How to Use the Audio Therapies

Hypnotherapy Audio Sessions

Are you new to hypnotherapy and hypnosis? Would you like to discover what makes hypnotherapy and hypnosis such a powerful tool that can support you to create deep and lasting change?

What is Hypnosis?

Hypnosis is a trance-like or dream-like mental state, that can often affect the whole-body experience, in which people experience increased attention, concentration and suggestibility. While hypnosis is often described as a sleep-like state, it is better expressed as a state of focused attention, heightened suggestibility and vivid visualisations. People in a hypnotic state often appear as though they are in a sleepy or zoned out state, but in actual fact, they are in a hyper-state of awareness.

While there are many myths and misconceptions, hypnosis is a very real process that can be used as a highly successful therapeutic tool. It is important to know that although while in the hypnotic state you are more open to suggestions and creating awareness, you do NOT lose control of your behaviour or what suggestions you choose to accept or reject. You are always in control and you can not be hypnotised against your will. It is a voluntary altering of your own consciousness, and you are always in control. In other words, you are hypnotising yourself.

What are the different types of Hypnosis?

There are a few different ways that hypnosis can be delivered:

Guided Hypnosis: This form of hypnosis involves the use of tools such as recorded instructions and music to induce a hypnotic state to decrease stress and increase relaxation and general wellbeing. This is usually a very generic approach to delivering hypnosis as the recordings are broad and non-specific to individual needs.

Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy is a therapeutic practice that is done with a qualified therapist. It is delivered in private one-on-one sessions and is tailer made to support the individual needs of the client to achieve a desired out-come.

Self-Hypnosis: Self-Hypnosis is a process that occurs when a person self-induces a hypnotic state. It is often used as a self-help tool for releasing stress and improving wellbeing. It is easily self-administered and is a great self-regulating tool.

What can hypnosis help with?

Hypnosis is increasingly becoming more widely accepted and mainstream as a complimentary therapy. It offers relief and support in every area of your life and is most often used to help you gain control over undesired behaviours, to help with stress release, increase relaxation and wellbeing, pain relief and much more.

We all have the ability to re-wire the neural pathways within our brain, all we need is the right tools and a little know how. Hypnosis is a highly functional and deeply transformational way to release and realign attitudes, patterns, behaviours and “emotional baggage”, rather than suffer a lifetime of emotional dis-ease to the inability of the conscious mind to make the required changes to achieve inner peace.

It is important to acknowledge that hypnosis is one of many therapeutic approaches to support people to overcome challenging areas of life and to increase wellbeing, however, it is not the right fit for everyone.

Hypnosis can be a useful way to assist with the relief of many afflictions and ailments that are physical, mental or emotional.

This is a brief list of some of the most common applications:

Improved sleep
Reduced stress
Relief from Anxiety
Quit Smoking
Weight loss
Pain relief
Performance enhancement
Releasing emotional pain
Behavioural change
Achieving goals

Hypnosis can be applied to any area of your life to achieve profound results.

What does hypnosis feel like?

Most people are often unaware that they are in a hypnotic trance state, because there is no one thing that occurs to say “You are now hypnotised!”.

However, there are common feelings and sensations that are commonly associated with a therapeutically induced state of hypnosis. For many people, hypnosis is a deeply relaxing experience and it invokes a whole-body relaxation.

The way people typically describe the feeling of being hypnotised during hypnotherapy is to be in a calm, physically, and mentally relaxed state. In this state, they are able to focus deeply on what they are consciously thinking about and discover what sub-conscious and un-conscious patterns have been the force behind their life experiences.

It is often referred to meditation with a goal. It is a state of focused attention to specifically create awareness with the aim of integrating and realigning to a consciously desired outcome.

How does hypnosis work?

The hypnotic state

The brain has different levels of consciousness, or awareness, ranging from fully alert to drowsy to fully asleep, with variations in between. Hypnotic states occur naturally and spontaneously.

Everyday examples include:

Daydreaming
Being absorbed in a pleasant task and losing track of time
Doing a mundane task (such as washing the dishes) while thinking about something else, to the degree that you can’t actually remember performing the task
Getting lulled into a dreamy state by boredom, for example, when listening to a dull speech.

Clinical hypnosis deliberately induces this kind of relaxed state of awareness. Once the mind is in a relaxed state, any therapeutic suggestions can have great effect on attitudes, perceptions and behaviours. The way that this occurs isn’t fully understood. Some researchers believe that hypnosis promotes particular brain wave activity that allows the mind to take in and adopt new ideas, while others suggest that hypnosis accesses the ‘unconscious mind’, which is more open to new ideas than the rational ‘conscious mind’.

