| A fascinating fact about your subconscious mind is | | | | squat or bench press. |
| that it's completely deductive in nature. In other words, | | | | One creative way you can use mental imagery is |
| it’s fully capable of working backwards from the | | | | called “process visualization.” Once you've set |
| end to the means. You don't need to know how to | | | | your goals, it's easy to come up with a list of the daily |
| reach a goal at the time you set the goal. If you | | | | habits, behaviors and action steps necessary to reach |
| "program" only the desired outcome successfully into | | | | your goal. So write down the action steps and |
| your "mental computer," then your subconscious will | | | | visualize them - the entire process, not just the end |
| take over and help you find the information and means | | | | result. See yourself food shopping and grabbing fruits, |
| and carry out the actions necessary to reach it. | | | | vegetables and lean proteins, ordering healthy foods |
| Many people are familiar with affirmations and | | | | from restaurant menus, saying no to sodas and |
| goal-setting as ways to give instructions to your | | | | drinking water instead, and going to the gym |
| subconscious mind. But perhaps the ultimate mental | | | | consistently and having killer workouts. Some people |
| training” technique is visualization. In one respect, | | | | visualize their entire “perfect day” as they would |
| affirmation and visualization are the same, because | | | | want it to unfold. When you do this as vividly, |
| when you speak or think an affirmation first, that | | | | emotionally and in as much detail as you can, you will |
| triggers a mental image, being as the human brain | | | | be neurologically priming your brain to carry out those |
| "thinks" in pictures. | | | | behaviors. |
| You can use visualization to plant goals into your | | | | The least known of all mental imagery techniques is |
| subconscious mind. You simply close your eyes, use | | | | called “physiology visualization.” An example |
| your imagination and mentally create pictures and run | | | | would be picturing the fat burning process in your body |
| movies of your desired results. For example, in your | | | | or seeing the muscle fibers growing larger and larger. |
| mind's eye, you can see the "body of your dreams". If | | | | Using this technique, could it be possible that you might |
| repeated consistently with emotion, mental images are | | | | be giving subconscious instructions to your body's cells, |
| accepted by your subconscious as commands and | | | | organs and tissues? |
| this helps with changing habits, behavior and | | | | Well, consider the work of Dr. Carl Simonton, a |
| performance. | | | | physician and cancer researcher who taught his |
| Although there are some new and creative ways to | | | | patients (as one part of a comprehensive program), |
| use visualization, (which you are about to learn), this is | | | | how to visualize powerful immune cells devouring the |
| not a new technique. Visualization has been used | | | | cancer cells. I’m not suggesting that you can cure |
| formally in the fields of sports psychology and personal | | | | cancer or materialize a lean and muscular body just by |
| development for decades and philosophers have | | | | visualizing, (there's a step in between thought and |
| discussed it for centuries: | | | | manifestation - it's called action - a step that many self |
| “If you want to reach your goal, you must 'see the | | | | help ‘experts’ forget to mention). However, |
| reaching' in your own mind before you actually arrive | | | | thoughts and mental images are the precursors to |
| at your goal.” | | | | action and the fact that a mind-body connection |
| - Zig Ziglar | | | | definitely exists makes this an exciting prospect. |
| “The use of mental imagery is one of the strongest | | | | Scientists have established the mind-body link in many |
| and most effective strategies for making something | | | | contexts, and not just by the existence of a placebo |
| happen for you.” | | | | effect. There’s also direct evidence as in the way |
| - Dr. Wayne Dyer | | | | emotional stress can contribute to physical disease. |
| “Creative visualization is the technique of using your | | | | The mind does influence the body! The mere fact that |
| imagination to create what you want in your life.” | | | | a branch of science has been devoted to this area is |
| - Shakti Gawain | | | | proof that it deserves critical investigation and is not |
| “Perhaps the most effective method of bringing the | | | | just the domain of infomercial self help gurus. The |
| subconscious into practical action is through the | | | | science is called psychoneuroimmunology. |
| process of making mental pictures - using the | | | | Using “physiology visualization,” you could, even |
| imagination.” | | | | in the middle of a workout, imagine the fat burning |
| - Claude Bristol | | | | process taking place, and visualize fat being released |
| "There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture | | | | from adipose tissue storage in your abdominal region |
