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I first encountered this induction in Anthony Jacquin's excellent, Reality is plastic. I later found it in Training Trances and it remains one of the most effective inductions I have come across. Like my other favourites - My Friend John, Fractionation and The Fake Induction - it is excellent for resistant clients. This is for the simple reason that it leads them into trance before you've even officially begun!
The Rehearsal Induction creates catelepsy in the clients arms as you repeatedly go through the steps that you will be using. It's name comes from the fact that you rehearse the induction as many times as needed, with them falling into trance during the rehearsal.
It is important to be pacing and leading the client's experience as you rehearse. Pick up on what is happening to them and mention any aspects of their behaviour that would support trance formation. Do this, increasingly, with each rehearsal.
Their arm will probably lift on its own by the third or fourth rehearsal, as you are reaching over for it. At that point, just give a small amount of encouragement, using your thumb on the underside of their wrist.
Most of the time, the arm will remain suspended when it stops. However, you could just slowly release all of your fingers, leaving just your index finger touching the back of their wrist. This gives the impression that the hand is still being held. This also gives you the opportunity for added ambiguous touches, if their arm is not yet completely cataleptic.
The best advice I can give is to watch Anthony's video below... and rehearse!
This induction is based on that outlined in John Overdurf and Julie Silverthorn's Training Trances.
The Rehearsal Induction links raising the subject's arm with going into hypnosis. The hypnotist raises their arm, makes some suggestions and places it back down. This process is repeated a couple of times, with more steps (and extra pacing/leading) added, apparently just to demonstrate how the hypnotist will later lead them into trance. However, it is during the actual process of rehearsals that the client slips into trance.
If you're new to this induction, I can confidently predict that you will soon count it among your favourites.
Before you go into trance, I'll just demonstrate how this is going to happen. Okay?
"Yes."
All I'm going to do is reach over and gently take your wrist and I'm going to lift up your arm and at a certain point it will stop all by itself. And that would be the point at which you go into trance.
...Then I'll move it down and you eyes would open and you would come out of it...
So, it would be like this... I'd reach over and pick up your hand like this [take by wrist]. And I don't want you to go into trance just yet, becauase I want to explain this to you...
...because this will be something that will assist you later in going into trance.
All you're going to notice is that I'm going to pick up your wrist like this [slowyl lifts wrist, so hand is in the air and elbow is bent at 90 degrees]
and
[speaking more softly, but still conversationally]
I'm going to talk to you in a certain way, and as that hand reaches a certain point, you'll notice a number of things happening that will let you know you're going into trance...
...and then to have you come back out of trance, we'll move the hand back down like that... [move hand back down]
Good.
So, if now was the time for you to go into trance, all I would do is reach over like this and I would pick up your arm like that, and I would stop at a point when you would go into trance. You probably notice then that your eyes would close, your breathing would shift and you would go even deeper.
And then, to have you come back out... then you would just bring this hand down like this.
If now's the time to do it, I just want you to get the feeling for this, all I would do is reach over like this, I would pick up your arm... and stop at the point... when you would go inside, notice then that your eyes would close at a certain point. Then I would move it back down again. Okay.
So, what I'm doing is adding a few steps there. Now, if we were going to actually do it again, all I would do is reach over and I would lift that arm up like that, and when that arms stops by itself... that's right... [arm remains suspended without assistance]...
..you noticed the tendency ...for your eyes to close, and you would go deep into a trance, and once you go into trance, all that we would do to have you come back out would be that I would push that arm back down like that.
So that the next time when I reach over, like this
[client anticipates and begins to lift arm herself] ... that's right...and as that arms lifts, like that, as your eyes close,
...and it would stop by itself... [arm stays suspended]... and you would know what to do...all the way in...that's right...that's right...and your unconscious mind can follow perfectly the suggestions with your conscious mind paying attention, going anywhere it wishes. .
...Now the question is how deeply into trance can you go?...
...As each breath that you take...that's right...and every word that I say takes you deeper and deeper.
All the sounds that you hear, the everyday surroundings, serve to focus you and enable you to continue going deep and deeper into trance.
...That's it... All the way in.
[Proceed to Deepener, if required]