How Does SMGI® Use Guided Imagery Meditation?
Hi, I’m Gina Vance, Mind Body Mentor, and Inner Journey Guide. And in my mind-body healing practice and in the meditation courses I teach, we use Guided Imagery as a gentle yet powerful tool for healing, comfort and radical transformation. In fact, it may be one of the most potent and transformative of the mind-body healing practices.
But what is guided imagery, really? First let me tell you what it isn’t:
It isn’t “visualizing” mental pictures, and though not criminal to refer to it that way, it’s really not accurate, and leaves a lot of folks out, that aren’t particularly visually oriented. In fact, some studies report that 45% of people don’t “see” mental pictures easily.
Imagery has more to do with your imagination than mental pictures. And however you imagine - and whatever you imagine - affects your biology profoundly. When you’re worried, afraid, or ticked off, your body is living the experience you are imaging! And, when you consciously immerse your attention in something that feels good to you, your body will live that experience as well!
Guided imagery is an aspect of hypnosis - which is simply a way of directing the predominant amount of your attention to what to what you choose to - in your imagination. And your imagination lives in your body. While imagery welcomes thinking, it also includes feeling, sensing and experiencing - in-your-body!.
Guided imagery can be self-guided or guided by another, whether in person or by recording, And when you have an opportunity to use it in an interactive way - soley based on, and responsive to what is coming up in your imagination, it can quickly connect you to the beauty, truth, healing and power that you’ve had inside you all along!
One handy trick in using imagery - or your imagination - to get more deeply and profoundly immersed in what you want to give your attention to, is to imagine traveling through your senses.
A handy acronym for this is A-V-K-T-O (think: Avocado) for Audio, Visual, Kinesthetic, Tactile and Olfactory. Or rather more simply: If there were a sound associated with what you’re imagining, what would it be? Notice any colors, textures, sizes or shapes associated with what’s come to mind for you?n What do you notice about how it feels in your body as you notice what’s come to mind for you? If you imagine touching or being touched by what you are noticing, what would that be like? Is there a smell, scent, fragrance or aroma associated with what’s come to mind for you?
As you guide yourself, or are guided through these aspects of your senses, you will get more fully immersed in what you are giving your attention to in the imaginal realm, and as you do, your biology will respond more and more profoundly. Guided imagery is an easy way to activate our natural and innate capacity to feel better and to heal.
With a plethora of research supporting the effectiveness of guided imagery, it’s an evidence-based approach you can safely and confidently use with ease to create the changes you want to create. It even works while sleeping - as your subconscious mind rehearses the prompts in an audio, while your body “lives” the experience!
For high quality guided imagery audio recordings, you can visit sites like healthjourneys.com and thehealingmind.org, as well as my website in the link below where you can find both audio and video recordings of guided imagery - to strengthen and stabilize your mind-body systems, and activate your power to heal and create.
And if working interactively with an expert inner journey guide sounds like a good boost for you right now, check out the somatic imagery guides on this site. Because feeling better and creating well, may be easier than you’ve yet imagined.
ALSO:
Over the past 40 years, the effectiveness of guided imagery has been validated by research, demonstrating its positive impact on health, wellness, attitude, behavioral change and peak performance.
Less than 10 minutes of hypnotic guided meditation can reduce stress, blood pressure, cholesterol and hemoglobin A1C levels in the blood.
It can heighten short- term immune cell activity, and it can speed up healing from fractures and burns.
It’s been shown to reduce blood loss during surgery and opioid use after it.
Guided imagery lowers anxiety and pain.
It increases athletic mastery at skiing, skating, shooting, golf and tennis; and skill and confidence at writing, acting, singing, test-taking and public speaking.
It increases purposeful weight loss and smoking abstinence.
And it has been proven invaluable during medical procedures like chemotherapy, radiotherapy, ventilator weaning, biopsy and dialysis.
Regular use of guided imagery can heighten access to emotional depth, humor, responsiveness to music, spirituality, intuition, creativity, abstract thinking and empathy.
HIGH QUALITY GUIDED IMAGERY CONTENT AUDIOS:
https://www.mindbodysoulsupport.com/
https://thehealingmind.org/
https://www.healthjourneys.com/
