Not all therapeutic guided imagery has to be lengthy, you can neutralise feelings of panic and overwhelm with simple breathing techniques coupled with some relaxing imagery, combining two of the most powerful stress relievers together to get instant results.
Technique 1
My personal favourite technique when I can feel my thoughts starting to spiral out of control and my emotions starting to spike is what I call Breathing Tide Technique.
In a sitting position with your head held high and back straight either in a chair or if possible, on the floor, start by taking in some deep breaths.
Close your eyes, and take a deep breath
hold for a second and release
Repeat this 5 times
Now, you can introduce some imagery, I like to create an image of a serene beach at dusk.
Imagine yourself sitting on the sand facing the sea.
The sea is vast and calm, the sun is setting and there is a wonderful hue of colour enveloping all that you can see.
Your eyes focus on the shore line and with every inhale your breath draws the sea in until it laps at your feet and as you release, the tide gently travels back towards the sea.
Continue breathing in the sea and breathing it back out.
Now, add more sensory detail by imagining, vividly the coolness of the wave as it reaches your feet
Hear the gentle sound of water as it gently breaks into a tide
Hear the birds getting ready to settle down for the evening
Smell the salty sea
Do this for as long as you need until you feel as calm as the sea in your visualisation.
Technique 2
Lying in down in a quiet place is best for this method otherwise sitting is fine.
-Begin to slow your breathing and allow it to deepen a little.
-Allow your senses to become aware of your body, starting at your toes slowly scanning up to your head.
-Feel all the sensations in your body, any tingling, pain, tension or stress.
-Now begin to visualise the stress physically leaving your body in waves with each exhale, this can look any way you like to imagine it.
-The more vivid you paint this picture the better, the waves can have a colour and they may radiate more strongly from the parts of your body carrying the most feeling.
-Practice this for as long as possible until you feel calmer
Technique
In a sitting position with your head held high and back straight either in a chair or if possible, on the floor, start by taking in some deep breaths.
-Now, allow your awareness to focus on your seated base so you can feel strong and grounded where you sit.
-Have a gentle scan of your body picking up any tension and stress you may be holding on to.
-Continue to take nice, deep breaths, not too exaggerated but not quite your normal breathing, imagine that with each inhale the air you breath in is a wonderful blue colour, vivid and calming.
-Then, visualise your exhales as the colour black, or dark grey, this is the stress, tension and/or even anxiety leaving your body.
-Make this as vivid as possible, all the while taking nice slightly deeper slightly prolonged breaths.
-Repeat for as long as you can or until you feel lighter.
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