You decide the height of each wave and the splash it makes when it crashes onto the rocks. Imagine waves breaking on a rocky shoreline.Can you smell the rain and hear the raindrops? What does the scene look like as the storm grows, erupts, and stops. Imagine the rain starting, building, slowing and stopping. A rainstorm is coming: imagine the wind blowing through the trees, becoming more and more intense.Try imagining one of these scenarios try to be present in the scene you are imagining, but stay outside the physical realm of the scene: Learn more about making your routine purposeful by using the Routine Building Kit in the Veraki app.As a beginner, it is helpful to try a few different yoga visualizations so that you find one or two that work well for you. Knowing the difference of each practice can help you use them in complementary ways so your routine remains consistent. Knowing your why can help you stay connected to the practice even when it doesn’t feel convenient or easy. If you have a particular benefit that you’re wanting to experience, like better sleep, more motivation, or mental resiliency, you’ll begin to understand why you want to practice either meditation or visualization. Making Your Meditation and Visualization Routines Purposeful When you recognize these differences, you can design your practice to fit your desired needs. While meditation, depending on the technique, increases connection between brain regions and increases grey matter, calming down the self-centered thinking tendencies of the mind. Visualization mainly activates the occipital lobe and helps the neurons of the brain to perform as if the visualized scene was occurring in that moment. Although, the side benefits of meditation and visualization seem to overlap, the study of brain activity during meditation shows the utilization of different regions compared to when the brain is visualizing. From these studies, we are learning which centers of the brain get activated when meditation is practiced over long durations of time. Researchers have been studying the effects of meditation on the brain for decades. Why is it Important to Know the Difference? Visualization and meditation can stand alone as their own practices, or combined. “If your body remembers this emotional state, one that it enjoyed, then the practice will be easier to come back to again and again,” she explains. This becomes an accessible way to learn how to sit for longer periods, something commonly done in meditation.”ĭixon also likes to use visualization at the end of practice as a touchstone to that particular moment. She says, “Most people find the guided visualizations easy to follow. Veraki’s Chief Content Officer, Sandy Dixon, has been a meditation instructor for years and she likes to guide students visually into a place of general focus before practicing various meditation techniques. Is one better than the other? Think of them as tools for different needs. By understanding their differences, you’ll know when one is needed more than the other. Is Meditation Better than Visualization?īoth practices have the benefit of calming the body and focusing the mind. Thoughts and emotions, without a mental picture can still elicit the benefits of this practice. Even people who say they aren’t visual learners can use this practice. Visualization practice can feel more accessible for most people because it often uses familiar points of reference. This connection creates a desired state of being, helping you take purposeful action in your life. However, visualization uses thoughts with emotions to “see” and feel something specific. Visualization can also draw upon the ability to observe and connect to the present moment, just like meditation. If you’ve tried this practice, you know it takes consistency and, possibly, long durations per session to make it a habit. Think of it as a practice that leads you deeper into the present moment without the desire to change, want, or claim ownership to it. It moves you into a connection with the wholeness or oneness of everything. As a practice for self-awareness, meditation sets the stage for you to become the observer of self, surroundings, and the present moment. The word originates from a form of contemplation. Even though they seem similar, visualization and meditation are complementary practices that can be used together or separately. The Difference Between Visualization and Meditationīefore we launched the Veraki Personal Growth App, many people asked, “Aren’t visualizations and meditations the same?” Maybe you’ve asked this question too.
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