reduce stress with guided imagery

Have you ever tried Guided Imagery? At my old job, one of the presenters did a talk on guided imagery and how it can help reduce stress. I have to admit, I thought this was the hokiest thing ever. You listen to this person guiding you through things to imagine and it is supposed to relax you… OK???

The first several times that I listened to her talk, I closed my eyes like she said to do and I used that time to think of all the things that I wanted to get done after work. I wasn’t giving the guided imagery a fair chance to work, I just played along because it was my job.

After listening to this so many times I noticed myself starting to imagine being at the beach and I noticed when she had us open our eyes… I felt a little different. The next time I thought I would really give this a chance to see what it really is about. When she turned out the lights, I closed my eyes and this time I really listened and I actually tried to follow along.

Now when I imagined being at the beach it was like I could hear the waves crashing and I could feel the sun beating down on my skin…It was like I was really there! When it was over and I opened my eyes, I felt completely relaxed. Maybe there really was something to this? The more I did it the faster I could get my mind to imagine all these relaxing things and the better I felt.
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The key for me, was finding a guided imagery with a relaxing voice that guided me to what I wanted to experience. If you find the right voice, it makes all the difference.  

​These are the guided imageries that I listen to:

Guided Imagery

Please note I have no affiliation with health journeys other than I listen to their guided imagery.