How To Do Self Hypnosis
Despite common misconceptions, a hypnotist cannot make you go into a hypnotic trance. It’s more a case of them guiding you into this state of mind. So really it is up to the subject to allow themselves to go into a trance – it actually has very little to do with force or will power, or any sort of ‘power’ for that matter.
In fact it is testiment to a subject if they are able to go into a hypnotic trance. It is very easy to resist, but not quite as straight forward to go into a trance. Allowing your mind to go into a deep state of relaxation takes some skill on the part of the subject.
It is true that almost everyone can go into a hypnotic trance. However it is usually the more intelligent and creative people who find it the easiest to allow themselves to go into a nice calming and deeply relaxing trance state. So those people who say things like “I bet you can’t hypnotize me” are missing the point. I cannot guide anyone into a hypnotic trance who doesn’t want to be in one. It is up to them to follow if they want to.
Since it is a skill on the part of the subject to allow themselves to go into a hypnotic state, it is perfectly possible for a person to hypnotize themselves without the need of a guide, or a hypnotherapist. This is known as self hypnosis. There are many ways to do this, but here is one method.
Get yourself comfortable, either seated or led down, whichever you prefer. Close your eyes and take 3 slow deep breaths.
Count yourself down from 10 to 1 while you relax your entire body. Start from your head and slowly make your way down through the different body parts until you reach your feet. Focus on each area for a few moments and concentrate on that area relaxing, before moving slowly down to the next area. So spend a few moments focusing on relaxing your head, before moving down to your neck, then shoulders, and so on.
Once you have relaxed all your body, imagine a door in front of you and mentally walk through it. This door leads to a relaxing, calming place. It can be anywhere you choose, such as a secluded beach of an enchanted forest. Try and use as many sense as you can. Smell the air, listen to any background sounds, and even feel the ground beneath your feet.
You will now be in a hypnotic state.
During a hypnotic state you can recite some personal affirmations, or visualise yourself achieving your goals. These act as commands to the subconscious mind which it will strive to achieve, so always be positive. For instance if you want to be more confident, then simply visualise yourself in different situations being the confident person you want to be. If you want to excel at a particular sport, then visualise yourself doing just that – perhaps even winning an award.
Enjoy this state for as long as you wish, and try to see things as vividly as you can.
When you have finished you can count yourself out of trance. You can do this by telling yourself that you will feel more and more awake with each number you count from 1 to 10, until you are fully awake at the count of 10. Then slowly count to 10.
When you open your eyes, notice how so calm and relaxed you now feel. You will feel a little different, in a good way. The experience varies from person to person, but with regular practice you should find yourself making strong self improvements. You should also find it become easier over time to get into deeper levels of trance as you become more experienced. Like most skills practice will only improve your ability to perform self hypnosis.
If for some reason you are struggling with this method then it may be worth you either visiting a hypnotherapist or buying a hypnosis audio session. Once you have experienced a guided hypnosis session a few times, you will be in a better position to guide yourself as you will now know what the state of mind you are seeking feels like.
