofSABR Biography Project, by Gregory H. Wolf, quoting the Los Angeles Times
2023 European Champion
Coming back from injuries in 2016, she used hypnosis to work on self-doubt and confidence. She went on to win the 2023 European title and race at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“I went through hypnosis; it did me good.” — Jeanne Lehair, translated from French
ProofSportMag, Oct 22, 2018
Tri247, June 5, 2023 (the European title)
2015 World Champion
The German breaststroker worked with a hypnosis coach to get into the right flow before the biggest races of his career.
“With hypnosis I can find out where there are still hidden problems.” — Marco Koch
ProofSwimSwam, via the Darmstädter Tagblatt
arena, Jan 26, 2016
Multi-platinum singer
Stage fright had started to affect her singing, so she went to a hypnotherapist.
“I went to hypnotherapy for stage fright years ago and it completely worked.” — Dido
PGA Tour winner, 2024
He started working with hypnotherapist Grace Smith a few weeks before winning the 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic on the PGA Tour.
“I started working with a hypnotherapist a few weeks ago.” — Cam Davis
ProofNBC Sports, June 2024
Golf Digest, by Shane Ryan
Golf Channel, June 30, 2024
2015 BDO World Champion
The 2015 world champion listens to a recording from his hypnotherapist at night, the same way a client keeps a pocket session.
“He sends me a 20-minute MP3.” — Scott Mitchell
ProofThe Edinburgh Reporter, Jan 10, 2017
Red Dragon Darts, Jan 16, 2015
Rebuilt his career
Years after being dropped from the Premier League, he turned to hypnotherapist Chris O’Connor and rebuilt his game.
“I’m now seeing a hypnotherapist as well, which is really helping.” — Stephen Bunting
In his own words
He turned to hypnotherapy to fight “dartitis,” the freeze that stops a player releasing the dart.
“I was doing hypnotherapy twice a week.” — Nathan Aspinall
Back after a loss
After a 2019 loss he worked with a hypnotist and declared himself back.
“It’s not like he waves a watch in front of you.” — Eryk Anders
Eight sessions
The veteran took eight sessions of hypnotherapy with Chris O’Connor to get past dartitis.
“I thought: well, I’ve got nothing to lose!” — Kevin Painter
Hypnosis or meditation?
Aimed at one thing. You settle the body first, then work on a specific problem and change the way you and your body react to it: the problem on one side of an imagined screen, a possible solution on the other. You use it for the moment you named.
Open presence. You are not trying to control or change anything. Thoughts and feelings pass through like a storm going by. You scan the body, you cultivate compassion, and you do it every day to be better and feel better.
Hypnosis is more like an antibiotic and meditation is more like a vitamin.David Spiegel, MD, Stanford Medicine, on StarTalk
Meditation keeps you well. This practice trains calm to show up when it counts.
Muse
Already own a Muse headband? Bring it to your session. You record your brainwaves in Mind Monitor while we work and upload the file, so you see your baseline before and the change after, on the headband you already own.
Stanford watches hypnosis on fMRI, a room‑sized scanner that tracks blood oxygen in the brain. The newest Muse, the S Athena, adds fNIRS: light sensors on your forehead that read a related blood‑oxygen signal from the front of your brain, the area tied to focus and planning, alongside EEG for your brainwaves. A lab idea, on your own head, in the chair.
Don’t have one yet? Ask me in the first conversation and I’ll tell you which one fits the work we’re doing.
Ask about Muse sessions Buy your Muse and bring it to your session!
Photos: choosemuse.com. Muse is a trademark of InteraXon Inc. Mind Monitor is an independent app. Stanford and the researchers cited are named from published work only. HEKA is not affiliated with any of them.
Not the Hollywood kind. No swinging watch, no one losing control. Hypnosis is older than its name. In 1779 Franz Anton Mesmer, the man the word “mesmerize” comes from, called it animal magnetism and credited an invisible fluid. In 1784 a French royal commission that included Benjamin Franklin tested his claims and found the effects came from imagination, not magnetism. In 1819 Abbé Faria placed the power where it belongs: in the person receiving it, not the one giving it.
