Mental Imagery and Visualization
Mental imagery and visualization are well established tools to improve performance. This can also be applied within the polyvagal informed paradigm.
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Across many domains of high performance, in particular within high-level competitive sports, the regular use of mental imagery and visualization has been well established and incorporated within daily routines. This practice includes the regular practice of visualizing performing various skills within one’s performance domain. It is further recommended that as many senses as possible be incorporated within this practice to make it as realistic as possible. In addition to the successful performance of the skills, it is also advised to practice recovery following mistakes or errors. The overall concept is to provide as many repetitions as possible through the process of visualization for both our brain and body to become accustomed to performing various skills in different circumstances.
From the polyvagal informed perspective, it would seem that this beneficial practice helps to reduce cues of uncertainty and risk within the performance domains in which it is applied. As the practice of imagery and visualization can lead to improved physical performance of skills in real life, there is a further reduction of cues of uncertainty and risk and, simultaneously, provision of cues of safety on account of enhanced physical performance. There are numerous examples across high-level professional and amateur sports of athletes utilizing regular imagery and visualization practices to benefit their competitive performance. This paradigm has also been applied in other high demand domains, such as business and even within certain military applications.
There is no question that the practice of mental imagery and visualization can benefit the performance of physical skills. By the same rationale, it would also be expected that implementing a practice of imagery and visualization pertaining to application of mind-based and body-based skills within the polyvagal informed toolbox would also be of benefit. From this perspective, we can use the practice of imagery and visualization to improve our ability to implement these skills within various situations. Through this process we can increase our capacity to stabilize within ventral vagal states, thereby improving our ability to perform at a high level in a sustainable fashion as well as promoting health and wellbeing. Accordingly, we can use the process of imagery and visualization to experience situations in which we may shift towards sympathetic and dorsal vagal states and implement the appropriate mind-based and body-based skills to shift back to ventral vagal stabilized states.
Applying the principles underlying the benefit of visualization and imagery within physical craft specific skills, it would then be expected that our ability to implement polyvagal informed mind-based on body-based skills would be improved. Such a benefit would enhance our ability to shift from sympathetic and dorsal vagal states towards ventral vagal stabilized states in the presence of cues of uncertainty, risk, and threat. In turn this improves our ability to restore ventral vagal stabilization in the face of biological state shifts, thereby promoting health, wellbeing, and sustainable high-performance. This can be particularly advantageous in the setting of high demand and high consequence scenarios in which there is often an abundance of cues of uncertainty, risk, and threat.
In addition to the implementation of visualization and imagery, we can also add to this paradigm the integration of biofeedback. Specifically, real time heart rate variability (HRV) metrics can provide information that will benefit the overall practice. The HRV data can be used in this application to demonstrate changes towards sympathetic and dorsal vagal states as well as our ability to shift back into ventral vagal stabilization. Through the use of biofeedback, we can readily appreciate the physiological changes occurring during these state shifts. We can also measure the extent to which we are successful in shifting towards ventral vagal states on account of improvement in HRV. This information can be applied to better understand the biological attributes associated with these state shifts so that they can be more readily identified in real time.
As can hopefully be appreciated through this discussion, the intentional and regular application of the practice of imagery and visualization can be an important component in the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance. This is on account of not only contributing towards improved physical performance of craft specific skills, but also further enhancing our ability to implement the mind-based and body-based polyvagal informed skills which allow us to shift towards ventral vagal stabilized states.
By utilizing this tool, we are able to further our ability to embody the polyvagal informed perspective across any, and all, domains of life. As has been a common theme of this article series, our ability to shift towards ventral vagal stabilized states is an integral component to the pursuit of health, wellbeing, and sustainable high performance. To learn more, including about polyvagal informed coaching for healthcare professionals and others in high demand domains, please visit www.darindavidson.com.
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