The Beginners Handbook To The Art Of Guided Imagery: A Professional and Personal Step-by-Step Guide to Developing and Implementing Guided Imagery. 23 Written Imageries with Centering Readings - Softcover

Thompson, Virginia L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 150433440X ISBN 13: 9781504334402

Publisher: BalboaPress, 2015

Synopsis

"As private and professional healers, we are the gatekeepers to the place within where healing begins. Guided Imagery functions as a possible key to unlocking this gate."

Learn the simple steps to creating, developing, and implementing your own guided imageries.

Enjoy experimenting with this life-changing tool by using the prewritten and transforming imageries as a professional or with a group of like-minded friends to expand your personal awareness and spiritual growth.

About this title

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Beginners Handbook to the Art of Guided Imagery

A Professional and Personal Step-by-Step Guide to Developing and Implementing Guided Imagery. 23 Written Imageries with Centering Readings

By Virginia L. Thompson

Balboa Press

Copyright © 2015 Virginia L. Thompson
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-3440-2

Contents

Part 1: Step by Step Suggestions in Developing and Implementing of Guided Imagery, 1, 
1. The Benefits of Guided Imagery, 3, 
2. Choosing the Atmosphere, 7, 
3. Beneficial Placement of Guided Imagery Groups in a Structured Program, 11, 
4. Preparing the Group and the Obstacles that Facilitators Encounter, 14, 
5. Background, 23, 
6. Using pre-recorded imagery, 27, 
7. The Art of Breathing, 29, 
8. Various Relaxation Techniques, 33, 
9. Routes of Imagery, 38, 
10. Imagery Destinations, 40, 
11. Symbols, 43, 
12. Grounding the group at the end of the imagery, 46, 
13. Group processing, 49, 
14. Facilitator's obstacles to cultivating the healing process of imagery, 56, 
Part 2: Written Imageries, 67, 
1. Awakening to the Light, 71, 
2. Love, 77, 
3. Separation- The Illusion of Disunity, 81, 
4. Mercy and Forgiveness, 87, 
5. Integrity, 92, 
6. Surrender, 96, 
7. Compassion, 100, 
8. Empowerment, 104, 
9. Discipline, 109, 
10. Service, 114, 
11. Balance, 118, 
12. Abundance, 122, 
13. Your Divine Self, 128, 
14. Expression, 132, 
15. Silence, 137, 
16. Generosity of Spirit, 141, 
17. Redemption and Rebirth, 146, 
18. Transforming In This World, 150, 
19. Peace, 155, 
20. Vessel of Divine Will, 159, 
21. Wisdom, 165, 
22. Wholeness, 169, 
23. Freedom, 173, 

CHAPTER 1

The Benefits of Guided Imagery

There have been many psychological, physical and treatment process benefits researched regarding the use of guided imagery. Several studies have been done which explore and identify these benefits, potential disadvantages and also the implication of the response that counselors themselves personally receive in using this tool with their clients

The psychological benefits most commonly known are decreased anxiety, depression, irritability and moodiness. Improved learning ability, concentration, self-actualization, feelings of vitality, happiness and emotional stability. This only scratches the surface.

The physical benefits that have been noted in several research studies show that in the short period of time that imagery is done; the person experiencing guided imagery experiences a deep rest much like a deep sleep state. This has been measured by decreased metabolic rate and heart rate when monitored. This is not the same type of deep rest as a hypnotic state. While using this technique, the recipient is always completely aware of their surroundings, of themselves and of their experience. They are also always in complete control of their experience.

Other physical benefits that studies have shown are lowered levels of cortical and lactate. These are two chemicals associated with stress that the body releases and has been shown to result in a reduction of free radicals. These free radicals are often associated with arthritis, creating the inflammation and damage at the joints. Free radicals are the unstable oxygen molecules that can cause tissue damage. These are now thought to be related to many diseases as well as the aging process.

Other monitored physical studies show decrease in blood pressure, high skin resistance which would also mean less stress, less contagious illness and lower anxiety levels. This might suggest an increase in the body's immune systems' ability to fight off foreign bodies, dropping cholesterol levels and improved f low of air resulting in overall improved health. The chapter, "The Art of Breathing" focuses, in part, on guided imagery as a relaxing technique. Many times when people practice guided imagery and are using the art of breathing for relaxation, they find that they are, at some point, able to take a deeper breath than maybe they have in quite a long time. This creates then, deep lung breathing.

A significant finding in research studies shows that people with chronic pain had an overall decrease in their chronic pain symptoms as they became more adept at utilizing this tool.

As a result of all of these physical benefits, insurance companies and the health care industry can potentially save millions of dollars in the care of their patients.

