Welcome to Imagery Works: Guided Imagery

Guided imagery: A natural strategy for MS and chronic illness

admin — Sun, 30 May 2010 14:24:23 +0000

Imagerywork.com Dr. Franco’s website for Guided Imagery RELAXATION & GUIDED IMAGERY (RGI) are powerful, yet gentle mind body techniques that can empower people to effectively reduce stress, muscle tension, stiffness, fatigue, anxiety and e…

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Beautiful Confidence At Your Core, Guided Imagery And Creative Visualization for Women

drmefranco — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:49:14 +0000

Beautiful Confidence at Your Core (BCYC) is a concept, a process and a program to help girls and women engage their imagination, discover their inner beauty and wisdom, and apply this awareness in the ways they express themselves to others.

BCYC is the product of a beautiful friendship and professional “marriage” of two professionals: Dr. Miriam Franco, a Psychologist, Professor of Sociology and a Guided Imagery expert and Beke Beau, M.A., a renowned make-up artist who teaches a college course on The Sociology of the Beauty Industry. Both Dr. Franco and Beke Beau were struck by research findings documenting how often girls and women do not feel they look good and how quickly this leads to under performance in academic and vocational pursuits (American Association of University Women, 1990; Wolfe, 1992; Garner, 1997; Johnson et al, 1998; Real Girls, Real Pressure, A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem, 2008). Further, they found that many girls and women often lack authentic ways to communicate with other women about how they feel about their abilities and their appearance. Responding to societal pressures, they tend to seek a unitary or perfected image of beauty, strength and confidence.

Dr. Franco and Beke Beau designed the BCYC Program in which participants first practice gentle yet powerful Relaxation and Guided Imagery exercises to lower stress and self judgments of who they ought to be. This allows girls and women to interact with their own images of self in process. The creative make-up visualization exercises teach women how to integrate this self awareness into the way they approach beauty and represent their personal strengths and attributes in make-up and body stance. The program consists of three workshops each focused on embracing self acceptance, accessing inner strength and confidence and practicing expressing these acquired skills.

It is Dr. Franco’s and Beke Beau’s hope to provide BCYC to girls and women in various stages of life and life transitions. They plan to offer BCYC to minority women in transitional housing and vocational programs, women in prison, girls first approaching use of make up, mothers and daughters groups, after school programs, women in industry, women recovering from cancer and to the public at large.

To hear a sample of the Relaxation and Guided Imagery tracks for BCYC, visit http://www.imagerywork.com/inner-beauty-inner-wisdom. T o learn more about BCYC, Dr. Miriam Franco and Beke Beau, M.A., visit www.imagerywork.com and www.bekebeau.com

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The Stressfree Bride

sekai — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:17:06 +0000

Relaxation and Guided Imagery for the Bride to Be

As a psychologist and social worker, I have long been aware of the stress individuals and families can experience when undergoing major life events and transitions. As a Professor of Sociology at Immaculata, I teach students to observe how such changes in the family life cycle are stressful as they pose opportunities for new growth and adaptation. One of the essential components of change is stress, whether it be good or bad stress. Since all change requires that we lose something and gain something else, individuals must absorb and integrate this process over time. Major transitions, such as marriage and weddings, typically evoke more adaptive pulls and, hence, more stress.

In modern American life, brides to be are socialized into many new roles, tasks and responsibilities in a brief period of time. As women marry at later ages and participate more actively in the economy, brides now attempt to express their individual personal and consumer decisions actively. The bride and/or the new couple to be assume responsibility for the definition and process of their wedding experience. As a result, there is more decision making and responsibility in crafting a personal signature, design and identity associated with this rite of passage. Most brides to be work full time and manage many of the details of the wedding planning with their groom, their girlfriends, not just their families. There is less reliance on the nuclear family and parents to execute the whole plan and design of the wedding. It is no wonder, therefore, that many contemporary brides express more stress and worry, above and beyond just wedding day jitters. They are often at the center of a major, multi-decision making enterprise and event.

During the engagement, brides to rehearse new familial statuses and roles as they enter, formally, a new kinship system. As such, they are also attempting to manage the social, familial, spiritual and often financial components that are involved in two families coming together. And since, traditionally, it is the bride and her family who assume the major responsibility for the wedding itself and its financing, in this current economy, brides are challenged to be more creative and artful in pulling off a wedding that befits their romantic needs and budget.

Relaxation and Guided Imagery are gentle yet powerful mind body techniques that can allow people to learn how to become deeply relaxed and practice positive and less stressful ways of adapting to challenging emotional, physical or developmental experiences. It is a user friendly method. Almost anyone can do it and it does not hurt. It is inexpensive and, unlike addiction, the more you practice it, the less you need. It can be practiced almost everywhere, except while driving. You do not even have to be a believer for it to work. In contrast to most forms of meditation, it does not take months or years of practice nor does it require that you let go of thoughts or clear the mind with each breath (which is difficult to do if highly anxious).

