What is Guided Imagery Relaxation Techniques?
Guided Imagery Relaxation Techniques is very effective in joining mind and body at harmony. A guided image is a positive scenario we manifest with all of our senses to communicate favorable change in the body and mind.
Sometimes all of our senses come together in our guided image and we feel them together very strongly. Sometimes it is just one sense, or two working together.
The fact that guided imagery is so much more than just visualizing is what makes it so successful. Since only 55% of the population is ‘visual’, it is a good think that guided imagery is so much more than just using the visual sense. It involves all of our senses, as well as our emotions and our whole bodies in most cases. This cohesive fusion is what gives this healing art such a powerful bearing.
Every one of us is familiar with mental images. Our brains formed them long before we learned what it meant to communicate with others.
In addition, it is these mental images that we have been forming since our first days as babies and it is where our beliefs and feelings lie. They strongly affect and motivate our fears, state of wellness in both mind and body and how we feel about taking care of ourselves.
Through the directions and suggestions of an instructor, recording or written script, guided imagery uses your imagination to lead us toward a state of focus and repose.
Whichever ‘guide’ you choose, it is important to remember that its role is to facilitate the process of conjuring up mental images, and how to utilize them once they have been achieved.
Guided Imagery Relaxation Techniques
Just as there several methods of how you can be guided, there are several guided imagery relaxation techniques which can be used to conjure up certain images in your subconscious to help you get in touch with certain parts of your conscious mind.
These techniques include:
- Visualization
- Direct image suggestion
- Metaphor
- Story-telling
- Fantasy exploration
- Game playing
- Dream interpretation
- Drawing
- Active imagination
Since healing rituals all focus on manipulating our mental images for a peaceful, curative state, then it can be said that guided imagery is one of the first and most universally known forms of healing.
There are studies that have been carried out that indicate how imagery can have the ability to stimulate the nervous and immune systems and enhance endocrine responses to speed up the healing process.
The basis of this ancient art of healing lies in the fact that your mind and body are inter-connected intertwined. Whether you realize it or not, your body responds to your thoughts and acts upon them as though they were real.
These images can be a source of vital information about a certain problem, physical or mental. It can also be a reflection of how one believes about his or her own expectations, fears, solutions to the problem and resources on how to solve the problem. It is self-efficacy and self-empowerment working simultaneously.
The best part about guided imagery is that it looks at the person as a whole and not just one problem he may be enduring. This gives you a sense of liberation and authorization so that you can solve any problem from that point on. Guided Imagery has been shown to promote relaxation, improve sleep, lower blood pressure, cope with anxiety, and decrease stress levels.
Reaching a point of self-awareness, you have the power to encourage healing while making the necessary lifestyle changes that inspire and maintain healing.
