Imagery is a mental exercise that involves the manipulation of the mind to achieve positive physical and psychological outcomes. The technique is also referred to as self-hypnosis, visualization, and guided imagery. It is used widely by sports psychologists to create mind senses that include imagining certain feel-good mental images or outcomes that are not real but desired.
The feeling is not material but through this technique, the mental images feel real. As per many researchers, this technique of imagery helps a great deal in healing any physical or mental injury.
In sports, there is a large number of physical activities and friction involved, which makes the athletes very prone to any injury. Injured Athletes are not allowed to participate in the game until they have recovered fully and are given approval for playing again.
This hurts the athlete’s overall carrier and psychology. Resultantly, athletes all over the world use this method to achieve a healthy lifestyle and making the recovering process faster. Today, we will help you learn the best way to use imagery and accrue all its benefits.
How to Use Imagery
If you are a beginner in this process, we would like to recommend you to find a professional practitioner to help you easily perform it. If you take the help of any professional for doing Imagery then the process is also called guided imagery. Alternatively, if you do not have access to a skilled practitioner, you can go online for guided audios or use tapes and CDs to help you through the process. Once you are ready, begin by following the following steps:
- Find an isolated place where you will not be disturbed and sit comfortably.
- Take Long deep breaths to relax your body.
- Now just close your eyes and begin picturing a mental image of a vision that is fond to you, it can be anything in the past or something you desire.
- As a general rule, your mind will wander at different places, just acknowledge the other thoughts and get back to the desired image.
- If focusing gets to touch, try to feel your breathing process and focus on it.
- Keep a positive mental attitude.
- You need to try to materialize the vision as real and feel the smells, feeling, tastes, sounds, and sights of that desired experience.
- Try to vison the complete details of the experience like the clothes you are wearing, who else is there, your feelings, etc.
- In case you feel the need to restart as the distractions were too much, then just slowly open your eyes and begin again.
- End the process of imagery with a positive image.
Sports and Imagery
For a long time now, athletes related to all the sports have been using imagery or self-hypnosis methods. These are so popular as they help the athletes to heal faster after an injury, relax pain and manage general stress.
