27 - Mindful Hypnosis for Sleep, Stress & Perimenopause with Dr. Liz Slonena

Introduction to Dr. Liz Slonena and Mindful Hypnosis

In this episode of the Wellness in Asheville Podcast, host Travis Richardson sits down with Dr. Liz Slonena — clinical psychologist, award-winning hypnotherapist, and co-creator of Mindful Hypnosis. Her science-backed method blends mindfulness and clinical hypnosis to help people access deep healing through their own mind. Her guided meditations have reached millions on Insight Timer, Aura, and YouTube.

Travis opens the conversation with something many of us have quietly wondered: is there a way to access the profound mental states that plant medicine and psychedelics offer — without any substances at all? Dr. Liz answers with a resounding yes. And the science backs her up.

This conversation covers why trance is already a natural part of your daily life, how microdosing mindfulness is more practical than any retreat, and why perimenopause and ADHD are more connected than most women realize. Dr. Liz also reveals what a real mindful hypnosis session looks and feels like — and why trust is the single most important ingredient for it to work.

Key Takeaways:

• Trance is a natural brain state — and mindful hypnosis harnesses it intentionally for healing
• Microdosing mindfulness embeds calm into everyday tasks without a formal practice
• Clinical hypnosis significantly reduces hot flashes and perimenopause symptoms
• The estrogen-dopamine connection explains why ADHD symptoms often spike during perimenopause
• Emerging research from Baylor University shows hypnosis can mimic mystical and psychedelic experiences
• Sleep improves when hypnotic suggestions bypass unconscious habits and rewire the brain for rest

Timestamps:

00:00 | Travis intro; altered states and your mind's built-in power 01:26 | Meet Dr. Liz Slonena; her journey into mindful hypnosis 04:37 | Anxiety, panic attacks, and the breath paradox 07:30 | Befriending your body and quieting the inner critic 12:01 | What trance really is; debunking hypnosis myths 15:30 | Microdosing mindfulness in everyday tasks 18:48 | Mindful hypnosis for sleep and chronic insomnia 26:05 | Perimenopause, ADHD, and the estrogen-dopamine link 28:39 | How hypnosis lowers cortisol and supports hormone balance 33:05 | Tripping without drugs: hypnosis as a psychedelic alternative 35:48 | Inside a mindful hypnosis session start to finish 40:53 | The Mindful Hypnosis Sangha: 8-week community program 44:07 | Free gift bundle and how to connect with Dr. Liz 45:08 | Favorite Asheville spot: Big Bradley Falls near Saluda

Episode Links:

• Mindful Hypnotherapy Sessions with Dr. Liz Slonena: https://www.drlizlistens.com/
• Free Gift Bundle — Sleep Meditation + 7-Day Joy Challenge: https://www.drlizlistens.com/free-mindful-hypnosis-download
• Mindful Hypnosis Sangha: https://www.drlizlistens.com/mindful-hypnosis-sangha-group
• Dr. Liz Slonena on YouTube: @drlizlistens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg25yBaG6xE&t=282s
• Insight Timer: https://insighttimer.com/dr.lizlistens
• Instagram: @dr.lizlistens https://www.instagram.com/dr.lizlistens 

This episode is brought to you by the 9th annual Love, Shine, Play Yoga Festival, happening July 23rd through 26th in Asheville, North Carolina.

Join world-class teachers, inspiring workshops, live music, and a heart-centered community in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Whether you’re deepening your practice or just starting, it’s the perfect summer experience to reconnect and recharge.

Get your tickets at loveshineplay.com

The Wellness in Asheville podcast is produced by Be Well Asheville, your local news source covering health + wellness news + events in Asheville. Get the latest at bewellasheville.com or follow @bewellasheville.

Transcript

Travis Richardson (00:01)
All right. So today we've got a special guest, Dr. Liz Sloanina. She is a clinical psychologist, award winning hypnotherapist and co-creator of Mindful Hypnosis, a science-backed method that's helped millions of people find calm and clarity through her guided meditations on Insight Timer, Aura, and YouTube. She's based right here in Nashville. And this conversation is going to shift how you think about what your mind is capable of. And for me, I've been thinking, you know,

as I see people entering ⁓ various kinds of trance states or taking ayahuasca, they're doing various other forms of medicinal mushrooms and things like this. ⁓ And I've always thought, you know, what if there is a different way to do some of that without having to go through all of the rigor that can happen when you do take those kinds of things and not saying ⁓ that it's necessarily

a bad thing because I think there's a lot of benefit and a lot of people who are showing tremendous benefit from ⁓ plant medicine in those ways. But this is something that I've been really curious about is can I get into those kinds of states with doing something that is completely natural and built in? No supplements, no substances, just my own mind doing something that's biologically built to do.

And so with that, let's jump right into the episode.

Travis Richardson (01:26)
All right, everybody. So today I'm really excited because we have Dr. Liz Slonina on the show today here to talk all things mindful hypnosis. We're going to talk about energy, perimenopause, sleep, fatigue, maybe even a little touch on ADHD because as I've learned, hypnosis is something that can help all of the above.

