By Sarah Light, staff writer

Sit up straight. Put your feet flat on the floor with your palms straight up. And begin to lock into my voice.

After a couple deep breaths and continuing to lock into my voice, your thoughts will become as if they are a million miles away. Your entire body will become heavy.

So began the Steve Bayner Hypnotist Show Tuesday night at the Freeborn County Fair, as hypnotist Bayner gave instructions to a group of 13 people who volunteered to come on stage to take part in the demonstration.

At almost every show, he said, people ask him if he&8217;s going to make them do something stupid or odd. Or they ask him if &8212; somehow &8212; he&8217;s going to make them reveal a dark secret from their lives when they&8217;re hypnotized.

The truth, Bayner said, is that his show is meant to be entertaining, and the effects of hypnosis on each individual are based on concentration.

What some people may not know, he said, is that one hour of hypnosis is equal to four hours of sleep.

During the show, participants need to feel comfortable. People wearing flip-flops or hats can take those off. And any electronic devices can be deposited on the side of the stage to pick up later, he advised.

And then the concentration must begin.

After most of the participants appeared to go into a deep sleep, Bayner began to weed out the people who did not appear to be responding to the hypnosis or who were distracted by people in the audience.

Then, during the hypnosis he took the remaining participants to a movie theater &8212; first to a funny movie, where the people laughed hysterically, then to a sad movie, where the people started getting teary-eyed and then finally to a romantic movie, where the participants started to cuddle with their neighbors.

The people participating responded to certain words that Bayner identified or directions that he gave, resulting in entertaining responses for the audience.

Those in attendance appeared greatly entertained as they laughed throughout the entire show.

At the end of the show, one participant was even hypnotized into thinking he was Michael Jackson and went on the stage to perform for the audience.

&8220;It was funny,&8221; said 10-year-olds cousins Caitlin Galagan and Hope Landsman.

It was their first time attending a hypnosis show.

&8220;I thought it was really good,&8221; said Rhonda Landsman.&8221; &8220;I didn&8217;t realize so many people were so easily hypnotized.&8221;

Some participants responded so well to the hypnosis that some audience members questioned if they were part of the show.

One participant, Anita Fisher, who came down from Minneapolis to attend the event, said the key to hypnosis is focus and concentration.

She said she went to one of Bayner&8217;s shows 15 years ago, and he helped her stop biting her fingernails. So ever since then, she checks to see when he&8217;s going to be in the area, and then she makes an effort to go to his shows.

&8220;Somebody wanted to know if I was part of the show, but I&8217;m for real &8212; I&8217;m for real,&8221; she said.

Bayner began studying hypnotism when he was 20 because he found hypnosis to be fascinating, he said.

At the age of 22, the Steve Bayner Hypnotist Show was born, and now more than a decade later, he has performed before millions of people all over the country and abroad.

While he enjoys putting on entertaining, humorous shows with hypnotism, he also works privately with hundreds of people on a more serious nature for therapy purposes.

He has helped people experience the positive effects of hypnosis through tapes he has made on subjects such as losing weight and learning to stop smoking.

For more information on the Steve Bayner Hypnotist Show, visit www.stevebayner.com.

Steve Bayner Hypnotist Show

When: 5 and 8 p.m. daily

Where: Fairlane Building

Cost: Free upon admission to the Freeborn County Fair

Information: www.steve bayner.com