What happens inside the body when a person is hypnotized? Much has been written about this, but little has been scientifically proven. We do know that certain physiological changes take place while a person is hypnotized. Research has shown that the pulse slows and the blood pressure drops -- a lot like when a person falls asleep. Research has also shown that brain waves increase in speed and decrease in tandem with the level of consciousness. Brain waves are at their highest level when a person is fully conscious (14 cycles per second and above). This level is called Beta, a state of awakened alertness. The Alpha level (7 to 14 cps), between consciousness and sleep, is the one during which much of hypnosis takes place. This is a state of heightened creativity and deeper relaxation. An even deeper level called Theta finds a person right on the brink of sleep. The deepest level called Delta is when a person is in the deep sleep stage. When a person is hypnotized and in the alpha stage, certain obvious visible changes also occur. Breathing slows, muscles in the face, neck and shoulders relax, the chin drops, skin tone and color change, and the head tilts forward or to the side.

When a person slips into the Alpha State from consciousness, he or she also becomes very open and receptive to suggestions. The reasons for this are not known, but this hyper-suggestibility has been used for centuries to install positive and healing suggestions that improve the lives of people. In this way, the hypnotic state is an excellent way for a person to make changes in his or her life. While under hypnosis a person can learn to replace negative, self-limiting thoughts with more positive beliefs. These new thoughts and attitudes, through repetition and reinforcement, then replace old ones that were preventing the person from moving ahead.

Many experts believe that the secret to understanding how hypnosis works lies in an understanding of the differences between the conscious and unconscious minds. It is thought that the conscious mind controls the rational, logical, decision-making processes that are centered in the left side of the brain. The unconscious mind, also called the subconscious, manages the right brain creative processes as well as the autonomic functions like breathing, heartbeat and swallowing. The conscious and subconscious work very differently.

The conscious mind, in control during the waking state, can only focus on one thing at a time. The subconscious, on the other hand, is able to process a multitude of images and impressions in a single moment, as it does throughout a person's life. The subconscious is also thought to be the protector, always carrying out what it has learned is in the person's best interest, keeping the body running and protecting it from harm. Without knowing the reasons why, the subconscious manages a network of internal wiring that keeps track of the behaviors and habits people have learned in order to give themselves comfort and to assure their wellbeing. Some of these behaviors are good for them and some are not, even though the subconscious perceives them all to be positive. For example, people develop the habit of smoking to satisfy some perceived need (to give them pleasure or to calm their nerves), but we all know what years of smoking can do to the body. And we also know how difficult that habit can be to break.

Millions of people talk about their desire to stop smoking everyday. Many have tried for years by going "cold turkey," using "the patch," or attending smoking cessation classes. Many will tell you nothing has worked. They end up feeling powerless over the habit that their conscious, logical mind knows it is time to stop. Even if the conscious mind wants to stop, the subconscious may have some powerful reason intertwined in its wiring that continues to override the conscious intent. The strength of the habit will be maintained until the underlying reasons (to give pleasure or to calm the nerves) are replaced with a more positive alternative. Even a habit or behavior that has been a part of a person's life for years can be changed. The hypnotic state is an ideal means for making these changes.

The practice of hypnosis has been misunderstood for its entire existence. Visitors to this site are encouraged to visit as many Web sites about hypnosis as possible to get a broader understanding of the practice. After reading several sources of information, one will discover that the myths about hypnosis are untrue. For example, one does not go into a deep sleep that causes loss of control, and one does not come under the "spell" of the hypnotist. Many people fear the thought of "going under" because it might mean giving up their will to someone else. On the contrary, most subjects who have been hypnotized say that they felt awake during the entire session, although they did feel very relaxed and quiet. They will tell you they heard everything that was said and remembered where they were, although they may have felt somewhat removed from their immediate surroundings. Noises around them may have faded into the background, or they may have felt less connected to their environment.

Most practitioners use the terms trance and hypnosis interchangeably, although some make the distinction that hypnosis only occurs with the guidance of a hypnotist, while trance is self-induced. The terms are being used interchangeably here. While in trance, people experience different bodily sensations. Some feel light, like they're floating on air. Others feel heavy or numb, but very relaxed. Others feel a tingling in their extremities, across their scalp, or chills down their spine. Some feel dryness in the mouth and some increased salivation. Whatever a person experiences, it is right for that individual. There is no sense that one sensation is any better or more meaningful than another. Often people become less aware of time. They may come out of trance feeling they were "gone" much longer than the few minutes it took, or what they felt took just a few minutes had actually taken twenty. Again, there is no right or wrong in these differences. It is a matter of personal experience.

No one in recorded history has ever been hypnotized and not come out of a trance. If the person were to be guided into trance and the hypnotist then left the room, the person would alert to any emergency on his or her own and come immediately out of the trance. The language and process that hypnotists use to put people into trance is designed to help them retreat from the conscious mind into the subconscious. This is often done by slowing the subject's breathing, by encouraging muscle relaxation, and through the soothing cadence and tenor of the hypnotist's voice. Very few people cannot be hypnotized, although some may take longer than others to reach a trance state. The deep feeling of relaxation induced by hypnosis is an immediate benefit for those who find it difficult to relax. But the ability to use hypnosis to install positive and lasting suggestions into the subconscious and to change very bothersome habits or behaviors is the icing on the cake.