As most competitors know all to well if you want to be the best “there is no off-season”.  The best time to prepare and improve for your next assault at success is the down time when some of your competition may be resting. To that end seasoned competitor and new IFBB Figure Pro Nancy Georges is again offering her Stage Might workshops for fitness and figure athletes.  This January Nancy has an expanded workshop called Stage Might Complete which definitely lives up to its name.

“The Stage Might Complete covers stage presence, suit selection, suit color, stoning suits, makeup, hair, tanning, dieting, how to pick a show, self hypnosis and motivation as well as a segment I call "The Esteemed Athlete" which is my personal favorite, using competition to excel mentally and spiritually and evolving through the challenges of competition,” says Nancy.  “The Stage Might Complete workshop also comes with my motivational audio program as well as my Competitive Advantage Hypnosis Series.  Basically the direction I am headed is I am slowly becoming known as the Tony Robbins for figure competitors.”

Bodysport: How and when did you first become interested in hypnosis and hypnotherapy?

Nancy: I have been practicing hypnosis since I was a swimmer in high school I just did not know it.  I became interested because I always knew that my thoughts would catapult me, or hold me back, and I knew I could “allow” my mind to wander or I could take control and make sure what I wanted would happen.  I started practicing formally about 10 years ago and I have been a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and Certified Sports Hypnotist for almost 2 years now.  I started incorporating it with my personal training and coaching clients to give them that mental edge to make fitness a success for them.

Bodysport: You say that all hypnosis is “self-hypnosis”.  Please explain or define hypnosis for our readers. 

Nancy: People do not do something that they don’t want to do. I think stage hypnosis, although it has actually kept hypnosis alive, has created a bit of a deception for people. Stage hypnosis is focused on entertainment, so the value is not deep or life changing since the outcome is to entertain both the audience but more importantly the participants. The participants in stage hypnosis are the ones who are there for “the ride” they want to have a good time and expand their mind and take it to a place it has not been to before.  Many times they are intoxicated already which in a therapeutic environment we do not recommend.  So when people say to me (and they rarely do) “you cannot hypnotize me”, I say “you are right”.  You will not do anything you do not want to do. The purpose of hypnosis in a therapeutic environment is to facilitate change.  Someone will come to me because they are not getting the results they want.  Usually there is a “part” of them that is holding them back. They really have no idea what it is, but through hypnosis is can be discovered and evolved in order to allow them to move forward with ease and harmony.

Bodysport: Athletes have been using hypnosis to help improve performance for some time now, when did it dawn on you that this was something that could be used to help with achieving the goals associated with a fitness lifestyle. 

Nancy: When I was in high school and I was on the swim team our coach would tell us to “visualize” our races. I used to have a practice race in my mind before every event where I would practice my race from start to finish, exactly as I wanted to, perfectly in my mind.  It was then that I realized what I created in my mind is what happened in reality.  After that I started to go into trances and create things in my mind that I wanted. I had no idea that I was actually doing hypnosis.  After practicing so much for athletics it seemed like a natural thing to do for other areas of my life as well. 

Bodysport: What is the Competitive Advantage Series that you have developed? 

Nancy: I created The Competitive Advantage Hypnosis Series after a competition that I entered where I could not fall asleep. I had created some hypnosis sessions as well as some downloads from other hypnotherapists and I listened to hypnosis all night.  I never did “fall asleep” but I felt great in the morning.  I was refreshed and energized and the show went smashing.  After I came back from the trip, I decided to put my ideas into a series that would basically cover all the elements for successful competition preparation.  The series includes my most popular session Stage Might- On Stage Visualizations, that I also give to the participants of my Stage Might figure posing workshops. There are 3 other sessions in the series and they are a great way to relax the mind and connect with the unconscious to integrate congruency with our fine sport of fitness and figure.  I use a combination of direct and indirect suggestions to help facilitate change at the deepest level. The series is available on CD or MP3 download format.

Bodysport: Obviously it can be difficult feeling comfortable standing on stage to be judged against someone’s peers.  You’re saying that the Competitive Advantage Series can not only make this easier, but the whole process of competition dieting and maintaining focus as well? 

Nancy: Absolutely.  In my 18 years as a competitive athlete either in fitness or figure, I have also learned and grown emotionally as well as physically.  There are things that I cannot “teach” to someone who has not experienced first hand certain things. For example, the joy of losing.  WHAT???? I know, how is this even possible?  I cannot tell you it is very exciting to lose, or not win.  However I can help you to connect to your intuition, the part of you that began this journey and to stay true to that whatever it is. The beauty of hypnosis is that I don’t even have to know what it is. The unconscious mind thinks in metaphors, so much of the therapeutic work done in the sessions goes unnoticed to the conscious mind. I just create stories and each person sorts it out in their own way that is true and has meaning and empowers them. The athlete is just “in flow” and that is perfectly fine by me. 

Bodysport: Anyone who has seen you compete knows that you are always in great shape and have marvelous stage presence.  Was this something that always came easily to you or did you have to learn and evolve to this level?  

Nancy: First of all thank you very much that is very kind of you to notice.  My background is in runway modeling, so yes walking on stage and doing turns is very exciting, fun, and easy for me.  What I do in the series, especially with the Stage Might session, is I empower the listener with the thoughts that would necessarily have to be there in order to feel empowered onstage.  This creates a feeling of strength, confidence, and enthusiasm.  When I am on stage, I actually LOVE it.  Amazingly enough there are girls that say before they go out “I can’t wait for this to be over” and I am thinking huh? This is what I came here for, to strut my stuff on stage. So I install into the unconscious mind the positive thoughts I think when I am onstage.  I don’t force them, they are just naturally there. That is what makes the sessions so real, they are really getting the same feelings I really have. It is awesome.  I listen to the sessions myself.  I totally forget it is my voice.

Bodysport: How long does it take for someone to notice a marked improvement in there performance and/or outlook after incorporating hypnotherapy?   

Nancy: I personally notice a difference every time.  So the more often it is done, the better. I personally listen to hypnosis or do self hypnosis in some form every night.  I recommend listening to my sessions once a day for 7 days and then move on to the next session.  This takes a total of 4 weeks. Then after that listen at your leisure to whatever session you like each night based on your mood and what you feel you need to inspire you.

Bodysport: With anything new there will always be skeptics and detractors claiming that it doesn’t work or is some type of con.  What would you say to people who are curious but unsure as to whether or not this is something that might benefit them?  

Nancy: I say that the minute you are able to connect with your unconscious mind, that is the moment all your dreams will start to excel.  Don’t believe that you have an unconscious mind, that is fine with me.  But I will have to ask, if you do not believe, then how do you remember to make your heart beat?

Bodysport: Where can people learn more about The Competitive Advantage Series, hypnosis, and hypnotherapy? 

Nancy: In the hypnotherapy section of my web site,
http://www.nancygeorges.com/hypnosis.html
There is an audio introduction to hypnosis as well as a detailed blog answering some of the questions about hypnosis as well as a link to my Competitive Advantage Hypnosis Series. There is also another series for every day fitness enthusiasts who do not currently compete or wish to compete and it is call the Fitness Excellence Hypnosis Series.  They can both be found on that page.

Thanks  a lot Nancy.