Fifteen minutes in the standard four-part shape: induction, deepener, suggestion, emergence. The emergence is not optional — never end a session without bringing someone all the way back.
Framing and safety
1 min 30[plain and matter-of-fact — no mystique; this part builds the trust the rest depends on]
This is a self-hypnosis session for relaxation. Two things before we start.
First: don't listen to this while driving, or operating anything, or doing anything that needs your attention. Find somewhere you can sit or lie undisturbed for a quarter of an hour.
Second: this is relaxation, not treatment. It isn't therapy and it isn't medical care. If you're dealing with something that needs a professional, this doesn't replace one. And you stay in control throughout — you can open your eyes and stop at any point, and nothing will be left half-finished. [pause for 10 seconds]
Get comfortable. Uncross your legs. Let your hands rest apart from each other.
Induction — eye closure and breath
3 min[slow, with a slight downward inflection at the end of each line; you are pacing them down, not persuading them]
Pick a point on the ceiling, or on the wall in front of you, a little above your natural eye line. Rest your eyes there. Don't strain. [pause for 15 seconds]
As you keep looking at that point, you'll notice the eyes start to feel tired. That's not suggestion, that's just what eyes do when they're held on one spot. Let them get heavy. [pause for 20 seconds]
And when they want to close, let them close. Not before. [pause for 20 seconds]
Now take a long breath in through the nose. Hold it for a moment at the top. And let it go through the mouth, slowly, all of it. [pause for one full breath cycle]
Again. In through the nose. Hold. And out, and as it goes, let the shoulders go with it. [pause for one full breath cycle]
And once more. In. Hold. And out. And now let the breath go back to its own pace and leave it alone. [pause for 20 seconds]
Deepener — the staircase
3 min 30[count each number on an out-breath if you can; leave 6–8 seconds between steps, slowing as you descend]
Picture a staircase. Ten steps, going down, into somewhere quiet and comfortable. It can be any staircase you like — wood, stone, carpet. Your hand on the rail.
We'll go down one step at a time, and with each one you'll let go a little more.
Ten. Stepping down. Nine — the shoulders drop. Eight. Seven — the jaw lets go. [leave 6–8 seconds between each number]
Six. Five — halfway, and twice as comfortable. Four. Three — the hands heavy. Two. [slow the spacing further here]
And one. All the way down. [pause for 30 seconds]
Suggestion
4 min[warmer here, and slightly slower still; each suggestion gets its own silence to land in]
At the bottom of the stairs there's a room, and the room is entirely yours. Nothing is asked of you in here. [pause for 20 seconds]
Your body knows how to rest. It has always known. It doesn't need instructions from you, and it doesn't need permission — it only needs you to stop interrupting. [pause for 25 seconds]
Calm is not something you have to build. It's what's there underneath the noise, and the noise settles on its own if you let it. [pause for 25 seconds]
You can come back to this room whenever you want it. It doesn't take a staircase and it doesn't take fifteen minutes. Three slow breaths will get you most of the way. [pause for 30 seconds]
Stay here a moment longer. [long pause — 45 seconds]
Emergence
2 min[count UP and get progressively brighter — by five you should be at full normal speaking volume; never skip this]
In a moment I'm going to count up from one to five, and at five you'll be fully awake, clear-headed and comfortable.
One — coming up, feeling the floor and the chair again. [lift the voice a little on every number]
Two — the sounds of the room coming back.
Three — movement in the fingers and the toes.
Four — take a deeper breath, and have a stretch.
And five — eyes open, wide awake, feeling rested and well. Take your time before you stand up.