Hypnosis and meditation induce trance states that produce comparable brain wave patterns like theta. Yet, as we know, Hypnosis is normally done under the supervision of a therapist, whereas meditation is not.
You may ask yourself, “Could it be that hypnosis and guided meditation are the same?” and you might things it’s the same.
Overview:
- You can get into a trance by daydreaming, dancing, listening to music, reading a book, or watching TV. You can also get into a trance by rhythmic and repetitive movements, like dancing, running, breathing exercises, chanting, meditating, praying, or doing group rituals and Hypnosis. A trance seems similar to Hypnosis and guided meditation.
- However, Hypnosis is more targeted, and the hypnotherapist observes your subconscious and behavior. The hypnotherapist also holistically analyzes you. This way, you can get more connected and Subliminals and more targeted and characteristic.
- A guided meditation teacher won’t need to analyze or observe you in Hypnosis. Also, with guided meditation, you might find yourself in a different world, such as energy, chakras, and the spiritual world. However, in Hypnosis, you won’t need deep dive into spiritual worlds such as chakras, stones, energy, Qi, prana, or other things.
- Meditation is also mostly supported by “philoshopy,” such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, etc. However, hypnosis is mostly supported by science and other hypnosis techniques.
Hypnotherapy and Guided Meditation can work independently, but they can also work together for stronger, more effective, and clearer results. Unlike guided meditation, hypnotherapy is aimed at specific goals, like getting rid of phobias or addictions.
This article will discuss the difference between guided meditation and Hypnosis.
Related: What Are The Five Main Characteristics Of Hypnosis?
What exactly is Guided meditation?
Hypnotherapy and guided meditation are both good for your body and mind. Knowing how they are different lets you decide which is best. Getting advice from an expert who understands your needs is important to get the best results.
Simply put, guided meditation is meditation with the aid of a guide. Guided meditation is often practiced in a classroom, one-on-one with a meditation instructor, or with an audio or video recording that directs the meditation session.
You may deliver guidance in a variety of ways. It may be presented in person, through written text, sound recording, or video, and can include music, vocal instructions, or a mix of the two.
What Is the Purpose of Guided Meditation?
Guided meditation has been shown to improve the treatment of various medical problems. You may use it to do the following:
- Reducing stress levels
- Control and treatment of pain
- Improvement of coping abilities
- Insomnia is being reduced in frequency.
- Emotional control
- Anxiety reduction
- the broad sensation of well-being improvement
- Addiction recovery
For more information: The Benefits of Meditation on Your Daily Life
What Is the Process of Guided Meditation?
Guided meditation is an interactive experience in which your audience meditates in response to your words in person or by audio/video. Meditation facilitators must guide their participants through an inner experience to a certain goal.
The instruction starts by advising you to relax particular muscles in your body while sitting or lying down.
Following the relaxation period, you will lead through a series of visualizations. As you progress, your mind clears and becomes more receptive to pleasant thoughts. At this stage, your guide’s soothing voice guides you on an inner journey to enhance various elements of your life. Whatever you want to do, here is where it all occurs.
Depending on your goals and agreements with your teacher, a complete guided meditation session might be as little as five minutes or as much as an hour.
Compared: Hypnotherapy vs. Guided meditation
There are a lot of similarities between guided meditation and Hypnosis. Some things make them different.
Two can help; you get more trance, calm, relaxation, and improve your subconscious mind. Meditation helps you feel peaceful, relaxed, and less stressed. Self-hypnosis helps transform behaviors or habits.
Most “philosophies,” like Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, etc., also support meditation. But hypnosis terminologies are mostly backed up by science and other forms of hypnosis techniques.
Related: Can Hypnotherapy Help With Stress?
During guided meditation, you focus on planting images in your subconscious to bring about change. Only the voice of the teacher leads you. Self-hypnosis lets people imagine things without any influence from the outside.
For beginners, analytical hypnotherapy identifies the root cause of several diseases. Group-guided meditation doesn’t help with analysis. Most of the time, the only voice in the room is that of the trainer.
With meditation, there’s not much interaction between participants and instructors. Throughout hypnotherapy, the specialist works with one client at a time, making connecting with the person easier.
For guided meditation, written instructions are used. The teacher wants to reach out to more than one group. Less scripting is needed for hypnotherapy because the expert must change to meet the customer’s changing needs.
Hypnotherapy depends on the therapist’s ability to put the person in a hypnotic state and make suggestions that will help them change.
Conclusion
Some people may confuse hypnosis and guided meditation, but they are not the same thing.
The main difference is that hypnosis is a treatment for mental health concerns, whereas meditation is simply a means to relax and have a meditative experience.
The premise underlying hypnosis is that you can be put into a trance-like state and then told to behave or think in certain ways.
For example, you may be instructed to think about something happy or forget a traumatic experience in your past. In contrast, guided meditation does not entail any encouragement or persuasion. It’s simply a matter of being able to focus on your breathing and let go of any thoughts that arise to create an altered level of awareness.