Iva Perez is on a mission to help 1,000 women and entrepreneurs go from 'Fine' to 'Falling in love with Life'. She has successfully merged 20 years of corporate experience with her studies on the Science of the Mind into her role as a Licensed Transformational Hypnotherapist and is endorsed by UK’s No. 1 Therapist, Marisa Peer. She helps women and entrepreneurs drop the overwhelm and anxiety and, instead, create new subconscious beliefs to facilitate powerful transformations. This way, mothers can successfully navigate the overlap between work and family life. Iva is the co-host of the Top Ranked podcast, Mom Bosses Abroad as well as an avid speed reader and matcha evangelist.
Iva Perez, Transformational Hypnotherapist
Your journey as a Licensed RTT Hypnotherapist is undoubtedly unique. What inspired you to pursue this path?
Yes, I have been told that if I were a penny in a jar full of pennies, I would be the purple one. I have always embraced out-of-the-box thinking. And so, when I felt the calling to step into something bigger, this was after a very challenging period in my life, I began to really reflect and ponder the direction of my life, in terms of what were my real passions and my purpose in the big scheme of things. I knew first and foremost that I wanted to help bring about powerful change for other women. Not changing for the sake of changing but rather a transformation that would yield so much more on so many levels. For me, the impact that we have as parents over our children is huge. We can unwittingly add or pass on unwanted baggage to them, most especially us, mothers, who are the gatekeepers of the family. If we truly want to raise a new generation of empowered children than can create powerful change in the planet, then it starts with us.
I wanted to help mothers feel they can do this parenting job well, while also freeing themselves from their own limitations, pain or trauma. Trying to heal ourselves while raising emotionally healthy children is one of the most exhilarating and daunting journeys we can undertake, and we need all the help we can get. For me, I personally appreciate when rapid, permanent solutions are offered because I have very little time! So the beauty of what I do as an RTT Hypnotherapist is that I help women who are living a fast-paced life and who feel their only option is to cope until the kids are out of the house to take a faster approach towards getting to the root cause of what is creating the issue for them so they can go from A to B faster. No need to go around in circles. Rather, 1,2,3, let’s go! So they can look back and feel they did this one life well; they did motherhood well. Perhaps this approach is not for everyone, and that is okay. We are all unique, and we need to find what resonates and feels right. But I do know that for my mamas, the ones that are not-in-a-box kind of ladies, the alternative that I offer is appealing because it’s like doing surgery of the mind. We get rid of what doesn’t work so they can be on their path to what lights them up and helps them feel fulfilled faster.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
Not so long ago, I was a sabotaging overachiever.
I was drained, I was exhausted, I was overwhelmed. I was attempting to do it all perfectly and on my own. Yet, I didn’t like the way I was showing up as a mother, a wife, and as a business owner. And I felt I was failing. It seemed one part of me was a rebel against success and the other was the over-achiever and both were limiting each other. The over-achiever part wasn’t letting me have fun and enjoy motherhood, my practice and life in general and the rebel wasn’t letting me have success in what I wanted to do. The frustration was maddening! I was a straight-A student my whole life, how could I be failing at everything? Feeling I was failing as a mom was the hardest one of all. I would snap at my kids and blow up like Mommy Volcano, only to feel guilty immediately afterwards. I would promise myself I wouldn’t do it again, and by the next morning, there I was, failing again.
We can spend a lifetime stuck in those subconscious patterns without a clear way out. Until I became tired of being tired. Why was the life I desired and strived for NOT available to me?
And then the lightbulb moment came. I found RTT and a way to bring my subconscious mind onboard. The part of me that is 30,000 times more powerful than my conscious mind and was inadvertently sabotaging the show and blocking success. I began to learn how to talk to my mind in a way that it would give me what I wanted. The turnaround was incredible! I had found a way back. The harsh, critical inner voice became a true cheerleader, friendly, understanding… I was making decisions without feeling guilty or judging myself. I felt mentally calm and expansive.
Like I could finally breathe! I was able to begin enjoying my life and allowing success in. I was finally writing the chapter in the book of my life where the fun part actually begins. (and the ANXIOUS PART exits the stage to the right). When I experienced this rapid transformational experience that changed me for the better, I knew I had found my purpose and passion in life. And I knew this could benefit so many other women that were in the similar situations as mine.
Your approach focuses on rewiring beliefs to unlock higher levels of freedom, satisfaction, and fulfilment. Can you elaborate on a specific technique or strategy you find particularly effective in achieving this transformation?
