How to Hypnotize People with Your Eyes

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Certified hypnotherapist & anxiety and stress management coach Alexandra Janelli explains how to master the art of hypnotism

Co-authored by Alexandra Janelli and Bertha Isabel Crombet, PhD

Last Updated: November 4, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Hypnotizing With Your Eyes
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• Eye Exercises for Hypnosis
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• What is hypnosis?
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• Benefits
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• Types
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• Video
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• Tips

|Show more |Show less

While hypnosis may seem like magic, there is, in fact, a ton of science involved in the act of hypnotizing someone. One of the most effective ways to hypnotize someone is with your eyes, which is considered the gateway to the psyche. It’s important to only use this practice on someone who gives their full consent to being hypnotized and always use your ability responsibly. Keep reading to learn how to hone this unique skill, with expert insights from certified hypnotherapist & anxiety and stress management coach Alexandra Janelli and certified hypnotherapist Julia Lyubchenko, MS, MA.

Hypnotizing Someone with Your Eyes

According to certified hypnotherapist & anxiety and stress management coach Alexandra Janelli, hypnosis is a powerful tool for creating change. Find a willing participant and tell them to relax while staring at a spot beneath your eye. Once they’re in a trance-like state, ask them to follow the sound of your voice.

Steps

Section 1 of 5:

How to Hypnotize a Person With Your Eyes

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1. 
   1
   Ask the person for permission to hypnotize them. Whether this person is a friend, family member, or someone else who trusts you, ask them directly: “Can I hypnotize you?” Make sure they consent before you start to work your eye magic. The person must be a willing participant. If they resist or don’t want to be hypnotized, the hypnosis likely will not work. According to Janelli, “Everyone can be hypnotized, you just would have to allow yourself to be.”

   • It’s best to practice hypnotizing with your eyes on a loved one who trusts you, as they will be more willing to be hypnotized, which is essential.

   Meet the wikiHow Experts

   Alexandra Janelli is a certified hypnotherapist & anxiety and stress management coach with over 10 years of experience. She uses her hypnotherapeutic approach to help clients achieve their goals.

   Julia Lyubchenko, MS, MA is a certified hypnotherapist who uses her practice, Therapy Under Hypnosis, to help resolve emotional and behavioral problems.
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   Make sure the person is either sitting or lying down. Don’t have them stand, as they will likely become so relaxed during the hypnosis that they will fall over. They can either choose to sit upright in a comfortable chair or they can lie down on a couch or bed if they feel so inclined.

   • Janelli says, “A key factor in successfully entering this state is a sense of safety and comfort — the subconscious mind must feel safe in order to allow access and openness to suggestion.”
   • To make a sitting participant feel more comfortable, Janelli suggests doing a “progressive relaxation,” which starts “from the top of the head to the tips of the toes.”
   • To make a participant who’s lying down feel more comfortable, she advises that they “start at the toes and move up to the head, just slowly going through each body part and using the connection of the mind and the body to relax each muscle and thinking about the melting.”
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   Tell the person to focus on a spot underneath your right eye. Instruct them not to look away as you speak to them. Remember: focus is the basis of hypnosis, so nailing this part is vital to your hypnotic success. You can also use a pocket watch and fling it over and over, making them look at it every second.
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   Stare at them without blinking as you start counting. Begin counting from five to one in a soothing, low voice. As you count, tell them the following: “Your eyelids are becoming heavier and heavier.” Then, “Your eyelids are growing heavy, as if heavy weights are pulling them down.” Let them know that “Soon, your eyelids will be so heavy they will close,” and “The more you try to open your eyes, the heavier, looser, and more limp they become and the more stuck shut they will be.”

   • Repeat these phrases several times as you count from five to one.
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   Tell them you’re going to touch their shoulder and set expectations. It’s important to tell the person what is going to happen before you touch them. This will set their mind up to understand you are going to give them a command and they are going to respond by doing what you tell them to do.