Relaxation and Guided Imagery teach people to lower tension in their bodies quickly while practicing diaphragmatic breathing. One is then guided to imagine a safe place or an ideal place of relaxation with any of their senses, e.g., imagining your favorite beach by visualizing the bright, clear blue sky, or feeling the warm rays of the sun on your back or perhaps hear seagulls chirping. By doing so, a deep state of relaxation is evoked quickly that is accompanied by increased blood flow, lowering of blood pressure and a reduction of muscle tension, fatigue and body aches. When sensory images are experienced in this relaxed state, the body does not discriminate from the real event or image. So all the healing, soothing, restorative and renewing properties of being at the beach are reverberating in the body without being at the beach. The body treats the imagined imagery as if it is happening in the body. If taught how to expand these abilities and apply them to stressful situations and reactions, one has a powerful tool that increases their positive coping and their ability to bear and manage a challenging experience with less reactivity, improved presence and focus. Guided Imagery can be taught one on one, in a group setting (which is very effective) or alone with a CD.

As the imagery exercises become more elaborate, people can learn to make more rapid shifts in attitude, perception and behavior rather than think hard upon something or try to solve it logically. They can creatively imagine ways they would like to feel, practice having these end results or even “interact” or dialogue with an image and learn in an experiential way, what they are needing and how to practice applying it. Relaxation and Guided Imagery is a fast way to relax the body and then bring on mental relaxation. It enables individuals to not force or command healing or letting go of anxiety, but rather, to engage in a process of relaxed, playful discovery.

I am certified in Integrative Guided Imagery by Beyond Ordinary Nursing Association. I train people in these techniques to improve their coping with chronic illness, to reduce anxiety associated with surgery, chemotherapy, injection treatments, MRI scans, care giving strain or anxiety, preparing or organ transplant, dialysis, and coping with pain conditions. At Immaculata University, I teach a popular, one credit, weekend course on Stress Reduction and Guided Imagery each semester. In 2008, I taught the course to graduate students in the Organizational Psychology Program and had several brides to be in the group. The brides were excited to learn these techniques and asked me if I would design a specific Relaxation and Guided Imagery script to help them sustain clarity of focus amidst all the pressure and busyness of the engagement, so that they could connect more with their loving, generosity of spirit and remember what their core personal and spiritual goals are amidst all the wedding planning and frenzy. At that moment, The Stressfree Bride was christened.

I designed a CD script, recorded it with guided imagery music and acquired a sketch of a bride to be in her wedding dress by Edguardo Bonilla, a gifted, wedding dress designer, for the CD cover. The Immaculata brides to be from the course offered their testimonials after they tested the new CD . Since then, The Stressfree Bride has become a popular shower gift or personal gift from the maid of honor or a wedding basket gift available at local gift shops in the Main Line.

If you’d like to hear a sound bite of The Stressfree Bride, please visit: http://www.imagerywork.com/the-stressfree-brideand go to the store link. There you will see the professional CDs for sale including The Stressfree Bride.

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New Crozer-Keystone MS center and MyMs Yoga form wellness partnership

admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 07:09:00 +0000

Dr. Joan Sweeney, MS Neurologist Baron Baptiste, world renowned yoga master, and Dr. Joan Sweeney, the MS neurologist at the new Crozer-Keystone MS Center, opening in May 2010, were on board at the Hilton on City Line…

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My MS Yoga program comes to Philly !

drmefranco — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:36:04 +0000

My MS Yoga Program Baron Baptiste, an internationally acclaimed yoga instructor and author of the best seller: Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga , has teamed up with Dr. Elliot M. Frohman, the Director of the MS Program and Multiple Sclerosis Center of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, to offer a unique program of yoga instruction called My MS Yoga for people living with MS.

Biogen Idec and Elan Pharmaceuticals have sponsored this important wellness initiative and are offering free instructional classes in four major cities: Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Boston and Chicago. A free dvd for home practice is available as well at My MS Yoga.

Baron Baptiste, Yogi Master This Tuesday, March 30th, My Ms Yoga Program will be launched in Philadelphia at the Hilton on City Line Avenue. A local MS neurologist, Dr. Joan Sweeney of Crozer Chester Hospital and Medical Center will be present to answer medical questions participants may have while Baron Baptiste will instruct participants in the benefits of yoga for MS. He will also demo how this program, available through a free My MS Yoga dvd, can be incorporated for home practice and adapted to individual needs and preferences. To register for this Philadelphia free program, go to mymsyoga.com

Registration for this program begins at 5 pm

Intro to class begins at 5:30 pm

Yoga class runs from 6 to 7 pm

Light refreshments will be served 7 to 7:30 pm

Parking will be reimbursed.

