Hypnosis Scripts

^{(HYPNOSIS FOR LABOR: A SCRIPT)
(Cover yourself with at least a light blanket, as you may feel chilly. Then go slowly through the following steps).}
Step 1
^{(The easiest way to relax a muscle is to first exaggerate its contraction. The easiest way to relax your diaphragm is to focus on exhaling. Begin the relaxation by first getting in any comfortable position).}
Step 2
^{(The second step is to observe your breathing).} Sit comfortably, close your eyes and bring your attention to your breath. Don’t alter it in any way; just observe it. Now place one of your hands on your lower abdomen. Inhale through your nose. Try to blow your abdomen up like a balloon; fill it with air. Feel your hand rise. Now blow the breath out through your mouth with three slow, blowing-type breaths, then relax your breathing and focus on it. Again, observe your breathing, but don’t alter it in any way.
^{(Often, when we breathe normally during waking hours, we don’t have a great rise and fall of the abdomen; it is usually the chest and shoulders that rise. In correct, relaxed breathing, the abdomen should rise and not the chest and shoulders. This deep breathing is different from our usual inhalation.)}
Inhale through your nostrils, filling the abdomen with air, feeling your hand rise with your abdomen, and again blowing the breath out through your mouth with three soft blowing breaths. Relax your breathing. Observe it; don’t alter it in any way.
Now take another deep breath, filling the abdomen with air, and blow it out through your mouth softly and slowly. This time, pay specific attention to your exhalation, breathe out completely, and send the breath out through your rectum and your vagina. Repeat this inhalation one more time.
Step 3
Turn your focus toward your feet and ankles. Gently contract your feet and ankles; now contract them a bit more, and now relax them. Contract your calves, shins, and knees gently and then firmly, as tightly as you can, and now release them. Let go of all the tension in your lower legs.
Turn your focus toward your thighs, buttocks, and genital area. Contract these areas gently, firmly, and now as tightly as you can. Relax your thighs; let go of all tension in your thighs, your buttocks, your genital area. Again, focus on your breathing. Don’t alter it in any way; simply observe it.
Focus on your abdomen and all its contents. Become aware specifically of our uterus and your baby. Take a large, slow, deep abdominal breath and exhale it to your belly, to your uterus, to your baby, and out your rectum and your vagina. Let a deep sense of relaxation and peace float across your belly.
Now become aware of your spine. Begin to contract one vertebra at a time, and let the tension spread out from your spine across your back and up your sides until your entire back is arched with tension.
Feel the force of gravity pulling the tension out of your back and into the ground. Let go of all the tension in your back, and feel yourself sinking comfortably into the bed or chair.
Become aware now of your chest, your breasts. Contract them gently and relax them. Contract them again, gently, and then relax them again.
Now contract your neck, right and left, and front and back. Let go of the tension in your neck. Let it relax.
Begin to contract your shoulders, upper arms, elbows, lower arms, wrists, hands, fingers. Make fists with your hands. Now extend your arms and spread your fingers as wide apart as you can.
Relax your shoulders, arms, and hands. Take a deep breath, and send the breath down your spine. Take another deep abdominal breath, and send it down your arms. Feel yourself letting go of all tension in your body.
Now we come to the head and face, the most important part of relaxation. Many of us hold tension in our jaws. Clench your jaw for a moment, and observe the tension beginning to return to the rest of your body.
Now relax your jaw, and let your mouth fall open. Turn your attention toward your scalp, your hair follicles, your forehead, your eyebrows, your eyelids, the area around your eyes, your temples, your cheekbones, your jaw, your chin, your ears, your nose, your nostrils, your lips, your tongue, your gums and teeth, the mucous membrane lining of your mouth, your throat.
Now swallow, and scrinch your entire face up like a prune; harder now, tighter, clench your jaw. Now let it all go. Relax your face; feel the weight and the heaviness in your eyelids. Let them remain comfortably closed.
Now, with your mouth slightly open, begin to scan your body with your mind’s eye to locate any areas of your body that are still tense. Now contract those areas of your body that are still tense, and slowly relax them. Take a deep abdominal breath, and send the breath to those areas and then out through your rectum and your vagina.
Step 4
Once again, just focus on your breathing, not altering it, just observing it.
Now begin to visualize a staircase of ten steps. You may design them any way you want. You may place them anywhere you want. You might like to climb down into a comfortably safe and shallow pool of water, where you can float; a place where, if possible, it might be comfortable to birth your baby.
Now you will slowly descend down the staircase as I count down from…
10…Down.
9…And deeper, deeper, and down.
8…Deeper, now, down deeper.
7…Your arms and legs feel totally relaxed.
6…Deeper and deeper and down; all sounds other than your support person’s voice are out of your awareness; if any other sounds enter your consciousness, they will only serve to deepen your state of relaxation, peace, and serenity.
5…Deeper now, down deeper.
4…Your face and jaw are totally relaxed.
3…Deeper and deeper and down.
2…Your eyelids are very, very heavy; you could open them if you wanted to, but you don’t really want to open them.
1…Feeling totally comfortable and centered, better than you have felt in a long, long time.
0…You are down the staircase and found a comfortable place to birth your baby.
Step 5
Now turn your attention to the area between your two eyebrows and, with your eyes closed, look into this area, also known as your third eye.
^{(The support person can now be quiet for a minute while the mother begins to center herself and relax herself even more deeply through focusing into her third eye. Then the support person continues to read.)}
The work and practice of looking into the third eye are most important, as it is the place of deepest relaxation. It is within this point that you are to focus while you are pushing. If you can relax during the contractions of the first stage of labor, and if you can relax in between the contractions during the second stage, and if you can look deeply into your third eye, relaxing your jaw, keeping your eyes closed, and pushing from deep in your third eye, your circular muscles will be loose and relaxed, and childbirth will progress normally and naturally.