| in your mind of what you would like to be, and you | | | | or elsewhere. You could see the free fatty acids |
| keep and hold that picture there long enough, you will | | | | entering your bloodstream, being carried to the working |
| soon become exactly as you have been thinking." | | | | muscles and being burned for energy in the muscle |
| - William James, 1842-1910, Psychologist and Author | | | | cells. You could also visualize the physiology of muscle |
| Despite these glowing endorsements and a long track | | | | growth. |
| record, some people can’t get past feeling that this | | | | To make your imagery as accurate and detailed as |
| is just a "hokey" self-help technique. Rest assured, | | | | possible, my best suggestion is to refer to an anatomy |
| however, that visualization is an effective and | | | | & physiology textbook that shows pictures of fat cells, |
| time-tested method for increasing personal success | | | | blood vessels, myofibrils, motor units, sarcomeres, and |
| that has been used by some of the highest achievers | | | | cell organelles like the mitochondria, so you know what |
| the world. | | | | the structures look like. You could also get more details |
| The Soviets started to popularize visualization in sports | | | | about the processes by looking up lipolysis, |
| psychology back in the 1970's, as detailed in Charles | | | | hypertrophy or beta oxidation. |
| Garfield's landmark book, "Peak Performance." They | | | | Even if you had no idea what the internal structure and |
| dominated in many sports during that period, which | | | | workings of the body were like, you could still use this |
| validated visualization anecdotally. | | | | method. Your body responds to mental imagery even |
| In the last 10-15 years, there has been some | | | | if it isn't anatomically correct. We know from the field |
| groundbreaking new brain research which has | | | | of hypnosis that the subconscious mind responds well |
| validated visualization scientifically. Here's something | | | | to metaphor – maybe even better than literal |
| that was written recently by Dr. Richard Restak, a | | | | suggestions. Facts and logic are the domain of the |
| neuroscientist and author of 12 books about the human | | | | conscious mind, while emotion and metaphor can slip |
| brain: | | | | right past the conscious and into the subconscious. Dr. |
| "The process of imagining yourself going through the | | | | Simonton often wrote about his young patients who |
| motions of a complex musical or athletic performance | | | | created (metaphorical) mental images of immune |
| activates brain areas that improve your performance. | | | | system cells as "knights in shining armor", slaying "the |
| Brain scans have placed such intuitions on a firm | | | | dragon" of cancer cells. |
| neurological basis. Positron emission tomography (PET) | | | | One of your greatest mental powers is imagination. |
| scans reveal that the mental rehearsal of an action | | | | You can visualize anything you want and you can |
| activates the prefontal areas of the brain responsible | | | | embellish and exaggerate your imagery as much as |
| for the formulation of the appropriate motor programs. | | | | you want. For example, you could imagine the free |
| In practical terms, this means you can benefit from the | | | | fatty acids being burned for energy in the "cellular |
| use of mental imagery." | | | | powerhouse" - the mitochondria - and you could |
| So much for visualization being a "cheesy" self-help | | | | imagine the mitochondria as a fiery furnace... |
| technique. | | | | "incinerating" the fat! I think it’s a pretty cool idea to |
| Although visualization is widely used today, even | | | | "see" your fat cells shrinking and visualize your body |
| people who are familiar with it often don't realize its | | | | as a "fat burning furnace.” |
| many applications. Arguably the most common use of | | | | Should you not believe that there's anything to the |
| visualization is by athletes, musicians and other | | | | physiology visualization technique, that's ok, because |
| performers as a form of “mental rehearsal.” | | | | we know that the subconscious is deductive. Just give |
| Research shows that "practicing in your mind" is | | | | it a goal, tell it what you want and it will get you there |
| almost as effective as practicing physically, and that | | | | automatically by altering your attention and behavior. |
| doing both is more effective than either one alone. | | | | Therefore, we can be confident that physiology |
| A common use of visualization in the fitness context is | | | | visualization will be effective even if only as a |
| “goal visualization.” In your mind’s eye, you | | | | subconscious directive about your desired goal. If |
| can see yourself having already achieved your | | | | science someday provides us with conclusive |
| physique goal or your ideal goal weight. You can also | | | | evidence that visualization actually does cause cellular - |
| visualize a specific performance goal such as | | | | physiological changes in the body, well, that's just all the |
| completing a difficult workout or a heavy lift like a | | | | better. |