Well, again, thanks for being on the show, Liz. I guess just like what's your quick one minute ⁓ about who you are and how you've come to be in the place that you are today?

Liz Slonena (02:01)
⁓ one minute, that's hard to do a life journey of deep, deep work. ⁓ Yeah, so I think what got me into mindful hypnosis was my own health struggles. So ⁓ getting into meditation at the ripe age of 13, after I had a really scary asthma attack, and ever since then getting into a regular meditation practice has really been helpful.

Travis Richardson (02:05)
Yeah.

Liz Slonena (02:30)
for my various chronic health conditions of really learning how my breath is my own medicine, reducing that stress response and just learning how to best support myself. ⁓ Yes, and flash forward with that. Like I've been meditating twice as long as I have been trained in clinical hypnosis. ⁓ So maybe you're thinking, what the heck is hypnosis? Isn't that just like a circus show? No, it's a...

based on decades upon decades of research. And I was very suspicious about it too. And it was only until my research fellowship at the National Institute of Mental Health, which all the crazy, cool, cutting edge research, I was researching ketamine as a antidepressant, had a research presentation on clinical hypnosis and how it changes the brain. ever since then, I'm like, whoa.

Okay, this is legit, there's science behind it. And it really is this way of being your own medicine, activating that wisdom within and can be utilized for so many different health conditions and longevity as well.

Travis Richardson (03:43)
I wrote down breath is my own medicine. Where did you learn that little tidbit?

Liz Slonena (03:49)
I guess through my own meditation experience too, especially with asthma, having access to the breath is challenging, but being able to calm that stress response, that tension, that fear of fear of just allowing to activate that parasympathetic nervous system, that rest, digest, that you can access that breath and...

if you want to go really scientific there, all the wonderful oxygen that you get to enrichen your blood, get oxygen to the brain to think clearly. there's, unfortunately we've lost that art and science of relaxation and the breath can be the first pathway to move forward.

Travis Richardson (04:37)
So I've always found it interesting when I'm stressed. So I have a history of ⁓ anxiety. I've actually even had a panic attack at one point when I was younger. And of course, the first thing you notice is breathing, right? Your breathing starts to accelerate. for me, I thought I was dying having a heart attack, which is very common with stress-related conditions like anxiety, panic, like I had. But I've always found it really challenging

Liz Slonena (04:45)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Travis Richardson (05:07)
And this is, I've been, before the episode, was like, gosh, what do I really want to know from Dr. Liz today? So, yeah. Cause I think this is maybe something that other lists, the listeners might struggle with too, is that we all know, okay. I mean, even if you're aware of the breath and that as a mechanism, I feel like sometimes when you're really, when it's really intense, like when you're really going through it, that working with your breath sometimes itself can actually exacerbate

Liz Slonena (05:11)
Yeah, I my brain. ⁓ Go deep.

Travis Richardson (05:36)
anxiety. So for me, when I was feeling really having a moment and I focused on my breath, what I became aware of is how bad it was and that even caused further anxiety. how do I get out of that?

Liz Slonena (05:38)
Mm-hmm.

Right? That cycle. Yeah.

Yeah. So that's a great question ⁓ because I get that a lot and various ways of creating safety to the breath or maybe even safety to another felt sense like sense of touch, hearing, ⁓ sight, those are all accessible kind of grounding anchors. And a way to bypass maybe the

fire that fuels all of the anxiety is ⁓ really utilizing visualization or guided imagery through hypnosis can bypass that. my gosh, I'm not breathing well. no, am I breathing enough? All that additional unhelpful stories because there's something really powerful of your unconscious, the guided imagery, if you can access that. So maybe it's a calming color.

shifting from maybe red to maybe blue or something calming to even imagining like a healing energy wave that just protects you and allows you to have that rhythmic breathing.

Travis Richardson (07:03)
Yeah, I like that. I like that. think there's and I think for a lot of people there's different ways to approach that, creating, recreating that state and that experience of relaxation, of that peace. And I've heard in my research with you, I've actually read that some of the ways that you work, you like to have people become more of a friend to their body and their mind and not be in such...

Liz Slonena (07:27)
Yeah.

Travis Richardson (07:30)
attack mode of it. And it kind of implies that there are a lot of people at war with themselves. And so what do you, what does that look like in your practice for how you kind of work with that, ⁓ that feeling?

Liz Slonena (07:32)
Mm-hmm.

yeah.

yeah, so the inner critic can be so loud and just beat you up for the smallest thing like forgetting to respond to an email or not getting up on time. ⁓ With that too, it is this process of befriending your body, befriending your mind, ⁓ even allowing your breath to be this loyal friend that's always there for you. And through that way, everyone has different journeys.

One way is through mindfulness skills of radical acceptance and compassion, letting go of that judgment that you're doing something wrong or not enough, which can be so rampant in today's society, especially with ⁓ business and entrepreneurs. And so with that, just training the brain and rewiring your mind for even starting out with just neutrality of, all right, what?

is kind of going well right now, what is working. And then building yourself up, like even starting with neutrality of like, okay, what can I be okay with? And then slowly building up to self-compassion, which self-compassion, a lot of people like, ew, if I'm soft and tender to myself, then I'll fall further behind. Well, in fact, the research indicates that self-compassion can be really focusing on what do you need in that moment?

