Local hypnotist helps people relax at Thrive

A small group sat close together inside the main room of Thrive Health & Wellbeing.

Rima Montoya, a local hypnotist and change agent, told everyone to close their eyes.

Then in a slow, quiet voice, she told everyone to relax each muscle, starting with the mouth and face and traveling through each part of the body.

 She asked the audience to focus on the sensations they felt as they relaxed, including heaviness in the legs and jaw.

“The more the body relaxes, the more the brain relaxes,” she said. “The heavier you feel, the more into hypnosis you go.”

Montoya used this exercise to demonstrate trance and hypnosis during a lecture Tuesday called Healing With Hypnosis.

Montoya, a resident of Bloomington for the past four years, discussed the concept of self-hypnosis, common misconceptions about hypnosis and her approach to using it for relaxation and healing.

The biggest myth about hypnosis, Montoya said, is that people are not in control of themselves during the process.

“Hypnosis is actually an inside job,” she said. “I am just in the backseat and you are the driver; you’re deciding at every turn. You are the one suggesting to yourself what it is you want to change.”

Montoya has been certified to practice hypnosis since she was 17 years old. She said she uses hypnosis for people looking to control weight, eliminate cravings, manage stress, reduce anxiety, overcome addiction or bad habits and change their lives in general.

“I believe that change is a given. We’re always changing,” she said. “We all have things we want to change, goals we want to change. That puts me in a better position to help people and take responsibility for their own well-being.”

Montoya then explained the idea of trance, which she said is a relaxed state with focused awareness and attention on one subject. She said the experience of trance is like watching a good movie. Someone is completely focused on the screen, but the mind doesn’t analyze and judge every detail of the film.

She said people experience trance whenever they do activities they enjoy, such as exercising, reading or creating artwork.

“You dip in and out of a state of trance every day without realizing it,” she said. “Trance is not about losing consciousness, it’s about focusing your awareness.”

Montoya said overall, hypnosis is a “powerful” and “empowering” resource for people.
“It really opens you up to discovering the power of your own mind,” she said. “A lot of us don’t know we have that, and hypnosis is about discovering that.”

Jessica Mott, founder of Thrive, said Montoya’s lecture was part of the center’s educational series. As part of the series, Mott said she looks for local speakers to educate the community on unknown or unfamiliar health topics. Mott said she hopes these speakers give people tools to take better control of their health and wellness.

“There are a ton of people in town who do amazing work,” Mott said. “It’s a way for people to find out about them without spending a lot of money. It’s also a way to know those people in the community.”

Mott said she heard about Montoya and her work through one of the acupuncturists at Thrive. Mott said she wanted to learn more about hypnosis and thought people in the community would also benefit from hearing Montoya speak.

“I didn’t know a lot about her to be honest,” Mott said. “It is a tool I’ve seen be very effective, and it was nice to know someone in town who was doing it.”

Follow reporter Alyssa Schor on Twitter @SchorAlyssa.