What Happens in a Past Life Regression Session (And Why People Are Drawn to It)

What Happens in a Past Life Regression Session (And Why People Are Drawn to It)

If you’ve ever felt a strong pull toward something you can’t explain… a fear, a connection, or even a sense that you’ve “been here before”… you’re not alone.

I’ve spent years working with clients who come to me with that exact feeling. And more often than not, there’s a deeper story waiting to be uncovered.

In a recent conversation, I shared more about how past life regression and hypnotherapy actually work—and what people can expect when they step into this kind of experience.

Let me walk you through it.

What is past life regression

Past life regression is a gentle, guided hypnotherapy process that helps you access memories stored in your subconscious mind, but more importantly in your soul.

When you’re in a relaxed state, your analytical mind quiets down—and that’s when deeper insights can come through.

Sometimes they feel incredibly real.
Sometimes those insights feel symbolic.
And sometimes, they explain things your current life simply can’t.

This work helps connect the dots between past experiences and what you’re dealing with today—whether that’s anxiety, relationship patterns, or unexplained fears.

Why people seek out regression

Most people don’t come in saying, “I want to see a past life.”

They come in because something feels off.

Here are some of the most common reasons:

  • Unexplained fears or phobias
  • Emotional patterns that won’t shift
  • A sense of being stuck or disconnected
  • Curiosity about their soul’s journey
  • A desire for deeper healing and clarity

And honestly… sometimes it’s just a quiet inner knowing that it’s time.

What actually happens during a session

This is where people get nervous—but it’s much simpler than you might think.

You’re fully aware the entire time.

I guide you into a relaxed, focused state (similar to meditation), and from there we begin exploring whatever comes up.

Every experience is different, but often people:

  • Recall scenes, environments, or relationships
  • Feel emotions connected to those memories
  • Recognize patterns that are still affecting them today
  • Gain clarity or clear and release something they’ve carried for years

My role is to keep you grounded and safe while helping you move through the experience without becoming overwhelmed.

Because yes—sometimes emotions come up. And that’s part of the healing.

Can past life regression help with anxiety or fear

Short answer… yes, it can.

I’ve seen clients release lifelong fears after understanding where they came from.

When your subconscious finally connects the “why,” your body doesn’t need to hold onto the reaction anymore.

That’s where real transformation happens.

This is why I always say:

Healing begins when awareness starts.

What if I don’t “see” anything

This is one of the biggest concerns people have.

And the truth is—there’s no one “right” way to experience this.

Some people see vivid scenes.
Some people feel or just know.
Some experience it more like a story unfolding.

Even very analytical people have success—it sometimes just takes a little more trust and practice.

And that’s okay.

A deeper layer most people don’t expect

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that sometimes what comes up isn’t just about a past life…

It’s about understanding yourself on a much deeper level.

Your intuition gets stronger.
Your awareness expands.
And you start to see your life from a completely different perspective.

That’s where this work becomes more than just curiosity—it becomes transformation.

Is this right for you

If you’re feeling called to explore this, there’s usually a reason.

You don’t have to force it.
You don’t have to “believe” anything going in.

You just have to be open.

Because the truth is… your subconscious already knows the answers.

Sometimes you just need the right space—and the right guidance—to access them.

Reach out by contacting Kim here

Ready to explore your story

If this resonates with you, the next step is simple.

Start the conversation.

You can learn more or book a session here:
https://kimtrotman.com

Or just give yourself permission to stay open and curious.

That’s usually where everything begins.

Why You Might Be Feeling Something You Can’t Explain

Why You Might Be Feeling Something You Can't Explain

Why You Might Be Feeling Something You Can't Explain

Sometimes people come to me and they don’t really know how to put it into words. They’ll say things like “I don’t know why I react this way…” or “This fear doesn’t make sense…” or “I feel stuck, but I’ve done so much work already…” And I always tell them the same thing: there’s usually a reason. It just might not be where you’ve been looking. I talked about this recently in an interview on the Breaking the Silence Podcast, and it really comes down to how much of our experience is happening beneath the surface.

