How to use guided imagery to calm your body and mind

Meditation & Mindfulness

Sep 1

Written By Calm Editorial Team

Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, MBA

Whether you want to relieve anxiety, sleep better, or even reduce pain, guided imagery may be able to help. Learn what it is and 8 tips to try it out for yourself.

Some days, your mind just won’t quit. It jumps from one worry to the next, replaying an awkward conversation, fast-forwarding to worst-case scenarios, or spiraling over your never-ending to-do list. And no matter how much you try to relax, it feels impossible. You may try to take deep breaths or sit in silence, but your thoughts only get louder.

Instead of trying to quiet the mind when stress is loud, it helps to give it a new place to land. Guided imagery meditation can pull you out of all the noise by focusing on a safe, calming scene long enough for your nervous system to soften. It may sound a little out there, but it’s actually a research-backed technique that uses the power of your imagination to help you feel more grounded and less stressed.

Ready to try this “mental reset button” for yourself? We’ll explore how and why guided imagery works and a few easy ways to try it yourself.

What is guided imagery?

Guided imagery is a relaxation technique that uses mental visualization to help your body and mind feel more at ease. It involves picturing calming scenes, places, or experiences — like walking along a quiet beach, sitting beside a cozy fireplace, or floating weightlessly in a warm pool. Think of it as a kind of daydream with a purpose: to help you shift out of stress and into a more regulated, grounded state.

You can practice guided imagery on your own or follow along with a recording. Some people like detailed, story-like scripts that guide them step by step through a scene. Others prefer to stick with one image that feels comforting and build it out in their mind using their senses.

The idea isn’t to force yourself to think a certain way, but to gently redirect your attention toward something soothing, even for a few minutes.

How guided imagery works

When you imagine a calming scenario, your body can respond in kind. Your heart rate can slow, your breathing can deepen, and your muscles can start to let go of tension. It’s your brain doing what it does best: responding to sensory information, even when it’s imagined.

That’s because guided imagery activates many of the same neural pathways as actual experience. Your brain doesn’t always distinguish between real and imagined input. So when you picture yourself in a peaceful environment, your nervous system starts to believe you’re actually there. That means your fight-or-flight response can ease up, making more room for calm, safety, and rest.

This shift from stress mode to rest-and-digest mode (aka your parasympathetic nervous system) is what makes guided imagery such a helpful tool for anxiety and overwhelm. It’s not about escaping reality — it’s about giving your body a chance to recalibrate, so you can meet daily stressors with a little more resilience.

What are the potential benefits of guided imagery?

From calming anxiety to managing chronic pain, practicing guided imagery offers a surprisingly wide range of potential benefits. Here are a few ways it can support your wellbeing:

Relief from anxiety and stress: Guided imagery has been shown to reduce cortisol levels. For many people, it creates a gentle buffer between them and whatever is spiking their stress.
Improved sleep: Visualization practices can help ease the mental chatter that makes falling asleep tough. They can create a calm mental environment that invites rest into your mind.
Support with chronic pain: Research suggests that guided imagery can be a helpful tool in managing chronic pain. This doesn’t mean it erases pain, but it can help reduce the intensity by engaging your body’s relaxation response.
Lower blood pressure and heart rate: When your body isn’t stuck in a state of high alert, physiological markers like heart rate and blood pressure can often begin to stabilize.
Greater emotional regulation: Guided imagery can offer a mental “reset” during emotionally difficult moments. This can then give your nervous system a break. Plus, it can help you respond with more clarity and less reactivity.
Increased sense of safety or comfort: For some, especially those with trauma histories, guided imagery can create a moment of felt safety. It can be empowering to know that you can conjure up a comforting place in your mind when the outside world feels too much.

4 examples of guided imagery

Guided imagery is a bit more layered than just imagining a nice place. The most effective guided imagery engages multiple senses and anchors your attention in the present, even while your mind is off exploring somewhere else.

Here are four of the most common types:

1. The peaceful nature scene: This type of guided imagery involves picturing yourself in a relaxing place in nature — maybe walking through a forest, sitting beside a lake, or lying in a field under a starry sky. The script, or your imagination, will then guide you to tune into what you can see, hear, feel, and smell. You could imagine the crunch of leaves under your foot or the sun on your skin.

2. The safe or cozy place: This imagery could be a real place you know well, like your childhood bedroom or a comfortable corner of your home. It could also be a completely imagined space. The main goal with this type is to evoke a sense of comfort and safety.

3. The healing visualization: This type of imagery invites you to imagine something like a warm light moving through your body and softening tension or pain. It could also ask you to imagine sending compassion or support to a part of yourself that feels hurt or stuck.

4. The empowering journey: This guided imagery style is often used in preparation for stressful events like a big presentation or a difficult talk. To do it, visualize yourself stepping into a powerful role with calm and confidence. By visualizing yourself handling a tough situation with strength, you can help shift out of fear and into a sense of agency.

