Super-Charge Your Fitness and
Diet Goals Through
the Power of your Imagination.

Have you taken the self-test in the blog directly below this one?  (Mind Over Muscle – Part I)

The information in this post will be much more valuable once you take the time to do that.  Knowing how to communicate to your mind in its preferred representation medium is a monumental resource!

We are learning more and more about how powerful our minds can be in creating your life experience.   The more you engage your mind in the process of any goal or ambition, the faster the results.  Many self-help methods recommend that you should “visualize” your goal in order to get faster results.  I choose to use the term “guided imagery” in recognition that not all of us can easily “see” an image on our mental screen.

This might come rather easily to a VISUAL type, but the AUDITORY or KINESTHETIC might not have that inner sense as well developed.  A way that you can flex all of your sensory muscles is to make lists of different images in every category and practice daily until it becomes effortless to imagine.
For instance:  A baby holding a bottle, or a kite flying in the breeze may be visual images; the sound of a telephone ringing or chimes blowing in the wind are examples of auditory images; while the feel of holding someone’s hand or the sensation of warm flannel sheets against your body are kinesthetic images.  Also experiment with taste and smell; The more you can develop your inner vision, the more magnetic attraction your thoughts create.

In the mid-90’s I collaborated on a book with a personal trainer on the concept of using directed imagery while performing exercise, enhancing the vital mind/body connection.  Many of her clients reported much faster changes in their muscle development and body shape by using some of the scenarios described below.

I tend to be a very visual type and had great success burning excess body fat by visualizing the “wicked witch of the west” (Wizard of Oz) melting away into the floor while thinking the phrase “I’m shrinking, I’m melting.”

Visual  –   “Can you see what I’m getting at?”
                       “Just explain it to me in black and white.”
                        “Do you get the picture?”
These are expressions that VISUALS often use.  This individual processes information primarily through sight, capturing and learning everything as if through the lens of a camera.  He/She stores information in his/her memory banks in photographs and when remembering something will go back to the feel and see a mental image.  Predicates and descriptive words used will describe colors, sizes, shapes and shades.  The visual learns best from reading, observing, and examining graphic representations.  To effectively communicate with a visual you must enter their world and try to see through their eyes.  You may identify a visual from body movements (generally still), voice speed (speaks rapidly) and eye movements (eyes defocused straight ahead as if looking for the answer somewhere in the brain; or looking up to the corner of either eye.)  Words that are most appealing to the visual are:  See, look, watch, focus, clear, foggy, picture, reveal, notice, appear, perspective, visualize and illustrate.

EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE VISUAL IMAGERY:
a)  While trying on clothes in a dressing room, you glimpse behind you and catch the reflection of the back of your bra in the 3-way mirror.  Lo and behold — no excess skin or fat!
b) Imagine that you are viewing yourself from the side and back and you have a V-line shape with indented waistline.  This is the ultimate womanly shape!
c)  See yourself wearing something sleeveless and how attractive your arms look.

Auditory          “That sounds strange to me.”
“Listen to what I’m trying to tell you.”
“That really rings a bell.”
These are expressions that an AUDITORY often uses.  This individual processes information through the ears, capturing and learning everything as if recorded on tape.  He/She stores information in his/her memory banks as sounds and voices and when remembering something will rewind the tape and hear how it sounded.  Predicates and descriptive words used describe sounds, levels, timbre, noises and rhythms.  The auditory learns best from listening, both to others and to their internal dialogue.  To effectively communicate with an auditory you must enter their world and try to hear through their ears.  You may identify an auditory from body movements (rhythmic like a metronome), and eye movements (side to side at ear level) or moving their head in the direction of the sound.  Words which are most appealing to the Auditory are:  Listen, Said, Hear, Sounds like, Speak, Rhyme, Accent, Amplify, Voice and Tune.

For Auditory imagery you may do well with  a rhyme or a mnemonic phrase which is often appealing to the auditory type, like “Bare…Beautiful…Back”  or “Long….Lean…Legs” or “Sexy…Shapely…Shoulders”  that you can repeat like a type of mantra.  Also effective for auditory types is having an internal dialogue about the changes going on in your body and/or “hearing” the positive comments about them from friends and family.
EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE AUDITORY IMAGERY:
a) You are being complimented on the elegance of how lovely your back looks in a strapless evening gown.
b)  Tell yourself how proud you are for the changes that are occurring in your body.
c)   You are performing a sport with poise and ease and being told how incredibly limber you are.

Kinesthetic          “That hits me right in my gut.”
“That doesn’t sit well with me.”
“What you’re telling me moves me deeply.”
These are the expressions that a KINESTHETIC often uses.  This individual processes information through the feelings, capturing and learning everything like a radar or emotional antenna.  He/She stores information in his/her memory bank as sensations and when remembering something will go back to how they felt at that moment.  Predicates and descriptive words used will describe emotions, sensations, textures, and interpretations as they learn more by experiencing.  You may identify a Kinesthetic from body movements (actively shifting around), voice speed (rather slow), and eye movements (looking down to their dominant hand side).  Words that are most appealing to the Kinesthetic are:  Grasp, Touch, Feel, Hold it, Contact, Smooth, Impact, and Handle.

EXAMPLES OF EFFECTIVE KINESTHETIC IMAGERY:
a) Imagine that all of the muscles and ligaments and discs in your back and spine are becoming leaner and more flexible.  You rotate with ease and movement is fluid.
b) Visualize yourself performing a sport or doing something athletic and how much energy and endurance you are gaining.
c) Feel your body fat literally melting away as you are discovering more lean muscle mass.

So, the crux of today’s message is:  Once you discover your most effective route to communicating to your subconscious mind — while relaxing or bathing or any other activity that allows you to “zone out” add the element of guided imagery to enhance and accelerate your health and fitness goals. 

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