What Are The Brain Waves in Hypnosis?

To better understand the mysteries of “how” hypnosis works, it is important to understand a little bit of science about the different brain-wave frequencies and how they are measured.

Hypnosis takes place in the Alpha and Theta brain wave state which are described in order below.

1) Beta (14-40Hz)– The Waking Consciousness and Reasoning Wave

Beta brain waves are associated with normal waking consciousness and a heightened state of alertness, logic and critical reasoning. This is the state we are in while we work, have conversations and interactions in our daily lives.

While Beta brain waves are important for effective functioning throughout the day, they also can translate into stress, anxiety and restlessness. The voice of Beta can be described as the voice in our head or our constant stream of thought.

2) Alpha (7.5-14Hz)– The Deep Relaxation Wave

During deep relaxation Alpha brain waves are present. This occurs usually, when the eyes are closed. This is when you are drifting into a calm mental space of pleasant day-dream or light meditation. It is the prime-time to realign the neural pathways for success. This brain-wave also heightens your imagination, visualization, memory, learning and concentration.

It is the gateway to your subconscious mind and lies at the base of your conscious awareness. When you consciously connect with the Alpha brain-waves you are able to directly connect with your inner guidance. The voice of intuition becomes clearer and more profound the closer you get to 7.5Hz. This is an optimal state for hypnotherapy. This is a time when the constant chatter of the Beta state monkey-mind diminishes significantly and the subconscious mind is open to suggestion.

3) Theta (4-7.5Hz)– The Light Meditation And Sleeping Wave

The realm of your subconscious mind is accessible when you have achieved Theta brain waves. This most commonly occurs during deep meditation and light sleep, including the all-important REM dream state. This is an allusive window as you only have access to it for a short time in the moments before you drift off to sleep from Alpha and wake from deep sleep (from Delta).

Your most foundational patterns and programs are able to be accessed when you achieve Theta brain-waves. During this state you are able to experience vivid visualisations, profound inspiration, amazing creativity and exceptional insight.

It is at the Alpha-Theta precipice, from 7Hz to 8Hz, where the optimal range for visualization and hypnosis or re-aligning of your neural pathways begins. This is an extremely potent state for creation. It is the mental state which you consciously create your reality. At this frequency, you are conscious of your surroundings however your body is in deep relaxation. This is the description of what hypnosis is. It isn’t sleep, it isn’t a magic trick, it’s simply a relaxed brain wave state.

4) Delta (0.5-4Hz) – The Deep Sleep Wave

The Delta frequency is the slowest of the frequencies and is experienced in deep, dreamless sleep. Delta is the realm of your unconscious mind, and the gateway to the collective unconscious, where information received is otherwise unavailable at the conscious level.

Among many things, deep sleep is important for the healing process – as it’s linked with deep healing and regeneration. When people don’t get enough deep sleep it is detrimental to their health in more ways than one. Once a person is in the Delta state even though their subconscious mind is very active, hypnosis would not be effective because the person would not be able to hear the suggestions given. This is a time when the subconscious is like a computer sorting, filing, organizing and discarding data.

5) Gamma (above 40Hz) – The Insight Wave

This range is the most recently discovered and is the fastest frequency at above 40Hz. While little is known about this state of mind, initial research shows Gamma waves are associated with bursts of insight and high-level information processing.

How to get the best results

To ensure that you are maximising your opportunity to achieve the best results it is important for you to follow these guidelines:

Ensure you are not going to be interrupted or disturbed
Turn all devices off and mute notifications
Go to the bathroom prior to commencing your session
Make sure the space you are going to be in while you are in hypnosis is comfortable, quiet and private
Ensure that you are sitting or laying comfortably with your head and back fully supported
Commit to yourself the regular time needed to achieve the desired outcome
Be as specific as you can about your intended goal or outcome
Go with the flow
Be ready for change
Trust what comes, it is your process, you are in complete control
Commit to regular listening for a minimum of 7 days to achieve the best results for yourself
Have fun!

You are ready to nurture yourself and improve your wellbeing. Take this commitment seriously and give yourself the time and environment that this commitment requires to achieve the best results.

It is important to remove all distractions during this time and to find a space that is comfortable for you to be in and that you won’t be interrupted.

It is recommended to use headphones to reduce any further distractions and to achieve the best results. However, listening to the audios through speakers will also work.

You can listen to these recordings as many times as you feel drawn to. To support the realignment of neural pathways it is recommended to listen for at least a minimum of 7 days, however, you will know what is right for you.

You have these recordings to keep, so you can re-visit them any time you like