Travis Richardson (09:00)
Yeah.

Liz Slonena (09:13)
Do you truly need a break? Is maybe the project that you're working on really not aligned with your values or higher wiser good? And with that too, ⁓ self-compassion includes fierce compassion too. So setting really important boundaries, that means yes, say no to something that really doesn't serve you or excessively stresses you out. And ⁓ again, it is kind of a lifelong practice, but...

Travis Richardson (09:20)
Mm.

Liz Slonena (09:41)
with mindful hypnosis, can kind of bypass that monkey mind, that self-critic that just runs rampant and really get deep into that unconscious, ⁓ compassionate being, so to speak. So there's some exercises there that we meet your compassionate being like a inner wise mentor or even your future wiser self that bestows wisdom of how you can like turn that volume down.

on that inner critic.

Travis Richardson (10:12)
Yeah, I love that. I think for me too, when I hear you talk about compassion towards self, the word that comes up for me is also forgiveness around whatever, because it just feels like we are so hard on ourselves and the thing we need to do first is to recognize that we are doing the best we can and we know that because that's what we did.

Liz Slonena (10:22)
Yes.

Yeah, yeah, you can't go back in the past, have a time

travel and then do everything right. And it's like, okay, if beating yourself up worked, it would have worked by now. ⁓ And it's like just like that additional stress, that additional burden of the criticisms, whether it's conscious or not, that weighs really heavy and no need to expend our energy in that way.

Travis Richardson (10:42)
Right, right.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I've always thought it'd be both the most amazing and freeing thing and also the worst thing if we all knew each other's thoughts because it would free us because we'd say, holy crap, man, everybody is kind of messed up like me. Yeah.

Liz Slonena (11:18)
yeah, everyone has their own inner journey, their own inner demons. And you

bring up a great part of this aspect of self-compassion being common humanity that, wow, everyone suffers. Everyone has a challenge or a chip off their shoulder or sensitivity. And we're not alone in the struggle, whether it's like, ooh, I'm not making enough money, or I'm afraid of the future, or ⁓ man.

Travis Richardson (11:29)
Right?

Thanks.

Liz Slonena (11:45)
That one, I don't know, email did not go well. So we're certainly not alone in that. And that can create this, again, connection that we're not alone with this. This is part of the human nature of being alive and doing some interesting or hard things.

Travis Richardson (12:01)
Right. So let's talk about, I want to talk about hypnosis just in general, because here, you know, before actually maybe even, I don't know, a couple, two, three years ago for me, I always thought hypnosis was this trance state that you would get into often associated with people ⁓ who do this for like a show. ⁓ so, and I know that most of the listeners probably don't

Liz Slonena (12:04)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, yes, yes.

Travis Richardson (12:31)
think that, but there might be some that still do. And I know I did for a while. tell me this about the trance state that is either the same or different in those kind of ⁓ scenarios that you see somebody act like a chicken in one scenario and in another reporting massive healing from things that they can't do any other, you can't get any other ways.

Liz Slonena (12:33)
⁓ who knows?

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Yeah.

Right.

Yeah, and

I'm glad that you bring this up too, because there's a lot of myths and misconceptions of hypnosis in general, trance in general, and then clinical hypnosis. So starting from like the basics of trance, trance is an altered state of consciousness. It is part of being a human being. It's a natural state. And there's been some research on there that we go into trance-like states at least three times during

a day and probably even more because, hey, your state of trance is looking and scrolling on your phone or just being immersed in a wonderful book or movie or even driving on the highway and completely missing your exit because you are so absorbed in a podcast or a music. ⁓ So we're harnessing our natural brain's ability to dissociate and dissociate gets a lot of negative context, but it is adaptive.

It's aligned to daydreaming where, hey, your body is somewhere else, while your mind is thinking or planning or fantasizing about something else. So ⁓ when it comes to hypnosis and clinical hypnosis, we're accessing the natural tendency to go into trance, which is focus attention ⁓ and allowing everything else, maybe inter-peripheral to fade into the background so that we can do something.

The thing with hypnotists or stage hypnosis is that it's for entertainment purposes only. ⁓ behind the scenes, like, hypnotists are really, really good at capturing who is highly hypnotizable. So hypnotizability is this kind of ⁓ normalized bell curve that some people are really high, like naturally highly hypnotizable, other people not so much.

So they can get these cues of who's really hypnotizable in the audience and play and mess with them. They're also more likely to be engaged and be like, yes, yes, yes, me, me, me, please pick me. I want to, I don't know, go to the Big Hama's or cluck like a chicken. ⁓ And so clinical hypnosis is still utilizing the natural state of trance, but specifically for specific goals, for healing, ⁓ whether it's to reduce anxiety, smoking cessation,

Travis Richardson (15:00)
Heh heh heh.

Liz Slonena (15:18)
just general stress reduction, or even reducing hot flashes and perimetapause to really harness an intention and goal so that you can become your best self.

