The
purpose of visualization is to enable
you to quickly clear mental stress,
tension, and anxious thinking. The
visualization can be used when feeling
stressed and is particularly useful
when your mind is racing with fearful,
anxious thinking.
This
visualization process, when practiced
frequently, is very effective for
eliminating deep-seated mental anxieties
or intrusive thoughts. To gain maximum
benefit, the exercise must be carried
out for longer then 10 minutes at
a time, as anything shorter will not
bring noticeable results.
There is no right or wrong way to
carry out the visualization. Be intuitive
with it and do not feel you are unable
to carry it out if you feel you are
not very good at seeing mental imagery.
As long as your attention is on the
exercise, you will gain benefit.
It
is best to do this exercise in a quiet
place where you won’t be disturbed,
and then when you are more practiced
you will be able to get the same positive
results in a busier environment such
as the workplace. You should notice
a calming effect on your state of
mind along with a sensation of mental
release and relaxation.
Either
sitting or standing, close your eyes
and move your attention to your breath.
To become aware of your breathing,
place one hand on your upper chest
and one on your stomach. Take a breath
and let your stomach swell forward
as you breathe in and fall back gently
as you breathe out. Take the same
depth of breath each time and try
to get a steady rhythm going.
Your hand on your chest should have
little or no movement. Again, try
to take the same depth of breath each
time you breathe in. This is called
Diaphragmatic Breathing.
When you feel comfortable with this
technique, try to slow your breathing
rate down by instituting a short pause
after you have breathed out and before
you breathe in again. Initially, it
may feel as though you are not getting
enough air in, but with regular practice
this slower rate will soon start to
feel comfortable.
It is often helpful to develop a cycle
where you count to three when you
breathe in, pause, and then count
to three when you breathe out (or
2, or 4—whatever is comfortable
for you). This will also help you
focus on your breathing without any
other thoughts coming into your mind.
If
you are aware of other thoughts entering
your mind, just let them go and bring
your attention back to counting and
breathing. Continue doing this for
a few minutes. (If you practice this,
you will begin to strengthen the Diaphragmatic
Muscle, and it will start to work
normally—leaving you with a
nice relaxed feeling all the time.)
Now
move your attention to your feet.
Try to really feel your feet. See
if you can feel each toe. Picture
the base of your feet and visualize
roots growing slowly out through your
soles and down into the earth. The
roots are growing with quickening
pace and are reaching deep into the
soil of the earth. You are now rooted
firmly to the earth and feel stable
like a large oak or redwood tree.
Stay
with this feeling of grounded safety
and security for a few moments. Once
you have created a strong feeling
or impression of being grounded like
a tree, visualize a cloud of bright
light forming way above you. A bolt
of lightning from the luminous cloud
hits the crown of your head, and that
ignites a band of bright white light
descending slowly from your head all
the way down your body, over your
legs, and out past your toes.
As
the band of light passes over you,
feel it clearing your mental state.
It is illuminating your mind and clearing
any disturbing or stressful thoughts
that you may have been thinking about.
Repeat this image four or five times
until you feel a sense of clearing
and release from any anxious thinking.
In finishing, see yourself standing
under a large, luminescent waterfall.
The water is radiant and bubbling
with vitality and life. As you stand
under the waterfall, you can feel
the water run over every inch of your
body, soothing you and instilling
within you a sense of deep calm.
Try to taste the water. Open your
mouth and let it run into your mouth,
refreshing you. Hear it as it bounces
off the ground around you. The water
is life itself and it is washing away
stress and worry from your mind and
body. After a moment, open your eyes.
Try
to use all of your senses when carrying
out the visualization. To make the
pictures in your mind as real as possible,
use your senses of touch, taste, and
hearing. Feel the water trickle down
your body; hear the sound it makes
as it splashes over you.
The
more realistic the imagined scenarios,
the more benefit you will gain. Many
people report very beneficial and
soothing results from using these
simple visualizations frequently.
The mind is much like a muscle in
that, in order to relax, it needs
to regularly release what it is holding
onto.
You can use any situation or location
that will help calm you. We liken
this to “finding your happy
place”. Maybe you feel relaxed
in a swimming pool or on the beach.
Imagine yourself there. Just make
sure wherever you go in your mind
is a place where you can be calm and
rested.
By
visualizing the different situations,
you are allowing your mind to release.
It is like sending a message to your
brain that when you close your eyes
and begin this process it is time
for letting go of anything that it
has been mentally holding onto, including
anxious thinking.
In
order to train your mind how to let
go of the stress, it is important
to practice this daily. With practice,
you can learn to release all stress
within minutes of starting the exercise.
Your daily practice should take place
before going to bed, as that will
enable you to sleep more soundly.
Many
people do not do these visualizations
in the bedroom but some other room
before going to bed. That way, when
they enter the bedroom and close the
door, they are leaving the mental
stress and anxious thinking behind
them. Just be sure you have the opportunity
to totally concentrate on your mental
images.
Visualization
as a tool for dealing with mental
stress is very effective. If such
visualization is carried out properly,
you can reach a deep feeling of inner
calm. This technique probably will
not work in helping to end an anxiety
attack, but it can help that attack
from beginning. It is a very powerful
support tool for ridding yourself
of general anxiety sensations.
With
practice, you find you go days without
having anxious thinking interrupt
your life, and importantly, this significantly
reduces the level of general anxiety
you feel.
Visualization is simply a tool you
can use to overcome anxious thoughts
and feelings. Let’s look at
various ways that you can combat excessive
stress – beginning with music.
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