Though Western medicine is reluctant to accept that the mind can alter the body, it already firmly believes the reverse - that the physical can affect the mental - and it regularly utilises this connection.
Tranquillisers, anti depressants, and anaesthetics are all examples of this. Since it is obvious that the body can affect the mind, doesn’t it stand to reason that the use of mental power such as imagery can affect the body. The medical use of imagery has existed in many cultures around the world for centuries (in Tibet, India, Africa, among Eskimos and American Indians).
Imagery provides a technique to generate new experiences. Instead of simply reacting to experi-ences, you create them - as you do in your life when you intentionally set a new goal.
Try to see your life as a garden that needs to be tended. We are essentially gardeners entrusted with our own reality - gardens. As gardeners we must attend to the weeding, seeding and harvesting. Gar-dens that are full of weeds cannot be harvested properly. Weeds will over run the seeds and prevent them from taking root and blossoming. Illness, disease, and negative beliefs are weeds that we have allowed to grow in our personal gardens. Emotions such as anxiety, depression, fear, panic, worry and despair are also weeds. Negative beliefs and emotions are intimately connected with illness and disease. It’s no surprise to anyone who recognises the basic unity of the body-mind that research-ers have found a correlation between negative emotions and lowered immunity. Similarly, positive beliefs bring us positive emotions such as humor, joy and happiness, and researchers have show that positive emotions are tied into the healthy immune responses.
Mental imagery is a technique for clearing out the old, negative weed-beliefs and replacing them with new, positive seed-beliefs. By becoming a gardener of your own reality, self-heating becomes possible.
PREPARATION
Imaging is directly and dramatically connected to intention, the mental action that directs our atten-tion and our acatten-tions. When we do an imagery exercise, we always begin by defining and clarifying our intention - what we want to achieve with the exercise. Intention is directed will, and it is essential to all self healing work generated through the imagination. By using the imagination, we direct the will inward to find new pathways for ourselves, creating better health and richer lives.
Imagination involves the use of the right side of the brain, opening ourselves to change and renewal.
The key to the process of imagery work lies in the connection between emotions, sensations and images. An image is a mental form of feeling. In imagery work, you use your images to change your emotions or your sensations. Using images we have the capacity to create something new, influenc-ing the physical materials of our bodies by utilisinfluenc-ing our unique creative imagination.
Imagery is possibly the most powerful yet easy method of self-healing. Focussing your capacity for day dreaming through a distinct intention is the key to successful imagery. It is very important that you feel a sensation with your imagery, the stronger the sensation, the more powerful the imagery.
Once an initial imagery exercise has triggered a sensation, it takes less effort to stimulate that sensa-tion which triggers the healing intensensa-tion.
A positive example of this is when Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell, because it triggered the vision of food in their minds. Another example how an imaging trigger can set loose a powerful physiological effect is an experiment performed in a New York hospital. A group of 30 former heroin addicts, free of drugs for 10 years, agreed to board a bus that would take them to the New York street corner where a decade earlier they had bought their drugs. As soon as they saw the image of the street corner the ex-addicts went into a state of drug withdrawal.
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Ayurveda Elements 17 Orchard Rd Chatswood NSW 2067 0061 2 9904 7754
BEGINNING THE EXERCISE
Imagery is very potent at the three transitional points of your day. Upon waking, at twilight and be-fore sleep. Ideally creative visualisation (imagery) is performed in a quiet room at a time when you won’t be disturbed, however imagery can be done anywhere at any time. If you prefer to sit while visualising, place your feet flat on the floor, your palms in your lap or by your side, keeping your spine straight and your head in alignment with your body. You may prefer to lie down in which case keep your legs slightly apart, your palms by your side, facing upwards and your head in alignment with your body.
Gently close your eyes and relax your whole body. Bring your awareness to your breathing. Feel your whole body becoming heavy and sinking into the floor as if you were resting in a warm cloud.
RIVER OF LIFE
Close your eyes. Breathe deeply three times to completely relax. See your eyes becoming clear and very bright. Then see them turning inward, becoming two rivers flowing down from the sinuses into the nasal cavity and throat down to flush out all the channels of the body. Their currents carrying away all the waste products, pain and congestion. The rivers are flowing through your chest and ab-domen, into your legs and exiting as murky coloured water through your urinary tract. Place special attention on the kidney and urinary channels. Visualise your breath exhaling as black air and waste products flowing out of all orifices. Sense the river pulsating rhythmically through the body and see light coming from above, filling up the sinuses, nose, throat, respiratory channels, prostate, kidneys and urethra all the tissues are becoming pink and healthy. When you sense both the rhythmic flow and the light filling the cavities, breathe out and open your eyes.
