News Articles » – The room was dim and quiet

THE SUN Sunday, October 9, 2005 (reprinted)

WELLNESS SEMINAR USES HYPNOSIS FOR WEIGHT-LOSS, STOP SMOKING PROGRAMS,

By Carol Garner, Charlotte Community News Editor

The room was dim and quiet. All that could be heard was a strong voice telling those present, “put your hands in your lap, close your eyes, relax and let your unconscious mind take over.”

That was during the second half of the two-hour Wellness Seminar for Weight Control at Peace River Regional Hospital.

In the first hour, Rena Greenberg, founder, director and president of Wellness Seminars, Inc., talked about motivation to overcome fear of failure and coping with the challenge.

“Sometimes the fear of failure will block success and you will fail if you just give up,” Greenberg said. “We use hypnosis as a tool in getting connected, to ward off the inner conflicts and lose weight, even though it is a lot easier to keep the old habits.”

“You feel more comfortable doing the same old things. If you have trouble succeeding, you can get reinforcement by going through the program again for free.”

Greenberg has helped more than 100,000 people lose weight and stop smoking since 1989.

“I know what it is like to be overweight,” she said. “I was a compulsive eater. I got ill when I was in my 20′s and took a look at my life. I decided to change my lifestyle and now I teach how to take control of your life.

“Both men and women are concerned about their health. This seminar is the motivation to help you make changes and reach your goals,” she added.

Her program combines the power of hypnosis with behavior modification.

Not only does Greenberg have successful weight loss programs, she is also successful in helping one-time smokers stop.

The tested and proven wellness seminar combines standard behavior modification techniques with the springboard of a hypnotic experience to help the participant stop smoking or lost weight after only two hours of instruction. Since 1990, more than 100 major corporations and city governments have sponsored Wellness Seminars, including more than 75 hospitals in Florida and Michigan. Greenberg is passionate about helping people lose weight as a result of learning to love and care for themselves.

During the second half of the seminar, the first question she asked was how long they thought they were under hypnosis. The answers ranged from just a few minutes to 10 or 15 minutes. Everyone was surprised to find out that it had been an hour. Olga Matlock of Deep Creek said, “It didn’t feel like it was that long.”

When the session was over, each person there got a powerful double tape – the A side to be listened to once a day for 30 days and the B side with music playing over suggestions.

“This will help you start the day in a positive mood. There is also a booklet filled with tips and hints to carry around with you,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg is a graduate of City University of New York at Brooklyn College and has two certifications in hypnosis from both the Eastern NLP Institute and the National Guild of Hypnotists, as well as a national biofeedback certification from the Biofeedback Certification Institute of America. Prior to founding Wellness Seminars, Greenberg worked as a biofeedback therapist both in private practice and at the Hospital of Joint Diseases in New York City. Her first book, ‘The Right Weigh: Six Steps to Permanent Weight Loss’, Hay House Publishing is to be released January 2, 2006.

She can be reached via her website at www.easywillpower.com.