Too much stress and tension can have a bad impact on your health. If you cannot cope with the strains of modern life it can wear you down, so learning to relax is important. And this is where self-hypnosis is highly beneficial.

The good news is you can quickly dissipate some of these daily strains in as little as five minutes using self-hypnosis. There are two ways I’d like to share with you for stress control; one is anchoring and the other is a simple hypnotic relaxation exercise.

Anchoring is when you connect a feeling or memory to a trigger; the trigger could be a sound, smell or picture, in fact anything that recalls a memory or association.

First anchoring: In this exercise you are going to create a trigger associated with a feeling of relaxation. Whenever you are feeling stressed you can use the trigger to reduce the tension in your body. It is ideal when you need to relax but are not in the right location or circumstances to go into a trance.

Exercise: Close your eyes and relax, really relax, and tune into the comfort inside your body.

As you become more and more comfortable, allow your mind to drift back to a time when you felt really relaxed and free of any stress and tension.

Notice how you felt, what you saw around you and what you heard. Allow the feelings to spread and deepen.

As the feelings intensify, gently hug your right wrist with your left hand. Make sure the feelings of comfort are strong, as you gently squeeze your wrist. Now relax your hands and let your mind clear.

Now gently squeeze your wrist and notice the feelings of comfort and relaxation coming back to you. To reinforce this anchor, repeat it each day.

The second technique is to use self-hypnosis (trance) to help you control that daily tension and stress. Here is a completely natural way to go into a healing mind/body state that is ideal when you are alone and have a few minutes to yourself.

Exercise: Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your hands on your thighs.

Now, gently bring your awareness to your breathing. Just notice the natural rhythm of your breath without trying to change it.

As you continue to relax, tune into the most comfortable part of your body. As you do this, imagine the comfort spreading deeply throughout your limbs.

While you continue to focus on this comfort, find yourself relaxing more deeply. This is a simple way to centre yourself and release any daily tension or stress.

Practise this technique for five to twenty minutes two to three times a day.

I bet you feel a lot better for it.

By: Marcus D'Silva