Swimming In Your Imagination For The Sedentary Or Bedridden

Swimming in your imagination for couch potatoes or patients stuck in bed.

Years ago,

I helped a doctor get a bedridden patient off a ventilator,

Much to the surprise of a ward of nurses.

The nurses were doubtful because that patient was attached to a bunch of tubes,

Had wasted away to 60 pounds,

And had bed sores that were not responding to treatment.

We did it by writing a creative visualization program.

In that program,

I first asked him to go back in his imagination to an earlier time in his life when he was healthy,

Had him perform a series of exercises in his imagination while he listened to music,

And finally helped him set a date for when he wanted to be discharged from the hospital.

Much to the surprise of the whole ward,

The bed sores,

Which the nurses had been previously unable to cure,

Just disappeared.

The muscles in his arms and legs began to firm up and grow.

The tubes were removed,

And by five weeks,

He insisted on being discharged.

It seemed to be a miracle to the hospital staff.

In this semi-subliminal program,

We return to a time in your past when you were most healthy and active,

And have you perform some kind of exercise to music.

You might be doubtful,

Too,

But if you have ever gotten goosebumps when imagining something scary or cold water being splashed on you,

Or had a special sexual response to a novel or a movie,

Then you know the body responds to your thoughts.

Your body also remembers its responses to previous exercise.

All you have to do to benefit from this program is lie still,

Imagine becoming younger,

And then pay total attention to the music.

The music you hear as your unconscious mind takes you through a subconscious workout.

This is not a replacement for exercise,

But it can be used to keep your body toned when you are confined to a bed,

Or when you have been sedentary or inactive for a long time,

And need some inner motivation.

In this program,

Our imagined exercise would be swimming.

If you do not know what the different swimming strokes are,

You can look them up,

Or you can just continue swimming in a relaxed,

Enjoyable way,

In your imagination,

Any way you want.

If you are afraid of water or cannot swim,

Then you can do an imagined ballet dance,

Back and forth across a stage instead.

It's up to you.

Otherwise,

You can stop now and go to my gym or childhood playground program.

Now,

If you're ready,

Let's continue.

First,

If you are not already lying down,

Lie flat on a yoga mat,

Bed,

Or sofa,

With your eyes closed.

Take a deep breath in,

Squeezing your feet,

Calves,

Thighs,

Buttocks tightly,

And breathe out and let them fall loose.

Repeat.

Tighten your lower body,

Breathe out,

And relax.

Now do the same thing with your torso.

Breathe in as you tighten your abdomen and stomach,

And then breathe out and let go of the tension.

Repeat.

Breathe in,

Tighten your abdomen and stomach,

Breathe out and let go.

Now let's do your arms,

Shoulders,

Chest,

And neck.

Breathe in as you tighten and squeeze your fists,

Arms,

Shoulders,

Chest,

And neck.

Breathe out and let go.

Repeat.

Breathe in,

Tighten your arms,

Chest,

And neck,

Exhale and let go.

Now bring your attention to your face.

Inhale and squeeze all the muscles from around your face towards the bottom of your nose.

Exhale and relax.

Repeat.

Inhale,

Squeeze your face together,

Exhale and relax.

Now bring all your attention to the muscles around your eyes.

The muscles above your eyes,

Below your eyes,

To the side of your eyes.

Relax them.

Relax them more.

Relax them even more.

Now breathe in to gather that relaxation,

And then breathe out,

Sending that relaxation like a wave down over your cheeks and chin,

Chest,

Abdomen,

And all the way down through your thighs,

Calves,

And feet,

Feeling wonderful all the way down.

Do it one more time.

Relax all the muscles around your eyes.

Relax them twice as much.

Breathe in,

Gather that double relaxation,

And then breathe out,

Sending a wave of relaxation down over your face,

Torso,

Down your legs,

And out your feet,

Feeling wonderful all the way down and out.

Now count backwards by three from 1,

000,

And tell yourself to relax after each count until you relax those numbers out of your mind.

And counting backwards becomes just too much trouble.

Let's begin.

1.

Begin by saying 1,

000 and tell yourself to relax.

2.

Say 997 and tell yourself to relax.

3.

Say 994 and tell yourself to relax.

And 4.

Continue counting and telling yourself to relax as I stop talking.

5.

991 until the next number is 6.

Just disappear.

The next number,

7,

Disappears.

What was the next number?

Oh,

What the heck.

You just give up and go into a very deep,

Relaxing,

Profound meditative state,

Feeling very safe and comfortable,

Protected and secure,

As if in a womb.

Now,

Notice how you feel here.

Know that you can always come back to this deep and profoundly comfortable place anytime you hear my voice or hear a waltz,

The Blue Danube Waltz.