What Hypnotherapy Actually Opens Up

Most of us are used to trying to figure things out with our thinking mind, and that works… to a point. But there’s another layer — the subconscious — that holds onto experiences, emotions, and patterns in a very different way. That’s what we’re accessing in hypnotherapy. It’s not about losing control or “going under.” It’s more like settling into a quieter space where things can come forward more easily. And when they do, they often make a lot of sense.

Why Past Life Regression Can Feel So Personal

People sometimes ask me “Is it real?” or “Am I making it up?” And I understand the question. But what I’ve found over the years is this — the experience meets you exactly where you are. Sometimes what comes up feels like a past life. Sometimes it feels symbolic. Sometimes it connects very directly to something happening now. What matters is the impact. When someone sees or feels something that helps them understand a pattern they’ve been carrying, there’s usually a shift. And it doesn’t feel forced. It feels like remembering something you didn’t realize you knew.

What Changes After a Session

One of the biggest things I notice is that people feel different around the thing that used to trigger them. Not because it’s gone, but because they’re no longer inside it the same way. There’s more space. And when there’s space, there’s choice. That’s where things start to change in real life, not just in the session.

Do You Have to Be "Open" or Intuitive?

Not at all. I’ve worked with a lot of very analytical people over the years, and in some ways they do really well with this work once they allow themselves to step out of needing to control the process. You don’t have to believe anything specific. You don’t have to force an experience. You just have to be willing to notice what comes up.

What I Want You to Know Before You Ever Book a Session

This is important to me — I don’t see myself as someone who has answers for you. If anything, I’m helping you access your own. If someone tells you they know everything about your experience or your past, I would be very cautious. This work is personal, and it unfolds differently for everyone. My role is to guide, support, and help you move through whatever comes up in a way that feels safe.

Questions I Hear All the Time

How do I know if this is right for me? If you feel like you’ve tried to understand something and it’s still not shifting, that’s usually a sign there’s something deeper ready to be explored.

Will I lose control during hypnosis? No. You’re aware the entire time — you can speak, move, and stop whenever you need to.

What if I see something uncomfortable? We can always shift it. You’re never stuck in anything, and part of the work is helping you feel safe while you explore.

Do I have to believe in past lives? No. The process works whether you see it as past lives, memory, or symbolism — the insight is what creates change.

What can this help with? Emotional patterns, anxiety, fears, relationship cycles,
and that general feeling of “something isn’t adding up.”

If You're Feeling Drawn to This

In my experience, people don’t usually land here by accident. There’s often a part of you that already knows there’s more to understand. You don’t have to force that. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to take a look, and we go from there.

Reach out by contacting Kim here

What Is Past Life Regression Therapy?

A Past Life Regression can be quite an adventure as well as an exciting way to understand yourself and your souls purpose. It’s normal to feel a little nervous at first!

In a nutshell, the Past Life Regression specialist will first discuss with you what your questions and expectations are, as well as the issues that you would like to address. They will tell you what to expect during your session. The therapist will have you sit in a comfortable chair, recliner or lay on a couch. Next you will be guided to gradually reach a hypnotic state using spoken relaxation techniques and guided imagery.

The hypnotic process allows your body to completely relax while your mind stays focused. The analytical part of your brain will quiet down and let go of control. You reach a slower brainwave and with the therapist’s guidance and questions, your memories will begin to surface. In this state your soul and subconscious mind are able to access memories from this life as well as your past lives and existences. You will experience them in your minds eye, somewhat like a dream.

Along with images in your minds eye you may feel emotions as well as sensations in your body or “just knowing” information. You may stay in one past life or jump to other past lives, as well as spend time between lives with your spirit guides. The process is very relaxing and healing. Each person is unique and every session is different. That’s half of the fun!

