Using Guided Visualisation for Relaxation and Stress Management

Imagination is a powerful tool in relaxation. The mind’s ability to influence the body is amazing!
Try this: Imagine you are holding a firm juicy lemon in your hand. Imagine its waxy texture and the bright yellow colour. Take a fruit knife and slice it open. Smell the sharp tangy smell as the juice runs out of it, now put it to your lips and taste the sharp sour taste on your tongue….
Is your mouth watering? If so, you have experienced the imagination causing a physiological response in the body. Similarly, visualising and imagining in detail pleasant or relaxing images can stimulate a relaxation response in the body.

In the alpha brainwave state that deep relaxation induces we are open to learning. Skills such as motivation, empathy, goal setting and relationship building are woven into the visualisations.

Play Pause Unwind also includes music only tracks to stimulate the imagination to take personal journeys.

Practise makes perfect!  Initially use visualisation for a short time every day. You will quickly benefit from relaxation at your fingertips wherever and whenever you need it. As little as 2 -10 minutes can be effective and well worth including into our day.
Try some of the free download tracks to experience guided visualisation for yourself.

Guided visualisation is a very useful learning tool to recognise stress responses or stressful situations and diffuse them before they become overwhelming or disruptive. For example coping with anger, fear and confrontation

There is a huge research base which supports the effectiveness of relaxation.  A bank of useful articles is included on the website for further reading.

Conditions as varied as Asthma, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Headache , High Blood Pressure, Alzheimers, Fibromyalgia, Diabetes, Cancer, Anxiety, Depression and Panic attacks, Insomnia have been researched and shown to respond well to relaxation training.

Age is not an issue when it comes to learning relaxation -children are as good as adults at learning these skills.

Play Pause Unwind visualisations are particularly immersive because they work on several levels. They include guided visualisations of different relaxing situations and locations evoking sights, sounds, smells and touch sensations vividly. They are also integrated within a soundtrack, which subtly blends physiological and environmental sounds into original music, perfectly synchronised to the spoken visualisation. No track is simply spoken over ambient background music. Use of frequency and rhythm enhances the relaxation response.

The use of progressive muscular relaxation and deep breathing in the welcome tracks adds two further powerful relaxation tools to the guided imagery.