Travis Richardson (15:30)
Hmm. Yeah. Great explanation. I think that that dispels some of the mythology around around it. ⁓ let's move into something else you said during our pre-interview call, which is micro dosing mindfulness. ⁓ I love that cause there's also, I also have, ⁓ something I like to call exercise snacks. And so I, so you can do an exercise snack and then you can do a micro dose of mindfulness, but tell us about what that is.

Liz Slonena (15:46)
Yeah!

Yeah, I love it.

Yes.

Yes. So it's this aspect of ⁓ incorporating and fusing mindfulness in everyday tasks that can be eating mindfully, drinking your favorite morning beverage, fully and completely to absorb it, to even taking micro breaks where instead of screen time, green time, just looking outside your window or stepping outside.

and being fully present and just enjoying maybe the beauty or the fresh air on your body and face. And what research has indicated is that, hey, city meditation or even full on silent meditation and treats are great. However, it doesn't really mimic the lifestyle that is very chaotic and stressful. And the whole point of mindfulness is to infuse that into hopefully everything that you can do.

Every moment is a moment for mindfulness. And sometimes that mind shift of like, yeah, let me microdose mindfulness. Let me make it a part of my day, whether it is just taking a moment to sit peacefully or if you're stuck behind a red light, instead of like tensing up and like banging on the steering wheel, you can take a moment to breathe, maybe notice something you haven't noticed before and just this quick reset.

Travis Richardson (17:13)
Mm-hmm.

Liz Slonena (17:22)
to refresh instead of being stuck in on mode or stress mode your whole entire day.

Travis Richardson (17:28)
Yeah, I've always thought, you know, like for me when I'm feeling stressed and a lot of times it actually happens at a computer. I've noticed this actually at, I've been in an office jobs for, I guess the majority of my life. I was trained as an engineer way back in the day. And I'd always look, once I started getting more into breath work and things like this, I would see.

Liz Slonena (17:42)
Mm.

Travis Richardson (17:51)
people breathing through their chest and rapidly too. And it happens even now, I'll watch people and I just want to tap them on their shoulder and be like, hey, I just was over here watching you breathe. ⁓ You might want to check in with your breath because it's kind of chaotic.

Liz Slonena (17:54)
yeah.

Yeah, yeah, or I like the BS

check. So are your breath and shoulders like connected together? ⁓ So just taking a moment and even that quick like recognition, which that's part of mindfulness of noticing maybe when you are stressed, when your shoulders are connected to your earlobes and just allowing yourself permission to reconnect, reset, refresh and have a different perspective moving through the day.

Travis Richardson (18:13)
Yeah, yes.

Mm-hmm.

Right,

totally. I remember I've done a few tests where I really worked and was mindful of my breath throughout the day. And I can't do this like regularly because I just don't have the, I don't know, mental willpower to do it, I guess. yeah, it's super challenging. ⁓ But I will say, because I've also struggled with sleep for many years, I'm prone to actually got my, I got a genetic test back in it and

Liz Slonena (18:48)
It's challenging.

Mm-hmm.

Travis Richardson (19:03)
I'm just gonna go ahead and dox myself on this and say that out of a score of zero to 100 in terms of like risk for insomnia, I'm 100. Like it wasn't 98 or 99, it was literally 100. I'm like, oh my gosh. But it was like, oh, confirmation. Okay, so that makes some sense for my sleep. But back to what I was saying is that when I...

Liz Slonena (19:14)
Wow, okay, you won. Congratulations.

Dang.

Travis Richardson (19:31)
when I was working on focusing on my breath, could totally ⁓ notice a difference. I slept so much better. ⁓ Everything else held the same. No changes in anything else. Just being conscious of my breath. I noticed a big difference sleep-wise.

Liz Slonena (19:38)
Yes.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. And again, kind of going back to breath can be your own medicine. It's accessing that parasympathetic rest, digest, ease sensation that, my gosh, the sleep industry is, I think, multi-billion ⁓ industry. And a lot of it is actually placebo effect. So main takeaway, please do not waste your money on melatonin. What you're getting is really a placebo effect. ⁓

Travis Richardson (20:14)
Yeah.

Liz Slonena (20:15)
not really what you want to get for your body.

Travis Richardson (20:18)
Yeah, you talk specifically about mindful hypnosis and sleep? Because I really think that's one of the most powerful things that can come out of what your work is for helping a lot of people that deal with sleep.

Liz Slonena (20:22)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

yeah,

yeah, because my goodness, ⁓ sleep disorders and insomnia are just like, keyed up and restless and you can't fall asleep. That's huge, more so than ever before. And with mindful hypnosis, infusing mindfulness and hypnosis together so that you get the felt experience of mindfulness meditation in a faster and deeper way through hypnosis, kind of imagining a pill capsule where

hypnosis of the pill capsule to deliver the medicine of mindfulness in that faster, easier, more digestible way.

Travis Richardson (21:07)
So is when, let's say I was a patient of yours and we were going through some work around sleep. it that the, what changes? Is it my, how I think about going to sleep? My mindset about sleep? Is it my brain waves actually shifting? Like what are the mechanics of why I might find myself sleeping better?

