Today I’d like to share one of my favorite guided visualizations.
This practice can be helpful if you’re wanting to feel more grounded, or if you’re noticing that you’re holding a lot of tension or emotional activation in your body. It’s a visualization I often return to myself, and one that I regularly adapt in therapy sessions.
I first learned this version of the visualization during my EMDR basic training, where it’s referred to as the Light Stream Technique. I personally prefer to call it the Healing Light Visualization, as it draws on elements found in hypnosis, Reiki, and mindfulness practices, and I appreciate the simplicity and symbolism of that language.
I’m including the full transcript of this resource below so that you’re welcome to read through it first and decide whether it feels like a good fit for you.
As with any resource practice, you’re invited to participate, adapt it in whatever way feels supportive, or simply listen. Please be mindful of what you need today. If at any point this doesn’t feel helpful, you’re encouraged to pause. Different resources work for different people, and part of my work is helping people discover what is supportive for them.
I tend to find this visualization to be dissociation-friendly, complex trauma-friendly, and especially helpful for the somatic layer, how our bodies often hold onto things that are ready to be released. If body scan practices have been helpful for you in the past, this may feel familiar.
Before beginning guided visualization work, I often like to orient to present-moment safety and connection. You might begin by gently checking in with yourself:
- How safe do you feel right now, on a scale from 0 to 10?
- Is there anything you need to feel a bit more supported or safe—perhaps a blanket, fresh air, or a shift in your position?
If we were meeting together, I might also ask about your sense of connection, as feeling present and supported can make visualization work more accessible. These check-ins aren’t meant to be rigid, just an invitation to notice what increases or decreases safety, presence, and connection.
You don’t need to be able to “see” images in your mind for this visualization to work. You can simply notice sensations, impressions, or responses in your body. If natural sunlight is available to you, you may also choose to practice this near a window and let that be part of the experience.
Guided Healing Light Visualization (Transcript)
When you’re ready, see if you’d like to close your eyes, gently lower your eyelids, or allow your gaze to rest on a neutral object in the room. This can help you feel both grounded and present.
Take a moment to notice whether your body feels comfortable in its current position. If you need to move or adjust, go ahead and do so. You’re also welcome to practice this standing, especially if feeling a sense of strength and grounding through your legs feels supportive.
When you’re ready, begin by taking a few slow breaths, allowing any tension in your stomach to soften.
As you breathe, gently invite yourself into this visualization as a way of supporting relaxation and groundedness.
If you notice any reluctance, you’re welcome to simply listen. If you feel ready, let’s begin.
Bring your awareness to your body, slowly scanning from the top of your head down to the soles of your feet. As you do this, see if you can approach yourself with curiosity or loving-kindness, simply noticing what’s present without judging whether it should be there or not.
Notice any areas of tension, discomfort, stress, or emotional pain.
When you’re ready, ask this sensation a few gentle questions:
- If it had a shape, what would it be?
- If it had a size, how big or small would it be?
- If it had a color, what color would it be?
- If it had a temperature, would it be warm or cool?
- If it had a texture, what would it be like?
- If it had a sound, would it be high-pitched or low?
- If it could speak, what might it say?
Now, imagine a healing light coming down from above, entering through the crown of your head. Allow this healing light to gently direct itself toward the area of tension or discomfort.
Give this healing light a color you like—one that’s different from the color of the shape you noticed. Decide whether this light feels warm or cool.
Imagine the light slowly moving through your body, noticing how it feels to welcome it in. Notice anything you may have been holding onto, perhaps things that don’t belong to you or no longer serve you.
Allow the healing light to resonate with whatever is present, vibrating in and around it. Notice what happens to the shape as this light continues to flow.
If the shape begins to change, continue visualizing the light gently working until the shape breaks up and dissipates, releasing back into the environment where it can be absorbed.
Allow the healing light to fill your entire body, radiating from your fingertips, the soles of your feet, and through every part of you.
When you’re ready, notice how it feels to let go of what’s ready to be released, and to remain with what feels nourishing and supportive.
Remember that this healing light is a resource you can return to. With practice, it often becomes more accessible and familiar.
When you’re ready, begin to come back by noticing the support beneath your body: the floor under your feet, the chair beneath you, the alignment of your spine. Gently take in your surroundings, noticing colors, shapes, and textures.
Check in with yourself and see how you’re feeling now, noticing whether anything has shifted.
Resource practices can sometimes take time, and it’s okay if this wasn’t the right fit today. I hope this offered something supportive, and I appreciate you taking the time to practice with me.