Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsHow to PracticeWhere to Learn Guided ImageryEffectsHow It WorksBenefitsLimitationsCompared to Other TechniquesTips
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
How to Practice
Where to Learn Guided Imagery
Effects
How It Works
Benefits
Limitations
Compared to Other Techniques
Tips
Close
Guided imagery is a mind-body intervention that involves evoking positive mental imagery to help invoke a positive effect. This relaxation technique can be helpful for calming the body, relieving stress, and combatting feelings of anxiety.
It can quickly calm your body and simultaneously relax your mind. It’s pleasant to practice and not overly difficult or intimidating to learn. It can help you de-stress in minutes and can also be a useful strategy for maintaining resilience toward stress during difficult times.
Guided imagery is a convenient and simple relaxation technique that can help you quickly and easily manage stress and reduce tension in your body. It’s virtually as easy as indulging in a vivid daydream, and with practice, this technique can help you to access your inner wisdom better.
At a GlanceIf you are experiencing stress or anxiety, guided imagery can be a powerful relaxation tool that delivers quick, calming effects. If this sounds like something you can use in your life, read more about when guided imagery is used, and how it may be a useful go-to stress reliever for you. Here, we’ll examine the benefits and drawbacks of this simple and engaging stress management technique and explore how it compares to other methods so you can determine how guided imagery may fit into your life.
At a Glance
If you are experiencing stress or anxiety, guided imagery can be a powerful relaxation tool that delivers quick, calming effects. If this sounds like something you can use in your life, read more about when guided imagery is used, and how it may be a useful go-to stress reliever for you. Here, we’ll examine the benefits and drawbacks of this simple and engaging stress management technique and explore how it compares to other methods so you can determine how guided imagery may fit into your life.
How to Practice Guided Imagery
Now that you understand the basics of this stress management tool, let’s get into how you can practice it. The following are general guidelines to help you understand the process of guided imagery, and be able to practice it on your own. Here’s how to make guided imagery practice work for you.
Get Comfortable
Get into a relaxed position, like the one you would use formeditationor self-hypnosis. If a lying-down position would likely put you to sleep, opt for a cross-legged position or recline in a comfortable chair. Try to position yourself in a way where your physical comfort won’t be a distraction.
Breathe From Your Belly
Use diaphragmicdeep breathingand close your eyes, focusing on “breathing in peace and breathing out stress.” This means letting your belly expand and contract with your breath—if you find your shoulders rising and falling, you are likely carrying tension in your body and not breathing in the most relaxed way.
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Vividly Imagine Your Scene
Once you are in a relaxed state, begin to envision yourself in the most relaxing environment you can imagine. The key is to find what works for you.
You may want to remember a time and place when you felt wonderful and relaxed (a “happy place” in your memory), a vividly-described scene from a book you love, or the way you imagine a place you’ve always wanted to visit.
Immerse Yourself In Sensory Details
As you imagine your scene, try to involve all of your senses.
Make your vision so real you can even taste it! (Noticing these details in your daily life is a way toincrease your mindfulness, which brings lasting stress management benefits as well.)
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Relax
Stay here for as long as you like. Enjoy your ‘surroundings’, and let yourself be far from what stresses you. When you’re ready to come back to reality, count back from ten or twenty, and tell yourself that when you get to ‘one’, you’ll feel serene and alert and enjoy the rest of your day.
When you return, you’ll feel calmer and refreshed, like returning from a mini-vacation, but you won’t have left the room!
There are a few different ways to practice using guided imagery, including:
There are multiple ways to practice guided imagery and the different ways of using it. A popular method is using your own thoughts simply because this takes the least amount of preparation and expense.
You can also explore guided imagery at many yoga studios, with recordings, and through an experienced therapist. You can also record your own guided imagery tapes.
Research also suggests that online delivery of guided imagery interventions can be helpful.
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The Effects of Guided Imagery
Research suggests that guided imagery can increasealpha brain waves, which are associated with a relaxed, enhanced mood.When stressed, alpha waves tend to decrease, which is connected to a heightened state of alertness and anxiety. By increasing alpha waves, guided imagery can help to quickly induce feelings of relaxation when a person is under stress.
Guided imagery is often used in healthcare and therapy settings to help people cope with the effects of medical and mental health conditions. Fortunately, guided imagery is a simple enough technique that can be used at home, with positive results.
How to Use Relaxation Techniques
How Guided Imagery Works
Guided imagery can be used to induce a state of deep relaxation. This can be done with the help of a guided imagery recording, a professional helper, or just one’s own imagination. The process involves envisioning a relaxing scene in great detail relating to all of the senses.
The scene envisioned in guided imagery can be something in the natural world, like a beautiful waterfall in Hawaii or a cool and dense forest where you may take a calming walk in your imagination.
Those who use guided imagery for stress relief may imagine a wise ‘guide’ with them, answering their questions and asking them questions to ponder. Imagining a ‘guide’ is a representation of their subconscious mind that they aren’t generally able to access.
