The induction is the process that helps people go into a state of hypnosis, where they will be more susceptible to suggestion, and where their unconscious mind will take messages onboard. People choose to go into this state because they want to achieve a certain change or improvement in a specific part of their lives, usually.
How a hypnotist carries out an induction can vary greatly. Different techniques work well for different people. There can be hundreds or even thousand of induction scripts or approaches.
In therapeutic hypnosis, known as hypnotherapy, we generally use a technique we call progressive relaxation. This means helping the person to become progressively more and more relaxed until they eventually fall into the state of hypnosis. Its a gradual process, helped along by suggestions of continued relaxation. Ill ask them to close their eyes, of course, and then ask them to start to take some nice long deep breaths. This really helps to relax people.
One way that I find very effective in getting people to relax is to have them concentrate on different muscles, or different body parts. Obviously when you do this, you naturally become more...