Liz Slonena (21:13)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Mmm.

Yeah, great question. And I would say all of the above. ⁓ kind of first starting off, that mindset of how you even think about sleep can be unconscious and really making sleep a priority, ⁓ part of your routine, part of your life, because it is truly the easiest thing to skip out on. Choosing to have one more episode of your favorite

show on Netflix versus getting one extra hour of sleep. So making sleep a priority is first and foremost. Making sleep consistent is another. So going to bed and waking up at the same time, yes, even on the weekends is really important of regulating your circadian rhythm. And through that too, this aspect of habit change is really freaking hard. And

The aspect of hypnosis can really access that unconscious processes, which underlie a lot of the mechanisms of habit formation. So essentially we can make sleep consistent with what we call hypnotic suggestions. So it's kind of bypassing ⁓ maybe the scrolling behaviors or the other unhelpful habits and creating more healthy, long lasting habits too.

Travis Richardson (22:50)
you

Hmm

Liz Slonena (22:58)
and the point

of ⁓ various brain waves. So there's been a lot of fascinating research on clinical hypnosis and meditation. And what they found is that they both kind of access the brain and change brain waves in different ways. And we're still waiting on research for mindful hypnosis in particular, but what we've ⁓ found with other research is that it does access the brain to more of a delta wave sleep.

There's been really cool things of just having the suggestion that your sleep will be deep and access deep delta wave sleep is enough for your body and mind to go into that deep delta wave sleep, which is pretty cool. Just the power of your voice and the power of words can make the healing happen.

Travis Richardson (23:39)
Mmm.

Yeah, that's super cool. I'm really fascinated by a lot of the technologies too, that monitor and measure and can tell you about your brain wave patterns. know there's a couple, what is it? think Muse is one of the devices. ⁓ But also I was talking to another podcast guest recently about neurofeedback and just some of the, and that's not what this podcast is about. We're really focused on hypnosis here, but just as it goes to say that, you know,

Liz Slonena (23:58)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Travis Richardson (24:15)
there's lots of these interventions that are available to you. If you're suffering, the goal is to try something. And if that doesn't work, try something else. But know that there are things out there that are much more effective than you probably realize, is what I'm learning.

Liz Slonena (24:20)
Yes.

Yeah.

Yeah,

yes, yeah, there's so many different avenues of healing. And what I find is really fascinating with hypnosis, if you want to think about it as a delivery mechanism, this pill capsule, hypnosis is so versatile. So I have colleagues that infuse hypnosis with bio and neurofeedback to amplify. And what the emerging research is indicating is that

Travis Richardson (24:58)
Mmm.

Liz Slonena (25:02)
clinical hypnosis is so versatile and the way that it can be delivered that it amplifies treatment effects of standard therapies like CBT ⁓ to make it faster, deeper and longer lasting than just maybe CBT alone. So it's really, really fascinating to see how accessing your unconscious through hypnosis can give you those benefits that may be like twice as long to get.

if you just do the standard traditional method.

Travis Richardson (25:35)
Yeah, that's cool. you know, studies take so long to do, especially when we start to, even on just singular therapies to do enough studies to say, to make the mainstream science ⁓ change their mind about something takes decades. ⁓ but then you go ahead and then you start talking about combining therapies and it becomes super ⁓ complex. And most people don't have the time to wait decades. They need their problem solved yesterday, you know.

Liz Slonena (25:39)
Yeah.

yeah.

Mm-hmm. Right. Right.

Travis Richardson (26:03)
So let's

talk about perimenopause because I know you help lots of women with that. So tell me about how your work supports women in transition.

Liz Slonena (26:05)
Yeah, I do.

Yes. starting with this, that my goodness, there's been emerging research that perimetopause can start earlier than maybe once expected. So the average age can start kicking in around 35. And for folks who have ADHD or are suspecting they have ADHD like symptoms, the overlap between ADHD and perimetopause is huge. That being that ADHD

Travis Richardson (26:36)
Hmm

Liz Slonena (26:40)
and metaphors really do rely on the same neurotransmitter, the estrogen. So as estrogen depletes, the connection of estrogen and dopamine is absolutely fascinating. So estrogen decreases through perimetaphors, and that decreases the ability for your brain to cultivate or even create dopamine that want to get up and do and motivating kind of chemical in your brain.

Travis Richardson (26:54)
Hmm.

you

Liz Slonena (27:09)
What I've seen a lot of folks is ⁓ perhaps women are in that perimetal, perimetopause state and they had no idea that they do meet the criteria for ADHD. And through my work of executive functioning, good ⁓ skills of how to work smarter, not harder, in addition to mindful hypnosis, it really alleviates the excessive stress and maybe burden and burnout.

Travis Richardson (27:22)
Cheers.

Liz Slonena (27:38)
⁓ that women of this age are really going through. And the great thing about it, again, kind of you are your own medicine, mindful hypnosis kind of being this inner medicine cabinet, that this whole aspect of changing your relationship with stress so that you do feel more at ease, more resilient, you know what is most important, can help you focus more on what matters most rather than stretching yourself so thin.

