Guided Imagery & Meditations

In my group mediation courses, I combine spiritual words, meditation techniques, breathing techniques, and guided imagery together with bilateral stimulation to target different mental distresses. Below is a short explanation of why each of these elements is needed in targeting mental distress. The topic of my group meditation, therefore, differs targeting different distressing events or mental distress.

Meditation, I believe, is a crucial element of mental wellbeing. There are many techniques out there. The one that I like to use is about putting our heart toward the Source of creation and communing with our higher self and reconnecting to our divine reality. Many of today’s challenges are really the result of our disconnection from spirituality and instead of it, aiming to reciprocate this fundamental need with things such as food, excess use, excess joy, or addictive behaviors such as workaholism.   I also like to use guided imagery (GI). GI is about creating positive mental images to evoke a state of relaxation or physiologic change.  Imagery is a way that our nervous system stores, processes and accesses information and codes our dreams, fantasies, memories, etc.  Various research has shown that guided imagery can help with managing and relieving pain, improving chronic disability, reducing anxiety and stress, quitting unhealthy habits such as smoking, reducing depression symptoms, and improving some PTSD symptoms such as trouble with sleeping.

Guided imagery is a powerful proprietary method of personal and psychological inquiry and must be used by knowledgeable practitioners as it can be overwhelming for some people that are suffering from certain mental illnesses as it exposes them to high levels of affect.   Breathing techniques are fundamental in reducing the physiological and psychological distress symptoms as breathing impacts positively both our body and mind. When breathing and guided imagery are combined with bilateral stimulation creates a powerful tool for training our brain in ways it gives meaning to our experiences and processing them. Bilateral stimulation is a technique, in which we activate both sides of the brain simultaneously for creating new positive neural networks regarding our memories and learnings.