What Is Hypnosis?

The medical authorities of the USA and Canada recognized hypnotherapy as valid and legitimate therapeutic modality in the year of 1958. However, hypnosis is not exactly a new phenomenon. Throughout the entire history of humanity, in pursuit of healing and illumination of the complex human psyche, individuals have entered hypnotic or trance-like states.
 
We can see the first exploration of hypnotic arts in yogic tantric traditions of ancient India (~5000 BCE). Meditation, breathing techniques, visualization, and rituals aim to induce altered states of consciousness to promote deep insight, healing, and spiritual transformation.
The roots of hypnosis are also found in China’s rich cultural and religious practices like Qigong and Shaolin Kung Fu which are focusing on maximizing the body-mind’s ability to be in harmony, self-repair, and transcendental state of being.
 
In Mesopotamian religious practices (~4000 BCE) priests, known as “Ašipu,” would induce trance-like states through mesmerizing rituals and repetitive chants to access divine knowledge.
 
Well-known “sleep chambers” of ancient Egyptian temples (~3000 BCE), where patients were exposed to hypnotic music created by priests in order to bring about a deeply relaxed state and facilitate psychological healing. The term “hypnosis” that we use in the English language today comes from the ancient Greek “hypnus” – meaning “sleep”. It is also in Antique Greece and Rome, and all the way to the development of European sciences in the 18th century, we see attempts to comprehend the altered, non-ordinary states of consciousness.

Yet, despite its rich history and now new discoveries in brain neuroscience, hypnosis still remains an enigma surrounded by fear, curiosity, and fascination. And so the quest to uncover the deeper mysteries of hypnotic-type trance and its benefits continues.

What is known now is that hypnosis is a natural state which occurs throughout the course of a day. It is very much like when we daydream while relaxing, become fully absorbed by a movie or are concentrated on a task so much so that we completely forget our environment. In a clinical hypnotherapy session – relaxation, inner absorption, and focused attention – are created intentionally in order to access deeper, beyond the conscious, layers of the mind.

In hypnotic trance, we are working with the sub-conscious mind which comprises about ~93% of the entire human mind. In quantum physics, the equivalent to the human subconscious is described as the “quantum field of infinite possibilities”. It is the primordial ocean of energy – Shakti – potential waiting to be manifested into a desired form – claims the esoteric tradition of yogic tantra.

In terms of frequencies, hypnosis is maintained between Theta (4 to 8 Hz) and Delta (0.1 to 3 Hz) brain waves. According to the neuroscience studies, these slow mental vibrations correspond to human states of creativity, intuition, deep relaxation, regeneration, and cell renewal (more here – https://asch.net/about-hypnosis/)

The Ethics of Hypnosis
 

Contrary to dramatic shows of stage hypnosis, hypnotherapy can not make you do anything against your will or reveal information you don’t want to disclose. During the session, you actually become even more aware of your inner process and the dynamic between you and the therapist. Like any healing which is really self-healing, hypnosis works best when a person is a willing participant and the hypnotherapist is simply a facilitator, a guide to the subconscious realm.
In a clinical setting, most individuals can be hypnotized to some degree and there are different methods in therapy that can be used to match the depth of one’s hypnotic trance. I work with what’s presented and it is always a profound permanent change for the better.

Most of the time, after a hypnotherapy session my clients feel relieved, comfortably relaxed, and much more clear on what’s the next step on the path to a healthier, more fulfilling way of living.

 

Why Choose Hypnosis?