You will have a great sense of your labor paying off; you will have a great sense of accomplishment. Through your third eye, you get in touch with your body’s perfect knowledge of how to birth your baby. Your body knows exactly what to do, how to push, when to push, how to breathe, when to inhale, when to exhale. All you have to do is practice, practice, practice, and trust your body’s intuition and stay relaxed. Once you have engaged the critical faculties of your mind, you are no longer experiencing the moment; you are no longer trusting your body’s perfect knowledge. All you have to do is tell yourself, “I am relaxing. I am focusing on my third eye. It is beneficial for me to believe, to know that I can birth my baby in a comfortable and relaxed manner. I am willing to work hard to push when I need to do so; I will lose myself in my work. I am relaxed now. I am more deeply relaxed than I’ve been in a long, long time.”
Now begin to project way out into the universe a big ball of crimson red light. As you look at the light, it comes closer and closer and closer until it fades away, leaving you looking once again into your third eye.
Now project way out into the universe a big ball of violet light. It, too, begins to come closer and closer and closer until it fades away; again you are looking into your third eye, this time more deeply than before.
Now project way out into the universe a big ball of emerald green light, and as it gently bounces toward you, it fades away. This time you are looking more deeply, more peacefully into your third eye. Deeper and deeper into your third eye, you relax deeply into it.
Now project way out into the universe a big ball of golden light. Closer and closer it comes to you until it fades, and now you are peacefully, blissfully back into the serenity of your third eye. You are becoming more and more familiar with the omniscience in you. You enjoy the depth and the peace.
Now you project way out into the universe a big ball of yellow light. It is splendid out there. It comes in closer and closer, and gently fades away. You are deeply centered, and you look into your third eye. A great sense of peace and comfort and courage fills your being.
Now you project way out into the universe a big ball of blue light. This ball of light is different from the others. As it comes close to you, it bursts into a magnificent, warm, healing white light, much like the healing, soothing rays of the sun. The white light begins to surround you, envelop you, and soothe you even more. You feel caressed by it. It begins to flow down through the top of your skull, down through the medulla oblongata, down your spine to the base of your spine, and when it reaches the base of your spine, the healing white light begins to radiate throughout all of your extremities. It flows down through your right hip, and leg, and foot, and toes, and through your left hip, leg, foot, and toes. It flows down through your shoulders, into your arms, through your wrists, and into your hands and fingertips. The white healing light now begins to fill your chest cavity and fill your heart with a warmth and a love and an acceptance of yourself that you haven’t felt in a long time.
The healing white light flows out of your heart into your abdomen. It surrounds your uterus and penetrates your uterus and lines the walls of your uterus with a healing white light. The light surrounds your baby and places your baby in the proper birthing position. It helps your baby to grow normally, naturally, comfortably, and healthily. It relaxes the baby and tells the baby that you are a calm, loving, and nurturing mother. You will be able to use the white light as an ally during pregnancy, labor, birthing, and postpartum.
In this state of deep relaxation, make a circle on your chest with the middle finger of your left hand. This is called an anchor. As you make this anchor, remind yourself with the following statements: “I will visualize the white light present within. It is my ally. I am filled with peace, hope, and comfort. I am again relaxed and able to go with the flow of my body. I am again able to celebrate the birthing of my baby.”
^{(This is your anchor. Every time you make this circle, you will immediately be in a deep, concentrated state of focus. The more you make this circle, the deeper you will go into relaxation. When you are in a deep state of relaxation, peace, and serenity, you may drop your hand to a place where it is comfortable. This anchor is your ability to instantly put yourself into a deep hypnotic trance. It will work for you whenever you want it to, especially during labor, transition, and birth. Repeat this technique any time you or your support person feel that you are no longer in an alpha state. Always remember to allow your exhalations to be complete, breathing through the contractions and out through your rectum and/or your vagina. It is a good idea to practice this anchor technique throughout your pregnancy. It works like a charm.)}
Now I am going to clap my hands, and you will be wide awake. ^(Clap.)
Now make the circle on your chest with the middle finger of your left hand as many times as you need to in order to automatically put yourself into a deep healing hypnotic trance and relax your hand when you are in it.
^{(The support person is silent and waits for the mother to drop her hand. Both are quiet for a minute or five, enjoying the peace and serenity. Then the support person continues.)
_{(If this hypnosis is being done before bedtime or during labor, you would give the suggestion)}}
Now you will fall into a deep, peaceful, natural sleep, only to awaken when you need to, feeling refreshed, relaxed and fully awake.
_{^{(Otherwise, the support person will count up from 1 to 5 to bring the mother back to an alert and conscious state of mind, saying the following.)}}
I am now going to count you up from one to five. When we reach five, you will be wide awake and refreshed and relaxed and confident that you can calmly and comfortably birth your baby at term in an easy vaginal passage.
^{(Support person slowly counts up mother from one to five.)}
1…Begin to stretch your arms and your legs. ^{(Support person should be silent for at least thirty seconds.)}
2…Take a deep awakening breath. ^{(Support person should be silent for at least thirty seconds.)}
3…Slowly become aware of the sounds around you. ^{(Support person should be silent for at least thirty seconds.)}
4…Your eyelids are no longer heavy. ^{(Support person should be silent for at least thirty seconds.)}
5…Your eyes are wide open; you are awake and refreshed and relaxed, and you will be aware and wide awake.