Why People Seek Out Past life Regression Sessions:

A Sense of Familiarity to Places or People:

Places: You may have experienced a feeling of Déjà vu when visiting somewhere new. Buildings or landmarks that felt familiar. As an example: my mother experienced this as a child. Her family was traveling to the west coast through a small town. My mom woke up as they entered the town and even though she had never been there before, she started to tell her family where to turn and what the layout of the town was as if she had lived there for years.

This can also manifest as a familiarity or attraction to cultural objects, customs or even another county.

People: Every so often we meet a person who we feel instantly connected and drawn to. The feeling can also be about a person that we instantly dislike or clash with. We meet many random people in our lives, but these familiar people stand out and they often become significant in our lives. They can be the love of our life, an annoying parent or sibling or even our mortal enemy. Almost without exception we have already had lives with these souls before and are here to interact with them again, to learn more, love more and to improve our own reactions and soul growth and maturity (to also help them at the same time). At some level we know from the moment we meet them that they will be significant in our lives.

By experiencing our past lives we can understand more about these familiar souls, places, events, interactions and deaths. It can help clarify current feelings of love and attachment, fear or remorse. These strong feelings will often make more sense in this perspective.

Dreams:

I have clients that have dreamt of a place or person so often that they wondered if it really was another life they had lived. They were able to confirm this in a Past Life Regression. From quick snippets of a dream to longer dreams of a particular place, these people or events can be memories from past lives. Other clues are different types of dress that don’t seem current. If you seem to be another age, race or gender or you see structures or landscapes that aren’t familiar. It’s quite interesting to find out what our dreams or nightmares are trying to remind us of.

Curiosity:

Although experiencing your past lives can be quite healing, sometimes its just interesting to see where you have lived before, who you were and who your friends and loved ones in other times. Its interesting to note that on occasion you can see other existences before your earth lives. Not always but occasionally clients have even been able to see forward possibilities in their current life or future lives.

An Event That Suddenly Stirs up Memory:

You experience something like a car accident, or a seemingly trivial event like seeing an object while antique shopping. Even reaching the same age as you were in a past life that something important occurred. Meeting that familiar person or any of these other events can trigger you onto a path of discovery to try to explain your sudden feelings.

Physical or Psychological Issues:

A nagging physical problem that has defied traditional medical treatment can sometimes be traced back to a past life issue. It is important to seek medical or psychological help first! This can rule out things that can be otherwise explained and treated by professionals. With that said, I have witnessed clients with life long skin conditions that improve or clear up after experiencing the past life recall of their issue’s origins. Other physical maladies that I have seen improve or heal all together are nagging are back pain, and random stabbing or persistent pains and migraines. Life long or sudden onset anxieties, phobias or insomnia are all problems that can have origins in another lifetime’s nagging injury. I’ve witnessed many of these disappear or improve as well, after understanding a previous life’s injury (mental or physical). There are no guarantees, but this is one more avenue that can potentially bring healing.

It defies logic and western medical thought that experiencing that a Past life Regression can help, but symptoms might be your soul trying to get your attention and remind you of a spiritual issue that needs your attention.

Spiritual growth and wellbeing:

The hypnotic state is a great place to explore and expand your spiritual understanding of who you are as a soul! It can help us remember that we not just our body or our current lifetime of experiences. Our souls are more or less driving around our current body in our current life’s play. We often forget all of our souls abilities that we have learned over many lifetimes. It’s easy to let ourselves get discouraged or stuck by things in life that are really just our classroom for soul growth. We all have quiet help from the other side in the form of spirit guides and angels to help us along our chosen life paths.

During Past Life Hypnosis people may experience their own guides. They are able to ask questions that are often answered. A renewed sense of understanding, healing and connection are often the outcome.

Some Myths About Past Life Hypnosis:

Myth: I Will Be Under the Control of the Hypnotherapist:

The therapist is your guide, but you are really the one finding your way into the hypnotic state with their help. You can think and will be describing what you are experiencing to your hypnotherapist. It’s much like when you are driving and deeply thinking about something, then the next thing you know you have arrived at your destination and don’t remember much about what your body was doing to get you there. Your mind stays focused as your body fades back. You are never out of control.

