In this guided visualisation exercise you will be encouraged to develop an image in your mind that can bring with it a feeling of peacefulness and relaxation. We carry our imaginations with us everywhere and the imagination can become a tool that we use to bring ourselves into a state of relaxation.

Exercise 7: Guided visualisation

Download the mp3 [ 6.60 mb]
 

Close your eyes and bring into your mind a place that for you has elements of peacefulness, calm and relaxation – this may be a real place that you have been to in your life or it may be a place that you are creating in your imagination from bits and pieces of memories or real places

Once you have started to develop a picture of this place in your mind, start to fill in some of the details in your imagination;

• Look around you in that place and notice what objects you can see.
• Can you hear anything?
• Is it warm, cool, hot, cold in that place?
• Is there sunlight, shadow, are you indoors, outdoors?
• Is the natural world present in this place? What can you notice?
• Is there a breeze or is the air still?
• Notice where you are. Try to place yourself in the very middle of this place you have created in your mind – notice what is around you when you are in the middle of it.

Once you have created the place in your mind – this place that is calm, peaceful and relaxation – just allow yourself to stay there for a little while and enjoy it.

When you are ready to leave look around you for one thing in that place that you could take home as a memento or souvenir. This could be something that you could hold in your hand – if it is imagine it is now in your hand – or it could be an image, a sound or a sensation that you can carry in your memory. Once you have chosen your memento or souvenir, then take it with you as you gently open your eyes and take note of your surroundings.

Finally, remembering your souvenir or memento, close your eyes again and use this souvenir as a key to take you back to this place that is peaceful, calm and relaxation. Once you are back there enjoy being there for a few seconds before taking your souvenir/memento and opening your eyes and noticing your surroundings.

You now know that this is a place you can go to any time, anywhere – you have the souvenir/memento which can be the key to take you there.

Use this exercise as a way of capturing this place in your imagination when you need it.

Exercises in this series

• 1. Audio relaxation strategies
• 2. Muscle tense and release
• 3. Breath hold and release
• 4: Abdominal breathing
• 5: Progressive muscle relaxation
• 6: Slowing down breathing
• 7: Guided visualisation