Preparing for Your First Hypnosis Session: What to Expect
Updated: Oct 23
A proper orientation and your expectation are very important when it comes to your first hypnosis session, so that you can simply relax and create the best outcome.
This is a practical guide to what you need to know before your first hypnosis session.
People expect hypnosis is not easy to do. It is.
Hypnosis is a natural build-in function for us human, just like breathing. You are already going in a hypnotic state a few times a day without consciously knowing: before you going to sleep, when you drive and absorbed in a movie.
The only thing different is that in your session, we formalize it by putting you in that state for a certain amount of time while we do the work.
Even if you consider yourself "strong-minded", analytical, you will go into a hypnotic state, if you choose to.
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. I'm not doing this to you. You allow yourself to go into hypnosis. "Okay, she said go deeper, fine, I'll go." That's it.
If you don't want to be hypnotised, no one can hypnotise you.
But if you come here seeking change, just the thought "I allow myself to enter hypnosis" is enough. Your willingness to participate this process is all it needs.
What do I mean by "allow"? Just as you're allowing yourself to read this text and thinking. Just as you're allowing yourself breathing right now. Simple as that. You don't need to try or make an effort.
What it feels like during your first hypnosis session
Hypnosis experience feels surprisingly natural. Most people are surprised.
People often expect that something dramatic is going to happen: their mind will switch off, they won't know what's happening anymore, they feel completely different, or they expect a magical experience.
Then hypnosis starts and they're thinking: Wait. I can still hear everything. I'm still thinking. Is this it? This is now what I expected!
Because hypnosis is a natural state that you already enter daily, the experience can feel very familiar, and nothing out of the ordinary. Even if you felt "nothing", the process could still be unfolding beyond what you are consciously aware of.
And yes, some people can have vivid imagery. Some people have emotional release. Often, people just feel that this it’s so natural and to the point they wonder “was I really hypnotised?”. All kinds of hypnosis experience is unique to each person. We process things differently, so naturally we experience it differently.
You will hear my voice throughout the session. You are aware of everything that is happening. People are often surprised by how fast time passes. Hypnosis bring a very deep sense of relaxation. For people coming with physical pain, deeper hypnotic states can sometimes soften the pain considerably and change how strongly it is felt.
You can understand that hypnosis isn’t mind control and still be surprised by how familiar it feels once you experience it for yourself.
Your conscious mind might keep talking
Your conscious mind (the thinking and analytical part of your mind) doesn't disappear. It might actually be sitting there watching the whole thing. Your conscious mind is always present.
You might hear me say something and immediately think: What does she mean by that? Is this working? Where is this going? That's strange.
That's okay. Let it talk.
Hypnotic states are waking states. Even in a deep hypnotic state, your conscious mind is always going to be there.
And because we're working, that conscious part of you will want to watch and observe, and it'll chatter at you. And you just let it chatter. It won't hurt a thing.
This is a brand new experience, and you're going to watch, and it's good.
In fact, having thoughts is completely normal and it doesn’t change the fact you are in a hypnotic state and things are working in the background, regardless how many thoughts you have.
Just notice your thoughts. There’s no need to push them down or feel stressed about them. Just know that it’s completely normal. It doesn’t mean you’re not in a hypnotic state, and it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
You can't accidentally ruin the hypnosis
Some people worry so much about “staying in hypnosis” that they think, Oh no, if I move, I’m going to come out of it.
You want to open your eyes, move your leg, or move your hand? Please do.
You need to cough or scratch your nose? Please do.
You need to go to the toilet? Go ahead.
The internet connection drops or your device runs out of battery? We’ll just reconnect.
Nothing you do is going to erase what we’ve been doing. There’s no spell to break.
You have a choice throughout the whole process. If you wanted to stop, you could stop.
If you join the session online
If you’re joining online, find somewhere you’re unlikely to be disturbed. Keep your device plugged in or fully charged. But if something does happen, don’t worry. It won’t ruin the session.
You don’t need to find a perfectly silent space either. Ongoing background noise or sudden sounds won’t ruin the hypnosis.
Find somewhere you can sit or lie down comfortably. I personally prefer to lie down. If you’re sitting, find a cushion you can hold so your hands and arms can fully relax.
Place your camera somewhere I can clearly see your face and both of your hands.
You won't understand everything I say
Your conscious mind might try to understand what I’m saying, but it probably won’t understand many of it.
And it doesn’t need to. Your deeper mind can still respond without your conscious mind having to analyse every word. That’s the part of your mind we’re working with.
