RELATED SEARCHES
Sponsored Guided Imagery Results:
Guided Imagery
By:
Published: October 12, 2006
Close your eyes. Take a deep breath and hold it for a second. Slowly exhale through your nose. Imagine palm trees swaying in the distance as you feel the soft breeze on your cheeks and the warm sun in your hair. Breathe in the fresh, warm air in as you look out past the sand on the beach into the azure water beyond.
A white bird soars down the waterline, swooping low as you let you breathe out of your nose again. Your breath blends seamlessly with the whooshing sound of the ocean’s waves.
Feel more relaxed, yet?
Close your eyes, again. Picture yourself on a long winding path. You are looking down on the path, watching yourself walk. Take a deep breath in, and then let it out as you begin running on the path. When you come to a mountain, you begin climbing. You reach up with one hand, grip the ledge and feel the muscles in your arm tighten as you pull your body upwards. Your legs push you up one at a time and you continue climbing, the sound of scraping stone and dirt accompanies each move. Sweat is dripping down your forehead, into your eyes. You wipe it from your brow as you take a deep breath in, then let it out and begin climbing again. You stretch to reach for the highest ledge and struggle, but finally pull yourself onto the top of the peak where you see the sun rising out on the horizon and feel the cooling breeze. You take a deep breath in and let it out, as you lay exhausted on the hard rock ledge.
Feel empowered?
These are just two examples of using guided imagery to focus your mind and produce a certain feeling. Guided imagery can help you meditate more effectively. This is especially true with people who respond strongly to visual cues.
Guided imagery is simply listening to a voice guiding you through a mental scenario, imagery or meditation. Often performed with your eyes closed (so you can visualize better as you are guided), this voice can be recorded or from a live instructor. Because “thought” is powerful, when done correctly, guided imagery can have noticeable effects on your mood, thought pattern, stress level and even your body’s heart rate, brain-chemical balance and blood pressure.
Advanced meditators may be able to take themselves silently through a guided imagery course, but this takes lots of practice and a preplanned “visual path” to guide your thoughts. Beginners may have trouble with this because the external, guided aspect of the practice frees your brain of having to decide what to think of next. Being at the mercy of a voice telling your mind where to go often helps you concentrate solely on those thoughts without distractions or divergences.
Guided imagery can be done anywhere at any time you are able to close your eyes and concentrate. Effective in many different situations, guided imagery can even be used during a workout to help accomplish goals or make an indoor ride or run more pleasant. For example, some spinning classes used guided imagery when they tell you to pedal against tough resistance as you picture yourself climbing to the top of a hill.
Whatever the preferred use, in order to decide what type of guided imagery you want, you must first determine the goal of the imagery. Is it to gain confidence? If so, you will want a guided imagery course allowing you to accomplish something substantial or standing up to someone. Is it to overcome a fear? Then, you will want to visualize some interaction with this fear and how to resolve it. Is it to relax? You will want a calming visualization. Is it to let go of anger of other negative feelings? In this instance, you will want some type of guided imagery including a release or forgiveness scenario.
Any alteration of moods or thought patterns can usually be addressed with an appropriate guided imagery course in which the problem or issue is visually manifested and physically addressed in the visualization, which helps mentally address the feelings attached to it. Also any desired feeling (like relaxation, love, etc.) can usually be tapped into, by calling upon the appropriate visual experience of something that would produce those feelings if you really experienced it.
Guided imagery is all about translating emotions into visualization, lending tangible reality to your state of mind. It can allow you to visualize an intangible experience, preparing you for the coming “real” experience.
Feel more relaxed, yet?
Close your eyes, again. Picture yourself on a long winding path. You are looking down on the path, watching yourself walk. Take a deep breath in, and then let it out as you begin running on the path. When you come to a mountain, you begin climbing. You reach up with one hand, grip the ledge and feel the muscles in your arm tighten as you pull your body upwards. Your legs push you up one at a time and you continue climbing, the sound of scraping stone and dirt accompanies each move. Sweat is dripping down your forehead, into your eyes. You wipe it from your brow as you take a deep breath in, then let it out and begin climbing again. You stretch to reach for the highest ledge and struggle, but finally pull yourself onto the top of the peak where you see the sun rising out on the horizon and feel the cooling breeze. You take a deep breath in and let it out, as you lay exhausted on the hard rock ledge.
Feel empowered?
These are just two examples of using guided imagery to focus your mind and produce a certain feeling. Guided imagery can help you meditate more effectively. This is especially true with people who respond strongly to visual cues.
Guided imagery is simply listening to a voice guiding you through a mental scenario, imagery or meditation. Often performed with your eyes closed (so you can visualize better as you are guided), this voice can be recorded or from a live instructor. Because “thought” is powerful, when done correctly, guided imagery can have noticeable effects on your mood, thought pattern, stress level and even your body’s heart rate, brain-chemical balance and blood pressure.
Advanced meditators may be able to take themselves silently through a guided imagery course, but this takes lots of practice and a preplanned “visual path” to guide your thoughts. Beginners may have trouble with this because the external, guided aspect of the practice frees your brain of having to decide what to think of next. Being at the mercy of a voice telling your mind where to go often helps you concentrate solely on those thoughts without distractions or divergences.
Guided imagery can be done anywhere at any time you are able to close your eyes and concentrate. Effective in many different situations, guided imagery can even be used during a workout to help accomplish goals or make an indoor ride or run more pleasant. For example, some spinning classes used guided imagery when they tell you to pedal against tough resistance as you picture yourself climbing to the top of a hill.
Whatever the preferred use, in order to decide what type of guided imagery you want, you must first determine the goal of the imagery. Is it to gain confidence? If so, you will want a guided imagery course allowing you to accomplish something substantial or standing up to someone. Is it to overcome a fear? Then, you will want to visualize some interaction with this fear and how to resolve it. Is it to relax? You will want a calming visualization. Is it to let go of anger of other negative feelings? In this instance, you will want some type of guided imagery including a release or forgiveness scenario.
Any alteration of moods or thought patterns can usually be addressed with an appropriate guided imagery course in which the problem or issue is visually manifested and physically addressed in the visualization, which helps mentally address the feelings attached to it. Also any desired feeling (like relaxation, love, etc.) can usually be tapped into, by calling upon the appropriate visual experience of something that would produce those feelings if you really experienced it.
Guided imagery is all about translating emotions into visualization, lending tangible reality to your state of mind. It can allow you to visualize an intangible experience, preparing you for the coming “real” experience.
Featured Guided Imagery Products:
