He has struggled with anxiety for many years and was using his own techniques to calm himself in high-stress situations.
Velazquez had never been hypnotized before and wanted to try it.
“I feel good and relaxed,” he said.
Boubari, a clinical hypnotherapist, decided to host the free hypnosis session at the InnerSite Healing Center in Glendale to commemorate Sunday’s fourth annual World Hypnotism Day.
While some hypnotists persuade people to perform silly tricks, Boubari’s techniques are not intended to make people do things they don’t have control over.
She practices hypnotism to help people lose weight, relieve pain or depression and heal from illness.
“It’s mostly about the mind and body,” Boubari said.
Boubari’s own health battles led her to discover hypnotherapy.
In 1994, she got a third ovarian cyst and went to an acupuncturist, who told her there were other ways to treat the cyst without getting surgery.
“I would take anything instead of going under the knife,” Boubari said.
Soon after, Boubari, who was then a paralegal, began studying hypnotherapy and earned her clinical hypnotherapy certificate in 1996 from the Hypnotism Training Institute of Glendale.
She enjoys performing hypnotherapy because it’s about “helping people help themselves.”
Boubari encourages people to drop pounds by imagining and desiring the weight loss.
“When we talk about weight loss, I ask my clients to stop using the word losing,” Boubari said. “Losing in itself is negative.”
Candice Bennett began going to Boubari to get massages to relieve pain from a neck and jaw injury, but she said Boubari also has allowed her to feel comfortable about her body.
