Autohypnosis: A Step-by-Step Guide to Self-Hypnosis

Attitudes you should adopt:

1. You must be motivated. You must want to be hypnotized, (either by means of someone else or by yourself), and you must want to succeed at it. Beginning the endeavor half-heartedly is not a ticket to success you must want to succeed and believe that you will succeed.
2. You must be involved in the process. Hypnosis is not, as many believe, a passive act. It requires your full involvement in positive participation. In other words, you must apply yourself, direct your attention and concentrate on the process.
3. You must direct your will to cooperate and not to go against the hypnotic process. This is not the same as wanting something to happen. You may want something that happened, but apply your will negatively, so that it is difficult or impossible for it to happen.
4. You must approach hypnosis with an uncritical acceptance, at least during the practical sessions. Only by doing this you will allow suggestions to pass from your left brain into your right brain.

Induction procedures:

1. Take a coin in a clasp it in your hand fairly tightly. Now stretch out your arm holding up your thumb and stare at the thumbnail. As you stare at the nail, repeat to yourself the following:
1. I am now relaxing and, as I relax, my fingers are becoming looser and looser. And the more loose they become, the more relaxed I am becoming. And when the coin drops, that will be the signal for me to close my eyes and fall into a very deep relax sleep, not a natural sleep but a hypnotic sleep. (pause) And now my grip is becoming lighter and lighter and I am relaxing more and more, and soon, very soon, I shall drop the coin. And when I drop the coin I shall also drop my arm, and when I do that I will close my eyes and fall into a pleasant deep sleep. Yes, I am becoming more relaxed and my fingers are becoming more and more loose.
2. [Keep repeating until the coin drops and you close your eyes. Then begin again.]
3. My feet are very relaxed; my left is very relaxed. My left ankle is relaxed and as my left foot relaxes, so I am going into a deeper and deeper sleep. And now my left calf muscle is becoming very relaxed, very relaxed indeed. And the relaxation is spreading up my left leg into my left thigh. And now the whole of my left leg is becoming very relaxed and, as I relax more and more, so I am going into a deeper and deeper sleep. Not a natural sleep, but into a deep hypnotic sleep.
4. [Now do the same with the right leg.]
5. And now the relaxation is spreading up my body. My pelvis is very relaxed and, as I realize more and more, so I am going into a deeper and deeper sleep (pause). The muscles of my stomach are now relaxing. I am feeling very warm and comfortable and relaxed, and the more I relax so the deeper asleep I will go (pause). And now my chest muscles are relaxing, very, very relaxed. All my body is very relaxed, and, as I relax more and more, so I am going down and down into a deeper and deeper sleep, into a very relaxed deep sleep (pause). 
6. My shoulder muscles are relaxing now. Very, very relaxed, just as all the other muscles have relaxed and are going to continue the relax. And so my shoulder muscles are relaxing and I am going down still deeper, that's down and down into a much deeper sleep (pause). 
7. And now the muscles of my left are relaxing. They are becoming very limp and relaxed. All the muscles in my left arm are becoming very limp and relaxed. And now my left hand is also becoming very relaxed, just like the remainder of my body. And as I relax still further, so I am going into a much deeper sleep, not a natural sleep but a hypnotic sleep (pause).
8. [ Do the same for the right arm and right hand.]
9. Now the muscles of my neck are relaxing. Yes, they are becoming very relaxed indeed. All tension is going from my neck and the muscles are becoming very limp and relaxed. And, as the muscles of my neck relax, so I am sinking down into an even deeper and deeper sleep. The muscles of the back of my neck are becoming very relaxed indeed. And, as I relax, so I am sinking down into an even deeper sleep.
10. And now the muscles of my face, my ears and around my eyes are relaxing. The muscles of my brow are relaxing. Yes, all the muscles of my face and head are becoming very relaxed, just like the rest of my body. And I am sinking into an ever deeper sleep (pause).
11. [If you do not feel entirely relaxed by this stage, either concentrate on those parts where you believe tension still exists, or repeat the whole process from feet to head.]

Some notes on the induction process:

1. If your eyes should begin to blink, don't worry. The best procedure if this happens is to incorporate it into the induction process - such as, "As I blink, so I am becoming more and more relaxed and my eyelids will become heavier still, heavier and heavier with every blink."
2. If the eyes closed earlier, simply go on to the instructions referring to the feet (instruction c). 
3. Where are the muscles of your neck relax, your head may fall into one side or forward, if it has not already done so. This is especially true if you are sitting in a chair. Don't worry, just let it happen. If, however, this causes strain in the neck muscles, then put your head upright again--although it will repeatedly fall to one side. If this becomes troublesome, then this is a good sign to undertake the session in a lying position.
4. The muscles of the back of the neck are very important and the more they can be relaxed by suggestion, the more relaxed you will feel overall.
5. By now you should feel the muscles of your face relaxed. Your mouth may open as your jaw relaxes. Again, just let things happen. Paid no attention to them.
6. At the termination of all this relaxation, you want somewhere to "rest your mind." Place your attention at the center of your forehead, between your eyes -- the location of the third eye. You will find that the mind is quite happy to remain there without any effort on your part.

Some pointers in giving suggestions:

1. Suggestions should be simple and direct, in fact the simpler, the better.
2. Another consideration is not to try too hard.
3. Associating suggestions is always a good idea.

Deepening procedures:

1. Heaviness in the arms.
1. My arms are becoming very, very heavy and, as they become very heavy, so I am sinking down into a deeper and deeper sleep. Yes, my arms are now becoming heavier and heavier, as heavy as lead, yes heavier than they have even been before. And the heavier they become, the deeper sleep I will become....
2. [Keep up the suggestions until you get a positive response.]
3. And now my arms are becoming relaxed once again, all the heaviness is now going out of my arms and they are returning to the relaxed state they were in before.
2. Sticking of the eyelids.
1. My eyelids are becoming very heavy, so heavy that I cannot open them. The harder I try to open them, the heavier they will become and it will be impossible to open them. My eyelids are so very very heavy that I cannot open them. The more I try to open them, the heavier they will become, they will be so very, very heavy that I will not be able to open them. They will be so heavy that it will feel as if my eyelids are stuck together, stuck tightly together, so tightly that I cannot possibly open them.
2. [Repeat if necessary. Now try to open them--not while repeating the above suggestions. After some attempt, and getting a feel for the reaction to the suggestions, continue as follows.]
3. Now, relax, relax the eyelids, just relax. I am now relaxed and I can open my eyes at any time I wish. At the moment I don't want to, but I can open them from now on, if I want to, with no difficulty at all.

Termination instruction:
I am now going to count down from ten to one. I am now going to count down from from ten to one, and with each number I count, my sleep will become lighter and lighter, and when I read the number one, I shall be wide awake, yes when I reach the number one, I shall be wide awke. And when I awaken I shall feel very relaxed very fresh and very alert. Yes, when I awaken I shall feel very relaxed, very fresh and very alert. Ten, nine, lighter and lighter, eight, lighter still...very light, one. Awaken.

Source: Autohypnosis: A Step-by-Step Guide to Self-Hypnosis (1982) by Ronald Shone.