For now,

Just allow this state of relaxation to continue deepening,

Deepening,

As you listen to my voice.

Now,

The longer you listen to my voice,

The more curious you can become.

Now,

The more curious you become,

The more imaginative you can be.

Now,

The more imaginative you become,

The greater benefits you can reap.

Now,

You might enjoy remembering a time in your past when you were your healthiest,

Most active and energetic.

It could be just a few months ago,

A few years ago,

Or when you were in college,

High school,

Junior high,

Or when you were a child.

Allow yourself to hop on,

Let's say,

A magic carpet,

A magic carpet of time.

Hopping on,

Making yourself stable there,

And then rising off the surface of where you are,

Rising off the surface.

You can see where you were,

Right down there.

And then flow back in time to when you were your healthiest,

Most active and energetic.

Way up here in the middle of nowhere,

You look down and find a time in your life when you were your healthiest,

Happiest and most active.

And once you have,

You can float down into that time and into that body,

Feeling your arms returning to their shape at that time,

Your legs returning to their size at that time,

And your body becoming the same size you were at that time,

Your face returning to its younger look at that time.

Be where you were when you were the most physically active.

See where you are.

See who you're playing or exercising with.

See their faces,

Hear their laughter and voices.

And you can turn around and look in a mirror and see yourself wearing your favorite clothes or exercise clothes.

Be there now,

Feeling yourself having the healthy,

Active,

Energetic body that you had then and there,

Here and now.

You might enjoy going to a park or gymnasium with a large swimming pool with bleachers full of people enjoying themselves or watching the swimmers.

You can change into your favorite swimming suit,

Walk out to the pool and see that it is a wonderful swimming pool,

Just perfect for you.

And you find an empty lane just for you to swim in.

It's just the right safe depth for you,

The right color to make you feel free,

The right refreshing temperature,

The right smell.

Feel the water against your skin.

Now put on your swimming goggles.

You feel yourself becoming lighter as the water lifts you and inspires your own inner dolphin.

Look at the other end of the pool.

This is a long,

Clear lane just for you.

You're going to swim to the other side of the pool,

Back to the other side of the pool and back again.

There are a variety of swim strokes,

For example,

The dog paddle,

The breaststroke,

The freestyle,

The side strokes,

The back strokes,

Or just floating and kicking your legs,

Treading water,

Even kicking around in an inner tube if you like,

As you please.

When the music begins,

You can use a variety of different swim strokes,

The ones that you like,

To swim back and forth in this wonderful pool.

And now for the music.

It is the Blue Danube Waltz.

Begin with the breaststroke.

Let's begin swimming to the other side using the breaststroke,

Swimming to the music,

And then back using a different stroke,

Swimming to the music.

And three to the other side.

Keep swimming back and forth using different strokes,

Matching the music to the music.

Just keep going.

Wonderful.

Coming to the end.

In your mind,

You can stand up,

Take your swimming goggles off,

Get out of the pool,

And look up at the bleachers,

At the spectators.

Beautiful.

Take a bow.

Raise one arm up victoriously,

And then wave to someone in the audience who is happy for you.

Wave to another person that is happy for you.

Smile and take another bow.

Now,

Take a deep breath in and hold it for a little bit and breathe out,

Allowing yourself to drift down.

Another breath in and breathe out,

Allowing yourself to drift even further down into a deeper,

More relaxed and open state.

Go down,

All the way down,

Into the very basement of relaxation,

The depths of relaxation.

And listen.

Listen very carefully and absorb these words.

A famous wise man once said,

Every movement begins with a thought.

So every time you listen to this program or the Blue Danube Waltz,

Your muscles will respond.

And keep responding as you listen.

And you will become fitter.

Your muscles will get stronger.

You will become more and more active on the inside and outside and wanting to move.

More of your nerves will liven up and reconnect.

Your stronger cells will sweep,

Sweep,

Sweep away any weaker cells,

Leaving behind happy,

Healthy cells.

And your body will continue to heal and grow stronger and return to its natural state.

Each time you listen to this program or hear the Blue Danube Waltz,

You will get closer and closer to where you want to be.

You'll be feeling more optimistic and independent,

Energetic and ready to move.

In mind,

Body and spirit.

You're leaving one dark state and moving into a brighter,

Happier state.

Going to wherever life wants to take you.

And to wherever you want to take life.

No matter where that is.

You go there in peace,

Healthier and happier.

Each time you listen to this program or hear the Blue Danube Waltz,

You become more imaginative and these suggestions become stronger.

When your unconscious mind knows what to do and when it knows how to do it in a way just right for you.

And when it agrees to do it in that way,

You can use your own time and your own way to slowly come out of your meditative state,

Feeling well exercised and ready to meet your day.

Or you can allow yourself to drift into a deep,

Restorative sleep.

Thank you.