How Hypnosis can help you practice Mindfulness therapeutically

As a Mindful (Hypno)therapist, I found myself integrating my specialities of Mindfulness and Hypnotherapy in many of my sessions. At the beginning, it was only my client who reported experiencing a greater sense of relaxation during the hypnotic induction. Then I also started using hypnosis to guide a deeper meditation in my Chinese tea ceremonies.

Ever since we witnessed these promising results, I have become more dedicated to use this integrated approach. Are you also curious about how these two principles can benefit your wellbeing? Read further!

The core of Mindfulness and Hypnotherapy

Mindfulness and Hypnotherapy are both evidence-based approaches that focus on the mind-body connection and aim to promote mental wellbeing. They have both been tested and developed through clinical trials in medical centres that shows improvement in clients’ mental clarity, emotional regulation, and overall wellbeing. Both practices have been used to address a variety of psychological issues, including anxiety, depression, phobias, and chronic pain.

What are the similarities?

Besides the above mentioned health benefits, these two practices have several important similarities that demonstrate the powerful effects when integrating Hypnosis with Mindfulness.

  1. Focus on the Present Moment: Both mindfulness and hypnotherapy emphasise the importance of being present.
  2. Altered States of Consciousness: Both practices involve altered states of consciousness, where the racing thoughts slow down and the sense of relaxation is heightened.
  3. Stress Reduction: Both mindfulness and hypnotherapy are effective in reducing stress and anxiety. Mindfulness helps individuals become aware of their thoughts and feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them, while hypnotherapy can help reframe negative thought patterns and promote relaxation.
  4. Self-Awareness: Both practices aim to increase self-awareness. Mindfulness encourages individuals to observe their thoughts and emotions without attachment, while hypnotherapy can help uncover subconscious thoughts and beliefs that may be influencing behaviour.
  5. Non-Invasive: Both approaches are non-invasive and do not involve medication. They rely on the individual’s ability to engage in the process and make changes from within.
  6. Training and Practice: Both mindfulness and hypnotherapy require practice and often involve guidance from a trained professional, especially in the beginning. Over time, individuals may learn to practice mindfulness or self-hypnosis on their own.

Understanding the differences

While there are similarities, it’s important to note that there are differences between these two which makes them unique in its own approach.

  1. Paying Attention: Mindfulness involves paying attention to the present moment without judgment, while hypnotherapy often guides individuals into a state of focused attention where they can concentrate on specific thoughts or tasks.
  2. Altered States of Consciousness: Mindfulness typically involves a state of relaxed awareness. However, hypnotherapy induces a trance-like state where the critical thinking is bypassed, so the individual is more open to suggestion.
  3. The way of practicing: mindfulness is generally a self-directed practice that can be integrated into daily life, whereas hypnotherapy is typically conducted by a trained therapist and involves a more structured approach to achieving specific therapeutic outcomes.

However, it is proven effective to practice Therapeutic Mindfulness through Self-Hypnosis. A clinical research conducted by Dr. Gary R.Elkins & Dr. Nicholas Olendzki has introduced the framework of Mindful Hypnotherapy (MH) which is an intervention that intentionally uses Hypnosis to integrate Mindfulness for personal or therapeutic benefit. They have codeveloped a 8-week program that help people become familiar with core Mindfulness concepts through Hypnotherapy sessions. As the program ends, the individuals will already have all concepts implemented in their mind, which makes it more natural and effortless to continue the mindful practices.

“Hypnosis is a medium that enables Mindfulness to be absorbed and integrated more easily, efficiently, and effectively. ”

– Gary R. Elkins & Nicholas Olendzki

A scaffold approach to Mindfulness Hypnotherapy

MH uses a step-by-step process that starts with building basic understanding of each Mindfulness concept, and gradually guiding clients to experience them in a hypnotic trance following each session:

  • Being the present moment
  • Paying attention to physical experiences non-judgementally
  • Paying attention to thoughts and emotions non-judgementally
  • Teaching self-hypnosis
  • Teaching self-compassion
  • Raising awareness of one’s value and sense of meaning
  • Integrating sessions
  • Transitioning to long-term practice

Each session involves instructions and support for home practice of mindful self-hypnosis, with or without audio recordings of guided practice. Through repeated practices, the clients will experience a deep understanding and lasting therapeutic change in their lives. By the last session, it will transition the clients into a self-guided practice that naturally becomes part of their lives.

It would be important to review the major changes during the sessions and how well the therapeutic goals have been achieved. This also helps the clients to receive guidance on what areas to focus on in their future practices.

My personal takes on Therapeutic Mindfulness with Hypnosis

Learning Hypnosis has transformed how I practice Mindfulness. I used to consider Mindfulness as a lifestyle, now I see it as my personal therapy. It has helped to reconnect with the authentic part of myself, without having to fight with my rational thinkings. It made me realised how our emotions play an important role in our healing. And it allowed me to approach my thoughts and feelings more closely.

Especially when it can effectively resolve the common struggles of the monkey mind, I could effortlessly enter an altered awareness in extreme relaxation. Sometimes it almost feels like cheating as it normally takes an tremendous amount of practices to reach this state of meditation.

These wonderful experiences has kept me in good emotional balance, because I was able to feel, communicate, and heal myself in such a magical way. It becomes an inner wisdom teacher that helps me realise things in ways I couldn’t have imaged before. So I can finally grow with self-compassion and live purposefully with aligned values.

There is no doubt that Mindfulness itself already brings so many powerful life changes, but I believe having the Hypnotic interventions will stimulate a more magical experience and lasting effectives to the Mindfulness practices.