The Benefits of Guided Imagery
Imagery can provide relaxation, insight, and wisdom. It can help you to relieve physical tension and psychological stress at the same time, distracting you from what may be stressing you, and getting you into a more positive frame of mind.
Research indicates that guided imagery can enhance the mind-body connection and:
Guided imagery is a free stress-relieving therapy and, with practice, can be done just about anywhere.
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Potential Pitfalls and Limitations
There are also a few potential limitations to consider. Likeself-hypnosis, mastering autonomous guided imagery can take some practice. Working with a professional therapist to get to that point can be somewhat costly but worthwhile. Alternatively, you can use many downloadable recordings to get started or follow the simple instructions in this article on guided imagery.
Some people are unable to visualize things in their mind, this is known asaphantasia. If you struggle with visualization, you may find other stress management techniques like yoga or meditation more helpful.
How Guided Imagery Compares to Other Techniques
Accessing an internal ‘guide’ takes more practice than other methods likeprogressive muscle relaxationor breathing exercises.
It’s similar to self-hypnosis in that you’re getting into a deep state of relaxation and dealing with your subconscious mind. However, with self-hypnosis, you’re more often implanting ideas into your subconscious mind, whereas imagery focuses more on extracting ideas from it.
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Tips for Practicing Guided Imagery
Try these tips to enhance your guided imagery experience:
Remember, guided imagery can be a quick and effective way to deal with stress. However, other relaxation techniques, such as yoga, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation, may also be helpful.
If stress interferes with your ability to function normally, talk to your doctor or a licensed mental health professional. They can recommend strategies and treatments, including therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes.
4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lim CW, Othman A, Hashim HA.The effect of online-delivered guided imagery relaxation on stress and well-being of primary school children.Malays J Med Sci. 2023;30(4):102-115. doi:10.21315/mjms2023.30.4.10Zemla K, Sedek G, Wróbel K, Postepski F, Wojcik GM.Investigating the impact of guided imagery on stress, brain functions, and attention: A randomized trial.Sensors (Basel). 2023;23(13):6210. doi:10.3390/s23136210Krau SD.The multiple uses of guided imagery.Nurs Clin North Am. 2020;55(4):467-474. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2020.06.013Parizad N, Goli R, Faraji N, et al.Effect of guided imagery on anxiety, muscle pain, and vital signs in patients with COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial.Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021;43:101335. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101335
4 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Lim CW, Othman A, Hashim HA.The effect of online-delivered guided imagery relaxation on stress and well-being of primary school children.Malays J Med Sci. 2023;30(4):102-115. doi:10.21315/mjms2023.30.4.10Zemla K, Sedek G, Wróbel K, Postepski F, Wojcik GM.Investigating the impact of guided imagery on stress, brain functions, and attention: A randomized trial.Sensors (Basel). 2023;23(13):6210. doi:10.3390/s23136210Krau SD.The multiple uses of guided imagery.Nurs Clin North Am. 2020;55(4):467-474. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2020.06.013Parizad N, Goli R, Faraji N, et al.Effect of guided imagery on anxiety, muscle pain, and vital signs in patients with COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial.Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021;43:101335. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101335
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Lim CW, Othman A, Hashim HA.The effect of online-delivered guided imagery relaxation on stress and well-being of primary school children.Malays J Med Sci. 2023;30(4):102-115. doi:10.21315/mjms2023.30.4.10Zemla K, Sedek G, Wróbel K, Postepski F, Wojcik GM.Investigating the impact of guided imagery on stress, brain functions, and attention: A randomized trial.Sensors (Basel). 2023;23(13):6210. doi:10.3390/s23136210Krau SD.The multiple uses of guided imagery.Nurs Clin North Am. 2020;55(4):467-474. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2020.06.013Parizad N, Goli R, Faraji N, et al.Effect of guided imagery on anxiety, muscle pain, and vital signs in patients with COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial.Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021;43:101335. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101335
Lim CW, Othman A, Hashim HA.The effect of online-delivered guided imagery relaxation on stress and well-being of primary school children.Malays J Med Sci. 2023;30(4):102-115. doi:10.21315/mjms2023.30.4.10
Zemla K, Sedek G, Wróbel K, Postepski F, Wojcik GM.Investigating the impact of guided imagery on stress, brain functions, and attention: A randomized trial.Sensors (Basel). 2023;23(13):6210. doi:10.3390/s23136210
Krau SD.The multiple uses of guided imagery.Nurs Clin North Am. 2020;55(4):467-474. doi:10.1016/j.cnur.2020.06.013
Parizad N, Goli R, Faraji N, et al.Effect of guided imagery on anxiety, muscle pain, and vital signs in patients with COVID-19: A randomized controlled trial.Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021;43:101335. doi:10.1016/j.ctcp.2021.101335
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