Relaxation Technique Four: Visualisation

Visualisation is a technique where you use your imagination to deliberately create a picture or movie in your mind of your own making. Rather like painting a picture, you have complete control to create any image that you desire.

Visualisation is a way of using your mind to get what you want out of life. By thinking of the positive things you want to happen on a regular basis, you’re creating a positive energy.

Shakti Gawain said that in creative visualization, one clearly imagines whatever one wants to “manifest”; then one gives the idea, image, or feeling “positive energy,” by focusing on it regularly, until it becomes reality.

A classic definition of visualisation  is “the formation of mental visual images; the act or process of interpreting in visual terms or of putting into visual forms” (Owen 1999).

There is tremendous power in your thoughts. Remember the old saying: “the body won’t go, where the mind has not gone to first”? Generally people allow their subconscious mind to freely interpret their uncontrolled thoughts and determine the actions they take.

The good news is that your subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between something real and something intensely imagined. When you repeatedly imagine yourself in possession of your goal, your subconscious mind will stir you into actions that lines up with the mental image you hold.

When you have pictures in your head of what you fear is going to happen, you can’t possibly have a good day. This is a great way to build stress within you. The opposite of what we are looking to do.

By taking 10 minutes out of your day to use for visualisation, you could create a great day, then a great week, building up to a great month, creating a great year and ultimately a great life.

Make sure that you visualise what you desire, and do not  focus on what you don’t want. No longer allow yourself to focus on what you lack or negatively on what you don’t have, or even on what you have but don’t want, but instead on the actual possible solutions, or what it is you truly want. By focusing on the problem (or lack) you are in fact fostering it, giving it extra energy, and allowing it to manifest itself, attracting more of what you don’t want. The negativity you carry around when thinking of all the bad things in your life contributes to you being stressed.

You can use the power of visualisation to help you improve every area of your life. It is a power you use every day, whether you are conscious of it or not. With the conscious and effective use of visualisation you can fill your life with success.

In order to use the visualisation technique find yourself a quiet place where you will not be interrupted. Then take a few minutes to make a conscious effort to silence your mind, shutting off your thought processes and focus specifically on your visualization. You may need to try to do this a few times before you really get the hang of it, but be persistent, it will be worth it.

Select a situation you would like to experience in a relaxed manner. Use these steps for developing a creative imagination.

Step 1 – Desired Picture: Write down or repeat out loud a picture of an upcoming stressful situation or event, working out just the way you would want it, phrasing it in the present tense.

Step 2 – Use all your senses: Take a deep, relaxing breath. You are more accessible to ideas when you’re relaxed. Create a picture in detail. Your mental pictures should be as much like the actual experience as possible. Pay attention to sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and other details in the scene.

Step 3 – Picture Outcome: Imagine the desired results actually happening. Imagine it in the present tense using phrases like “I am.” Do not use terms like “I’ll try to.”

Step 4 – Create positive emotions in your scene, such as:  Encouraged, Enthusiastic, Excited, Exhilarated, Full of life, Inspired, Joyful, Loving, On cloud nine, Optimistic, Overjoyed, Respected, Thrilled, Unconcerned, Worthy. Imagine it! See yourself at your brilliant best.

Step 5 – Practice this technique twice a day: Devote five minutes to the image at least twice a day. Try it first thing in the morning prior to getting out of bed and again in the evening just before dozing off to sleep. Let all your body tension escape. Imagine yourself being very calm and relaxed.

