Most of us are willing to admit that “positive thinking” can have a favorable influence in our lives. You can take that positive point of view one very significant step further with visualization. Visualization is like a mental rehearsal. Rehearsing the important events in your life can improve your outlook, turn the tides in your favor and increase your odds of a successful outcome.
Visualization, also known as mental imagery or creative visualization, is not based on luck or superstition; it’s not like wishing on a falling star. Science proves that visualization establishes a strong, identifiable connection between your brain and body.
The Power of Creative Visualization
Visualization has a direct impact on your motor control, perception, planning and memory. Professional athletes around the world have used visualization to improve their sports performance since it was revealed that the Soviets were using visualization to enhance their athletic performance in the 1970s.
Today, these techniques are used, not only to improve athletic performance, but to also reduce anxiety, battle depression and facilitate healing. The applications are endless. Visualization is a practice that you can learn to help you relax, heal emotionally, heal physically or cope with chronic pain.
The Effect of Visualization on Your Body
Studies reveal that your thoughts produce the same instructions throughout your body as your actions. When you repeatedly imagine the successful completion of a task, you condition your neural pathways so the imagined action feels familiar, this enhances your confidence and increases your motivation.
A fascinating study on the subject was performed at the Cleveland Clinic. Participants were divided into two groups to determine the effect of creative visualization on muscle strength. The first group participated in weight training exercises. The participants in this first group increased their muscle strength by 30 percent.
The second group did not go to the gym. They visualized themselves doing the same exercises, but did not do the physical work. Amazingly, this group of participants increased their muscle strength by 13.5 percent without breaking a sweat.
Incorporating Visualization into Your Life
While guided visualization has proven quite successful, you can use this simple technique to incorporate visualization into your life. This is not something that you need to devote hours to every day. You can begin by practicing just 5 minutes a day, either just before, or just after you sleep.
Start with gentle breathing and focus on relaxing all of your muscle groups. Imagine your scene. Imagine the details of your conversations. Create a picture in your mind that involves all of your senses with as much detail as you are able. Your visualization exercises should answer the following questions as intricately as possible:
- What emotions are you feeling?
- What do feel from your surroundings?
- Who are you with?
- What are you wearing?
- What do you smell?
- What do you hear?
- What can you taste?
Resist any negative urges and do not let self-doubt get in your way. If you find negativity or doubt getting creeping in, eliminate it. Start again. You may want to combine this visualization exercise with meditation or self-affirmation. Remind yourself that you are strong. You are capable. You will achieve your goals.
Visualization to Improve Your Health
There are many who believe that we can even heal our bodies and our minds with the power of our brains. An article in Psychology Today reports that visualization can be an effective tool in the arsenal of treatments available to those living with depression. Visualization can be used to resolve inner conflict. Many people have successfully reversed or improved their symptoms of depression by identifying the situation or situations triggering their depressive response, and using their new-found knowledge to adjust their belief system.
When living with a depressive disorder, Identifying your triggers can help empower you. You can re-address negative situations, think of new solutions and new options for living your best life. With renewed empowerment, the hopelessness or helplessness of depression can be replaced with hope and enthusiasm. To use visualization for this purpose requires only a few simple steps. Those steps include:
- Focus and relax your body
- Identify the source of your inner conflict
- Fill in the details, what do you see, hear, feel or think?
- Imagine yourself growing very tall, feel yourself growing larger
- Your newly imagined size will help you gain a different perspective
- Feeling more powerful, internal empowerment may replace negativity
- Your negative feelings may now be replaced by feelings of positivity and a new plan of action
Your Brain and Your Subconscious Mind
Your subconscious mind cannot distinguish between reality and imagery, so your subconscious takes over and acts upon the positive images you have created. The key to successful visualization is imagining that you already have what you wish to achieve. With time, the success you so intricately imagine becomes the life you live. The mental trickery builds your confidence and creates the connections between your body and your brain.
There are numerous accounts of people who claim to have visualized the healing of their skin conditions, autoimmune disorders and even cancer. Often reports of healing through visualization are beyond the explanation of the traditional healthcare community, but there has been some progress in explaining the phenomenon.
Your mind plays an integral part in your health and well-being. You can use the positive influence of your mind to implement positive changes in your life. To learn more about the impact and influence of your mind on your body and your spirit, visit Open Eye Wellness. You will benefit from the guidance and knowledge of a certified Natural Health Professional.
Additional Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/resolution-not-conflict/201110/visualization-strategy-rapid-treatment-depression
https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/how-to-use-visualization-to-heal-physically-or-emotionally
