60 SIDELINES JANUARY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Sports Performance Coach Laura King teaches individuals
how to utilize their minds to achieve lasting changes in their
performance and lives. She is the author of “The Power to Win -
Achieving Peak Performance for the Equestrian” and more than
150 self-development and performance programs including The
Keys to Winning for Dressage and Equestrian Training DVDs.
Laura is a certifed life coach, hypnotist, sports hypnotist and
Neuro-Linguistic Programmer (NLP). Her international clientele
include Olympic and professional athletes, top executives and
men and women seeking to conquer fear, build confdence and
obtain unprecedented success. Laura has been inside the heads
of many the nation’s top riders, so Sidelines decided it was time to
see what’s going on in Laura’s head!
Why do you specialize in hypnosis for equestrians?
It’s the same reason I use hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic
Programming (NLP) for golfers, students and business
professionals. Anyone who wants to improve their performance
and achieve peak performance needs to have their brain trained
for that excellence. And the way we train the brain is by getting
to its center of power, which is the subconscious. You can do all
kinds of drills each day to improve how you perform; but all of that
is on the conscious level, which takes far more energy in order
to get things done. The subconscious, which is the vast majority
of your brain, is where your habits, emotions and memories live.
The way to create lasting change is by tapping into the immense
power of the subconscious and that’s what hypnosis does.
What does hypnosis and NLP help riders achieve?
I’d say that most performance problems begin in the human
brain. Fears and anxieties, from the past and present, as well as
memories of negative experiences, are at the heart of limitations,
errors and substandard performances for equestrians. I’ve been
a member of the equestrian community all of my life and as a
professional serving this community I have seen the same things
over and over. Outside of something that’s impossible due to
physics, a rider can achieve anything with the proper mental and
physical training. And hypnosis is an integral part of that training.
What disciplines beneft most from hypnosis?
Jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, you name it. And other
sports, too; golf, tennis. Even children beneft. I have quite a few
young people who are very serious about competitive cheering.
And of course test preparation is always popular and very
benefcial for kids.
Have you ever been tempted to hypnotize a family member to
clean their room, take out the trash, buy you a new car?
That’s funny! And I’m glad you brought it up, because I take my
ethics as a hypnotherapist very seriously. And at the forefront of
every session is what the client needs. So I have hypnotized my
husband to help him with his sleep and for stress management.
Now, if my kids ever expressed a need to be more responsible
children when they were younger and they asked me to guide
them, they wouldn’t have to ask me twice!
What are two things about Laura King that might surprise
people?
I’m fortunate enough to have had a fabulous and wonderful
family growing up. But what they don’t know is that the success of
Summit and the six books I’ve written have all been made possible
by my work as a hypnotist. That might not be a big deal for some
people; but it is for me. Another thing that might surprise you is
that I was once a very unhappy, unhealthy person. And that was
all turned around for me, thanks to hypnosis and NLP.
What has been your favorite talk show to appear on?
Rachel Ray was a great experience and I am still friends with
the girl I worked with! I loved being on her show because I was
able to reach so many people!
Do you have a motto?
Be Happy! “Make life easier; learn how to have a habit of being
happy!”
What is your biggest extravagance?
I have a lot of wonderful things that I love doing - fshing, skiing
and spending time with friends! But my biggest extravagance is
my business....I put a lot of the money I earn back into writing
books or donating products to the Sari Asher Center for Integrative
Cancer Care, where I work one day a week.
Who or what is your greatest love in life?
My husband, Ed and my children Larissa and Edward. I am
the luckiest person because we are close and love spending time
together. I hypnotize them all!
Laura King
Laura King….
T h e H a p p y
H y p n o t i s t
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