Just know that it’s completely normal if you don’t understand a lot of what I’m saying during the session. You don’t need to. Let my voice simply flow through you, almost like background music.
And if your mind starts thinking, “That’s weird. What does that mean?” that’s fine too. Just notice the thought, let it be there, and we’ll keep going.
What happens during your hypnosis session
Again, you don’t need to remember any of this. This is just so that when you’re in the session, you might think, “Oh, she told me about this. Cool.”
First, I’m going to make a little verbal contract with you, where you agree to allow yourself to go into hypnosis and allow your mind to take you there. It simply gives me permission to guide you into a hypnotic state.
Then I’ll guide you into a deep state of hypnosis and establish communication with what we call your superconscious. “Superconscious” is really just a code word we use. You don’t need to fully understand what it means in order to go through the session. You can simply think of this as a deeper part of your mind that can help guide us during the session.
Then I’m going to set up finger responses on your hands: one finger for yes and one finger for no. This allows your superconscious to communicate with me and help guide the session.
If, for whatever reason, you are not able to use your hands, that’s also completely fine. There are other ways we can communicate.
For most of the session, I’ll ask your superconscious different questions, and it can respond through small finger movements for yes or no.
Everything is always beneficial to you
Because the superconscious is part of your own mind, it guides the work in a way that is most beneficial for you and aligned with what you want to achieve.
So this isn’t about me deciding what should happen or pushing my own judgment onto you. I’m following the guidance that comes through from your superconscious and guiding you wherever you need to go to allow the work to happen.
Common questions regarding finger responses
This is where another very common thought can come in:
Wait, was that me moving my finger? Was that my superconscious? Did I move it consciously? Or did it move by itself?
It really doesn’t matter. Because you are one whole person.
Think about when you first learned to drive. At the beginning, you had to think about everything. Okay, clutch. Gear. Move my foot. Check this. Now do that.
But once you’ve been driving for long enough, you don’t consciously give yourself every single instruction anymore. You just drive. Your mind and body already know what to do.
The finger responses can become a little like that.
At first, you might feel like you’re consciously thinking about every answer and then choosing which finger to move. Later, you may notice that a finger starts moving before you’ve consciously decided to move it. Sometimes you might even think the answer is going to be no, and the finger gives us a yes.
And then your conscious mind goes, Hang on. Why did it say yes? I thought it was no.
All of that is completely normal and completely fine. You don’t need to feel stressed about it. Your conscious mind is still part of you, so of course it may have thoughts and opinions about what is happening.
Just notice it and let us keep going.
And if you sense or feel an answer before the finger actually moves, you don’t need to sit there thinking, I’m not moving this finger until something else moves it for me.
Just allow the movement.
Again, you are one whole person. You may feel like you consciously chose the answer, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the answer didn’t come from a deeper part of you.
Telephathic questions
The fact that something isn’t consciously perceived doesn’t necessarily mean nothing is happening. We don’t directly see radio waves, yet we know they exist because they can be measured.
Thoughts are also linked to measurable activity in the brain. When we think, networks of brain cells communicate through electrical and chemical signals, and some of that activity can be measured as brain-wave patterns. We don’t consciously feel most of that activity happening, but it’s there.
Sometimes I may ask questions silently rather than out loud. I do this simply to avoid pulling your conscious mind back into analysing every question. The aim is to let the response come through more naturally.
People who tend to analyse everything often prefer more telepathic questions, because it can help them feel more confident that they’re not consciously working out the answer.
As I mentioned earlier, the conscious mind is simply taking part of it. But if using more telepathic questions helps you feel more at ease and less likely to second-guess yourself, we can absolutely work that way.
So come in, get comfortable, let your conscious mind watch if it wants to watch, and allow yourself to follow the process. That’s really all I need from you.
You won’t do anything wrong. Nothing you do is going to break the hypnosis. Just allow yourself to experience it and see what happens.
About the Author, Rui Yu
Rui is a certified hypnotherapist who helps people to finally move forward — whether they’re dealing with something emotional, a long-standing physical issue, a fear, a habit, or a pattern they keep falling back into.
She works with clients in person in Antwerp, Belgium and online worldwide.
Rui has a background in advanced, client-centred hypnosis, deep-state hypnosis and ideomotor communication, drawing on well-established approaches in modern hypnosis, including the work of Elman, Erickson and Esdaile.
Her philosophy is simple: you don’t always need to try harder. Sometimes, you need a different way in, to work at a different level.
Comments