It’s Fun, It’s Exciting and It’s Memorable…

… it’s Hypnotic Entertainment with Faith Wood

An afternoon with Faith
Posted By Josh Skapin, Echo Editor
Posted 7 days ago

On a frosty winter afternoon in Airdrie, Echo photographer Covy Moore and I arrive at the home of resident hypnotist Faith Wood.

There is something pulse-pounding, and compelling about observing seemingly normal people fall into a state of suggestion that causes them to do almost anything.

It was Covy’s contention that those featured on stage at hypnotist events in pubs or on television talk shows are pre-selected and scripted for the outrageous performance.

I became intent on exploring the craft and determining if the 300-pound man on Maury Povich flapping his arms and squawking like a chicken was doing this by his own accord.

Initially, our limited hypnotist experience left us both feeling hesitant.

Wood comes across as confident but comfortable and inviting, as she shows us into her living room to talk.

Her voice is soothing like warm honey, and it quickly becomes apparent why even strangers like Covy and I feel instantly relaxed in her presence.

Once we have expressed interest in one of us experiencing hypnotism, Wood calls her daughter into the living room to join us.

The young woman settled into one of the cushy chairs and appeared relaxed as Wood approached her to begin the process.

Wood’s subject was fast to react, taking only a few seconds to slump over in her seat.

She tells us that people who have been hypnotized before are much quicker to respond than those who haven’t.

Covy admits that watching Wood’s daughter get hypnotized puts him at ease for his experience.

“Why do people freak out about doing this?” Wood said. “They wonder what it’s going to do, if it’s going to make you feel funny. Am I going to be embarrassed? Will they make me take all my clothes off? Will they make me bark like a dog?”

With these questions, Wood says it’s important to establish trust.

Next, it’s Covy’s turn.

Wood wanders over and sits on the coffee table in front of Covy.

“Put your hands in your lap, like that,” says Wood, then asking Covy to take a slow, deep breath.

“Your eyelids are getting heavier and heavier as you breath all the way in, and all the way out. Focus on the sound of my voice and only the sound of my voice as you allow that wonderful feeling to reach from the top of your head down to the tips of your toes. “

She counts to ten, making a popping voice with her tongue as she hits each digit, suggesting that Covy’s wrists become loose like a rubber band.

“As you feel the touch of my hand and the sound of my voice, nothing disturbs you, nothing bothers you,” Wood says with the strong yet relaxed pace to her speech.

“ Put your fists out in front of you make them tight, make them powerful. Make them so powerful and solid, like a bar of steel,” she says.

“Nothing can break it, nothing can stop you. You are powerful. There is no doubt, no hesitation. You realize that in this place you are invincible. There is no one that can stop you, no one who can beat you, you are strong, you are full of courage and determination.”

As Covy’s fists clench, his eyes remain shut and his face still looks content

Wood, standing next to her subject changes the pace with a louder, quicker burst.

“You know everything will work out the way it is supposed to. Nothing can break that bar of steel, no matter how hard you try…you realize in this moment that anything you put your mind to, you can make happen. No one can take it from you, no one can change your mind.”

Once Covy is lifted from the state of hypnosis, his face curls into a grin.

Wood asks him how he feels.

“Powerful… ,” he says. “I want to go to sleep.”

With little more than a snap of her fingers and the suggestion of her voice, surprisingly Covy is then placed back under hypnosis.

Knowing Covy, this wasn’t an act.

“It was such a relaxing state,” Covy says. “You’re just out. I felt like my heart was beating in my eyelids.”

While Wood’s voice fits into the category of easy listening, a characteristic that can be useful with suggestion, she says anyone with the proper tempo can perform a hypnotism.

There are two different styles of hypnosis, one being for therapy, which includes everything from weight loss, to polishing the mental aspect of an athlete’s performance - the other is the aforementioned stage work.

“It’s all about the flair,” says Wood. “The entertainment is not me, it’s you.”

Wood says volunteers are essential for the makings of a quality show.

To that end, she has seen both a collection of strong volunteers, and weak groups aswell.

One of her most memorable shows was her first.

In addition to being the feature performance, Wood planned a fundraiser so that those in attendance could walkaway having experienced something positive just in case she bombed.

The room was stuffed to over capacity.

At that point, Wood had not discovered her ability to attract volunteers to the stage.

“That was probably the scariest moment in my whole life,” she said.

Her anxiousness has now changed from an insecurity to craving the ability to leave her audience with a spectacle that they have never seen before.

airdrie.echo@shaw.ca
Article ID# 1328269

For entertainment that is fun, exciting and memorable, call (403) 461-3498
or send me an email at faith@faithwood.com right now!