Another really cool kind of science fact is there that clinical hypnosis does significantly reduce perimetapause and menopausal symptoms, specifically the really, really annoying hot flashes. So it's so ⁓ helpful in that way of you can allow this treatment to be normal and natural, accessing your own body's healing rather than the very, very expensive treatments and even the gauntlet of

trying to get estrogen.

Travis Richardson (28:39)
That's interesting. I don't know if I missed it in something you said there or if I'm just not picking up. It's struggle for me for some reason to get my head wrapped around how ⁓ hypnosis and ⁓ changing your ⁓ mind, the way it works really, I hypnosis is, and how that can impact beneficially, I guess with hormone regulation and whatnot.

Liz Slonena (28:42)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Travis Richardson (29:08)
I don't know. ⁓ For some reason, I'm just still not clear as to what's going on there.

Liz Slonena (29:10)
Yeah!

Yeah, and I appreciate you asking that because it is kind of complicated and like this black box of like, what's going on? So let me see how I can say this in another way. ⁓ Our stress responses activate a lot of cortisol that really like hijack the system to where it is kind of like you're just stuck on and fight or flight and cause a little more disruption.

Travis Richardson (29:18)
Yeah

Liz Slonena (29:41)
in normal hormone production, that being estrogen, dopamine, ⁓ and chronic inflammation, which yes, you can have chronic inflammation in your brain, which makes everything harder to do. So the common symptom of brain fog really kind of maps on to chronic brain or body inflammation. And what the emerging research is indicating, both meditation and hypnosis, reduce the stress response. So

Travis Richardson (29:49)
Mmm.

Liz Slonena (30:11)
reduces that internal inflammation. So you learn how to be with your stress more peacefully, to rapidly reduce your tension, body tension as well, so that this in itself, stress reduction can be that medicine.

Travis Richardson (30:31)
Okay, as yeah, okay, so that makes it a little more clear what I see is what's happening is instead of If I think about paraminopause or hormones, I think of everything in terms of maybe it's again back to my engineering Mind is everything is a cycle, right? So you've got these peaks that are can come up really high and if the listeners can't see but I've got a pin I'm pointing upward as like the top of this peak right and then

Liz Slonena (30:35)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Travis Richardson (30:57)
then there's this crash and blood sugar follows a similar pattern, right? And what we'd rather have is we know that when we eat our blood sugar is going to come up, but what we'd like to have is not spike, right? So maybe in the same way, what you're saying is that if you're in perimenopause, instead of having perimenopause be like a sharp spike, spikes up and down, let's have it be more smooth. Let's have it be more regulated, can softer instead of so harsh. Is that, am I saying that right?

Liz Slonena (31:00)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

Mm-hmm.

Yes.

Right. Yeah,

that's a great way of viewing it too, as well as ⁓ going to that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. So this is like a self-coping tool that you get to know. So if you start to notice yourself bumping up against that edge of high, high stress, you can take a breath. You can take a micro-mindfulness, a micro-dosing mindfulness to ease back down into a more regulated state.

Travis Richardson (31:53)
Peace.

Liz Slonena (31:54)
⁓ And with that too, is that ⁓ just recognizing your body's natural limits. Yes, it sucks to have limits when you wanna do all these things. So another thing that I noticed with working with a of folks around this is being really honest with what you can and cannot do that day, not overextending yourself, which again, chronic stress, chronic inflammation, chronic dysregulation.

Travis Richardson (32:19)
Yeah, and as you were talking to, I was thinking, what else could this help with? I was like, yeah, well, it's all connected, right? And I was thinking about digestion. mean, so, okay, so if you go down the digestion path, we know that like hypnosis, if you're calming the stress response, what you're gonna do is you're gonna digest food better. means you're gonna absorb better. And if you're a woman who needs more protein, guess what? You're probably gonna break protein down better and that's gonna create amino acids.

Liz Slonena (32:27)
man, so much. Mm-hmm. Yes.

That's right.

Right. Exactly.

Travis Richardson (32:48)
that actually helped the brain. So now I'm coming back

to what I was originally like stuck on. I'm like, okay, this is all making sense now.

Liz Slonena (32:53)
Yeah, yeah, it's

like a smooth, well-oiled machine that's working in a way that is beneficial rather than operating on 5 % battery and crashing out.

Travis Richardson (33:05)
Got you. Yes,

yes, yes. Okay, cool. All right, well, on the intake form, we also, I noticed ⁓ we had this note about how to trip without the drugs. And I like that playful take on what mindful hypnosis might offer. So tell us what you mean by that.

Liz Slonena (33:17)
Yeah!

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, so this is growing a lot of interest simply because we're in this aspect of psychedelic renaissance period of everyone is interested in psychedelics for well-being or just reducing even trauma or stress and anxiety. so emerging research conducting at Baylor University are looking at how hypnosis can mimic mystical or psychedelic experiences. And what they found is

that yes, it does mimic these experiences. So essentially, if you have an experience, hypnosis or mindful hypnosis, highly recommend because it does mimic this free-floating, ⁓ just imaginative, vivid visual state that you can access anytime, anywhere, getting kind of high on your own supply. And with that too, ⁓

designing specific journeys, so you will, of, well, first setting an intention of what you want that inner journey to be like or before, ⁓ and going on your own little adventure. ⁓ That, again, with hypnotic suggestions, the power of words, this kind of scientific poetry, you can go on your own inner adventure and get some deep, profound wisdom and insight that you can start immediately using.

