Natural Health

Think about how you feel when you’re watching a really scary film. You’re tense, your jaw and fists are clenched, your heart is racing, you’re sweating and your mouth is dry. Your body is reacting physically to what you see and hear, and although you are not in any danger the power of your imagination is so strong that your body is tricked into believing that it is.

But now think about how you might feel if you were watching a film on dolphins. You are much more likely to feel relaxed, happy and contented. So the messages we receive exert an effect on our state of mind. In the same way, if you continually tell yourself you are no good at something, it is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. All these examples demonstrate the power of the mind.

Picture The Positive

Visualization and affirmations are techniques that work in a similar way and are used to help people overcome fear and pain, relax, increase their self-confidence, improve their sporting ability and trigger their body’s self-healing mechanism. By seeing yourself feeling confident and perform­ing well in a job interview, or at a competitive sport, you can increase your chances of doing so in real life.

One study, conducted in 1969 by Dr Carl Simonton and psychologist Stephanie Simonton, even found that patients suffering from cancer who imagined the white blood cells destroying the cancer, lived twice as long as other cancer patients.

Affirmations are positive statements such as “I am good at my job” which, when continually repeated over a period of time, are believed to help change negative feelings about ourselves, other people or situations. This has been likened to repro­gramming a computer. Studies show that a positive attitude can speed up the healing process, improve the quality of life and help maintain good health.

The Power Of The Mind

Scientific research using brain scans, electrodes attached to the body, blood tests and other techniques also confirm that our emotions can influence a wide range of physical changes in the body. They appear to do this by triggering the release of chemicals called neuropeptides, which affect the nervous, hormonal, reproductive and immune systems, blood pressure, heart rate and behavior of cells in the body. Feeling angry or tense, for example, can release a flood of neuropeptides into the body, causing blood pressure to rise and muscles to tighten, as well as preventing the immune system from functioning properly; feeling happy can release neuropeptides which cause blood pressure to drop, muscles to relax and the immune system to function more efficiently.

Ideas For Visualizations

Stress
Imagine you are on a beautiful, tranquil beach, walking along the shoreline then lying on the sand, listening to the sea and the tropical birds, smelling the salt, soaking up the sun and the atmosphere.

Pain
Picture a team of strong, healthy people marching to the site of the pain, loading it into a box, locking it securely, burying it and planting a strong oak tree over it, surrounded by beautiful flowers.

Infection
Visualize yourself with a powerful hoover, sucking up each and every one of the infected cells. When you’ve finished, remove the hoover bag and throw it into a furnace, or onto a bonfire.

What The Experts Say

Dr Alan Watkins, founder and chairman of the European Brain Immune Network Group who is involved in research in the UK into the effects of the mind on the immune system (known as psychoneu­roimmunology or PNI), says that it is not so much what you see, hear and say that causes physical changes, but how you feel.

“Visualizing sharks eating up cancer cells are only likely to help if that image makes you feel powerful. Similarly, repeating ‘Every day, in every way, I am becoming better and better’ (a famous affirmation coined by French psychotherapist Emile Coue in the early part of this century), will only help if you really believe it to be true”.

Picturing yourself lying on a beach may not be enough to help relieve tension. Imagine you can hear the sound of the waves gently lapping on the shoreline, visualize the warm sun on your body, smell the seaweed and taste the salt in the air – in other words, use as many of all the five senses as possible.

When it comes to building self-confidence, overcoming a fear of public speaking or improving work or sports performance, there may be other factors at play. Sports psychologist Dr David Houlston says, “Posture and non-verbal behavior can be as important as physical behavior. Seeing yourself performing well in your mind’s eye, or visualizing a time when you played a game or handled a job interview well, can not only boost your self-confidence but also serve as a mental rehearsal, during which you act out in your mind exactly what you are going to do or say. Using affirmations alongside visual imagery, like saying ‘Relax’ as you see your­self entering the interview room, is an added tool to help put you in a positive frame of mind.”