Myth: I Won’t Remember Anything

You will clearly remember the images and feelings. People often later draw or find pictures of what they have seen. It’s great to tape the session or journal about it afterwards. Often information that is learned while visiting a past life such as names, dates, places, words, clothing and objects or customs that seem foreign can all be researched afterward.

Myth: I May Never Wake Up

To my knowledge this has never happened… ever! At most the client will sleep for a while and then wake up. In my experience everyone has woken up on queue and feels relaxed!

Myth: The Hypnotherapist Won’t be Able to Get Me Hypnotized: 

You are actually the one allowing yourself to become relaxed and find the place that is conducive to seeing your past lives. The hypnotherapist is more or less a tour guide to help you find that place and guide you through the process once you reach the state. In my opinion most everyone is capable of reaching the hypnotic state, with few exceptions. On occasion a client may have trouble letting go and allowing the more relaxed intuitive side of their nature to drive. This can be overcome with practice.

Past Life Regression – Are a Teen’s Anxiety and Suicide Attempts Linked to His Death in The Great San Francisco Earthquake?

Suicidal boyReese, a very intuitive friend of mine, brought her grandson, Jack to see me (not their real names). She had the feeling that a Past life Regression would help him figure out what was going on with his life. Jack had a troubled childhood and had very recently tried to overdose on medication. He was struggling to get his life back on track. Reese stayed outside and gave us the space to talk. She had told me he had displayed so many intuitive abilities as a child. Jack was 19 years old and very likeable. I asked questions upfront to get a sense of what things may come up in the session that were important to investigate. Jack also asked if I could help him stop smoking. Another thing he talked about was that he liked to play with fire. I realized later that this was probably a clue to a past life.

Jack also mentioned that he had tried to kill himself twice “officially”, but in actuality the number was five times. The first time was when he was 8 years old. He tried to hang himself with his shoelaces in a closet at his stepmom’s house. This was not a great relationship. Jack’s recent attempt happened after he had felt chest pains and his mom took him to the hospital. They ran tests but could find no reason for his chest pain. While he was in the hospital a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit between the Mexico and California border approximately 200 miles away. It was a pretty good jolt. They went home from the hospital and Jack immediately tried to call his ex girlfriend. They had recently broken up and she wouldn’t talk to him. He said he felt so upset that he tried to end it with the pills. He really wasn’t sure why he felt so desperate, but it became clear later in the session.

When the hypnosis session began, he seemed to stick to his current lifetime at first. He described playing in a hallway as a child with and old man. I wondered if something inappropriate had happened. When I asked who the old man was, he said, ’He was my friend’. Later his grandmother Reese told me that he used to play in that hallway by him self with his imaginary friend. It gave me goose bumps! I sensed that his subconscious was avoiding the lifetime he needed to see by taking a few of these detours. Through deepening techniques in the hypnotic process he finally relaxed enough to see the past life that was important for him to see. I knew we had arrived when he suddenly jumped.

Mechanic 300dpiHe said, ’It was a big earthquake!’ Jack started describing being covered in bricks. I had him back up to a point before it hit. He described walking home from work and wiping his dirty, greasy hands on his wok uniform. Jack thought that maybe he was a mechanic. He reached his apartment, went upstairs and started to become concerned as he realized his girlfriend wasn’t there. He was wondering where she was and BOOM the quake hit. He described feeling pinned down on his chest by the bricks. I had him try to look forward and he said he had died. I asked him where in the world this was, he said the US. I asked him if he could name the city or state. He said it was the West Coast about 90 or so years ago. This would place it in the early 1900’s.

San Francisco EarthquakeI asked him to float up out of his body and head to his cloud (during hypnosis the cloud is a safe place for clients to retreat to between lifetimes or if they are afraid). I asked him what he was thinking as he floated up away from his body. He still sounded bothered and said, ’Where is my girlfriend’’ At this point I worked with his spirit guides to help in his healing process. We cleared the pain and fear, and then healed his energy field.

