A typical how-to on self hypnosis may instruct you to go into a quiet room and ensure that there wouldn’t be any interruption or noise for a certain period of time. You are then told to close your eyes, focus on your breathing and work in order to allow your body to relax, and your mind to clear up. In this part of the self hypnosis journey, you are expected to let the body know that it’s not going to do any activity. The brain is so intertwined with your body that if your body is doing something else, the brain will rush in to control it. Note that the idea of self hypnosis is to focus on going into your subconscious mind. You won’t be able to get there when your brain is busy taking care of other business.

Also, conditioning your mind in a positive way would help your body follow suit. If you are so stressed out and keep on thinking about that-your body will not be going to the opposite way: it will continue to be rigid, and the purpose of going into self hypnosis would be defeated.

The next step would tell you to imagine something that symbolizes you being carried away or going somewhere. This could involve a vehicle or anything that your mind can come up. You would then need to imagine a kind of calm scenery such as a field of flowers, a beach with calm waters or watching the sunset. If you were planning to instill positive messages to your subconscious, this would be the time to do so.

It is almost imperative that you only think of positive messages and not clutter your mind with negative ones. It had been said that imagination can supersede what you may perceive as facts. If you think about it, why else would someone have a fear of flying even when the facts state that it is the safest mode of travel? In the same vein, it is important that you don’t entertain negative thoughts because they would then be fed into your subconscious and would then influence you.

The subconscious mind regulates how your body reacts in situations, dictates your thought process in making choices, and stores all your memories. This is the sticky part of self hypnosis. If it is used as a mode of healing and you are not fully aware of the risks of the negative thoughts entering your mind, doing self hypnosis may not be ideal for you. In fact, it might expose you to more danger than ever before.

To prevent this dilemma, it might be better to do self hypnosis solely for relaxation first, and to only venture deeply to its potential use for healing later when you have become more comfortable with the process. The thoughts you plant into your subconscious tend to direct your behavior and actions. The last part of your journey would then be a process of you going back to reality. This may involve counting or another form of imagination.

If done properly, self hypnosis can create changes in your life but what makes it less alienating is the knowledge on how your mind works while going through it.

Rachel Ford is a Clinical Hypnotherapist who helps people create powerful and permanent changes in the way they think, feel and behave. Pop over to www.yourmindzone.com and claim your FREE hypnosis download to help you achieve self confidence and accomplish your goals.

Here are my top ten tips for practicing self hypnosis.

1. Try to do your self hypnosis exercises consistently at the same time each day (as much possible anyway) for 15-30 minutes per session.

2. For the first few times that you practice self hypnosis, it’s recommended to only practice when you are in a somewhat relaxed condition to start with. So you may want to take a warm bath beforehand.

3. Do not force your mind when it is feeling fatigued or sleepy after a nerve-racking day. If you are very tired, then you’ll have trouble concentrating. If you need to take some time out, then just have put your feet up and get back to doing self hypnosis another time.

4. Formulate suggestions properly. No matter how effectively you practice a bad idea, it is still a bad idea. Give yourself specific commands, and phrase your hypnotic suggestions carefully, so as to form them correctly or once again, you will only act surprised when you fail. Remember, your subconscious needs the right cues, if it’s going to change your behaviours.

5. Ensure you’re prepared. Ahead of you start your session, know what suggestions you’ll be using. Don’t try to make them up on the fly. You want your conscious mind to relax and if you have to think too much, then your session won’t be very effective.

6. Find a quiet spot to practice. It’s best to minimise distractions while you are in the process of learning self hypnosis. Remember to turn off your phone and if anyone is in the area, ask them not to disrupt you.

7. Find a position where your body will be comfortable and you will find it a lot easier to enter t he hypnotic state. If you have a recliner, that would be perfect. Then again, make certain that you’re not so comfortable that you fall asleep – that defeats the purpose. A good position is to be sitting in a chair with your spine straight and your feet firmly planted on the floor.

8. Be patient. When learning a skill such as self-hypnosis, a lack of experience coupled with impatience equals all but guaranteed failure. So take your time, when dealing with your most potent and difficult-to-reach issues.

9. Make or buy a recording that guides you into hypnosis before you begin to apply suggestions. If you’re making it yourself you can either just record an induction or you may want to record your whole session, including the positive suggestions that you’ll be working with.

10. Practice putting yourself into a relaxed state as often as possible. Even if it’s just a couple of minutes here and there throughout the day, you will be able to get into hypnosis more effortlessly when you do your self hypnosis work.

Remember, the more you practice self-hypnosis, the better you’ll get, and soon you will be able to hypnotise yourself anytime and anywhere.

Pop over to http://www.yourmindzone.com and claim your FREE self hypnosis download. You will also get a brand free hypnosis recording every single month delivered straight to your inbox to help you continue to access your inner resources. From Rachel Ford – Clinical Hypnotherapist & Personal Change Coach

At first glance, seeing a professional hypnotist seems like a no-brainer. With a true pro, you get something you could never get when doing self-hypnosis: years of experience. Most hypnotists certified by one of the major boards have docked hundreds of clinical hours. So they come well-prepared for anything your subconscious mind might throw at them during a session. Furthermore, most self-hypnosis methods are pretty simple. A pro can bring more sophisticated hypnotic techniques that you won’t find in a book. So you will achieve your desired outcomes more quickly.

Unfortunately, the cons of seeing a professional hypnotherapist are many. Setting aside the high cost of multiple sessions, there’s the problem that many people simply don’t live anywhere near a qualified hypnotherapist. Furthermore, no one organization exists to certify hypnosis professionals. So selecting the best one based on qualifications alone becomes a daunting task to say the least. You could ask around, if you didn’t mind explaining to everyone in town why you want to get hypnotized. Or you can use trial and error. Not the best ideas.

Compare the self-hypnotist. Usually, you’re working with ideas you found in a book, audio course, or video series. Many of these series are of extremely high quality (and they cost less than a few sessions on the couch). Still, they’re not a person with hundreds of clinical hours. Furthermore, most self-hypnosis systems limit their sessions to ten or fifteen minutes and a series of relatively simple suggestions. This helps the beginning hypnotist keep some perspective: it’s easier to take small steps before running a marathon, so to speak. Nonetheless, for programs of massive personal change, self-hypnosis might leave you wanting more.

However, there’s one huge benefit to self-hypnosis that even a professional can’t match. I began this article with the common claim that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Usually, people quote this to nervous subjects, to emphasize that hypnotists don’t wield any arcane power over their subjects. The statement works in another direction. Because it’s all self-hypnosis, you will discover a huge opportunity for self-determination. When you’re the hypnotist and the subject both, you get a double shot of personal power. If you rely on a hypnotist to cause change in you, you risk becoming dependent on the hypnotherapist. That’s no way to improve your life.

On the other hand, when you’re the hypnotist who causes the change in your life, you have a sudden boost in your personal power. Now you know how to change yourself. So not only will change come quickly– it will come whenever you want it to come. Seen in this light, a visit to the hypnotherapist looks like a visit to the doctor for a major surgery. Becoming your own hypnotist looks like a daily conditioning program you use to stay in perfect health– so you’ll never need to go to the doctor at all.

Self-hypnosis expert Teddy Maynard curates Hypnotize Yourself Today! It includes instructions for self-hypnosis, personal stories, and tips on making self-hypnosis audio. Teddy searches all over for the best hypnosis materials, breakthrough news, and chronicles them in his hypnosis blog.