Learning The Skills

Some psychotherapists and hypnothera­pists, and many holistic practitioners, from homeopaths to healers, incorporate visualization and affirmation training into their treatment programs for physical and psychological problems. These techniques are also often taught in self-development workshops which you may find advertised locally, in health magazines, health stores and healing centers.

If you are taught by a practitioner, he or she will probably begin by taking your medical history and asking what you hope to achieve through using visualization and affirmations. This will help the practitioner decide the type of imagery and statements to use. She will then take you through a short relaxation sequence. When you relax your brain waves slow down and you will find it easier to use your imagination.

Next the practitioner will talk you through what he or she would like you to try and see, hear, smell, taste and feel in your mind’s eye. You may be asked to repeat affirmations either during the visualization, or separately. Sessions usually last half an ­hour to an hour, and you will probably be advised to practice at home using a pre­recorded tape.

10 Positive Affirmations To Get You Started

1. I love and respect myself
2. I am loved and respected by others
3. My life is exciting and fun
4. I am good at my job
5. I am capable of (insert your own intention – overcoming/giving up/succeeding at…)
6. I am in control of this situation
7. I respond well to challenges
8. I am happy, relaxed and contented
9. I am attracting more and more wealth into my life
10. I have a right to my feelings

Teach Yourself Visualization

You don’t have to seek professional help to start practicing visualization skills. Follow these steps and start to see the benefits for yourself:

1. First, plan what you are going to visualize, according to what you hope to achieve (e.g. improve your health, self-confidence, sporting ability, etc). Think of it as a story, or film, in which you have the lead role. Write down what you are doing, seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feel­ing (remembering that not every experience stimulates all the senses). Or record it, speaking slowly and serenely, making sure you leave enough time to follow the instructions. Include, at the appropriate points, any affirmations you think might be helpful.
2. Find a place where you are not likely to be disturbed. Lie down, or sit either cross-legged and in an upright position, or in a comfortable chair which supports your back and head, and close your eyes.
3. Take three deep breaths. Feel the air being drawn in through your nose, filling your lungs, expanding your chest and pushing out your diaphragm. Breathe out through your mouth, feeling your chest deflate and diaphragm rise again.
4. Starting at the top of your head, mentally work your way down your body, imagining all your muscles relaxing. Feel the tension leave your face muscles, jaw, neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, arms, hands and fingers, pelvic girdle, bottom, legs, feet and toes until your whole body feels relaxed, warm and heavy.
5. Then, in your mind’s eye, work through your visualization either from memory or by listening to your recorded instructions.
6. When you have finished, keep your eyes closed for a few more minutes before slowly opening them.

The more often you practice, the more effective visualization and affirmations are likely to be. Visualizing once or twice a day is ideal, although two or three times a week can be beneficial. Once you are familiar with the technique, you’ll find you can practice it almost anywhere – standing at a bus stop, sitting on a train, in a quiet corner of the office or in a changing room – and that just five or ten minutes at a time may help.

If you are using affirmations on their own, follow steps one to four and then repeat your affirmations either mentally or out loud. Some practitioners feel they have more power spoken aloud, and that look­ing in a mirror as you speak will help convince your subconscious mind. Affirmations should always be in the present tense, and kept short and specific. Avoid negative constructions and words like ‘should’ or ‘ought’. Try to repeat them four or five times a day for most benefit.

Affirmation and Visualization Are Good For:

• Physical ailments from headaches to cancer
• Low self esteem
• Fears and phobias
• Anxiety and depression
• Improving work and sports performance
• Reducing feelings of aggression
• Giving up smoking
• Infertility and menstrual problems
• Relaxation
• Energy boosting

Affirmation and Visualization:

AVAILABILITY – Widespread

MEDICAL EVIDENCE – Increasing

MEDICAL ACCEPTANCE – Positive

SELF HELP – Easy