Yes, there’s certainly a pairing or winning combination that I have noticed with my clients. When it comes to pursuing a transformation that allows you to tap into your 2.0 self, having an open mind is key. Many clients have tried so many methods before trying RTT and at the beginning, it’s not about believing, because they are coming to me with issues that feel so overwhelming, daunting, and difficult and they haven’t had any relief thus far. It’s hard to have an optimistic outlook at that stage. They might even feel helpless about where they’re at. But even if they have that tiny spark that nudges them in the direction of ‘this could be possible’, that’s all that is needed. I call it the Play dough Mindset! It’s having even a tiny sliver of, let’s try it out. Anyone is right whether they think something will work or not, because their mind will help them to make it so. The power of our mind is incredible. So, when I work with my clients, the other powerful component is using myelination to their advantage. Myelination is the process of “insulating” a new neural pathway to strengthen it, and for the process of our work together, to help forge new default behaviors. Heavily myelinated neural pathways are up to 300 times faster as they have been optimized for speed and efficiency. Increasing myelination via intentional practice helps create new habit formation. This is what I refer to when I talk about getting the subconscious mind onboard. Because once new habits of thoughts and habits of action are myelinated, the subconscious mind goes in the desired new direction and change is inevitable. What is important is whether the person from the outset is willing to at least embrace the possibility that change, transformation, freedom could happen for them. That’s the Play dough mindset that helps get the ball rolling that much faster.
Marisa Peer, UK's No. 1 Therapist, has endorsed your work. How has her mentorship influenced your practice and approach to helping others?
I am forever grateful to Marisa Peer for sharing RTT with the world. She has perfected her methodology in such a way that it truly allows for fast and rapid results that are permanent. And her mentoring, guidance and knowledge has proven to be invaluable. Plus, she is a really kind-hearted human being, who brings in that empathetic, loving side into her work. This is so vital, especially in the mental health space. Just because you are an expert or professional doesn’t mean that you cannot take time to create connection and approach your clients with kindness. I believe this element her ability to fuse her knowledge with intuition when treating clients is a great guiding light. I am always in awe at how her guidance is so spot on! Just as an example, Marisa has shared what is at the core of addictive patterns and behaviors. So, when a client came to me for smoking cessation, I revised my notes on what Marisa had shared and when I did the session, it felt like my client had read them! After 25+ years of trying to quit smoking, this client got rid of the need to smoke after just one RTT session. By understanding the Rules of the Mind and knowing how to apply them as Marisa has taught them, certainly has helped me to be more effective in my practice. And adding the layer of heart, empathy and sensitivity helps my clients feel safe and at ease which is paramount to help facilitate powerful transformations for them.
The space of mental health and the subconscious mind is a fascinating field. How do you stay updated on the latest research and techniques, and how do you incorporate this evolving knowledge into your practice for the benefit of your clients?
This is where passion, mission and purpose collide for me! I dub myself a Nerdtastic type, I love learning about the science of the mind, going deeper, and always honing my skills as a way to improving my work. Staying up-to-date on all the latest research and techniques is naturally enjoyable to me because it’s already a passion of mine. It fuels my soul. To me, it’s my playtime. I don’t take it as a separate added item on then to-do list. These topics really fascinate me already! So when I get to read that book, attend that webinar, invest in that course, listen to other experts or even mastermind with peers, I am in such a state of play and receptivity that ‘learning’ or absorbing information feels fun and effortless. As an added bonus, I can’t wait to apply what I learn into my practice with my clients and watch them get even better results. It’s such an exhilarating feeling, and I think that is key. Like Marisa says, I love what I do and I do what I love. I also take this a step further. I am well aware that many people are not living out their passion. So for me, the way I honor this privilege is to become a master of my craft. And I know that my clients feel it too. This is how I also honor them, and it all comes full circle. Even if what they’re going through is challenging and painful, after our sessions and calls, I see them become lighter, and they also tell me they feel refreshed, inspired and motivated. So the more I study, learn and improve, the more I get to watch my beautiful clients become their best selves. It’s a priceless experience.
Could you elaborate on the importance of subconscious mind work and how you help identify and address subconscious beliefs that may be obstructing personal growth and success?
