HypnoWaving®: a quick hypnosis technique for short sessions
Not every piece of change work needs a full session. Sometimes a client arrives with one pressing fear, one stubborn feeling or one stressful memory, and what helps most is a simple, focused intervention. HypnoWaving® was developed for exactly these moments. It is a technique that is easy to learn, easy to use and, as its creator likes to say, fun. This article tells how it came about, how it works and where it fits into your practice.
How HypnoWaving® began
Hansruedi Wipf, president of OMNI Hypnosis International, calls himself an absolute fan of hypnosis and regression. In 2008, when he held his first OMNI training, one of the participants was a man named Lorenz Bigler. Bigler showed him a “waving technique” that fascinated him. It was, in Hansruedi Wipf’s words, “quick & dirty.”
For several years, nothing came of it. His focus stayed entirely on hypnosis and regression. Then he found time for his own development again. He contacted Lorenz Bigler with two questions: would Bigler teach him this waving in front of the face, and would it be all right to teach it in the USA?
Bigler agreed. Soon Hansruedi Wipf was sitting in Bigler’s house in Huttwil, in the Swiss canton of Bern, taking private lessons. In six fun and exciting hours, he learned the technique. He took notes, and in his mind he was already combining it with hypnosis. He even had a name for it: HypnoWaving®.
A sleepless night before Boston
There was one detail that made the timing tight. The next day, Hansruedi Wipf was flying to Boston for the convention of the National Guild of Hypnotists. He was already registered there as a speaker to teach the new method. As he put it, this “was either going to be a total fiasco or a complete success.”
After one sleepless night, the English presentation was ready. At 9 a.m., 90 people were waiting for him. The next day, a three-hour training with 30 participants followed. Nobody noticed that everything was brand new, and every live demonstration on stage went well. Participants from that first training still tell him about their results with the technique today.
How was that possible? Because the method is simple.
What is HypnoWaving®?
In a HypnoWaving® session, the practitioner moves their fingers back and forth horizontally, about 20 cm (8 inches) in front of the client’s face at eye level. The client follows the movement with their eyes. The technical term for this is bilateral hemispheric stimulation.
The technique can be used in hypnosis or without it. Hansruedi Wipf likes to call it the EMDR for hypnotherapists. EMDR is a separate therapy method that also uses eye movements. HypnoWaving® is not EMDR, but the comparison helps you picture how it looks.
A short hypnosis session with a clear focus
What makes the technique stand out is its speed and focus. In Hansruedi Wipf’s experience, it can take the charge out of anxiety, pain or other stress in a short time. It takes a lot for him to get truly enthusiastic about a method, he says, and this one did just that.
In practice, that makes it a natural fit for a short hypnosis session: a client with a clearly defined issue, a situation where time is limited, or a moment in a longer session where one strong feeling blocks the way.
More ways to use it
Over time, OMNI has found further uses for the technique. HypnoWaving® can serve as a convincer, helping people experience how hypnosis feels and making it easier for them to let go. It can also make it easier to find emotions that have been pushed aside, which is useful in cause-oriented work.
It has a place in sports, too. The handball players of Pfadi Winterthur, a club in the top Swiss league, were regularly prepared for important games as a team with HypnoSport® combined with HypnoWaving® techniques. You can read more about the mental side of sport in our article on sports hypnosis.
Why a quick hypnosis technique still needs a trained hand
Simple does not mean casual. This is a tool for people who know how to work with clients: how to hold a conversation, how to recognize what is going on and how to keep the process safe. The technique is fast, but the judgment around it comes from training.
There are clear limits, too. HypnoWaving® is not a medical treatment. If pain or anxiety has a physical or medical cause, it belongs with a doctor first, and HypnoWaving® can only complement that care. The same holds for serious mental health conditions, where it does not replace psychotherapy or psychiatric treatment.
Used within those limits, it is exactly what Hansruedi Wipf describes: “HypnoWaving® is a shortcut to your goal and the technique is simply fun.”
Where you can learn HypnoWaving®
Hansruedi Wipf and Lorenz Bigler teach the method together in Switzerland and Germany. They enjoy being on stage together and teaching the full range of the tool, each in his own style and pace. Participants learn everything in a single intensive day and can use the technique right after the training.
In the USA, Hansruedi Wipf teaches it himself. In 2026, for example, the National Guild of Hypnotists selected it as a one-day course after its convention in Marlborough, Massachusetts. You can read about it in our announcement of HypnoWaving® USA 2026.
Because HypnoWaving® builds on solid hypnosis skills, a sound training in hypnosis is the place to start. That is where you learn the conversations, inductions and cause-oriented work that make a short technique safe and effective.
Your next step: see the OMNI training paths and find out which way into hypnosis suits you, online, hybrid or live in the USA.
