One of the most important and delightful aspects of hypnosis is the hypnosis induction. This involves the steps a person must take to go into a deeply relaxed and peaceful state, after which the person is susceptible to suggestions given to them by a hypnotist. It involves a variety of visualization techniques that can bring you into the relaxed state.
One method of hypnosis induction involves having you relax. The hypnotist asks you to close your eyes and begin to breathe deeply and slowly and listen to everything the hypnotist says. The hypnotist will then tell you to relax the muscles around your eyes…and then your face…and then to keep breathing deeply. They tell you are drifting into a hypnotic trance and tell you that your mind is beginning to solve all your problems. They then say that your own inner mind can respond automatically to everything the hypnotist says. They tell you to relax your whole body and to focus on the hypnotist’s voice.
Another type of hypnosis induction is called the staircase method. The hypnotist counts backward from ten to one and will tell you that you will imagine yourself descending a staircase. At each step you will go deeper and deeper into a hypnotic trance. At the bottom of the staircase are a feather bed and a feather pillow. When you reach the bottom of the steps, you will fall into the feather bed and pillow and will be in a deep hypnotic trance. You will be completely relaxed and will then be susceptible to hypnotic suggestions.
Not every hypnosis induction works well on everyone and hypnotists have different hypnosis inductions that they prefer. All of them get you to a susceptible and relaxed state so that the suggestions and post hypnotic suggestions work best.
Another hypnosis induction begins with asking the client to begin relaxing the muscles of their face and then to move on to the muscles of the shoulders, the arms and the fingers. Finally, you work to relax the muscles of the stomach and chest, down to the legs and to the feet. You then tell the client to relax completely and to open up into being susceptible to hypnotic suggestions that you tell the client.
Still another hypnosis induction method is called the “magic spot”. As the hypnotist, you tell the individual to get really comfortable and stare up to the ceiling focusing at a magic spot that may begin to magically change its shape. You tell them that the spot may magically change its color. As the subject watches the spot, they will feel their eyes wanting to close. The subject will then focus on another pot and notice that their eyelids are closing even further but that they can see the spot on the ceiling even with their eyes closed. The spot is their very own and can begin to sparkle and change shape as they drift into a deeper and deeper level of unconsciousness. The subject is then ready to receive the various hypnotic suggestions they receive from the hypnotist.
