Guided Imagery Meditation
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Guide imagery is the use of the mind to arrive at a relaxed state and to create mental visualization in order to promote excellent physical and mental health. Guided imagery can be done alone or it can be done through the direction of another person like a therapist. The person can go to therapist sessions or he can just choose a quiet space where he can be able to concentrate with the process.
Guided imagery has two phases. First, the person must be in a deep relaxed state of mind. Through proper breathing and muscle relaxation the person needs to reach this state before the actual imagery. The person would have to close his or her eyes and concentrate on a slow in and out breathing until deep relaxation is achieved. It might also be done through releasing of muscle tension starting from the toes to the whole body including the head. For this purpose there are a lot of relaxation tapes, CDs and DVDs which would usually contain soft music. Some may contain natural sounds such as chirping birds or rolling waves.
On the other hand, the second phase is the imagery or the visualization itself. For this there are many different types.
One is the relaxation imagery wherein pleasant and rather happy situations are imagined in order to keep the body and mind relaxed. These situations may have happened to the person already or they may be purely fictional.
Healing imagery is also done especially when a person has just undergone surgery or has any wound or trauma. In this imagery, patients are made to imagine themselves happy and free from any symptom or ailments. There’s also one version of this borrowed from Chinese tradition. In this version, the patient is made to think and imagine that energy is flowing within the whole body.
Pain control imagery is one way of controlling and reducing pain in patients. He may imagine that he is in pain and transform that image into one in which there is less pain or no pain at all. At times, a patient would imagine that he can control his pain. Like in the case of back pains, the patient would imagine his pain as a high voltage current. And so he would imagine turning the electric current off too, thereby eliminating pain.
To reduce anxiety over an upcoming event such as a surgery or perhaps delivery of a baby, the person that will be undergoing such situation is made to imagine the actual occurrence of the event and the patient coming out of it successful too.
Again, what’s important in doing this process is that the person stays in quiet place where it is relaxing as well. He should stay at a place where he can be comfortable too. If the person wants to do guided imagery alone, he can do so through the use tapes, CDs and DVDs. Some would also play soft and soothing music to create a relaxing mood. The person may also do it with the help of a counselor too.
Health care providers practice guided imagery. And studies and researches actually have proven this method to be effective specially in reducing pain among surgery patients. And aside from feeling sleepiness during sessions, there are virtually no side effects. What’s good about this is that this method is not prohibitive to people of less stature so anyone can actually take advantage of it.
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