Relaxation Technique Six: Mental Imagery

Taking visualisation  to the next stage, we move on to mental imagery. When you picture soothing mental images in your mind, your body will benefit through being physically relaxed. To make this relaxation most effective, you need to bring all the five senses into your image: touch, sight, smell, taste and sound. To practice this exercise, allow for 10 minutes of uninterrupted time in a quiet place. Begin by becoming very familiar with this script until mental pictures are formed.

Throughout this exercise allow yourself to enjoy the feelings of calmness and peace. Let yourself feel really good. Bring your entire body into a relaxed state, letting this relaxation flow through you, energising both your mind and body fully.

Mental Imagery 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.
• Partially close your eyes, leaving them only slightly open to allow enough light in to keep your brain alert in order to avoid sleep mode setting in.
• 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.
• Breathe in through your nose, hold it for a second, and then slowly breathe out through your mouth. As you let each breath out, feel yourself going deeper and deeper into a state of relaxation. Breathe in and out, in and out. Relax.
• Now using all your senses, touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing, start to imagine yourself on an exotic tropical island. You are strolling along a palm-covered remote beach, on a beautiful summer’s day, gliding across the soft sand gleaming like silver dust. It is late in the afternoon, you can see the sun, a golden blazing yellow ball, slowly dropping in the distance. The sky is a brilliant blue, and not a cloud in sight.
• You feel the cooling, wet, silver sand cushioning your feet. Smell the sea weed from the ocean in the air.  Taste the salty water from the spray which the breeze brings on to your lips.  You listen to the sound of the rolling waves crashing on the beach, hearing the soft sound of birds in the background. Watching the birds as they fly through the sky….seeing them dive down into the sea and then flying off again.
• You keep walking along, to the far end of the beach, where you come across a sand dune, a hill of pure white sand, You stop, and sit down by the side of the dune. You look out over the ocean, taking in the view of the waves crashing against the rocky shores and sandy beaches. The waves persistently crashing against the rough rocky coastline, while frothy swells gently roll toward the shore onto the sandy beach, the waves rise upward along the beach forming an impression of white foam and then slowly drop down retreating back out into the ocean. Only to be replaced by another wave that crashes against the shore – working its way up the beach…and slowly retreating back out into the ocean.
• With each movement of the waves as they roll in and as they roll out, you find yourself feeling more and more relaxed, more and more calm, more and more peaceful. The waves are rolling in … the waves are rolling out. The waves are rolling in… the waves are rolling out. The waves are rolling in … the waves are rolling out. You find yourself feeling more and more relaxed, more and more calm, more and more peaceful.  The waves are rolling in … the waves are rolling out. You are more and more relaxed.
• You gaze far into the distance; the sun is continuing to drop down into the horizon. You see the sun beginning to sink down into the ocean, you feel more and more relaxed, more and more calm, more and more peaceful. The sun is moving down … down … down, as it does you relax more and more. As the sun is setting, the sky turns into amazing different colours, pink, orange and red. You are watching the transformation. As the sun is setting, moving down … down … down … into the ocean, you feel more and more relaxed, more and more calm, more and more peaceful.
• As you watch the sun setting down into the ocean; feel the cooling, wet, silver sand cushioning your feet; smell the sea weed from the ocean in the air; taste the salty water from the spray which the breeze brings on to your lips; listen to the sound of the rolling waves crashing on the beach, hearing the soft sound of birds in the background.; watching the birds as they fly through the sky….seeing them dive down into the sea and then flying off again; you feel more and more relaxed, more and more calm, more and more peaceful.
• Now relax … let yourself relax … you feeling very soothed, very calm, very serene. You are at peace.
• To bring yourself out of this image, 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.

You now have a special place to go whenever you feel the need to relax.

Mental imagery relaxation is a great way to create harmony between your mind and body. It enables you to create calmness in your mind providing what some would call  a “mental escape.”

Enjoy your trip to the beach!

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