One of my favorite and most simple techniques that I have learned from another hypnotist awhile back, is called Peripheral Vision. I have been using this technique anytime I need to anchor myself into the moment or release tension. This technique can be used for relaxation and stress reduction or it can also be used to program yourself with a positive affirmation.

How does Peripheral Vision self-hypnosis technique work?

You may be sitting or standing or even laying down. However, I personally use this technique when I am on the go. So, I usually use it while standing up or sitting.

Find a point of focus in front of you and keep gazing at the spot without moving any muscles in your eyes. I suggest that you look right ahead of you, not on the floor or ceiling if you are inside, nor the ground or sky if you are outdoors.

As you keep gazing at the spot in front of you for a moment, begin to expand your vision by noticing and paying attention to the things around that spot. Remember not to move your eyes. Become aware of what you are seeing beyond the spot and keep going further as you notice other things in your peripheral vision.  Keep your eyes on the same original spot in front of you. And yet try to see all around you, without moving your eyes. Become aware of your peripheral vision and how much you can actually see even without directly looking at all of those things .

Notice, how as you expand your vision, you are barely thinking of anything during that time. You become thoughtless. Your entire attention is focused on how much you can see without moving your eyes. It may feel as if you are being drawn into the space of your peripheral vision. You become more calm and present. Your eyes feel more relaxed and so is the rest of your body.

When should I use this self-hypnosis technique?

Use this self-hypnosis technique if you need a moment of calm or for stress reduction. For example, if you are in an argument with someone or feel tense or nervous, take a moment and begin to focus on the peripheral vision. This can be an exercise lasting anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes. It will relax you and enable you to release stressful feelings and thoughts. You will naturally elicit a relaxation response, the opposite of fight-or-flight response.

Use can also this self -hypnosis technique when you want to do some mental programming. Focus on the peripheral vision to help you enter the state of receptivity to suggestion. Do it for about 5 -10 minutes this time. When you are relaxed and thoughtless, you can close your eyes and begin to focus on one positive affirmation. Speak your positive affirmation either out loud or silently within yourself for about 5 to 10 minutes. Open your eyes when you are finished feeling wonderful and recharged.

         Like the layers of the subconscious it opens, the effects and mechanics of hypnosis are still being uncovered. Hypnosis can be used by stage magicians to convince willing audience members to become stiff as a board, or forget names, numbers or letters. But hypnotherapy can also dig deep into the subconscious to rewire thinking and change attitudes. Because of film, TV and literature, especially after the Korean War, many people associate this kind of learning with brainwashing. But hypnosis is no mere run through the rinse and spin cycle of the washing machine. Cognitive science techniques measured the effects of hypnosis and concluded there is something going on in the brain while the conscious mind rests.

          Since it was first explored by Sigmund Freud, the science of hypnosis has expanded into many different areas. It’s come a long way since the days of mesmeric magnetism and dangling pocket watches of Anton Mesmer and The Bowery Boys’ Dr. Hex. Science has tools that map and measure brain functions. Jean Martin Charcot, a mentor to Freud, studied the brain as a neurologist before equipment like magnetic imaging and X-rays existed. He found that people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis remembered the same way musicians memorize music, in a deeply relaxed and highly focused state.

          Magnetic resonance imaging determined hypnosis to be a natural state of the mind that can be measured. Electroencephalographs (EEGs), which measure the electrical activity of the brain, research found that brains produce different brain waves, rhythms of electrical voltage, depending on their mental state. The brain produces consistent waves at all frequencies.

          Science Daily teaches that the brain has four different brainwave states: beta, alpha, theta, and delta. The beta state is the normal waking state, which is measured at a frequency of 14-28 cycles per second. The alpha state is a relaxed state which is inductive to visualization and creativity. The alpha wave pattern occurs during a brainwave frequency from 9 to 14 cycles per second. Theta happens during REM Sleep. It also occurs during hypnosis and meditation. Theta brain waves can be considered the subconscious. It is the first stage of the phase where people dream. The delta state is the sleep state

          Studies found hypnotic suggestions regulate activity in certain regions of the brain, affecting the brain’s default mode network, which determines self-awareness and episodic memory, with the executive control network, which controls cognition. During hypnosis the brain’s cognitive systems can still interpret communication. The cognitive systems allow people to process information, categorize information, and create associations. When the two networks disconnect through applied hypnosis, people can remain conscious and act without reflecting on how they are involved in what they are doing.

          A 2006 study in Germany found that specialized MRI brain scans showed less activity the area that processes visuals and the area that handles conflicts. Researchers found changes in the brain’s cerebral cortex during hypnosis. Activity in the brain’s right hemisphere, which is in charge of creativity and the imagination, increases in hypnotized subjects. Activity decreases in the left hemisphere of the cerebral cortex, which controls logic, decreases. This could explain why people feel less inhibited while under hypnosis.

          Meditation and hypnosis both trigger a relaxation response that is quantifiable and roundly considered healthful. Hypnosis is basically meditation with intent. A person is relaxed into an artificially induced altered state of consciousness that resembles sleep, but the mind retains focus and becomes responsive to suggestion.

          According to the study “Plasticity Changes In The Brain In Hypnosis And Meditation,” by Ulrike Halsband, Susanne Mueller, Thilo Hinterberger and Simon Strickner, EEGs showed that the brains of hypnotized subjects showed a boost in lower frequency waves associated with the dream state of sleep. There is also a reported drop in higher frequency waves associated with the wake state, according to the Wikipedia page on the trance state.

          Studies found hypnosis decreased activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, which guides people’s focus or tells them what to ignore. During hypnosis, there is an increase in connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the brain’s insula, which regulates somatic function, and processes pain, emotion, empathy, and a sense of time.  Records show that ancient India and China used a form of hypnosis to relieve pain during surgery. Hypnosis was first reportedly used in surgery in Europe in 1794, when Jacob Grimm, one of the Brothers Grimm, was hypnotized before a tumor operation. Hypnosis was officially recognized by medicine for pain relief in the 1950s and is now recognized as an accepted treatment for anxiety, depression, trauma, irritable bowel syndrome and eating disorders.

          Hypnosis helps break connections with the past by convincing the unconscious mind that the past is the past. Hypnotherapists can use suggestion to explore repressed memories, instill a desire for heathy habits and even reprogram themselves to be open to ideas. When the brain is relaxed it is open to new ideas and is capable of turning those ideas into habits, if they choose to be guided in that direction.

Book your Hypnotherapy sessions with Certified Hypnotist and Coach Elena Mosaner in our La Jolla or Sorento Valley office in San Diego, California. Hypnosis and coaching sessions are also available online via FaceTime or Skype.

AlphaMind Hypnosis
Serving all of Southern California

One on One Hypnotherapy or Coaching

In Person or Via Skype

Customized Hypnosis & Coaching Programs

100% Confidential

Contact AlphaMind Hypnosis
To Book an Appointment Today

1.858.848.9035