Visualization techniques, such as guided imagery and body scanning, can improve your well-being. It may be helpful to choose a technique that best aligns with your needs during meditation.
When you visualize, you focus on something specific — an event, a person, or a goal you want to achieve — and hold it in your mind, imagining it becoming reality.
Visualization is a mindfulness technique in itself, but you can also use it to enhance regular meditation. Adding visualization to your meditation practice may allow you to better direct your relaxed mind toward specific outcomes you’d like to see.
Also called loving-kindness meditation, this visualization exercise can help you cultivate compassion and kindness toward yourself and others.
According to
Researchers suggest that this type of meditation encouraged slower frequencies in the brain connected to a state of deep relaxation and decreased heart rate.
Compassion meditation can also:
- increase self-motivation
- improve emotion regulation
- enhance awareness and sensations
- develop loving-kindness toward oneself and others
How to do it
- Begin by finding a comfortable, relaxing position and close your eyes.
- Focus on your breath for several seconds, inhaling and exhaling slowly until you find a comfortable, natural rhythm.
- Visualize the person you want to extend compassion to — yourself, a loved one, a not-so-loved one, or even a pet. Picture them clearly and hold the image in your thoughts.
- Now, focus on the feelings you’d like to send — peace, calm, joy, healing, or happiness — in the form of golden light that spreads from your heart to theirs.
- You may find it helpful to verbalize these feelings in the form of a mantra, such as “May you find peace and happiness” or “May I find wellness and freedom from pain.”
- Keep breathing as you repeat the mantra. With each exhale, imagine the golden light leaving you and carrying your feelings and good wishes toward the other person or yourself.
- Continue the exercise for 1 to 3 minutes. You might notice feelings of compassion, warmth, and light-heartedness.
Progressive muscle relaxation can help ease stiff or tight muscles. It involves focusing on tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups, one at a time.
This visualization exercise can
- music therapy
- nature sounds
- deep breathing
- guided imagery
- health education
- mindfulness meditation
- cognitive behavioral therapy
How to do it
- Lie on your back on a comfortable but firm surface. A carpeted floor or yoga mat may work better than a bed for this technique.
- With your eyes closed, take a few seconds to relax and focus on your breathing.
- Next, begin working your way through your body’s muscle groups. You can start anywhere, but it can help to pick a place where the progression feels natural, such as from your head to your toes or vice versa.
- Start by tensing and then relaxing a group of muscles that aren’t currently troubling you. This helps you better recognize when your muscles tense and when they’re relaxed.
- Tense the first group of muscles as you inhale slowly. Hold that tension for about 5 seconds. Be sure not to tense your muscles so tightly that it causes pain.
- As you exhale, relax those muscles all at once. Visualize the tightness and tension leaving your body with your breath.
- Rest for 10 seconds between muscle groups, but continue slow, steady breathing as you rest.
- Proceed to the next muscle group and repeat.
Guided imagery involves visualizing positive scenes and images, which can help you relax, cope with stress or fear, and feel more at peace.
For example, you may visualize yourself connecting with nature and relaxing in a calm space outdoors.
Spending time outdoors can improve your health and well-being. According to
How to do it
- Get into a comfortable meditation position. You can lie down or sit, whichever you prefer.
- Close your eyes and begin slowing your breath to a calming, relaxing rhythm.
- Visualize a place where you feel content and calm. This might be somewhere you’ve visited or an imagined scene of somewhere you’d like to go.
- Explore different sensations that you notice as you build this peaceful vision. For example, you may notice relaxing fragrances, hear calming sounds, or feel warmth.
- Continue breathing slowly as you look around the scene you’ve created, fully experiencing it with all of your senses.
- With each inhale, imagine peace and harmony entering your body. Visualize exhaustion, tension, and distress leaving your body as you exhale.
- When you feel ready, you can open your eyes and leave your vision. Knowing you can return at any time can help your newfound sense of relaxation linger throughout your day. This can help you feel more in control of difficult feelings and allow you to manage stress and frustration more easily.
Goals visualization works much the same way as guided imagery. But instead of creating a scene in your imagination, you can visualize the specific moment that you achieve your goal.
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- mindfulness while exercising
- self-efficacy and satisfaction
- positive thoughts regarding physical activity
- goal orientation and intention toward physical activity
You may also use mindfulness-based virtual reality (VR) to imagine yourself participating in a physical activity that you enjoy.
In a 2023 study, researchers found that using virtual reality reflecting hiking up a mountain resulted in a state of mindfulness and positive emotion, especially when actual movement is involved.
Walking on a treadmill or moving parts of the body to interact with the VR scene was most beneficial.
More research is needed to determine whether other virtual reality techniques (such as embodying an avatar) can offer similar benefits.
How to do it
- Allow yourself to find a comfortable position and focus on your natural breath.
- When you’re ready, inhale deeply and then exhale. As you breathe, hold your goal firmly in your thoughts, and imagine yourself succeeding at this goal.
- Focus on your location, the other people around you, and your feelings in the moment. For example, you may visualize yourself swimming or practicing a new yoga pose.
- You can challenge negative thoughts by repeating a mantra, such as “I can do this” or “I have the strength to keep trying.”
- Continue to focus on your breathing and your mantra as you visualize the scene of your success.
Body scanning is a type of meditation that involves bringing awareness to the sensations you may notice in your body. During this practice, you may visualize a warm light that glows on the areas of your body that focus on.
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However, researchers indicate that the practice helped players enter a state of mindfulness.
With consistent practice, it’s possible to develop mindfulness, the trait of living mindfully in daily life.
Daily practice of mindfulness may help athletes (and possibly others) by:
- improving attention
- reducing stress and anxiety
- increasing state of mindfulness
- decreasing the risk of acute injury
Research from 2020 also suggests that mindfulness meditation improves visual short-term memory.
How to do it
- Find a comfortable position, such as sitting, lying down, or standing. When you’re ready, close your eyes or relax your gaze.
- Focus on your natural breath and explore the areas of your body that are making contact with the ground beneath you.
- Inhale deeply through your nose and then exhale. Imagine a soft light glowing on at the top of your head, and examine any sensations you may notice on your head.
- If you begin to experience discomfort, it may help to breathe into or touch those areas. Allow yourself to leave the practice by slowly blinking your eyes open.
- Continue to breathe into the areas of your body that you’re focused on as you visualize the soft light hovering over you from head to toe.
- Release your practice once you reach the bottom of your feet.
Adding visualization exercises to your mindfulness practice can help you focus your brain on where you want it to go, whether that’s a peaceful stream through a forest or a belief that you can (and will) achieve specific goals
It doesn’t come easily to everyone, and it might feel a little awkward at first. But with a bit of consistent practice, it’ll likely start to feel more natural.