   • Tell the person: “When I touch your shoulder, you are going to become loose, limp, and heavy. Ready?”
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   Touch the person’s shoulder like you said you would. Then, tell them it’s time to be loose and relax. Don’t be alarmed if the person slumps over or leans back in the chair. This is a sign they are completely relaxed, and they are now under hypnosis.

   • “It's important to understand that the hypnotic state has varying degrees of depth that range from light, medium to deep. All associated with different brainwave lengths. Depth does not necessarily mean a greater acceptance of hypnotic suggestions. Sometimes, even a light hypnotic state can be just as beneficial,” explains Janelli.
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   Assure the person that they are now under hypnosis. Ideally, this person is aware that the relaxing state they are experiencing is due to hypnosis or being in a hypnotic state. It's also vital to assure the person they are safe and they are in good hands. Reassure them so they continue to trust you and to listen to your commands.

   • Janelli shares that the person undergoing hypnosis is likely “letting their [thoughts] be there with them,” while “acknowledging them and digesting them.”
   • Janelli notes that this process is like “letting the conveyor belt let all the information pass through. Then your mind begins to just quiet down slowly, slowly.”
8. 
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   Let them know that their right arm should now be loose and heavy. Inform them that it should feel limp and relaxed. Then, touch their arm to trigger a response from them. Lift up their arm to confirm it is now limp and relaxed. Place their arm back down. This confirms the person is now in a trance-like state. It also shows they are willing to listen to your voice and your commands.

   • Use a calming and relaxed voice.
   • Be patient. If you are not sure if they are in the trance, keep talking to them in a deep voice and slip them deeper and deeper in. The deeper they are in, the better you'll be able to do.
9. 
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   Instruct them to follow only your voice. Count down from five to one. Tell them that when you reach “one,” they will only listen to the sound of your voice. Snap your fingers at “one” to focus them on your voice. Tell them to let your voice relax them even deeper. Then, instruct them to hear every word you say and only hear every word you say. Instruct them to follow only your words exactly, and no other sounds around them.
10. 
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    Test out their hypnotic state. Now that you have hypnotic control over the person, test out your ability by having the person touch their nose or their ear. Or, tell them to move their arms or legs on command.

    • Keep in mind that hypnotic control must be used responsibly and carefully. The person has put their trust in you, so do not abuse it by embarrassing them or hurting them while they are under hypnosis.
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Section 2 of 5:

Eye Exercises for Hypnosis

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1. 
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   Stare into a mirror for as long as possible without blinking. Look at yourself in a mirror and time how long you can maintain eye contact without blinking. You can also have a staring contest with someone else to test your ability. The purpose of this? Having full command over your eye movements will help you maintain steady eye contact with the other person during the hypnosis, which is necessary.
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   Practice your ability to focus with your eyes. Do this by looking at a close object, like a pen or pencil, and then a distant object in the room. Hold the pencil close to your face and focus on it. Then, move from focusing on the pencil to an object that is further away, like a picture on the wall or a doorknob. Return to focusing on the pencil. Then, focus on the distant object. Continue practicing this to improve your focus and flexibility.
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   Improve your peripheral awareness. This is your ability to see objects and movements on either side of you without having to turn your head. To improve this ability, sit on a city bench on a busy street. Or, sit in front of a TV or computer screen that is playing a busy scene. Try to look at the busy scene with your head turned to one side. Then, look at the scene with your head turned to the other side. Try to see as much of the scene as possible on either side.
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Section 3 of 5:

What is hypnosis?

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1. 
   1
   Hypnosis is a focused state where you’re more receptive to suggestion. Lyubchenko defines hypnosis as “a certain frequency of our brain,” explaining that “our brain vibrates in different frequencies.” In a hypnotic state, you are more aware of suggestions and more receptive to those suggestions. In Janelli’s words, hypnosis is “a state of deep relaxation with acute focus.” Remember: a person under hypnosis will not lose control or be under the hypnotist's spell. Instead, the person will be more open to suggestion and guidance.

