What is Hypnosis?
Hypnosis refers to an altered state or condition of consciousness where the client is brought into a relaxed state of being and becomes highly open to positive suggestions to improve their life.  As you go to sleep at night your body goes through a natural process through many different stages or brain waves before it achieves the sleep state.  The first level is the Beta state, where you are awake , alert and are conscious.  Then you move into the alpha state, a deeper trance or meditative state.  After alpha you move into theta, an even deeper state of consciousness and finally you go to the delta state where your body goes into a deep sleep.  Through a trained therapist, the individual is guided through these deeper stages easily and gently to recover childhood memories and past trauma.  Also to assist the individual in changing their behavior such as quitting smoking, weight reduction or gain, anger management, releasing of fears, improving that golf game or relieving the anxiety around taking exams. 

When the hypnotized individual is highly responsive then he or she can follow the instructions of the hypnotherapist with automatic responses to the simple suggestions of nodding their head when their body is completely relaxed.   They may even be able to hear, see and smell according to the suggestions.  Hypnosis is not anything out of the ordinary, we do it everyday when we visualize and get lost in a beautiful  sunset or daydream about our next vacation.  Just watch children. as they become hypnotized and engrossed in their video games.  They do not hear nor see anything around them during those times because their focus is so intense.  Hypnosis is that type of concentration where thoughts, critical thinking, deductive and inductive reasoning, the conscious mind itself is put aside for just a little while to work with the sub-conscious beliefs that are the cause of the condition being experienced.  

What is the history of Hypnosis?
The history of hypnosis began back in 3000BC - 1000BC in Egypt and then in Greece.  In England and France the Popes called it the Royal Touch in 1000BC -1400AD.  In 1720-1792 Father Hell did exorcisms with iron crosses casting out demons and balancing the brain fluid in the dura with the magnetism.  Franz Mesmer in 1734-1815 actually called it hypnostism and is known as the Father of Hypnosis, the term animal magnetism was his treatment, and the procedure was called Mesmerism. Sometimes he used his hand to balance the energy or the flow around the individual.  Some other notables in the history of hypnosis were Dr. James Braid who used eye fixation on bright objects such as a gold watch to induce the trance or hypnotic state.  James Esdaile a doctor in India performed surgery with hypnosis.  Ivan Pavlov discovered the conditioning theory, the beginning of behavior modification and Emile Coue’ discovered AutoSuggestion, and Freud also studied hypnosis from Charcot a leading neurologist and used it for awhile until he began to use free association with his patients. In 1901–1980 Milton Erickson discovered a new technique in hypnosis, the Ericksonian method which is still used today where indirect suggestion through stories is utilized, a more persuasive approach in hypnosis rather than the old approach of direct commands.