An example of the physical benefits that I have had personally was an experience some years ago when it was determined that I needed a total hysterectomy. I'd had menstrual bleeding for four months and my hemoglobin (red blood cell count) had been dropping. A diagnosis of chronic Endometriosis suggested the surgery as the best medical route towards healing and to prevent an ongoing decline. This was a diagnosis I had lived with since age 17. During the three weeks prior to the surgery I used guided imagery frequently. I visualized my uterus and ovaries. I thanked them for the wonderful gift that they gave me, my two daughters, as I knew many with this diagnosis that were not able to have children. I then began to release these organs. I visually began to soften the attachment of the muscles, the tendons and the scar tissue. Allowing all that was connecting the fallopian tubes, uterus and ovaries to my internal body to be released. So they could be easily removed. On the day of surgery as I lay on that cold steel metal that was the surgical table I envisioned myself surrounded by warm, comforting, protecting and healing white light. Following the surgery when I awoke, the doctors informed me that the surgery had taken a substantially less amount of time than this type of surgery normally would take in spite of the fact that I had several adhesions to other organs in my abdomen. They also informed me that I had lost only one-third of the amount of blood normally lost. The doctor was amazed at how smoothly everything went. I was in tremendous pain for a day or so but my recovery and healing time was, as the doctor stated, pretty miraculous in its expediency.

People who have used this as well as other forms of meditation, including transcendental meditation practitioners, have been found to have younger biological ages on standard measures of aging. This study further observed higher levels of DHEA associated with slower and younger biological aging in the elderly.

The benefits of this treatment process for a professional using this technique can be measured by an increase in the time rapport and trust develop between a client and facilitator.

This is also manifested as the client demonstrates more confidence during more intensive group sessions. It often creates a stronger, deeper and more meaningful bond among the clients in a group doing the imagery together. It centers the clients resulting in the letting go of barriers that can and often otherwise impede the treatment process. We will address how this can be used within treatment processes or in healing programs as well as possible obstacles.

CHAPTER 2

Choosing the Atmosphere

Setting the atmosphere is extremely important in the implementation of guided imagery. It is about creating a safe or sacred space that, then, creates a better experience for the participant. There are potential obstacles that can be inadvertently created if the atmosphere chosen is not appropriate.

In choosing the atmosphere we want to choose an area that allows the participant to either sit or lie down, possibly with a blanket or a pillow they/you find comforting. Most importantly we want to create the sense that everyone has their own space. The participant is much more apt to begin to relinquish their guard if they do not feel that their space is invaded by other people sitting too closely. The best scenario would allow them the option to lie down comfortably with a blanket. A blanket surrounding the participant can create its own sacred space. Health reasons may cause someone to need to use a chair or have to sit up. It is very important that they be able to choose whatever is most comfortable for them. This, then, begins the process of empowering the individual and giving them the message that this is their experience, as they begin to choose how their experience will unfold. They are setting the boundaries for themselves. They are also watching you and the other participants making personal choices, another empowerment reinforcement. And for the individual that has difficulty claiming boundaries of their own, permission.

In this atmosphere we want to decrease as many distractions as possible. We will want to close the windows and the blinds. If you are in a treatment center or some type of program facility you've probably experienced groups that have been disrupted by knocking on the door or an intercom. You may want to put into place barriers to prevent these things from occurring. This can be as simple as putting a sign on the door, reminding people that this is a group that is best uninterrupted and shutting off any phones or intercom systems in the room during the time of the actual imagery.

I have also found it very beneficial to speak with other staff about the importance of not being interrupted. Many times people who have not experienced guided imagery do not realize what interrupting the imagery means and the overall impact disruptions create in the group. One avenue I have used to remedy this is, I have invited staff members at any time, if they would wish to, to come and join the imagery so that they can experience what it is that the clients of the program were doing during that hour. This has worked well and the staff have responded very respectfully later.

Another potential obstacle of disruption in the atmosphere is that clients may have something scheduled which would cause a need for them to leave the group early. Most new participants do not realize that this causes disruption. It is helpful at the beginning of group to specifically ask every participant if there is anything scheduled that will require them to leave the group before the scheduled time is over. If that is the case, I lovingly and gently ask that client to excuse themselves from the group that day for the benefit of everyone else. Another option with this type of obstacle is to help the client to reschedule the other appointment if possible, so it doesn't interfere with the time.

In creating the atmosphere, I always allow clients to bring a pillow or blanket or anything that gives them a sense of creating their own safe space because it helps them to relax more. A pillow or a blanket can be an identifier for the participant that "this is mine" rather than coming into a room and sitting on a chair that is everybody's chair or lying on a hard floor with nothing comforting to hold. It is amazing how one pillow or blanket can reach through miles of defense mechanisms.

