Hypnosis can have various applications that can enhance health and change bad or negative habits. In this article, I wish to concentrate on self-hypnosis, which can be likened to a form of creative daydreaming. Self-hypnosis becomes your servant when used to control emotions and habits as opposed to you being at the mercy of your emotions. By imagining a goal or outcome, you increase your likelihood of achieving that goal.

Some common areas where self-hypnosis can be useful are smoking cessation, weight management, and sports enhancement. While using hypnosis, you can imagine all the benefits you will receive from giving up smoking such as better health, more energy, more money, whiter teeth and cleaner breath, just to name a few. If you want to lose weight, you will need to imagine yourself in better health, with more energy, more sex appeal, a better self image and pride in your appearance. Motivational goals, to enhance sports, is also a frequent subject of self-hypnosis. Imagine yourself hitting the ball, or powering up a hill on your skis, or crossing the finish line in the twenty mile marathon.

Though there are many ways to induce relaxation to enter hypnosis: here is a simple way most people can use to induce hypnosis on their own:

Starting at your toes, imagine a relaxing sensation entering your toes, and spreading up through your feet, into your ankles'It feels so relaxing?With every breath, the feeling of relaxing spreads up through your legs, your thighs and your hips?now your buttocks, stomach, and lower back feels so relaxed, and the feeling increases with every breath you take?All the muscles of your upper back, your chest and arms are heavy, with a feeling to total relaxation?This feeling continues on up into your neck, scalp, and face?Now your whole body is totally relaxed.

At this point, you can start to count down from ten, to enhance your relaxation?

Number ten?deeper and deeper, relaxing physically

Number nine?deeper and deeper, relaxing mentally

Number eight?deeper and deeper, relaxing emotionally?

Number seven?deeper and deeper, relaxing totally

Number six?every nerve and muscle relaxes completely

Number five?each number takes me deeper

Number four? the deeper I go, the easier is becomes to go even deeper

Number three?just drifting into total relaxation

Number two?just drifting into a deep hypnotic peace

Number one?way, way down?

Now you are ready to progress by personalizing your fantasy to your own goals, whether to stop smoking, to lose weight or to become a better skier.