Hypnotist Sailesh innduces slumber to unsuspecting NIC students in the Sub. (Gabe Green)
World-renowned hypnotist Sailesh had a full room of students in stitches during his show Thursday in the SUB.
Sailesh’s show was based on audience participation, music, hypnosis and improvisation to create an unforgettable performance.
Students scurried to the stage as Sailesh invited volunteers to fill 15 empty chairs in the front of the room. Accompanied by ambient music, Sailesh’s deep voice commanded participants to close their eyes, feel the energy in their bodies escape, and go into a state of deep relaxation.
Once in this state, Sailesh used the power of suggestion to tell participants the room was getting colder, and that they needed to cuddle with one another to receive warmth. Armed with his “sleep gun” Sailesh had students breathe into their shoes for oxygen on the first manned mission to Mars, believe a belt was a snake and writhe in terror at its sight, devise embarrassing lies about one of their friends in the audience, and switch genders as they described the attributes of their ideal date.
“Making my audience laugh is one of the most rewarding aspects of what I do. I love it” said Sailesh.
Psychology Major Jenn Johnson started as an audience member, but was later brought to the stage by Sailesh.
“Even though I knew what was going on, I was in a daze and didn’t really realize until the very end that I was being hypnotized,” said Johnson.
Science major Samantha Jernstrom was also one of the participants on stage.
“I had never been to a hypnotist, but I decided I was going to try it,” Jernstrom said. “I remember what I did, but I wasn’t thinking about my actions at the time, I was so relaxed. I loved it, I feel incredible right now!”
You're getting sleepy. Amber Meyers, 18, Ashlen Ayres, 18, Mariah Zaback, 17, and Shelby Carter, 18, collapse under hypnosis. (Ethan Schlussler)
So how does hypnotism work? Sailesh defines hypnosis as a sleeplike condition that can be artificially induced in people, in which they can respond to questions and are very susceptible to suggestions. He also said that the average person goes into a state of hypnosis about 60 times a day while the average college student goes into a state of self-hypnosis over 100 times a day. Usually these states occur while doing routine or menial tasks such as driving or making a phone call.
Sailesh said the difference between the routine self-hypnotic states and professional hypnotism is that the participant gives a hypnotist the “power of suggestion,” which gives him powerful influence to “suggest” that the participant obey his commands.
And obey they did. Sailesh had the whole room laughing when he made participants on stage turn into confident dancers. He had everyone on stage river dance, slow dance with the same sex, and had the guys on stage do a ballet and lap dance routine for a girl they chose in the audience.
“My favorite part of the show was watching the guys give the girls dances. In my mind at the time I thought ‘Wow, they are so elegant. But now thinking back, they weren’t at all!’” Johnson said as she recollected her experience watching the show while hypnotized.
While Sailesh’s shows are heavily comical, that is not the only aspect of his work. He ended the show by giving the participants a free CD and a post hypnotic suggestion.
“Every time you look in the mirror, you will love what you see more and more,” said Sailesh. “You will have more confidence, self-respect, and will feel better about yourself.”
Dubbed by MTV Europe as the “Best Hypnotist on the Planet,” Sailesh has performed all over the world and alongside performers Lil’ Wayne, Bruno Mars, Wiz Khalifa, and Motley Crue. He was also nominated for “Entertainer of the Year”, and “Best Live Novelty Act” for 2011 by Campus Activities Magazine. With 16 years of experience and performances in 19 different countries, Sailesh is widely known for his ability to both hypnotize and entertain a crowd.
To find out more about Sailesh, visit www.sailesh.ca.
