In today’s episode of The Align Podcast, David Spiegel and I talk all things hypnosis. From the positive effects it can have on our physiology to the dark sides of the practice. We also discuss the relationship between our minds and bodies and whether we’re able to restructure our perception of pain and stress through thought. David tells us about the power of breathing for our brain activity and how it can act as a self-soothing practice. We also get into the meaning of trauma, how to overcome it and whether hypnosis can play a part in healing from it.

Dr. David Spiegel is Associate Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Director of the Center on Stress and Health, and Medical Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he has been a member of the academic faculty since 1975, and was Chair of the Stanford University Faculty Senate from 2010-2011. Dr. Spiegel has more than 40 years of clinical and research experience studying psycho-oncology, stress and health, pain control, sleep, hypnosis, and conducting randomized clinical trials involving psychotherapy for cancer patients. He has published thirteen books, over 400 scientific journal articles, and hundreds of book chapters on hypnosis, psychosocial oncology, stress physiology, trauma, and psychotherapy. His research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute on Aging, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, the Dana Foundation for Brain Sciences, and the Nathan S. Cummings Foundation. He is Past President of the American College of Psychiatrists and the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis and is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine. He was invited to speak on hypnosis at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2018.

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