Everyone gets stuck sometimes. I regularly get emails from people who feel as though they've hit a wall, whether it's in the intuitive eating process, in eating disorder recovery, or just in attempting to change their food and fitness behaviors. Because I get stuck all the time myself, I've learned that there's a common-denominator issue underneath all these other issues:. Yes, there are myriad triggers and causes behind our individual histories, but the bottom line is that, unless you can find a way to accept ( even if you don't like ) your body, it is virtually impossible to change the way you feed and move it. So, when I get stuck, I know the way out begins with rolling up my sleeves and jump-starting the ol' body-image engine.This fall, finding myself in need of a good jump-start, I decided to try something new and slightly scary:Hypnosis has been dogged by controversy and myths ever since 18th-century doctor Franz Mesmer first began using it to treat patients (first in private, then on stage). But the truth is that the hypnotic state is totally natural and requires no trickery. You know that almost-asleep phase you hit right before nodding off? Or when you find yourself driving down the highway on autopilot? That's it. In this state, your mind is at its most suggestible, but you're in no way unconscious. The magic of hypnosis is that it allows suggestions to cross the barrier between conscious and sub-conscious, rooting them deeply into your mind."Essentially, hypnosis works by shifting negative beliefs about ourselves at the subconscious level," says Theresa Walker, C.Ht. , the hypnotherapist I began working with in September. Because it's such a powerful tool for changing behavior and thought patterns, hypnotherapy is often used for things like quitting smoking, managing anxiety and compulsions, improving concentration, etc. Walker is particularly invested in body image work, since changing self-perception is such an enormous challenge for so many people."What I've learned is that it’s usually a call for a strengthening of self-worth," she says. "I always start by becoming clear on what my client’s definition of improved body image and self-acceptance would mean for them, because it’s different for everyone." Then, once Walker and a client have clearly defined their goals, Walker introduces those ideas during hypnosis, planting them in the fertile ground of subconsciousness. "The change starts first within the mind," concludes Walker, "and ultimately manifests in conscious, awake life."That's my kind of magic.I did my first session with Walker in her Los Angeles office, where she walked me through a series of suggestibility tests — noting that, while everyone can be hypnotized, we all have different ways of taking in information. The fact that she made hypnosis sound not unlike those "learning style" tests from elementary school was oddly comforting. (I'd been looking forward to this for weeks, but upon entering this cozy, quiet room, I found myself suddenly nervous.)Next, we got into goals."Um, body image," I said. "Like, a better one."I now realize how absurd my expectations were, but I kind of thought Walker would just have the magic words to address my personal sense of self-perception and reinforce my specific body-image goals. But though she is highly trained and experienced, she couldn't literally pop open my mind and look around. I'd have to actually do some of the work. A lot, in fact.