Certainly! Let’s start off with the basics. A thought produces a feeling. A feeling leads to an action. A certain set of actions done repeatedly create a behavior. And behaviors are what create our destiny. But before you have a thought, there has to be a belief. If I believe the world is safe and friendly, then my thoughts will tend to match that belief. If I believe the world is out to get me, I will think different thoughts. Beliefs are the lens through which we see ourselves and the world. And because they’re stored in the subconscious mind, that’s where we need to go to rewire them, meaning changing them or replacing them with better beliefs if the ones we have are not proving helpful. Ninety-five percent of our actions, thoughts and behaviors are controlled by the subconscious mind. So when we want to exert change from a purely conscious, effortful way, it proves difficult. I label this the “I want to go Right but end up going Left” conundrum. Despite your best intentions, or despite logically knowing that something is not healthy or beneficial, you keep doing it. But willpower can only go so far and then the person is falls back into the same unwanted patterns. This may lead to frustration, anger, confusion as well as affecting personal growth by hindering someone’s ability to reach ‘the next level’. My specialty is diving deep into the subconscious, uncovering the root causes of unwanted behavior which stems from these outdated beliefs.
We might think we know what our beliefs are, but not every belief is so evident. For example, everyone wants to be wealthy for the most part. Seldomly would someone refuse the idea of having more access to money. But your beliefs about money and wealthy people can produce resistance to allowing that to happen. And that’s where procrastination, self-sabotage or rebelling against money or success tends to happen- like it did for me at one point. And we don’t really know why. That’s where I come in. Through understanding and rewiring outdated beliefs, I've witnessed profound and lasting changes unfold for my clients—often within just 1-4 sessions.
In your experience, what are some common misconceptions people have about hypnotherapy and how do you address them?
There’s this idea floating around that hypnotherapy is somehow dangerous or that people can be manipulated into doing what they don’t want to do. None of that is true. If that were true, I would be having the time of my life making my husband do what I wanted 24/7. Or getting my clients to buy me a car. But all jokes aside, these perceptions possibly come from having watched stage hypnosis where people are made to cloak like chickens for the sake of entertainment. The idea that someone can mentally control you cannot be further from the truth. What is one hundred percent true is that you can never make anyone in hypnotherapy do what they don’t want to do. In fact, hypnotherapy doesn’t send you to sleep, rather, your body relaxes but your mind is wide awake. During a session, I can only give my clients what they truly want because I use hypnotherapy as an incredibly powerful tool for rapid, permanent, positive change. Want to drop excess weight? Be a phenomenal speaker? Release unwanted money blocks? Shift anxiety and overwhelm? Attract love? Yes and yes. All of that is possible with RTT hypnotherapy. The other misconception that I see is people being afraid of what might come out during a session. They get this sense that they might be opening a Pandora box that they can’t later close. And it is a valid argument if the person senses they might get to relive a deeply traumatic event or a painful situation that happened. This is where having a Licensed expert comes into play as well as someone that is equipped to work with trauma if it applies to a client’s particular case. Not everyone is. While I can’t vouch for everyone else, in my practice, I am equipped to help my clients process what comes up in a session and I do work with trauma cases. Regarding the sense of opening a Pandora box, in RTT Hypnotherapy you will not be reliving anything. I always assure my clients that they are always in control throughout the session, and they will only be revisiting memories for the sake of examining them and letting go of any interpretations that are no longer useful in order to move forward in the present.
Could you share a particularly impactful success story from your practice, highlighting the transformative effects of your methods?
Every story of transformation from my clients is impactful in and of itself when you see the incredible before and after journey they have undertaken. What is always fascinating to my clients is realizing how many issues that they consider only relevant to a present day issue or situation, actually tends to have a connection to faulty beliefs from childhood. Situations in the present are never isolated, they have a root cause linked to the past through an internalized belief. Internal beliefs underpin every single action we take or do not take without exception. There is never a situation where a belief isn’t at play. A client came to me to enhance his sports performance at an upcoming hi-level competitive race. After just one session, and again, unravelling root causes from the past regarding his childhood and family situation, he went on to shave off 29 minutes from his swimming time during the race, in open water conditions something he had never done before! One of my earliest clients came to me because she was experiencing frustration with her child during mealtimes and it was affecting everyone at home. What seemed like an isolated issue turned out to have deeper roots that stemmed from her own childhood and faulty beliefs she had internalized since then. Once that was unravelled, the present-day situation with mealtimes improved almost instantly. This is a common pattern that I see in many parents and I call it the Pebble in the Shoe Theory. In many situations, what triggers parents and creates that sense of disconnection is not necessarily the whining, tantrums or challenging behavior from their children but rather the inadequacy, powerlessness and helplessness that children’s behavior sets off in us, adults. The Pebble in the Shoe Theory highlights that when we become parents, we re-enter a relationship we’ve been in before, but this time, playing out a part that we subconsciously witnessed: that of our own parents’ behavior and attitudes when they parented us. When these internalized behaviors are re-examined and upgraded, parents feel more empowered in their daily interactions with their children. This is also how I help guide women towards enjoying more success, freedom, and fulfilment and to get rid of the guilt of motherhood.