How to use guided imagery in daily life: 8 tips to get started

If the idea of guided imagery feels a little unfamiliar—or even a little awkward—we get it. It’s not something most of us were taught to do, and it can feel strange at first to “visualize” your way to calm. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. Like any tool, guided imagery gets more comfortable the more you use it.

Here are some tips to help you start a practice that fits into your life.

1. Start with a short practice

Go easy on yourself and start small. In fact, two to five minutes of guided imagery can be more than enough to shift your nervous system.

Try a little visualization while sitting in your parked car or during a coffee break.

2. Choose a time that works with your rhythms

Pick a moment to practice when you’re most likely to follow through.

Some people like to use guided imagery in the morning to set a calm tone for the day. Others prefer it as part of their wind-down ritual. There’s no wrong time, just when it feels best for you.

3. Use a recording if you’re new to it

Unless you’re someone who naturally slips into visual daydreams, a recorded script can be helpful.

Look for audio guides that focus on themes like relaxation, sleep, grounding, or stress relief. If you find a voice or style that resonates, save it.

💙 Practice a Guided Visualization to help soothe pain during this meditation with Oren Jay Sofer.

4. Engage all five senses

The more sensory details you include in your visualization, the more effective it tends to be. For example, if you’re imagining sitting on a beach:

What does the sun feel like on your skin?
Can you hear the waves?
What scent is in the air — saltwater, sunscreen, coconut?
Is there a breeze? Sand beneath your hands?

This type of detail helps signal safety and presence to your nervous system.

💙Get transported into sleep with a sensory walk through the English wood during A Woodland Stroll to Sleep meditation with Professor Megan Reitz.

5. Get physically comfortable

Being comfortable can help you dive fully into the visualization. So sit or lie down in a supportive position that feels good to your body. Loosen anything tight, like belts, ponytails, and your jaw.

If you’re using guided imagery before sleep, do it in bed. If you’re doing it at your desk, even leaning back with closed eyes for two minutes can help.

6. Combine it with breathwork

Layering in a slow breathing pattern—like a 4-count inhale and 6-count exhale—can amplify the calming effect.

As you visualize a peaceful scene, match your breath to the rhythm of the imagery (waves rolling in and out, a warm breeze moving over your body, etc.).

💙Calm your breath as you use guided imagery during this Reset with the Breath meditation with Jay Shetty.

7. Return to the same image if it works

Returning to the same “mental safe place” can be more effective over time because your brain begins to associate it with calm and safety.

This could be a real place, like your childhood bedroom, or a totally invented one that you enjoy, like a sun-drenched cottage in the woods.

8. Don’t stress about “doing it right”

Remind yourself that your goal isn’t perfect mental cinema. It’s creating a felt sense of calm, however that shows up for you.

So, if you don’t see vivid pictures in your mind, that’s more than okay. Some people experience imagery as sensations, emotions, or even just a vague sense of place. It’s all valid.

Guided imagery FAQs

What’s the difference between guided imagery and meditation?

Meditation typically involves focusing on your breath, body sensations, or a mantra. Its goal is to observe thoughts without engaging with them. On the other hand, guided imagery is a form of meditation, but it’s often more structured and sensory-based. It invites you to actively participate in a mental scene or story.

This style can be more accessible for people who struggle with silent stillness or find their thoughts too loud to ignore.

Can guided imagery help relieve anxiety?

Guided imagery can help relieve anxiety, and there’s research to back that up. This form of meditation helps activate your parasympathetic nervous system. When this part of your nervous system is engaged, it can help lower your heart rate and reduce your muscle tension.

Are there different types of guided imagery?

There are different types of guided imagery. Some are script-based and verbal, while others use ambient sounds or music. Here are a few of the most common types:

Calming: visualizing things like a peaceful landscape
Empowering: imagining yourself doing things like handling a difficult situation with confidence
Healing: visualizing light or warmth moving through your body
Grounding: picturing yourself as rooted to the earth

How long should a guided imagery session last?

There’s no perfect length of a guided imagery session. Some people use it as a quick two-minute reset between meetings or when transitioning out of a stressful moment. Others like longer, more immersive sessions that last 10 to 20 minutes — especially before bed or during recovery time.

What matters most is consistency and accessibility. If you only have a few minutes, that’s still enough to shift your body into a calmer state. Think of it like mental stretching: helpful whether you do it for five minutes or fifty.

Do I need to be good at visualizing to use guided imagery?

You don’t need to be good at visualizing. Sure, some people naturally “see” vivid scenes in their mind, but others experience imagery through other senses, like feeling warmth or hearing imagined sounds.

If you’re not a visual thinker, try focusing on textures, sounds, or emotions. And you don’t need to be “good” at it, just open to the experience. And remember, it gets easier with practice.

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Calm Editorial Team