EGYPTIAN HEALING
Close your eyes. Breathe out three times, relaxing our whole body. Imagine yourself standing in a large open field or green grass. See yourself stretching up toward the bright golden sun in a cloudless blue sky. Your arms are becoming very long as you stretch your palms up toward the sun.
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The sun’s rays enter your palms, circulating through the hands and finger tips so that there is a ray of sunshine from each finger. If you are right handed at the end of each ray of the fingers of your right hand see a complete small hand. At the end of the ray of each finger of your left hand, see an eye.
Now you see five hands and five eyes. If you are left handed, see the hands on your left fingers and eyes on your right fingers. Now turn these hands and eyes towards your body and use the eyes to see your body, emitting light in or on the area you are investigating. Each small hand holds a different instrument. There is a gold bristled brush for cleaning, a laser light tube for healing, golden scalpel for surgery, cans of golden ointment for healing, as well as gold thread for sewing. After completing your work come out of your body the same way you entered. Waste materials you collected with the small hands should be thrown away behind you. Hold your hands up toward the sun, allowing the small hands and eyes to absorb back into your palms to be stored there for future use.
PURIFICATION PROCESS
Close your eyes and breathing deeply three times relax your whole body. Visualise yourself on a beautiful calm beach, preferably a place that you have visited or seen before. There is golden sand, a cloudless blue sky and the sun is shining warm and golden.
Walk to the shoreline, where the water meets the sand. Gazing at the endless expanse of clear blue ocean relaxes your body and clears all thoughts from your mind. Lie down on your back with the soles of your feet towards the water and gently smooth your body over with the sand and water mix-ture, cleansing your skin. The tide enters the soles of feet and creates spiral currants of water wash-ing away all the toxins from your body, dissolvwash-ing any deposits or nodules. As the water flows out through the soles of your feet see the waste product emerging as black or grey stands being carried away by the out going tide. Repeat this sequence of the water flowing into your body and carrying all the toxins from your body twice more. Feel all your muscles being massaged and your ligaments, tendons and joints stretching. Make sure the water flushes through your whole body from the tips of your toes to the tips of your fingers up to the crown of your head. One last time see the water exit from your body through the soles of your feet and the water is crystal clear. See all joints, tendons and cartilages are perfectly formed strong and glowing white. Sense a new strength and vitality flowing through the body.
Stand up and dive into the warm crystal clear ocean, swimming out confidently to out the hori-zon. Your arms, legs and torso are becoming long as you swim free style in smooth, flowing strokes.
As you reach the horizon, turn over onto your back and swim to the shore using backstroke. Your arms, legs and torso feel stretched, strong and flexible.
Reaching the shore you walk out of the water. To-tally revived and refreshed you say to yourself with a contented smile “I am now experiencing real love, real health and real happiness. All positive forces in the universe are creating joy in my life, now and al-ways.”
Affirmations
Repeat your favourite from the following phrases at the end of each visualisation:
I comfortably and easily release the old and wel-come the new in my life. I am safe.
I only create joyful experiences in my life.
I accept and rejoice in myself.
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Ayurveda Elements 17 Orchard Rd Chatswood NSW 2067 0061 2 9904 7754
1. Nidra Rest
1. What are the three signs of healthy sleep?
2. What should the direction of head be when you sleep?
3. What is the best time to go to sleep?
4. What are the techniques to optimise quality of sleep?
5. What are the activities included in nidra?
6. What are the best positions for sleep?
7. Who should have a siesta? What are the effects of regular day sleep?
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2. Maithuna Relationship 1. What is the most important relationship?
2. What are the techniques to optimise relationship with your partner?
3. How do you improve your relationship with your family and friends?
4. How do you improve your relationship with society?
5. How do you improve your relationship with nature?
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3. Vyaayaama Exercise 1. What are the three forms of exercise?
2. What are your favourite forms of exercise?
3. What is your best time to exercise?
4. How many hours do you exercise?
5. What are the signs of the right amount of exercise?
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4. Aahaara Nutrition
1. Are you just what you eat?
2. What is the force behind digestion?
3. What is the reason behind eating?
4. What is by-product of bad digestion?
5. Is drinking permitted while eating?
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5. Karma Work
1. Do you feel like your effort is reciprocated?
2. Do you feel like you are contributing positively?
3. Do you feel like your strength is challenged?
4. Do you feel satisfied at the end of the day?
5. Does it help you grow in wisdom?
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