I lead Jack to look into his future in a forward progression to help him his see his potential life paths. He described being able to see two paths, one with a marriage and kids and the other path looked bad if he made poor choices. I had him spend time looking at both of his potential life paths to help him really feel how his future choices would affect him. He was relieved to see a good future path.

From Jack’s description and time frame I realized that he must have died in the San Francisco Quake. I did some research and the part that stood out was the fact that a lot of the victims died from burning in the fires that followed while they were trapped in the rubble. Jacks interest in fire and smoking may have been an unconscious way to desensitize him self to that death. (Another hypnotherapist said she noticed a correlation between clients that died in gas chambers during the holocaust or poisoning death and their smoking now.)

Once Jack was able to see that his fear was based in another lifetime he was able to freely live his life now and move forward. He stopped living with the fear of when will it happen, when will everything come crashing down. Jack no longer felt the need to get it over with before it got him! Reese said that he is doing much better, working and happily married to a great girl.

My Training with Dr. Brian Weiss – Past Life Regression and Soul Lessons

Dr. Brain Weiss

One of the really great experiences I’ve had was learning from the wonderful Psychiatrist, Dr. Brian Weiss and his wife Carol. Soaking up their methods of Hypnotherapy and how to conduct a successful Past Life Regression. Many of you may know who this gracious man is through his books. My favorite is his first – Many Lives, Many Masters. You may have seen him on the Oprah show or more recently on Super Soul Sunday. As a result of this training I have been conducting hypnotherapy sessions with my own clients for a number of years now. I am still excited by the idea that we can go back and see another lifetime, another existence. We can understand the things that have happened and the people we knew then and how they are impacting us in our current lives.

My training was held at The Crossings in Austin Texas. The beautiful hilltop secluded setting was icing on the cake. I splurged and stayed in one of the private small bungalow rooms (bare bones but nice). My husband was horrified to learn that I has spent the entire time with no TV ? Many of the 100 trainees shared rooms or stayed in the group accommodations. The food was vegetarian and healthy (another thing that would have scared my husband!) I saw many people walking the trails to reflection sites on the property, the Sanctuary garden or meditating while walking the interwoven path of the labyrinth outlined in stones. Spa treatments were available too, but I was focused on learning. I didn’t even bring a camera and I’m still kicking myself… This was before iPhones or I would have been all over it!

We found out that about 60% of the students were from countries other than The US. Many students were from Japan, China and South America, but really everywhere. 70% of the students were Doctors, Nurses, and Psychologists and yes there were even 3 other engineering types besides me! One interesting man described a near death experience after his plane crashed. During that time I heard so many interesting stories about the paths that lead people to attend. I also realized how lucky I was to live in California where I have many friends that are intuitive and don’t think I’m peculiar (At least so they’ve said!) A couple of ladies from Oklahoma said they wouldn’t be able to share their experiences with anyone else where they lived for fear of ridicule. I heard the same thing from some fun ladies from the UK.

Fitness Man

Lesson 1. It is possible to see your potential lives into the future.
Brian Weiss hypnotized the whole room a couple of times and lead us through past lives, but then he lead us through a future life progression. The future life I saw struck me as particularly funny because I was a big strong athletic guy in my late 20’s. I was running in mud and leaping between the bases of tall pine trees on very uneven muddy ground. I was leading wilderness fitness runs through the forests of Canada. This seemed to be way off the beaten path and extreme. I’m sure it’s something I need to learn because I don’t even like camping in this life time… and I’m not exactly an fitness buff!

Lesson 2. The Fastest Way to come back as something else (part of a group) is to hate them.
I kept thinking about one of the things that Brian Weiss said: “The fastest way to come back as something else is to hate them”. So, OK… That may explain my future life… I’m not exactly fond of exercising! If your are prejudice against a race, religion or gender… Look out! We come back in all shapes, sizes, nationalities and belief systems. I’m imagining there are a lot of Cavalry soldiers who came back as Native Americans, Slave-owners who are now African American, Men who repressed women that are now petite little ladies dealing with repression… You get the drill; these various skin costumes we wear help us learn that we are really all the same underneath. One guy said, “Well then, I hate rich people!” Good try ?.