In 1843 the Scottish surgeon James Braid gave it the name we still use and tied it to focused attention. Bernheim and the school at Nancy made suggestion its engine; Émile Coué turned it inward as autosuggestion. In the twentieth century Clark Hull brought it into the laboratory, Dave Elman taught it to physicians and dentists, and Milton Erickson made it conversational: a story told so well the listener goes somewhere. Today it is studied at Stanford and defined by the American Psychological Association.
What never changed is the mechanism: focused attention, and a mind willing to accept an idea.
A responsive influence exists between the heavenly bodies, the earth, and animated bodies.Franz Anton Mesmer, the source of “mesmerize,” Mémoire sur la découverte du magnétisme animal, 1779
Believe and will.Marquis de Puységur, 1784 (“Croyez & voulez”)
A peculiar condition of the nervous system, induced by a fixed and abstracted attention of the mental and visual eye, on one object, not of an exciting nature.James Braid, Neurypnology, 1843
I define hypnotism as the induction of a peculiar psychical condition which increases the susceptibility to suggestion.Hippolyte Bernheim, Suggestive Therapeutics, 1886
The implanting of an idea in oneself by oneself.Émile Coué, on autosuggestion, Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion, 1922
The essence of hypnosis lies in the fact of change in suggestibility.Clark L. Hull, Hypnosis and Suggestibility, 1933
A state of mind in which the critical faculty of the human is bypassed, and selective thinking established.Dave Elman, Hypnotherapy, 1964
A state of increased awareness and responsiveness to ideas.Milton H. Erickson, Collected Papers, Vol. IV
A focused experience of attentional absorption that invites people to respond experientially on multiple levels in order to amplify and utilize their personal resources in a goal‑directed fashion.Michael Yapko, Trancework
A natural state of mind with special identifying characteristics.Gil Boyne, Transforming Therapy, 1985
All hypnosis is self‑hypnosis.Charles Tebbetts, quoted in C. Roy Hunter, The Art of Hypnosis
A state of highly focused attention.David Spiegel, MD, Stanford Medicine
A state of consciousness involving focused attention and reduced peripheral awareness characterized by an enhanced capacity for response to suggestion.American Psychological Association, Division 30, 2014
Different words, one agreement:
focused attention, and a mind ready to accept a new idea.
Policies
Hypnosis is a collaboration and results vary from person to person. Beyond the first-session guarantee, no specific outcome is promised or guaranteed.
Consulting hypnosis is training, not medical or psychological treatment. It does not diagnose, treat or cure any condition and is not a substitute for care from a licensed provider. Keep taking any medication and following any advice your providers have given you.
If you are under the care of a physician or licensed mental health professional for a condition related to what you want to work on, a written referral from them is required before we begin. If it is not something I should be working on, I will say so and help you find the right person. Before the first session, you complete a short intake form covering your goals, your health and any medications.
Clients must be 18 or older, or have written consent from a parent or guardian. Sessions are never recorded without your permission.
HEKA is not an emergency or crisis service. In a crisis, call or text 988 in the US, or your local emergency number. Never play a recording or run an eyes-closed routine while driving or operating machinery.
What you say in a session is kept confidential, except where the law requires otherwise.
Past & present
A spoken word that guides, made real by the one who chooses to receive it.
In this practice, heka is understood as the guidance that travels in a voice: its sound, its pace, its frequency, its vibration and its energy. A voice can only guide. It takes hold when you choose to trust it, relax, and let it in. You are the one who takes yourself into that state, so all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. You bring four things:
B.I.C.E. Belief, imagination, conviction, expectation. Together they equal results.
I bring the voice, the pace and the prepared state. You bring the rest. That is why it is an exchange, and why all hypnosis is self‑hypnosis.
Long before it had a name, this was done by trained people, and the state was reached with voice, breath and rhythm — no props.
Belief, imagination, conviction and expectation are what make hypnosis work. Nothing religious, and nothing to believe in beyond yourself.
Begin
Tell me what you are training for and what you have already tried. One conversation, and you will know whether this is for you.
Not sure where to start? Start with your first session: thirty minutes, $65, on video. Or ask for the free recording in my voice first.
Request a conversationPrivate practice. On Zoom, from home, anywhere in the world.
hypnotizeme@hekatranceformations.com
(406) 404‑6988
A private practice · by appointment · grand opening January 1, 2027