Settling and choosing the point
1 min 30[Pick the fixation point yourself before you start and check it against the client's seated eye line — roughly twenty to thirty degrees above it. If they have to tip their head back to hold it, it is too high; lower it. Nobody should be straining their neck for the next seven minutes. Not for use while driving or operating machinery.]
Sit back and let the chair take your weight. Both feet on the floor, hands wherever they are comfortable. Nothing to hold on to. [pause for 10 seconds]
Now find the spot I showed you — just there, a little above the natural line of your eyes. Not so high that your neck has to work. Just high enough that your eyes have to lift a little to hold it. [pause for 15 seconds]
Let your eyes rest on it. You do not have to stare hard, and you do not have to stop blinking. Just keep it in view, and let the rest of the room go soft around the edges. [pause for 20 seconds]
Breathe out slowly. And again. There is nothing to get right here. [pause for 20 seconds]
Letting the eyes tire
1 min 30[Match your words to what you can actually see — more frequent blinking, watering, slower blinks, a small tremor in the lids. Suggesting heaviness before the eyes have begun to tire asks the client to pretend, and they know it. Wait for the sign, then name it.]
Holding your eyes up like that is a small piece of work, and eyes tire when they work. That is ordinary, and it is already beginning. [pause for 15 seconds]
You may notice the edges of that spot starting to blur. The room dimming a little at the sides. Perhaps the spot seems to move slightly, or change shade. All of that is your eyes doing exactly what tired eyes do. [pause for 20 seconds]
Your lids may feel heavier now. Perhaps they flicker. Perhaps they want to blink more than usual. Let all of that happen. Do not hold them open, and do not push them shut. [pause for 20 seconds]
And every time you breathe out, they get a little heavier still. [pause for 20 seconds]
The eyes close
1 min[Some clients' eyes simply do not tire — screen workers, contact lens wearers, anyone who blinks little or blinks constantly. Do not push and do not run the count twice. At one, give the closing instruction as a plain, warm request and carry straight on to the deepening. The induction is not weakened by this; the closure was only ever the doorway.]
In a moment I will count from five down to one. Somewhere in that count your eyes will most likely close by themselves. If they close before I reach one, let them. If they are still open at one, close them then, gently, and we simply carry on.
Five — heavier. Four — warmer, and harder to hold up. Three — blurring now. Two — almost closed. One. Let them close. [pause for 15 seconds]
Good. Let them stay closed. And let your face soften with them — the small muscles around your eyes, your jaw, your tongue resting easy in your mouth. [pause for 20 seconds]
Deepening
1 min 30[Slow your delivery here by about a third and let your voice drop at the end of each line. Leave the silences whole — the count does very little work; the gaps between the numbers do most of it.]
Now that your eyes have done their part, the rest of you can follow. That heaviness spreads down. Your shoulders drop. Your arms rest their full weight on the chair. [pause for 20 seconds]
I am going to count from ten down to one. With each number, let yourself settle a little further. Ten. Nine. Eight — shoulders loose. Seven. Six. Five — halfway, breathing easy. Four. Three. Two. One. [pause for 30 seconds]
Rest there. There is nothing at all to do for the next little while. [pause for 25 seconds]
Return to full alertness
1 min 30[Never shorten or skip this, even if the session has overrun. Lift your voice and pick up pace across the count. Wait until you have seen their eyes open and had a word back from them before you consider the session closed. If they are still drowsy, keep them seated with a glass of water, and do not let anyone leave to drive or operate machinery until they are plainly alert.]
In a moment I will count from one up to five, and at five you will be all the way back — eyes open, wide awake, clear headed and comfortable. Any heaviness in your eyes or your body clears completely as I count. [pause for 5 seconds]
One — coming back up, the room around you again. Two — feeling returning to your hands and your feet; have a stretch if you would like one. Three — your breathing picking up, your mind clearing. [pause for 5 seconds]
Four — nearly there, eyelids light now, ready to open. And five — eyes open. Wide awake, clear and alert. [pause for 15 seconds while they open their eyes and get their bearings]
Take your time getting up. Have a sip of water. Wait until the room feels completely ordinary again before you go anywhere.