What Really Happens in Hypnosis?

Did you know that you already experience hypnosis several times a day—without even realizing it?

Think about those moments when you’re so absorbed in a movie that you feel as if you’re part of the story. Or when you drive from A to B and suddenly realize you don’t remember the details of the trip. Or when you’re caught in a deep conversation with a friend, or gazing into a baby’s eyes and losing all sense of time. These are natural, everyday examples of hypnotic states.

 So, What Is Hypnosis Anyhow?

Hypnosis is a relaxed and focused state. It’s that sweet spot between being deeply calm and sharply attentive. You could think of it as a cousin to meditation or flow—but in hypnosis, we use this natural state with purpose: to solve problems, create change, and access resources that live beneath the surface of the conscious mind.

The Power Beneath the Surface

Here’s something fascinating: our conscious mind—the part of us that plans, analyzes, and makes decisions—processes only about **6–7 bits of information at a time**. Compare that to the subconscious mind, which manages countless processes all at once: regulating our heartbeat and breath, storing our memories, filtering our perceptions, and running the automatic patterns that guide much of our daily life.

Those deeper “programs,” sometimes called *meta programs*, shape how we filter the world, what we notice, and how we react. For example, one person might focus on what’s missing, while another naturally notices what’s already working. These unconscious programs influence our choices more than we realize. Hypnosis helps us access and update those programs in ways that align with who we want to be.

Changing Patterns Through the Senses

In hypnosis, change happens through the very same channels that created our memories and habits in the first place: the senses. We often describe these as **VAK—Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic** (what we see, hear, and feel). These sensory codes shape our beliefs, values, and even our identity. By re-imagining experiences through VAK, we can transform the way the mind and body respond, creating lasting shifts “from the bottom up.”

The Role of Imagination

Imagination is not “just pretend.” In hypnosis, it becomes a powerful tool. When you imagine vividly—seeing, hearing, and feeling your desired state—your subconscious responds as if it’s real.

The brain actually codes imagined experiences in the same way it codes real ones. That’s why your physiology responds too—your heart rate, breath, and even hormone levels can shift just by imagining. This process engages **neuroplasticity**, the brain’s ability to rewire itself, creating real and lasting changes in the nervous system. Those changes ripple outward—shaping not only how the body feels, but also how you think, the choices you make, and the behaviors you embody in daily life.

In this way, imagination becomes the bridge between possibility and reality.

What Hypnosis Can Help With

Because hypnosis works with the subconscious mind and the body’s natural learning systems, it can be applied in many areas of life. Hypnosis is particularly effective for:

* Reducing pain and discomfort

* Discovering what your body is really telling you

* Shifting unwanted behaviors and habits

* Enhancing performance (sports, test-taking, public speaking, creativity)

* Goal setting and achievement

* Supporting healthy weight loss

* Clearing unprocessed trauma

* Lowering stress levels and building resilience

* Improving sleep

* Deepening self-confidence and self-trust

A Collaborative Process

And here’s something important to know: no one can be hypnotized against their will. Hypnosis is always a choice, and it deepens only when you truly want it to and feel safe to allow it. When that safety and trust are present, hypnosis becomes a powerful collaboration—a creative partnership between your conscious and subconscious mind.

In that space, solutions and insights emerge that may surprise you, and patterns that once felt stuck can gently give way to something new.

 Ready to Experience It for Yourself?

When the Body Speaks Softly

About three months ago, my foot began to ache. At first, it was just a whisper—an ache under my heel when I stood up in the morning. Within a few days, the whisper grew louder until walking became uncomfortable. The familiar diagnosis was plantar fasciitis.

As a bodyworker, I’ve learned to listen when my body speaks. I no longer label these sensations as “problems.” Instead, I see them as messages. The body, after all, has its own language—one that often points toward something stirring below the surface. When pain arrives, I know that something is asking for attention: an emotion, a belief, a pattern that’s been running quietly in the background.

The mind loves to chase the why, and sometimes the why matters. But what I’ve discovered through hypnosis is that healing doesn’t always require an explanation. Sometimes, when the conscious mind steps aside, the deeper mind knows exactly what to do.

So I turned inward and used a process called Mindscape. It’s a hypnotic journey in which the unconscious mind creates a symbolic map to solve a problem. My role was simply to follow it—allowing my deeper intelligence to find the way from point A to point B.

What I found surprised me. Beneath the pain was a survival pattern: the belief that I had to keep going so that everyone would be okay. It was an old, familiar rhythm—push, strive, caretake, repeat. Once I saw it clearly, the map began to shift. I made a few gentle adjustments, and I could feel my system recalibrating, as if it had been waiting for permission to stop.

By the next day, the pain had vanished. My body had received the message: You are safe. You can rest now.

For almost four months, I was pain-free. When the sensation recently returned, I recognized it not as a setback but as another invitation—to revisit the map and release another layer of that old pattern. Each time I do, the process becomes simpler, the healing more profound.

The body is wise. It doesn’t shout without reason. It asks us to listen, to pause, and to trust the intelligence that lies beneath thought.

If you’re curious about what your own body might be trying to say—or how hypnosis can help you connect with the wisdom within—I’d love to share Mindscape with you.
It’s a gentle, imaginative journey that lets your unconscious mind chart the path toward healing, understanding, and peace.

You can learn more or schedule a session at www.somatichypnosis.net or www.somamassagebellingham.com.