How Can Guided Visualization Help My Body Heal?

Believe. Visualize. Heal. – Whether conquering infertility, recovering from painful loss, or facing incredibly taxing treatments from a cancer diagnosis – the path that enables us to heal and transform starts with these three steps.

We believe deeply that nurturing the mind + body connection through each of these actions is the key to unlocking our body’s immense potential for physical, emotional, and spiritual self-healing.

What happens when we are able to harness this innate healing power is that we undergo a transformation – we emerge with wings and the will to take flight. We chose the Hummingbird as the symbol for our Healing from Cancer program because it so beautifully illustrates this resilience and strength:

“The Hummingbird symbolizes great courage, determination, flexibility, and adaptability. It is only a few ounces in weight, yet has the courage of a lion. Hummingbird is a totem of fearlessness, and represents lightness of being.” ¹

So how do all of these pieces work in harmony to promote real healing? The answer is Guided Imagery. Dr. Bernie Siegel describes guided visualization and meditation as “powerful tools to help you be aware of your true needs and then make them happen. Seeing what you want in your mind’s eye helps convince your unconscious that it’s possible, and that helps create an atmosphere of healing and hope.”

How Exactly Does Guided Imagery Work?

1. The Placebo Effect – As you probably know, the placebo effect is what happens when some people who are given a pill with an inactive ingredient get better because they think they are taking a real medication. The mind acts as a powerful commander with the rest of our body and positive belief plays a part in the positive outcome. Even though our lungs, heart, immune system or blood flow doesn’t actually speak in words, there is a very intricate and impactful way in which the body communicates within. The mind, including our emotions and belief system, plays an enormous role in this.
2. When you visualize, you believe, and when you believe, you heal. Connected and intertwined with the placebo effect, belief in what your body is capable of can instill real change from within. The mind’s eye, which is not capable of discerning when you are visualizing something versus actually experiencing something, acts as the conduit and base level of response and communication within the body. Very simply, if you see a juicy piece of fruit that you are about to bit into, you will begin to salivate. If you simply imagine that same piece of fruit, you will also begin to salivate. It’s the same theory. Visualization versus actually experiencing something is the same thing. You can communicate and tell your body to do certain things by visualizing.
3. It certainly can’t hurt, and it feels good to be doing everything you can to help in times of extraordinary difficulty. Helping yourself by taking action takes you out of the victim mentality and puts into you a state of empowerment. Endorphins, or happy chemicals, will flood the system as you take action and send “live” messages to your body that help boost your immune system. This fact alone is a great reason to practice meditation and visualization.

How has guided imagery helped you to heal and what other tools have you found useful along your healing journey?

With love + gratitude ~

¹http://www.universeofsymbolism.com/hummingbird-meaning.html