Guided Practices that Shift Your State – From Mindfulness to Hypnosis

Last week I shared how I got into hypnosis, the connections I made between hypnosis and yoga therapy, two related neuroscience concepts, and some final thoughts.

Today, I’d like to highlight a key connection I made between hypnosis and other self-awareness practices you may have heard of. All of these practices are powerful ways to shift our inner state - to help us return to regulation, experience well-being, and access our innate capacities to heal, grow, and thrive. Short on time? Scroll down for charts, similarities and differences, as well as some final words.

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I used to think hypnosis was pretty “out there.” Perhaps your impression of hypnosis was the one I had – stage tricks, a hustle, a gimmick, people that seem to be pretending to fall asleep on command, or make a fool of themselves by quacking like a duck or something.

That’s stage hypnosis, a form of entertainment. Personally, it’s not something I enjoy. Integrative hypnosis, the type of therapeutic hypnosis I share and practice, looks and feels a lot different from stage hypnosis. It’s not showy or flashy at all. It seems subtle. It looks like guided deep rest or relaxation.

I actually didn’t expect to connect with hypnosis right away or experience shifts from within because of my previous impressions of stage hypnosis. But because I’ve been in the world of self-awareness practices for awhile – yoga, meditation, energy work and so on – I know exactly why I connected with it almost instantly.

The process was familiar. Sure, there are differences and skills I had to learn, but the essence of it was something I already knew. It just goes farther than where guided meditation or Yoga Nidra would stop. So a key connection that occurred to me very quickly was:

Mindfulness, guided relaxation, guided meditation, Yoga Nidra, and hypnosis are practices along the same continuum. The key differences lie in depth and intention.

This is great news!

• We can mix and match between practices for what we’d like to experience or accomplish.
• There are different ways in, just like all the other modalities I use. Hypnosis is too much of a stretch? Perhaps mindfulness would be a better entry point.

Check out the charts that explains what each of these practices are, the benefits of each, and when we’d practice them. (Sorry – I realize the font is a bit small. I’m still figuring out how to display things like I want them with the platform I’m using. But hey, done is better than perfect right?)

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Definitions of Each Practice:

Benefits of Each Practice:

When to Practice:

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Main Similarities:

• All induce a relaxed state and calm the nervous system (parasympathetic nervous system “rest and digest” response).
• Each can be practiced lying down or seated, with closed eyes and focused attention.
• All can be self-directed or involve a guide or voice (live or recorded).
• They cultivate a different state of consciousness from our typical waking state (gamma and beta waves) - ranging from light relaxation to deep trance (alpha and theta waves).
• They are all self-awareness practices that can be used to experience peace, calm, and relaxation.

Main Differences:

• Mindfulness is the lightest, with focus on the cultivating present-moment awareness by engaging our senses.
• Guided relaxation typically happens at the end of a yoga session, with the focus on physical relaxation and letting go of effort that came during a yoga class. In some yoga classes, the final relaxation is silent and unguided.
• Guided meditation is deeper than both mindfulness and guided relaxation. It’s a practice to witness or quiet the mind, create distance or attachment from thoughts/emotions (we are not our thoughts and feelings), and experience calm and peace. There are a lot of different types - maybe I'll cover these in another post sometime.
• Yoga Nidra is a structured form of guided meditation that cultivates a deep rest state – both in body and mind. It’s particularly helpful for burnout, depletion, repair, and sleep issues.
• Hypnosis is deep guided relaxation with a purpose – to align the subconscious mind with the conscious mind to solve a problem or achieve a goal.

In Summary:

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Final Words

I hope this brings you some clarity, and maybe even some more curiosity. If you have questions, feel free to ask. I personally practice all of these methods to varying degrees. It depends on the season and what I personally need in the moment. In the past, I struggled with anxiety, PTSD, and along with that, rumination and overthinking; doing these practices over the years, along with mindful movement really shifted things.

I didn’t start out being able to do them with ease either, but over time they became easier. The takeaway is: it's not that the practices got easier – they are what they are. It’s that I got mentally stronger along the way. Through repetition, I strengthened the neural networks I needed. 

And this is why I sometimes say this kind of stuff is also a form of mental training. But we don’t have to go hard to get results. We do, however, have to be curious enough to show up and allow the results to unfold over time. We start with the path of least resistance and what we can do.

If all of this is new to you - be kind with yourself. Start with one minute of mindfulness, being fully present with what you’re doing for just one full minute. Build it into your day in a way that’s easy to implement – for example, when you’re eating. Really taste, smell, and savor one bite of food. When you’re waiting for a light to change, spend that one minute sensing your breath. No need to change it, just notice. Truly that’s all anyone needs to get started.

In our sessions, I introduce what would best meet you where you are, what would nourish you, and what would help you get results, whether it’s mindfulness, guided relaxation, guided meditation, Yoga Nidra, or hypnosis. We don’t “have to” do anything – it’s actually about doing less, sensing and feeling more. If meditation isn’t your thing, Yoga Nidra raises a bunch of questions in your head, or hypnosis just seems too “out there”, we use other approaches. Practices can meet us exactly as we are.