   • Often, we are under some form of hypnosis or trance. Think of when you zoned out during class, or got lost in a daydream. Or, when you get so wrapped up in a movie or TV show, you lose your awareness of the people around you. These are all instances of being in a trance-like state.
   • Janelli adds, “If you can fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning, you've actually already gone through the hypnotic state twice.”
   • Lyubchenko states that “there is no special preparation” for hypnosis, since our minds and bodies are pretty used to this state. “It's just an induction process followed by hypnotic guidance,” she shares.
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   Hypnosis is a tool used for processing. Whether it be for processing feelings, ideas, events, memories, or anything else, hypnosis is a valuable method that allows the brain to sort through things that may be causing pain or stifling growth. According to Lyubchenko, hypnosis is a “wonderful tool which mainly helps the mind to reprocess or simply process certain things that haven't been processed before.”

   • Lyubchenko offers this visual: “It's like you have this huge, enormous storage [space]. And your whole life, you've been bringing in boxes.” Hypnosis helps you organize it all, including getting rid of “everything that's not needed anymore” for the purpose of growth.
   • She adds, “It's kind of like a huge cleanup process helping the mind to organize itself.”
   • Janelli says, “Hypnosis is a powerful tool for creating change. It allows individuals to bypass the critical, analytical part of the mind and access the subconscious — the place where beliefs, emotions, and behaviors are formed. By working directly with the subconscious, hypnosis helps release old habits, beliefs, and coping mechanisms that no longer serve you.”
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   Hypnosis is a trained skill like any other. There is currently no state regulation on hypnosis, but hypnotherapists can become certified in basic or advanced coursework in hypnosis and hypnotherapy. It’s a skill that can be learned via several courses from trusted, certified professionals. However, it’s important to note that it’s a self-regulating profession.

   • The certification course covers issues like professional ethics and basic hypnosis skills.
   • Janelli says, “Because the hypnotic state is a natural state of mind — the same one we pass through as we fall asleep or wake up — everyone has the ability to be hypnotized. However, entering hypnosis with a practitioner requires both willingness and desire from the client. You cannot be hypnotized against your will, and even in a deep trance, you remain fully aware and in control.”
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Section 4 of 5:

Benefits of Hypnosis

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1. 
   Hypnosis can help manage mental and physical health conditions. Hypnosis isn’t just a fun party trick or a way to get your best friend to do the chicken dance. It has real benefits, explains Lyubchenko. Hypnosis has been shown to help individuals overcome many mental health issues, such as depression, phobias, and anxiety. It can also improve symptoms of chronic health conditions like asthma, fibromyalgia, and migraines.

   • “Compared to other forms of therapy, hypnosis often requires fewer sessions and offers deeper access to the root of behavioral patterns,” Janelli says. “It can be highly effective for addressing anxiety, sleep challenges, relationship and work issues, fears and phobias, unwanted habits, and even for supporting manifestation and personal growth.”
   • “What makes hypnosis unique is the intentional use of carefully crafted hypnotic suggestions designed to help the subconscious release old patterns and adopt new ones,” Janelli continues. “Through guided visualization and suggestion, hypnosis supports the creation and strengthening of new neural pathways, allowing lasting behavioral and emotional change.”
   • Seek out a certified hypnotherapist for more information on the health benefits of hypnosis, says Lyubchenko.

Section 5 of 5:

Types of Hypnosis

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1. There are different schools of thoughts and implementation strategies. Janelli says popular schools of hypnosis include Ericksonian, Kappasian, Authoritarian, and Stage hypnosis (and there are many others that exist, as well). “It’s [also] important to distinguish between the subconscious state itself and the practice of delivering hypnotic suggestions,” Janelli notes. “The subconscious state is simply an open and receptive state of mind — one that allows access to deeper layers of belief, emotion, and behavior. This state can be reached through many modalities, including talk therapy, CBT, meditation, somatic work, and breathwork.”
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• There are several instructional hypnosis videos available online. Do your research and study the techniques of professional hypnotists to get better.
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