excerpt:
Lesson One: Hypnosis is natural
The first thing you need to know is that hypnosis is a very natural state. It requires no special power to hypnotise someone. If you can talk you can hypnotise. In fact, it is such a natural state that people go into hypnosis regularly without even realising it. The most common natural states occur while gazing into the flames of a fire or driving (it’s that moment when you suddenly realise that you are unsure as to which route you have just driven home!) If you were to listen to some positive suggestions while in these naturally occurring trance states they would have an effect on you… so be aware of commercial radio on long journeys!
When you intentionally hypnotise someone what you are doing is operating the switch that puts them into this natural state at a time of your (and their) choosing, so that you can use it productively.
Lesson Two: Relaxation causes trance
There are many things that have been found to cause trance, these include confusion, shock, repetition, focussed attention and relaxation. For the purposes of your studies we are going to be concentrating on relaxation, as it is the easiest to produce without offending your client. We will also be using focussed attention as this will help to stop your clients mind from wandering during the induction process. The initial induction process is all about getting the client to relax and, as many people have completely forgotten how to do this, you do need to help them out a little; most people are much more tense than they realise.
Lesson Three: Relaxing the client
Before you actually begin the hypnotic process it is a good idea to have your client do a few physical relaxation exercises. This will put them in a much more responsive state during the actual induction and save you a great deal of time.
The easiest and most effective way to do this is to have them tense and relax their muscles. Start with the face, by having them screw it up nice and tight, hold it for a few seconds and then relax. Next have them scrunch up their shoulders, hold them relax. Move on to arms, torso, stomach area, upper (then lower) legs and finally feet. When tensing the legs and feet be sure to tell your client to pull their toes and feet up towards the body rather than pointing them out straight as this could cause cramp.
You should also tell your client that if tensing a certain area might be unwise due to health problems, then they can simply skip that area. An example might be someone who has suffered with a hernia. Once you have systematically tensed and relaxed each area have them tense and relax their entire body in one go. This simple exercise will release a lot of tension and set them up nicely for the induction process.
