Sarah Parker

Do you dream of wanting to be able to work out in the gym or leisure centre but find you are holding yourself back? Maybe you are already hitting the gym and feel uncomfortable or are limiting yourself to the same routines and want to do other things? Perhaps you are feeling scared that others are looking at you, or perhaps it is the fear of not knowing how to use the equipment and afraid of looking stupid?

As a sufferer of gym anxiety, I understand how overwhelming and debilitating the idea of facing the gym can be, let alone actually being inside one. Working together, we can help you manage gym anxiety and improve your comfort and overall well-being, regardless of your age or fitness level, whether your anxiety is gym-based, or in other environments, for example, swimming, outdoor running, group classes, Zumba and martial arts.

Where are you now? Can you relate to any the following?

• Desire to try new classes/equipment (e.g., swimming, Zumba) but unable to do so;
• Anxious thoughts before arriving at the gym;
• Feelings of discomfort and social anxiety;
• Difficulty going alone;
• Worry about making a fool of oneself, fear of judgement and feeling self-conscious;
• Negative self-image and issues with eye contact;
• Physical tension, increased heart rate, and anxious feelings;
• Perception of being unfit or weaker than others;
• Intimidation by experienced gym-goers, including in male-dominated areas and with complex machines.

Where you would like to be?

Here are some of the benefits you can expect to receive following therapy:

• Hit the gym;
• Conquer your fear and boost your overall confidence inside and outside of the gym;
• Elevated focus and performance;
• Feel body confident, comfortable and at ease in your skin;
• Elevated self-esteem;
• Enhanced self-image;
• Achieve your fitness goals.

What will our therapy treatment look like?

1. Initial discovery call (30 mins) – FREE via Phone Call – To find out if we are a good fit for one another and an opportunity for you to find out more about hypnotherapy. Subsequent sessions will take place remotely via Video Call;
2. Initial Assessment (90 mins) – A thorough exploration into the issues you would like to work on; discussion on your goals for therapy; and a mindfulness exercise and/or an hypnotic skills test;
3. 3 x Treatment Sessions (60 mins each) – Treatment will consist of typically 3 x sessions; including cognitive and behavioural interventions, hypnotherapy and you will be taught the art of self-hypnosis which can be used daily or as-and-when needed.

What else will you gain from our sessions?

A Toolbox for Self-Therapy and Anxiety Management, Featuring Self-Hypnosis as a Lifelong Skill:

• Self-Hypnosis – I will teach you the art of self-hypnosis and go through the process step-by-step, including in-session practice;
• Hypnotherapy and Exercise Recordings – Recorded from our sessions;
• Cognitive and/or Behavioural Exercises – These can include meditation and cognitive defusion exercises, behavioural experiments, thought-stopping protocol and thought forms;
• De-Hypnosis – Understanding how we can unconsciously hypnotise ourselves through our internal own negative dialogue and self-talk and learn how to reverse this process by de-hypnosis through mindfulness meditation;
• Cognitive Distancing – Understanding how everyone perceives the world through their unique lens, shaped by life experiences. Increased awareness of how our thoughts influence feelings and perceptions can help us recognize that our beliefs are constructions of reality, not reality itself.

To learn more about hypnotherapy, please visit my webpage: https://comfortinthegym.com/treatment/

Not sure whether hypnotherapy is right for you?

I cannot be hypnotised

Some clients say that they have never been hypnotised before or assume that they are non hypnotisable; however, there are many daily life examples of hypnosis: including, engagement in a pleasant task, losing track of time and in a relaxing calm state, whilst blocking out distractions i.e. daydreaming, watching TV, becoming engrossed in a book or work. Other examples can include performing mundane tasks whilst becoming cognitively focused on something else, having forgotten the task was performed i.e. washing the dishes.

Furthermore, hypnosis is a learnable skill and can be coached and trained through our sessions with hypnotic skills training.

Hypnosis is mind-control, I don’t want to lose control

There are a lot of preconceptions about what is involved in hypnosis and this can mainly be attributed to stage hypnotists and the depiction of hypnosis on TV. We might have seen a demonstration where a stage hypnotists can seemly induce funny and embarrassing tasks and behaviours in their subjects. Stage hypnotherapy is vastly quite different from clinical hypnotherapy, in that the former is to elicit entertainment, highly susceptible subjects are pre-selected from the crowd, there may even me stooges (paid actors) and the subjects would normally feel strong social pressure to perform in the moment.

