As a component to managing chronic pain, many people have looked to alternative methods. Just as medications can be a component to your health care, so can the use of alternative methods such as, relaxation techniques. There are many techniques you can research on-line or speak to your doctor about. There are also a wide variety of relaxation CD's available that you may find beneficial.
To start your quest, I would like to introduce you to a technique that I use a lot. Visualization can be used anywhere and at any time, and all you need is your imagination. Take a look at the following example and see where you might be able to incorporate it into your daily schedule.
To start your quest, I would like to introduce you to a technique that I use a lot. Visualization can be used anywhere and at any time, and all you need is your imagination. Take a look at the following example and see where you might be able to incorporate it into your daily schedule.
Visualization for Relaxation – How to Use Visualization for Relaxation
One of the simplest relaxation techniques is the use of visualization. Visualizing yourself in a calm, quiet, beautiful place can be a powerful tool for reducing anxiety and turning off the body's stress response. Visualization for relaxation is a way of placing yourself in a beautiful relaxing setting whenever you need to go there, no airfare or mountain climbing required.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes
Here's How:
Pick a place. Choose a setting that evokes a sense of peacefulness and serenity for you. It can be a real place, in other words, somewhere you have actually been, or it can be a place from your imagination. The following possibilities are offered as a guide, but feel free to use whatever place works for you. The only requirements are that the place feels peaceful, safe and serene to you.
Close your eyes and imagine yourself in your peaceful place. It's as simple as that. Your beautiful safe place is waiting for you whenever you choose to go there.
Imagine the smells. To help you to get the most out of the experience, focus on the smells that are a part of your safe place. What scents are in the air? Are there flowers? The sweet mouldy smell of damp leaves? The tang of sea salt?
Listen. What are the sounds in your place? Quiet? The wind rippling the leaves? The gentle roar of the surf? Birds singing or chirping? The gurgling of the stream?
Feel. What sensations can you feel on your skin as you relax in your serene spot? The heat of the sun? A gentle breeze? A light spray coming off the tops of the waves? The cool ground beneath you? The warm sand?
Look. As you gaze around your spot, what do you see? The beauty of nature? The gorgeous blues of the sky? Wispy white clouds? The crystal-like colours of the water making its way downstream? The reds, yellows and oranges of leaves or wildflowers? The deep sea green of waves before they topple into a froth of white?
Gently banish disruptive thoughts. Use your imagination to help to shoo away the intrusive thoughts that love to pop up, particularly when we are trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. Attach the thought to a twig floating downstream or to a cloud that drifts off the horizon.
Enjoy. This is your time to be quiet and relaxed so that you can recharge your batteries. Keep telling yourself that this is your special place, where you are completely safe and where all your worries and concerns are far away.
What you will need:
One of the simplest relaxation techniques is the use of visualization. Visualizing yourself in a calm, quiet, beautiful place can be a powerful tool for reducing anxiety and turning off the body's stress response. Visualization for relaxation is a way of placing yourself in a beautiful relaxing setting whenever you need to go there, no airfare or mountain climbing required.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes
Here's How:
Pick a place. Choose a setting that evokes a sense of peacefulness and serenity for you. It can be a real place, in other words, somewhere you have actually been, or it can be a place from your imagination. The following possibilities are offered as a guide, but feel free to use whatever place works for you. The only requirements are that the place feels peaceful, safe and serene to you.
- The beach
- Flower-filled meadow
- Scenic overlook
- Mountain stream
Close your eyes and imagine yourself in your peaceful place. It's as simple as that. Your beautiful safe place is waiting for you whenever you choose to go there.
Imagine the smells. To help you to get the most out of the experience, focus on the smells that are a part of your safe place. What scents are in the air? Are there flowers? The sweet mouldy smell of damp leaves? The tang of sea salt?
Listen. What are the sounds in your place? Quiet? The wind rippling the leaves? The gentle roar of the surf? Birds singing or chirping? The gurgling of the stream?
Feel. What sensations can you feel on your skin as you relax in your serene spot? The heat of the sun? A gentle breeze? A light spray coming off the tops of the waves? The cool ground beneath you? The warm sand?
Look. As you gaze around your spot, what do you see? The beauty of nature? The gorgeous blues of the sky? Wispy white clouds? The crystal-like colours of the water making its way downstream? The reds, yellows and oranges of leaves or wildflowers? The deep sea green of waves before they topple into a froth of white?
Gently banish disruptive thoughts. Use your imagination to help to shoo away the intrusive thoughts that love to pop up, particularly when we are trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. Attach the thought to a twig floating downstream or to a cloud that drifts off the horizon.
Enjoy. This is your time to be quiet and relaxed so that you can recharge your batteries. Keep telling yourself that this is your special place, where you are completely safe and where all your worries and concerns are far away.
What you will need:
- Comfortable chair.
- Ten minutes devoted to you.
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