Visualisation Technique

• Choose a quiet place where you will have a minimum amount of disturbance.
• Sit in a chair, get comfortable, while keeping your back straight and upright to prevent your mind from becoming lethargic or drowsy.
• Now stay very still and quiet, with no distractions around. Your body should be comfortable and relaxed.
• Turn your entire attention and focus to your breathing. Allow yourself to breathe naturally. Don’t try to adjust your breathing. Don’t consciously try to make any changes. Just let yourself breath. Keep observing your breath.
• Look around the room, and choose an object to focus your attention on. Now focus your eyes onto that object. Stare at it. Look at it clearly, pick up all the details. Colour, texture, shadow, everything about what it looks like.
• At the same time, concentrate your hearing on all the sounds you can pick up. Whether in the distance, such as birds chirping, cars rushing by, distant voices, or closer by, such as the ticking of a clock.
• Now concentrate your entire focus on your breathing, Turn your entire attention and focus to your breathing. Allow yourself to breathe naturally. Don’t try to adjust your breathing. Don’t consciously try to make any changes. Just let yourself breath. Keep observing your breath.
• Begin to take some deep breaths in. Then breathe fully out. Keep this going for a minute or two, deep breaths in, then out. Notice any sensations in your nostrils. Sense the feelings as you breathe in through your nose and then out through your mouth.
• Move your attention to your eyes. Notice every blink of your eyelids. Feel each time your eyes close, then each time they open.
• You are feeling very relaxed, calm and at peace. Close your eyes.
• You are now going to imagine yourself in a very relaxing, calming place. On a beautiful tropical island, exotic beach, spectacular waterfall, floral garden. Wherever you would feel at peace. Keep this picture in your mind for a few minutes.
• Now… imagine yourself standing on a beautiful balcony at the top of a marble staircase. You can see the marble steps in front of you, leading downwards from the balcony, wide strong steps, a banister on each side, totally floodlit. You are now about to count down from ten to one … and with each descending number you will take a single step going down, and with each step you will feel more calm, more relaxed. As you take each step, you will go deeper into a relaxing state. It is a magnificent feeling, a total state of relaxation… and as you little by little go down these stairs… you will feel a sense of complete relaxation… all through your whole body… You can feel the steps beneath your feet and when you reach the bottom, you feel exceptionally tranquil with a sense of excited expectation…
• 10 … relax, 9 … relax, 8 …  relax, 7 … relax, 6 … relax, 5 … relax, 4 … relax, 3 … relax, 2 … relax, 1 …now step off the last step. Look around and you find yourself in your very own private cinema.
• Take a seat in front of your large movie screen. This large movie screen is forward of you, in front of your eyes, and raised at an angle of around 20 degrees. The screen is 6 feet in front of you.
• See yourself sitting in the cinema, the lights dim, and then the movie starts. It is a movie starring ‘YOU’. See as much detail as you can create, including your clothing, the expression on your face, small body movements, the environment and any other people that might be around. Add in any sounds you would be hearing — traffic, music, other people talking, cheering. And finally, recreate in your body any feelings you think you would be experiencing as you engage in whatever the activity you are doing.
• Take a minute to free yourself of whatever you are seeing at that moment. Slowly erase the surrounding, erase everything, let go of your thoughts.
• Witness yourself on the screen where you become an observer to the actions as they happen.
• Take 10 minutes to visualize your situation or event, what needs to be done to achieve the outcome you desire, what else do you have to do to  achieve it, feel yourself achieving it, think of what you can do after achieving it, feel the euphoria rush, happiness, excitement and accomplishment when you achieve it. Hold the feeling, rejoice in the feeling, and be happy that you can achieve your goal and what it represents. See the whole experience, smell it, touch it, hear it, and taste it.
• To really enforce the impact of this visualisation technique, you could also do the following:
• Now place yourself actually into the picture, so that you are now directly involved, an actor instead of the observer of the events.
• Mentally, get out of your chair, walk up to the screen, open a door in the screen and enter into the movie. Now experience the whole thing again from inside of yourself, looking out through your eyes. This is called an “embodied image” rather than a “distant image.” It will deepen the impact of the experience. Again, see everything in vivid detail, hear the sounds you would hear, and feel the feelings you would feel.
• Take 5 minutes to slowly bring yourself back to awareness, slowly feel the environment around you, let your visions merge back to reality but keep the positive feelings in your heart. Now you are ready to accomplish your goals!
• Start to count slowly from one to ten. 1 … 2 … 3 .. 4 … 5 … 6 … 7 … 8 … now open your eyes, 9 … 10 … You now feel fully awake and totally alert. Stand up, stretch out, and feel great.

Visualisation will allow you to solve your problems quickly, bring you the solutions you need, expand your horizons and create a great calm and clarity around you.

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