Meditation is a practice that uses mindfulness or focuses on an object, an activity, a thought or even the breath to calm the mind, bring attention to the body and create a state of awareness. The technique is often used to help relieve symptoms of anxiety, manage stress, improve sleep and is practised religiously, too. 

There are many types of meditation including mantra meditations, walking meditation, breath meditations and so on. For beginners, it is often recommended that you try sitting in silence with your eyes closed and practice staying focused on your breathing. 

Visualization, however, is a very different practice. It is sometimes referred to a visualization meditation, however it is the method of bringing mental imagery to the focus of a practice. Whilst this does often help to calm the mind, visualization is usually associated with state shifting, positive mindset, productivity and focus and helps to achieve our vision and goals. 

The process of visualization is focused on guiding the mind to what we want to achieve in the future, rather than calming it and becoming more present in the moment. The desired result is that we are portraying, in the mind’s eye, the feelings we are guided to experience. The sensations we visualize then propel our minds to enable us to achieve the goal or outcome we have pictured.

There is no such thing as a perfect meditation or visualization. Some people will prefer one over the other, and others practice both. It’s also important to note that as a beginner, it is perfectly normal to realise that your thought process has drifted or you have been distracted from your practice. Over time, you will learn to bring your thoughts back to the visualization or meditation you are practicing and return to the technique. 

Before you begin visualizing, we recommend you familiarize yourself with some of our top tips for beginners.