IT DOESN'T WORK!

I often hear those 3 little words, "It doesn't work!"  This often comes from someone new to visualization exercises.  I also have said these exact words before as well; before I knew any better.  After someone says this to me, I ask them a few questions.

1.  "How many times did you do visualization?"  Most of the time the answer is once or twice. Did it only take one try to ride a bike?  Does it only take one attempt at the perfectly grilled steak?  Did it only take you one class to get your degree?  Good grief no!  Everything we do in life for the most part requires us doing it more than once and actually often.  It's called practice and patience.  Why should it be any different for visualization?  It's not.  It's a daily practice!

2.  "Were you in a quiet space?"  The answer, "I'm just so busy that I never have a quiet time."  There's no way a beginner can block out the background enough to try visualization without being in a quiet space.  I even like it dark as well.  A closet works well believe it or not!  I make sure the kids are gone or sleeping and that I am away from all distractions.

3.   "Were you breathing deeply?"  I usually just get stared at and they'll say, "What do you me exactly?"  Most of us breathe very shallow.  We do chest breathing.  It's very unproductive really.  We should be breathing from the diaphragm.  Practice: You may sit down or lie down.  Place one hand over your abdomen and one on your chest.  Breathe in through your nose and you should feel your abdomen protrude out.  If it doesn't and your chest rises instead, then you know you are breathing very shallowly.  Try it again.  If you feel your abdomen expand  or rise with you inhale and fall when you exhale that's good!  By practicing this and being conscious of it, you can ease stress, get more oxygen to your brain and make it easier to relax during your visualization exercises.

4.  "Could you quiet your mind?"  Almost every single time that answer is a very large NO.  This is I think the hardest part of visualization.  When I started, my mind would go straight to what I had to get done that day and I would be stressing that my to do list was getting longer while I was laying there.  That's super frustrating.  The deep breathing helps with this big time.  It also helps to know that whatever is there to do will be there when you're done.  Many of us have too much on our plates anyway.  Let it go!  Another very helpful things is adding essential oils to your practice.  Diffusing Wild Orange, Balance or Serenity can all be beneficial.  Just the smells alone can center everything. I will go into this in a day or 2 in a second post!  “Our sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than any other of our senses and recognition of smell is immediate. Other senses like touch and taste must travel through the body via neurons and the spinal cord before reaching the brain whereas the olfactory response is immediate, extending directly to the brain. This is the only place where our central nervous system is directly exposed to the environment.” (von Have, Serene Aromatherapy)

These methods do work, but it does require patience, practice and consistency!  Always remember, "You have powers you never dreamed of.  You can do things your never thought you could do.  There are not limitations in what you can do except the limitations of your own mind."  Darwin P. Kingsley