And this is very beneficial because as there's great research on psychedelics, they aren't for everyone. There's some people that have prior medical conditions like ⁓ heart conditions or even liver conditions that it's not really great for them to partake in some of these ⁓ medicines, as well as just the kind of psychedelic or even your nervous system regulation.

Once you're on a trip, it's kind of like you are in for the long haul. There's no getting off this roller coaster until you're done, unlike mindful hypnosis where you are in control the whole entire time. We can pace it so that you have more control and where your mind goes, more safety and more stability and reducing the amount of kind of negative interactions or what we like to call reactions or bad trips.

Travis Richardson (35:18)
You're right.

Hmm.

Got it. So, what's a session like with you? Like if I come in and I want a session, what's it look like? I walk in the door, what do do?

Liz Slonena (35:48)
Yeah.

Yeah, so every session is a little bit different because I like to tailor things to the individual because ⁓ everyone is walking in with something a little bit different. So how a common session would be is I get to know you, your rapport, ⁓ what is bringing you in, like the intention, whether you have a struggle point of can't sleep at the end of the day or your mind just cannot unwind. And then after

gathering some things of what you want to experience. ⁓ We can craft your inner adventure. So perhaps you really want to go to this healing place of peace, whether it's high in the sky and the clouds with a waterfall. And you can go there ⁓ and just receive all that wisdom, that healing, that deep relaxation mentally and physically. And

going on that little inner adventure. So ⁓ a lot of people are like, what happens during mindful hypnosis? And it's this aspect of you kind of take a really nice, enjoyable long nap where you close your eyes and get nice and comfy and cozy, whatever position you feel more at ease in. And your mind goes elsewhere, goes on a little fantasy journey. And when you wake up, it's kind of like you feel really refreshed, like you've just taken

I don't know, ⁓ eight hour sleep or nap. And this inner wisdom just kind of comes through this insight of I've had folks be like, you know what? I know that my current job situation is no longer serving me. ⁓ I need to switch jobs or even, my marriage is stressing me out. I really need to leave this dude right now. Or just some slight changes of, ⁓ wow, I had no idea that, you know,

Travis Richardson (37:20)
Mm.

Mm.

Liz Slonena (37:45)
scrolling on my phone was really feeling me with so much anxiety before going to bed, I need to put my phone in the other room and just put it to bed before I put myself to bed.

Travis Richardson (37:56)
Gotcha. So do you ever have where a client comes in and they on the first try or first session don't really get ⁓ into kind of the deep state that they would like to or that you would feel is beneficial for them. And so then does it take maybe sometimes a couple more? Cause I think I've had like one session way back in the day with somebody doing ⁓ and I just feel like it wasn't that.

affected for me because I couldn't freaking relax to let them do their job.

Liz Slonena (38:25)
Sure. There we go. Exactly.

Yes. So you bring up a great point. And I want to emphasize this ability to trust the provider is really key. This rapport, this sense of trust, and that's really important to develop and feel like there's a good mutual fit before stepping into your unconscious to force relaxation, which forcing relaxation never goes well.

Travis Richardson (38:53)
You

Liz Slonena (38:54)
⁓ and

it comes down to like fit. So much like various, perhaps practitioners or even meditation teachers, there's some people you jive with. You love what they say, even though they're saying the same things as, I don't know, Joe Schmo that you're like, well, I don't want to take meditation teachings from him. ⁓ so finding that fit is really important. And I will say that because I'm really intentional of who I work best with.

Travis Richardson (39:13)
you

Liz Slonena (39:20)
and make sure it's a good mutual fit from the get-go, I have often found that folks do find benefit and find that deep relaxation in the first go-round. Now, I will say that it is a skill of learning how to relax because our society, we learn how to be on and energized. Some people have fear of relaxing and slowing down. So it does get better and better through each session.

Travis Richardson (39:32)
Mm.

Liz Slonena (39:49)
And that's why the rapport, the customization, knowing what works with you and clicks with your brain is so important than rather reading a script ⁓ and you're getting very sleepy, one, two, three, that often doesn't work well with a lot of folks. So customizability and tailoring is really important.

Travis Richardson (40:04)
Yes.

It makes sense. And I think there's a lot about trust too. And I think that having somebody who you feel super, super safe with, I mean, that's really the subconscious just like wanting to defend itself and not let go if it doesn't feel safe. So I think building safety and trust is like probably the number one thing ⁓ to do.

Liz Slonena (40:10)
Mm-hmm.

It is, yeah.

And a great fun fact with there too, that the unconscious really is that part of the brain that holds attachment style and holds that like sense, like felt sense of safety. And so if your unconscious is like, hey, I don't know, there's some weird vibes with this person. Yeah, ⁓ it's trying to protect you.