Additionally, in creating the atmosphere as a facilitator I have always chosen to sit at the level of the participants. Therefore if I am in a room where all of the participants are sitting in chairs because that is what is appropriate for them, I will sit in a chair also. If I am working with participants who are choosing to lie or sit on the floor then I will also sit on the floor. This is of course dependent on the facilitator's capability physically. I will say, however, that although I suffer from arthritis myself, sitting on the floor while facilitating a guided imagery has always been amazingly simpler than I thought it would be. It can also be helpful to sit on a pillow. During the imagery, you as the facilitator too becomes as focused on breath and higher states of mind as the clients and, in doing so we tend to forget about our bodies for a while. That has always been one of the benefits to me as a facilitator in using this tool. For a while I can forget about my physical pain.

Another reason it is important for the facilitator to stay at the level of the participant is it increases the sense of trust and humanness and removes some of that feeling of superiority and inferiority that occurs between facilitators and participants. Yes, as professionals, we obviously do have to maintain boundaries. But this type of work requires us to be able to relinquish control to a certain degree while maintaining boundaries to send the message of empowerment to the participant. This is the magic that often eliminates the unhealthy defense mechanism they carry due to rebellion to authority or inferiority complexes. We will address this issue in later chapters.

CHAPTER 3

Beneficial Placement of Guided Imagery Groups in a Structured Program

Guided imagery is not only helpful during the group process but can be very beneficial to the entire treatment process when implemented. Guided imagery often increases accomplishment in other groups and in other parts of the day. A very profitable and beneficial time to schedule guided imagery groups is before an intensive group. This is because during this group the participants are made to understand that, in its true essence, this group is theirs. There is not, as in other groups, a hierarchy. This empowers the participant. Through the process of the group, as the client becomes more empowered, they in turn release their unhealthy defense mechanisms. By the end of a successful imagery group, most participants have released or relinquished many guards that they normally come into groups with and that will carry over into the group that they go to following the imagery. Taking that open minded and more vulnerable/ less defensive posture into an intensive group session results in a much more profitable intensive group.

Another time that is very beneficial for guided imagery groups is after lunch if you are in an all-day program, in an outpatient intensive type of program where there is a mealtime or if there are long hours of structured groups. After the mealtime most people (and we will use a day long structure as an example), not unlike us professionals, are fairly weary from already having worked half of the day. Oftentimes the afternoon can be less productive due to fatigue, emotional, physical or mental. Having a guided imagery group following lunch is much like having a power nap. Let's say it is like having a power nap with the bonus of releasing unhealthy defenses and preparing us for more productive experiences in the groups that follow that afternoon. It helps the clients to refocus and rejuvenate and oftentimes helps the facilitator in the same way.

Many programs are inpatient programs and clients are spending several days in the program and sleeping on the premises. Many of these clients have much difficulty sleeping during an intensive treatment process and many of them have had trouble sleeping much of their lives. This includes those who are in programs that are in the evening and then go home and have difficulty sleeping. Having an evening imagery group can be beneficial to these people in relaxing them, releasing the tensions and anxieties that they have accumulated throughout the day and offer a better opportunity for them to fall asleep or stay asleep. Oftentimes with clients I have given them prerecorded guided imageries to use at their bedtime to assist them in falling asleep in a peaceful way. I discovered that many of them who had a history of illness or nightmares, especially regarding PTSD, would have fewer nightmares and a more peaceful sleep. Research has found PTSD clients had fewer nightmares and the symptoms were more manageable with the use of imagery at bedtime.

CHAPTER 4

Preparing the Group and the Obstacle that Facilitators Encounter

As you sit down to begin your guided imagery group there are many things that can occur that can create unwanted distraction and obstacles to the best experience that you would like your participants to have or that you would like yourself to have if you are facilitating imagery yourself. There are preparation tools that can be done in advance to prevent some of the more obvious obstacles that I have oftentimes encountered. But keep in mind, learning how to develop and implement guided imagery is a trial and error process for all of us and we continue to learn through that process. So we do it with great humor.

After I explain the process to the group, I let the participants know that they have the option to sit or lay down. One of the reasons I do this in regard to obstacles is, if I don't give an option to sit on a chair, sit on the floor or lie down sometimes people will just automatically do whatever you are doing or other people are doing. Then, during the imagery, they discover that it is very physically uncomfortable for them. In giving all of the resting position options, they tend to find the position that is going to be the most beneficial and the least distracting to them in their process.

An example of this was a gentleman, new to the group. When I gave permission to sit or lie down in whatever way was comfortable for them, he immediately took into consideration his back injury and he sat with his pillow against his back, leaning against the wall while sitting on the floor. He found this to also work very well for him during future imageries.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from The Beginners Handbook to the Art of Guided Imagery by Virginia L. Thompson. Copyright © 2015 Virginia L. Thompson. Excerpted by permission of Balboa Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: BalboaPress
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 150433440X
• ISBN 13: 9781504334402
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 198