A Comparative Study on Altered States of Consciousness in Clinical Hypnosis and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra

The altered states of consciousness (ASC) in yoga and hypnosis are associated with similar phenomena like relaxation, disinclination to talk, unreality, misrepresentation, alterations in perception, increased concentration, suspension of normal reality testing, and the temporary nature of the phenomena. While some researchers consider yoga to be a form of hypnosis, others note that that there are many similarities between the ASC in yoga and the hypnotic trance. The present study aimed to find similarities between the ASC of hypnosis and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The ASC were compared on the understanding of the ASC, the phenomena of the ASC, and the therapeutic techniques and benefits of both. An understanding of the concept of ASC in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras was gained through a thematic analysis of the book Four Chapters on Freedom by Swami Satyananda Saraswati. The obtained concepts were compared to the concepts of ASC in hypnosis (obtained through the literature on hypnosis) to investigate whether or not there exist similarities. The findings of the study show that there are similarities between the ASC in hypnosis and the ASC in Patajali’s yoga sutras in the induction and deepening of the ASC in hypnosis 1 Shitika Chowdhary, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Christ University, Bangalore. 2 Jini K Gopinath, Director and Chief Consulatnt at Clinical Psychologist, Mind Matters, Bangalore Consciousness in Clinical Hypnosis and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 263 and that of Samadhi, the phenomena present in hypnosis and the kinds of siddhis that are obtained through Samadhi, and the therapeutic techniques and the therapeutic process in Patanjali’s yoga sutra and hypnosis.