Essentially, hypnosis is not something that is done to you, it is something that is induced by you, through belief and imagination and this became clear back in Mesmer times.

Hypnotherapy dates back to the 18th century, when animal magnetism, mesmerism, became popular among healers. At the time, it was hypothesised that illness was linked with a disturbance in the body’s magnetism and that by restoring the balance, the patient was healed from their ailment. Magnetic procedures were carried out in front of clients in order to restore animal magnetism. However, it was seen that in the absence of magnetic procedures, the patient was still found to be relieved from their ailment, though the client was in the belief that the procedure was performed.

The conclusion is that clients’ belief and imagination is critical and highly influential in creating positive change and outcome and this is why it is important for the client to be actively engaged during hypnotherapy.

Looking for little effort

Contrasting with hypnotherapy during the mesmer phase — where the client was seen as a passive recipient of the process —, modern-day hypnotherapy is a collaborative effort, where client and therapist work together. The client actively participates during sessions i.e. allowing themselves to actively engage their imagination, evoke positive emotions and rehearsing behaviour change. Moreover, this may involve in-between session tasks to be completed.

Will this cure my anxiety forever?

You should notice a big transformation after each session and after treatment completion. However, regular self-hypnosis, self-hypnosis prior to an anxiety-provoking event or carried out ad-hoc will be an essential part of managing your anxiety. I am not promising a permanent cure for anxiety as I believe that many factors can affect us, such as how our brain circuity has been wired from young, different events that come up during life and daily-differences to our moods and emotions; however, having been empowered with the powerful tool of self-hypnosis, you can ensure your gains are maintained and continue to feel confident and liberated in those previously almost debilitating situations.

If you are suffering and would like to talk with me, feel free to book a no-charge 30 minute call with me, using the Book intro call button or through my website: https://comfortinthegym.com/book-now/

During this soft launch, for a limited time only, I am offering the specially discounted prices below:

Initial discovery call (30 mins) – FREE via Phone Call  

Subsequent sessions will take place remotely via Video Call:

• Initial Assessment (90 mins) – £60
• 1st treatment session (60 mins) – £60
• 2nd treatment session (60 mins) – £60
• 3rd treatment session (60 mins) – £60

Payment will be taken in advance via PayPal at least 48 hours before to confirm the appointment.

Client testimonials

From our very first session, Sarah’s calming, patient, and non-judgemental approach made me feel completely safe, comfortable, and at ease. This created the perfect environment for me to open up and fully embrace the hypnotherapy process – something I was initially sceptical about.
I was genuinely impressed by the effectiveness of the strategies used during our sessions, as well as the practical, actionable advice she provided. Her guidance has helped me reflect deeply and apply these insights to real life situations with lasting impact.
If you’re looking for compassionate and effective support in understanding and overcoming a long-standing challenge, I highly recommend Sarah. Roukshana, 2024

I really enjoyed the Sessions with Sarah. Even if we only talked with each other online and never met in real life, I still felt always very safe talking to her.
She has a very calm voice and I could always talk openly with her.
Also during the Sessions there was always a pleasant atmosphere and she never made any pressure.
I can just really recommend her, cause I was able to make an improvement with my problems only after 3 Sessions during a few weeks. Immanuel, 2024

My hypnotherapy sessions with Sarah have not only been beneficial but incredibly transformative. I was a little apprehensive at first about what hypnotherapy entailed and what it could provide me with.
Having a thorough, rigorous and supportive discover my call with Sarah was incredibly eye-opening and helped me to feel confident in opening boxes I never knew existed, questions I had needed to answer to help Sarah better understand me and for myself also. Her patient, mellow yet professional approach helped me to really open up and discuss what I wanted to work on.
The sessions I had were well-structured and there was a calming sense of predictability due to her phenomenal planning and delivery. I was introduced to guided hypnosis as well as self-hypnosis towards the end of our sessions; and this has been an effective tool for me to re-align and re-focus and I have seen a drastic improvement in my outlook on the discussed issue. 10/10, I would definitely recommend this service by Sarah. She is incredibly gracious and understanding and will work collaboratively with you to achieve your goals in feeling mentally and emotionally relieved and uplifted. Mehmona, 2024