Last update: Augusts 15, 2018
Resting the mind brings countless benefits to our physical and psychological health. It allows us to restore inner balance thanks to listening to ourselves and the harmony between the soul and the body. What if we could enjoy the benefits of mental rest by harnessing our imaginations? It consists precisely in this meditation with visualization; a creative way of performing mental exercises to achieve well-being.
To imagine is to create, to immerse yourself in a world in which we have never been and to go beyond the limits of the possible. Thanks to the power of our imagination, we can design a reality that suits our desires and that comes from themselves. Using the imagination in meditation has several benefits. Meditation with visualization can be useful whatever our profession, from the sportsman to the artist and even the entrepreneur.
"Balance is the ultimate goal."
– Ricky Lankford
Meditation with visualization to combat anxiety
Visualization is a highly rated technique for reducing anxiety. Specifically, it is a tool used to achieve a state of total relaxation thanks to the reduction of arousal and physiological activity of the organism.
The following meditation exercises with visualization allow you to restore calm to those who practice them and to awaken that feeling of peace that, at times, we so much need. They also foster openness to new challenges, opportunities, sensations and future joys.
First we must find a place where we feel comfortable, where we can sit without being disturbed, and in which silence we can find peace. Once we have found this refuge, we need to start breathing deeply, inhaling through the nostrils and slowly exhaling through the mouth. Below, we show you some meditation exercises with visualization.
Colors
The range of colors existing in nature has been extensively studied by psychology to analyze the perceptions, behaviors and sensations they arouse in us. For this reason, imagining that our body is glowing with light can be a good way to awaken emotions.
This exercise consists of inhaling deeply as we think we are surrounded by a light of an intense color that changes from white to orange to red. We need to focus on the physical sensations we experience from time to time. What makes us perceive each color we visualize? Once this is done, the next step it is to imagine that we are a light that emanates shades of green and that we are in harmony with the whole.
Muscle tension
When we go home, we often feel pains all over the body. To alleviate them, we can use this meditation exercise with visualization. Consists in sit or lie on the floor and focus on the muscle where we feel the most tension.
The next step is to imagine that that muscle area is tied by a knot that prevents us from moving freely and that we must untie with the strength of the mind.. In this way, our attention is focused on each knot as we breathe and visualize the way to free ourselves. The fibers untangle and eventually melt like sand.
We can repeat this exercise as many times as there are points of muscle tension we notice.
Active memory
We had a hard day. Maybe a lot of not-so-pleasant things have happened to us. The exercise we are about to explain will help you find that state of stillness we need. To succeed, we need to close our eyes and take a deep breath that takes us back to the beginning of our day: how we slept, what we ate for breakfast, how we contributed to our family's well-being and so on. It is about reliving all these thoughts and feelings as if we were living them in the present moment.
Once everything is reproduced vividly, we need to focus on the painful moments so that we can get rid of them. Once this is done, we need to focus only on the present, on the here and now, so that we can feel relaxed.
Soap bubbles
This meditation exercise with visualization is one of the most complete because it connects two senses: sight and hearing. It consists of imagining being in a quiet, lonely and dark place. Moreover, we feel enveloped by a feeling of peace, while from afar we hear a crackling, light and pleasant.
This sound comes from a small bursting bubble to our right. Then, the sound is repeated by a bubble to our left, then up and so on. Little by little bubbles begin to burst along our body, with the same delicacy and lightness. With each outburst we feel more and more relaxed.
Facing the unknown
What's beyond what we know? What will our future be like? What will life have in store for us in the years to come? To address this uncertainty, we can imagine being in a dark, closed room located in a wood. Outside the wind blows and the cries of hungry animals are heard. The next step is to close your eyes and focus on the feelings we are experiencing: fear? Anxiety? Let's hold them for a few minutes and then release them little by little.
Now let's imagine that a door opens and we see the way out. We run towards it and suddenly we find ourselves in the woods and in the same situation. What emotion are we feeling? Once identified, we observe that the road opens before us; we decide to follow it to escape and slowly we feel that the perceived tension begins to relieve, until it disappears completely. We are safe, calm and at ease. We just have to enjoy the feeling and connect with it.
These simple meditation exercises with visualization can be done anytime, anywhere. It is enough to exercise our ability to concentrate and develop our creative skills to perceive that feeling of relief that we miss so much.
