Self-hypnosis is easy, give it a try

If you're one of the few who "just can't relax," what can you do about it? The technique usually associated with the induction of self-hypnosis is actually instruction on how to relax. It serves no other purpose than to get the body relaxed so that the conscious mind will be relaxed.

If you can relax, if you can "let yourself go" and feel limp all over-skip the following instructions on how to relax. And forget about any tests. Give yourself the positive, powerful suggestions needed to enable you to break the cigarette habit, and they will start at once forming a new attitude and habit in the subconscious.

However, if you are one of those folks who has trouble going to sleep within a short time after going to bed, if you get leg cramps, neck aches and itches that keep you awake, then you will need to practice a method to get your body relaxed.

Don't worry about it. Relaxing is a habit and can be acquired, and it will respond to stimuli, through practice. It shouldn't take you long to acquire a habit of relaxing so that you will be able to induce self-hypnosis quickly. And as a bonus, you will be through with insomnia forever.

The first thing to do, after you are in bed and ready to induce self-hypnosis, is to check over your body and see where you are holding yourself taut. One readily recognizable checkpoint is your hands and arms. If there is any rigidity there, you'll know you aren't relaxed. You shouldn't be "hugging" the pillow and you should not have your fists clenched. When the arm is relaxed, there's a slight crook at the elbow and wrists, and the palm of the hand is slightly cupped. The fingers are slightly curled.

The way to relax any part of the body is to concentrate your attention upon it. By this time, you should be aware of the reason. The conscious mind can hold only one thought at a time. If it is concentrated upon relaxing the muscles, it can't be concerned with anything else. As the muscles relax, the mind relaxes.

It is impossible to be physically tense and mentally relaxed, or mentally relaxed and physically tense. Relaxation and tension work in unison between the mind and the tissue.

For example, if you wish to relax the right arm begin by concentrating your attention upon the hand. Picture it in your mind, if you can, and say to yourself: "The fingers of my right hand are relaxing . . . going limp . . . relaxed . . . becoming more limp . . . more relaxed." Let the muscles go. Let the hand rest heavily.

Say to yourself, "I feel my hand becoming completely limp . .. relaxed ... heavy ... more relaxed ... more limp . . . more heavy." When your hand becomes limp, heavy and relaxed -and it will become limp, because you will accept your own self-suggestions-focus your attention upon the wrist. "My wrist is becoming relaxed .. . limp . . . heavy . .. more relaxed . . . more limp .. . more heavy . . . growing heavier and heavier . . . more limp . . . more relaxed."

Take your time. Do not hurry any phase of relaxing the muscles. Assist yourself in relaxing by occasionally taking three deep breaths, counting to yourself as you inhale, "One . . . two . . . three . . . four . . . five . . . six." Exhale, relaxing more, "One . . . two . . . three." Repeat this exercise for each part of your body.

Leg cramps, stiff neck, or back pains that keep a person from relaxing or sleeping are sometimes caused by the conscious mind holding the muscles in readiness. When the muscles are overextended or exhausted, they signal pain, asking for relief. This alerts the conscious mind even more, for it now becomes concerned that it can't go to sleep, even though it needs and desires sleep. The anxiety creates more tension, and it becomes a vicious circle. Concentrate the mind upon relaxing the muscles. The more the muscles relax, the more the mind relaxes.

Continue to breathe normally and deeply. If you should start to feel fidgety, once again take three deep breaths, counting to yourself as you inhale and exhale.

Give yourself the instructions in a slow, deliberate manner. It is well to time them in short phrases to coincide with the rhythm of your breathing. It helps to establish the rhythm of deep breathing.

Try not to be distracted by outside sounds or stray thoughts. Your complete attention should be on that part of the body you wish to relax. It helps to "see" it in your mind's eye, if you are one of those persons who can visualize.

There isn't anything to prevent you from accomplishing this real relaxation. Even as you read this page, you can let one hand "go" completely, and let it hang limp. All you need do is concentrate your attention upon it and give yourself the suggestion that it is going limp and relaxed.

If you experience difficulty in relaxing your body, as a preliminary to self-hypnosis, it is because your mind is on something other than relaxation. Maybe you are concerned with another problem. Sometimes we have problems so pressing that they can't be ignored. If that's the case, put off attempting self-hypnosis until you can devote your entire attention to it.

If you haven't any particular problems, and you really want to lick the cigarette habit the easy and painless way with self-hypnosis-and yet you still find that you can't relax, it is because you are looking for something more in hypnosis than is there. You are expecting something to happen and are holding yourself tense waiting for it to happen.

What it boils down to is this: you are countermanding your own suggestions. On the face of it, what could be sillier? You know there can only be benefits from relaxing. You believe you will be healthier and happier, once you have broken the cigarette habit permanently. Why challenge it? Why fight it? What are you going to prove by resisting your own suggestions? Why do it the hard way, when there's an easy way?