Center Yourself

The halfway point of my semester is fast approaching, which means that I am busier than ever with school work, thesis revisions, data analysis, regular work (that brings in money), housework, and catching up on needlework projects that I promised I’d get to (birthday presents are graduating to Christmas presents already… *sigh*)  While my exercise routine has been a nice “me time” activity that distracts from all of this a little each day, sometimes I am still feeling frazzled and low on motivation to do much of anything wholeheartedly.  It’s time to pull out the big guns: self-hypnosis (some also call it meditation; call it what you please, the process and results are very similar).

A few years ago at my high school after-prom party (ok… more than a few years ago) I was absolutely blown away by a performing hypnotist that came to do a show for us.  After the show, the man stuck around and talked with anyone who was interested in learning more about hypnosis.  Needless to say, I was hooked and dove head first into learning as much as I could about how to hypnotize myself (and others, though I’ve never tried to hypnotize someone else).  With sporadic practice over the years, I’ve taught myself how to use self-hypnosis (again, or meditation; there’s only minor differences between the two) to center myself, calm my racing thoughts, and promote a renewed sense of motivation and improved mood.  I know that there are many skeptics out there, but at the very least, this exercise will provide you with 10-15 minutes of quiet time, and who couldn’t use that?  I’ve had a hard time finding websites or other free and accessible resources that actually walk you through how to use self-suggesting self-hypnosis (big, long title), so I thought that I would walk you through what I do for myself.

The first thing that you need to do is to find a quiet place where you can be certain that you will not be interrupted for at least 20 minutes (it takes longer when you are just learning, but I’ve been through the process in about 10 minutes on a regular basis lately).  Next, write down on a scrap of paper a goal that you wish to work on in your life.  Make sure that it is simple (e.g. “I will be in a good mood.” or “I will stop eating when I am full.” or “My exercise routine tomorrow will be easy for me.”).  The goal itself doesn’t need to be simple, but the way you write it out should be (makes things a lot easier, I promise).  Next, sit or lay in a comfortable position with arms and legs uncrossed (you don’t want anything falling asleep on you!)  Once you’re comfortable, slow your breathing down to a rate that is similar to when you are about to fall asleep (deep, slower, easy breaths).  You shouldn’t struggle with this, so if you do, just go back to a natural pace and your body will eventually slow it down for you.  When you are comfortably breathing, close your eyes.  (p.s. words in italics are what I usually say to myself in my head.  Other instructions will remain in regular type.)  Relax.  Breathe in (as you breathe in), and out (as you breathe out). Just relax.  Feel how wonderful it is to relax and quiet your mind.  The more and more you relax, the more and more outside noises and distractions seem to fade away.  It’s time to relax all the muscles in the the body now (It helps to imagine a warm tingling sensation or some other sensation that you find relaxing and pleasurable in the muscles as you list them off. ). All the muscles in your scalp are relaxing now.  (Be sure to allow time for each muscle group to fully relax before moving on.  This should be an enjoyable experience, not a race to the finish.) All the muscles in your face are relaxing now.  Now your neck is relaxed.  As your muscles relax, your mind is also clearing itself of busy thoughts.  Your shoulders are now relaxed.  Your mind is becoming more and more quiet as you slip deeper into relaxation.  (continue through the rest of your muscles, going group by group.  Every now and then remind yourself that your brain is also quieting down and becoming more and more relaxed.  If there are distracting noises around you from, say, a street outside, remind yourself that while you can hear them, they don’t matter and your brain can ignore them.) Once you have relaxed all the muscles in your body:  It’s time to go deep into relaxation.  I am going to count from 10 to 1.  The lower the number, the deeper and more enjoyable the relaxation will be.  The lower the number, the less outside distractions will bother me.  The lower the number, the quieter my mind will be.  The lower the number, the more open to suggestions my mind will be.  (slowly count back from 10.  Give yourself a few easy breaths between each number.  Feel free to remind yourself that you’re going deeper and deeper into a relaxed state and how nice it feels.)  After you get to 1:  You are now ready to take your suggestion.  Do you remember what you wrote down?  (say it to yourself in your head)  This task is going to be easy for you to do.  (say it again)  This will be enjoyable for you.  (say it again)  This will be good for you.  (say it again.  Spend some time visualizing you doing the suggestion that you wrote out while you are happily doing it.  Visualizing in a positive way will help you to feel more enjoyment while doing the task later.)  You can stay here focusing on your suggestion as long as you feel like.  I usually go through this script and exercise twice, but more times or just once will probably be just fine.  Good.  Now this suggestion is firmly planted in your mind.  You will be able to do this very easily from now on.  It is time to wake back up.  I am going to count from 1 to 10.  The higher the number, the more you will come out of this relaxed state.  When you come out of this state, you will feel refreshed and ready to take on your suggestion. (Side note here; if you are doing this right before bed, you can also tell yourself that it is ok to go to sleep now.  I’ve found that it’s hard for me to get to sleep right away if I take myself out of the deep state when I do this right before bed.  This may be different based on the person, so take some time to experiment a few times and see what works best for you.) As you count up to 10, allow yourself to gradually pay attention to noises, smells, and other sensations around you more and more.  Try not to open your eyes until you reach 10.  Once you’ve reached 10, you’re fully conscious and done with the exercise.

Now, I feel a disclaimer is due here.  This will not automatically flip a switch and make some horrible task fun and enjoyable all of the sudden.  This will not make you get out of bed at 5:30am in the morning  and go work out without thinking about it (imagine running in a trance… yeah…).  This is a hypnotic suggestion.  That means you’ve planted an idea in your head.  This idea will act like a tiny little nag, pushing you on to your task.  You still have to decide to actually do what you suggested to yourself, but the suggestion acts as another little push in the right direction.