Lesson 3. There is no set Formula to conduct a Past Life Regression.
Brian Weiss then had us break down into smaller groups and try out the Past life hypnosis techniques on each other. The first lady in our group hypnotized another male student and he didn’t go all of the way under. I went next and the lady I was practicing on started talking about a past life as an Indian woman being attacked by a bear. I really didn’t expect her to go into a past life, because we were not to that part of the training yet! Dr. Weiss said to just go ahead and lead her through it. I did my best imitation of him and we got through it. Whew! It did help my confidence and now years later, I know that It’s not the exact words or techniques that work. It’s a combination of the subject being willing to trust the process and suspend their analysis of the information until the recall is complete. The hypnotherapist also needs to be flexible and follow the client’s lead.

Lesson 4. Our bodies will sometimes recreate physical ailments to communicate a past life trauma or scar.
During a demonstration Dr. Weiss worked with a Medical Doctor from Austria. She expressed feeling a lot of anxiety that her children and other family members would die. In the beginning of her regression he took her back to a happy time in her childhood. She described playing and happily spending time with her grandmother. He next took her into a past life and she described being a “woodsman” lying in bed, in pain, dying from an ax injury to the leg. (Her) his wife and son were at the bedside. She cried at leaving them behind as she died. She recognized the wife’s soul as her grandmothers in her current life. When she was awakened, she told him that she realized her fear of her family dying began when her grandmother passed away 20 years before. She also realized that her own leg had caused her a lot of pain ever since that time and nothing medically had helped. After her regression, her leg felt completely better and her anxiety was gone. Somehow the pain of her grandmother’s death awoke in her the physical pain from the previous life. Once her conscious mind understood that it was a loss and injury from another time, then her body and subconscious were able to let it go. I rode back to the airport with her and she said that her leg pain and anxiety were still completely gone.

Lesson 5. Even Brian Weiss took over 30 tries to recall his own past Lives.
People worry that they won’t be able to experience a past life. Brian Weiss confessed that his medical training as well as his scientific and analytical mind slowed him down in his own recall. He had to try over and over again with self-hypnosis until he was able to experience his Past Lives. I’m sure that because he is the godfather of bringing credibility to this subject matter that he may not have had a hypnotherapist to work with when he decided to explore his own past lives. In my own practice I have a very high success rate with the analytical. It is all in the approach!

Kim Trotman - Brian Weiss Past Life

Lesson 6. Our souls meet in many lifetimes.
I remember Dr. Weiss describing a past life of his in answer to a question about people recognizing other souls. I wish I could do this better justice, but here goes: He described that he was an injured man whose family was relegated to living on the outskirts of a town and scraping for his family to get by. He described seeing a commotion going on in town, with a crowd of people and soldiers. He went up to see what was happening and saw a man, who he realized was Jesus, being mocked and tormented through town while he was dragging a large wooden cross toward his crucifixion. He realized that he knew of and loved Jesus from the periphery. He wanted to give him something to drink or try to help him. Jesus gave him a look of don’t risk it! and a slight shake of his head.

He had never publically told this story and during one of Dr. Weiss’s other experiential seminars he lead a group through a Past Life Regression and had a surprise. A few of the participants were relaying their experiences and a woman from Japan described the exact scene of being a woman in the crowd and had experienced seeing Jesus from the opposite side. Then she told Dr. Weiss “I saw you there, across the crowd!” She described his appearance and the scene in enough detail that they seemed to have both shared the same experience.

Somehow hearing that he was there doesn’t surprise me. Brian Weiss is such a kind and humble man. He risked his education from Columbia University and Yale Medical School, his Psychiatry career, and his position as a founding chairman and chairman emeritus for the department of psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami to help you and I learn about living and healing from our Past Lives. He shares his knowledge freely with so much love and compassion. I am one lucky person!