Guided Imagery

Guided Imagery

Whether you call it Imagery, Visualization, Meditation, Guided Meditation, Guided Visualization or Guided Imagery, it all
comes down to the fact that it can have tremendous positve results on your body, mind, spirit and soul.

Even though the primary purpose of meditation may be to reach a deep meditative state and clear your mind for a few minutes,
to achieve peace and tranquility, there are many physical and mental benefits of regular meditation. People who meditate
regularly are usually more attentive, aware, happy, and calm, and they sleep better at night.

In addition to the immeasurable benefits afforded by regular meditation, there are documented medical studies showing that
the deep rest induced by meditation can improve your life in measurable ways:

Lowers metabolic rate and heart rate, and reduces workload on the heart
Lowers levels of cortisol and lactate in the body—two chemicals associated with stress
Lowers high blood pressure and high cholesterol
Lowers blood levels of free radicals—unstable oxygen molecules that cause tissue damage
Decreases anxiety, depression, and irritability
Slows the aging process
Improves the flow of air to the lungs, resulting in easier breathing
Improves creativity, learning ability, and memory
Increases self-actualization, feelings of vitality, and rejuvenation
Increases happiness and emotional stability.

Guided meditation is a technique in which a voice is used to guide the process of achieving a deeply relaxed state. The voice can
be your own, or someone else’s. Some people find that it is easier to relax and ease tension if they are guided by another voice.
The voice should be soothing, slow-paced, and use simple, pleasant words and ideas.

Practicing any kind of meditation regularly is helpful for continuing to go deeper and deeper into a meditative state. Many
people believe that meditation allows them to experience mystical and paranormal experiences that inspire and transform their
lives. Opinions differ as to whether or not meditation can cause a person to enter an altered state of consciousness and harness
the abilities of a "sixth sense," as some guided meditation programs claim. But whether or not such ethereal enlightenment is
possible, the benefits of guided meditation are profound.

Advocates of imagery contend that the imagination is a potent healer that has long been overlooked by practitioners of
Western medicine. Imagery can relieve pain, speed healing and help the body subdue hundreds of ailments, including depression,
impotence, allergies and asthma.
The power of the mind to influence the body is quite remarkable. Although it isn't always curative, imagery can be helpful in
90 percent of the problems that people bring to the attention of their primary care physicians.

Imagery is the most fundamental language we have. Everything you do the mind processes through images. When we recall events
from our past or childhood, we think of pictures, images, sounds, pain, etc.

Images aren't necessarily limited to visual but can be sounds, tastes, smells or a combination of sensations. A certain smell, for
example, may invoke either pleasant or bad memories in you. Similarly, going to a place where you had a bad accident may
instantly invoke visions of the accident and initiate flight or fight response.

Think, for example, of holding a fresh, juicy lemon in your hand. Perhaps you can feel its texture or see the vividness of its
yellow skin. As you slice it open, you see the juice squirt out of it. The lemon's tart aroma is overwhelming. Finally, you stick it
in your mouth, suck on it and taste the sour flavor as the juices roll over your tongue.
More than likely, your body reacted in some way to that image. For example, you may have begun to salivate.

Unfortunately, many of the images popping into our heads do more harm than good. In fact, the most common type of imagery is
worry. Because when we worry, what we worry about exists only in our imaginations.

It is estimated that an average person has 10,000 thoughts or images flashing through his mind each day. At least half of those
thoughts are negative, such as anxiety of meeting a quota, a coming speech, job related anxiety, etc. Unharnessed, a steady dose
of worry and other negative images can alter your physiology and make you more susceptible to a variety of ailments, ranging
from acne to arthritis, headaches to heart disease, ulcers to urinary tract infections.

Your thoughts have a direct influence on the way you feel and behave. If you tend to dwell on sad or negative thoughts, you
most likely are not a very happy person. Likewise, if you think that your job is enough to give you a headache, you probably will
come home with throbbing temples each day. This is just another clear example of the power the mind exerts over the body.

But if you can learn to direct and control the images in your head, you can help your body heal itself. Our imagination is like a
spirited, powerful horse. If it's untamed, it can be dangerous and run you over. But if you learn to use your imagination in a
way that is purposeful and directed, it can be a tremendously powerful vehicle to get you where you want to go, including to
better health.

Your imagination can be a powerful tool to help you combat stress, tension, and anxiety. You can use visualization to harness the
energy of your imagination, and it does not take long-probably just a few weeks-to master the technique. Try to visualize two
or three times a day. Most people find it easiest to do in bed in the morning and at night before falling asleep, though with
practice you'll be able to visualize whenever and wherever the need arises.
Imagery has been considered a healing tool in virtually all of the world's cultures and is an integral part of many religions.
Navajo Indians, for example, practice an elaborate form of imagery that encourages a person to "see" himself as healthy.
Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, including Aristotle and Hippocrates believed that images release spirits in the brain that arouse
the heart and other parts of the body. They also thought that a strong image of a disease is enough to cause its symptoms.

Imagery has been found to be very effective for the treatment of stress. Imagery is at the center of relaxation techniques
designed to release brain chemicals that act as your body's natural brain tranquilizers, lowering blood pressure, heart rate,
and anxiety levels. By and large, researchers find that these techniques work. Because imagery relaxes the body, doctors
specializing in imagery often recommend it for stress-related conditions such as headaches, chronic pain in the neck and back,
high blood pressure, spastic colon, and cramping from premenstrual syndrome.

Visualization and other relaxation methods may produce significant benefits, often by helping to ease pain and lift depression.
Research is continuing to determine whether even more spectacular results can be achieved.

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