Alternative Medicine 6: Guided Imagery

In this column we are exploring some of the exciting and interesting options that now exist in health care. Each issue we will focus on different aspects of alternative medicine, examining some of its basic tenets, some important issues involved as well as a closer look at specific therapies and treatments.

Within the realm of wholistic health there exists a mind/body approach to therapy used by many alternative practitioners called guided imagery. Biofeedback practitioners as well as yoga and exercise teachers often use this as a relaxation technique and as a guided meditation. Clinical psychologists and psychotherapists may employ guided imagery as an important part of their treatment for patients with cancer, chronic pain and other challenging conditions. Many bookstores and health food stores sell guided imagery tapes as self-help techniques in their personal growth section.

I offer the following as an example of a guided imagery exercise that you may wish to try. It was originally published in a monthly newspaper in 1995 from a series I wrote called An Inward Look and this one was called "A Triangle of Yourself". This exercise will help you to discover new aspects of your inner self and potentials from deep within you, of which you may not have been aware. The feelings of peace and wellbeing that come from practicing such guided imagery regularly will carry-over into your life, enhancing your overall health and vitality. It is important to find a quiet place where you will be comfortable and will have no interruptions for ten or twenty minutes. You may want to read the following into a tape recorder and then play it back to yourself or have someone else read it to you (and turn off the phone). Then find a comfortable place to sit or lye on your back, perhaps with a blanket over you.

Begin by taking several deep inhalations, pulling in from the universe everything that feels good to you. This may be fresh air, well-wishes from those who know and love you, or even angelic-like influences from your spiritual source or sources. Let each inhalation be followed by a deep exhalation that directs these energies through your entire being, permeating each and every cell of your body. Really take the time to feel every cell of your being fill-up with all that is good and nurturing for you. So to repeat, you are breathing in all that is good for you from the universe (or heaven above) on the inhalation, and then distributing this throughout your being on the exhalation. Feel your body tingle with this new energy. Spend as much time as you need breathing in such good energy until you really experience its fullness.

Now when you are ready, change your focus to your bones. Tune in to the solid yet alive quality of your bones--from the cranial bones of your head to your entire spine, pelvis, as well as the bones in your arms, hands, legs and feet. Feel the force of gravity move through your skeletal structure making you feel heavy and yet enlivened to the very core of your being...