Travis Richardson (40:44)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, totally. Well, I know you got some really cool things coming up. You've got this mindful hypnosis sankha, which is an eight week course coming up. Can you talk quick about that, what that's going to be like?

Liz Slonena (40:53)
Yeah.

Yeah,

yeah, so the need for community and mindfulness is more so than ever before. So starting in early June, I'll be offering an eight week mindful hypnosis group in Sangha, where essentially we go through eight key aspects and skills of mindfulness so that you can stress less, live more vibrantly, have mindfulness be more a part of your life learning.

Travis Richardson (41:04)
This is...

Liz Slonena (41:26)
how to micro toast mindfulness there too. And being able to exchange just community and felt sense of knowing and hey, accountability partners makes a world of a difference. So this is open to folks who are just curious about mindfulness or have been practitioners or have a mindfulness practice that they wanna go on a deeper level into.

Travis Richardson (41:51)
Amazing. You know, I know that you've reached already ⁓ lots and lots of people with your work. I consider you one of the preeminent experts in this, especially with all of your background. again, and you do you do project that sense of safety and of trust. And so I feel that for sure. ⁓

Liz Slonena (42:01)
Hmm.

Thank you.

Travis Richardson (42:13)
Where do you want to go with the rest of your, or with your work? Like where do you see the future going for you? Like what excites you about what you do and what do you want to do more of?

Liz Slonena (42:21)
Hmm.

Wow, wonderful question. I've certainly had dreams of having a mindful hypnosis retreat or wellness center. ⁓ So there are some ideas of mindful hypnosis retreats in the very near future, experientials, ⁓ as well as having it be more accessible because, ⁓ well, on one, I do teach mindful hypnosis for

therapists and other clinicians if they want to include that in the work. So check on that being more widespread. That's a dream of mine that has come true. And just wanting people to be able to have this skill of mindful self-hypnosis or just mindfulness in their everyday life, wanting to be more widely accessible. So de-stigmatizing hypnosis and mindful hypnosis so that can reach more and more people and hopefully have a kinder, peaceful,

better life here on Earth.

Travis Richardson (43:21)
⁓ I love that. ⁓ Lord knows that we're all like dysregulated nervous systems running around bumping into each other all the time. And if we can get ⁓ more regulated through any means possible, then we may have a chance, I think, here.

Liz Slonena (43:41)
Yeah, yeah, because that whole aspect

of just taking a moment and breath for yourself can make that switch to be kinder, more present to others. So the practice really is for you and the community at large.

Travis Richardson (43:56)
Great. Okay, well, if folks want to get ahold of you, how can they reach you? How can they follow your work? How can they access? You also have a couple, I forgot to mention there are a couple freebies ways for people to experience your work right now.

Liz Slonena (44:07)
Yeah.

Great. Yes. So I have a little gift two-parter here. So if you've been listening and thinking, wow, I could really use this tool, or I'm just really curious about how this can calm my racing mind, well, I invite you to experience mindful hypnosis yourself. So this free gift bundle, you'll receive a mindful hypnosis sleep meditation for you to release worries, fall asleep fast, and wake up refreshed.

And you'll also get access to my seven day joy challenge, which essentially is mindful hypnosis in 10 minutes or less a day so that you can start having more joy in your life, which hey, can do a wonderful aspects for yourself. ⁓ That can be linked in the show notes or follow me at drlizlisten.com and that's on YouTube, social media, Instagram to connect and

Start learning how to do mindful self-hypnosis.

Travis Richardson (45:08)
Amazing. Thank you. got one more question for you. Where's your favorite place in Asheville or thing to do to relax, recharge, reset, reboot?

Liz Slonena (45:10)
Yeah.

Ooh, goodness. I have many that are popping into my head because it's a beautiful area. Yeah.

Travis Richardson (45:24)
It can be an activity too. It can be a hike.

could be anything. If I could transport you to one spot right now and for you to just be, where would that be?

Liz Slonena (45:37)
Yeah, would be ⁓ Big Bradley Falls is a beautiful hike and beautiful place. That is my place of peace that I journey into and visualize myself in a lot of times. It is so magical. Yeah. ⁓ It's a little closer to Saluda. Yeah. So within driving distance from Asheville, but beautiful, beautiful area.

Travis Richardson (45:46)
Huh.

I've never been there. Where is that at? Never been there.

⁓ okay.

Cool, well it's just now on my list. So I've got a growing list because people like you all the time tell me things like that. And then it's I have to go do them. So thank you. Well, Dr. Liz, it's been amazing. Thank you for all that you do for the people and ⁓ what you do for the field ⁓ itself, hypnotherapy. Appreciate your time today.

Liz Slonena (46:07)
Great.

Yeah. Yes, well, enjoy the journey. Of course.

Great.

Thank you so much for having me on, Travis.

Travis Richardson (46:30)
That was...

Travis Richardson (46:31)
Liz Sloanina and I hope you leave this conversation understanding that one of the most powerful tools for your health is already inside you. No prescription needed, no supplement required. You can find her at drlizlissens.com and explore the mindful hypnosis Sangha. Catch her free guided meditations on Insight Timer, Aura or YouTube. Make sure also to follow at dr.lizlissens on