Yoga has long been known to benefit those with MS. Dr. Allen C. Bowling, a MS specialist on the Health Care Advisory Council of the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America has published widely on alternative and complementary interventions with MS. In his book: Complementary and Alternative Medicine and MS, he indicates:

Yoga is relatively inexpensive and generally safe. In MS, yoga has been shown to decrease fatigue. Although it has not been rigorously investigated, it is reported to improve depression, anxiety, pain and spasticity.”

The beauty of My MS Yoga is that this program provides an in home exercise routine that can be individualized to fit your needs to stretch and adapt modified poses. You can practice yoga and promote well being by adjusting My Ms Yoga to how you feel each day and to the particular ways that MS effects your movements and your body.

The free dvd can be obtained by visiting My MS Yoga website. It features 3 different program levels for practice with less advanced and slower pacing for days when that is preferred to more moderate and advanced poses, movements and pace when that is possible. Instruction in utilizing breathwork to reduce stress and muscle tension is included also.

The next My MS Yoga Program will be at the Key Bridge Marriott in Arlington, VA on March 31st !

For more info: My Ms Yoga program at www.mymsyoga.com

Web MD Video: Yoga: Good Medicine for MS @ webmd

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My MS Yoga program comes to Philly !

admin — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:28:37 +0000

My MS Yoga Program Baron Baptiste, an internationally acclaimed yoga instructor and author of the best seller: Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga , has tea…

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Tami Caesar became President of the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National MS Society

drmefranco — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:20:31 +0000

Tami Caesar became President of the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National MS Society in October commuting from Florida where she had served as President of the Mid Florida chapter for ten years. In January, she assumed full time residence in Philadelphia. Though President is not a new role or position for her, Tami conveyed her enthusiasm and delight in working for MS in Philadelphia and is “thrilled to be in a city so rich in medical expertise, centers and research.” One of her main goals for the Delaware Valley Chapter is to facilitate closer contact and integration of cutting edge research to the local MS community and chapter.

As Tami states:

The need for direct services is greater than ever and it is terrific to be in Philadelphia, a place where you are just a phone call away from someone who can address the latest research and treatment innovation!”

Living most of her childhood and young adult life in Seattle, Tami was used to having major medical clinics and research centers nearby. This was not the reality in Central Florida, however. Philadelphia’s regional culture and its medical meca appealed to her, so much so that she was willing to forgo the climate of Florida for the Northeast. In fact, the upcoming Board of Trustees Meeting will be on the premises of the MS Center of the University of PA Health System, a top local MS Center where major clinical trials and MS Society funded research projects are underway. In this way, she hopes to bring the mission of research directly to the MS community so that services and research are within easy reach of each other and can evoke a more immediate and direct mutual motivation to inspire the journey to find a cure for MS.

Tami is no stranger to MS, her paternal grandmother was diagnosed with it at age 17 and two other relatives had MS during a time when families struggled to understand the disease and there were few, if any, interventions. She did not initially pursue a career in MS work. Trained in Restaurant Operations Management, she later applied her experience in handling finances and cash management to fund raising for MS. Desiring to leave the restaurant business, her natural connection the the MS cause combined with a need for her business acumen paved the way to 19 years of leadership within the National MS Society.

Tami’s immediate goals for the chapter focus on increasing advocacy and volunteer involvement in all functions and reducing misperceptions about MS in the larger community. She believes we need “more voices around the table”. This includes the input of passionate volunteers and legislators. Tami plans to hold “town hall” styled meetings with the MS community at local support groups to hear their concerns and to survey their top priorities. She also plans to galvanize legislative awareness of MS, to expose legislators to the realities of MS and the difficulty of living with a chronic illness characterized by chronic uncertainty. Tami hopes to increase active support for important pieces of legislation that will involve a more personal exposure to those with MS. Towards this end, she plans to lead organizational efforts to engage “ambassadors”, those with MS who are ready to connect and tell their story to others, ready to have their narrative and voice heard above and beyond the typical email correspondence legislators receive.

Even fundraising will gain a new face in this new administration. In addition to bikeMS and walkMS new fundraising events are in the works, including a 10k Mud Run military-style obstacle course event on June 12th, which is bound to attract new supporters for the cause.

For more info: Contact Tami Caesar at: www.pae.nmss.org
More About: new Greater Delaware Valley MS chapter President

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Greater Delaware Valley chapter of National MS Society acquires new president

admin — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:39:27 +0000

President, Greater Delaware Valley ChapterTami Caesar became President of the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National MS Society in October commuting from Florida where she had served as President of the Mid Florida chapter for ten years. In …

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Spring into wellness with MS in the city of brotherly love….

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:09:28 +0000

Patricia Kennedy, RN, CNP, MSCN, Keynote Speaker An affordable and informative day long Wellness On the Go Program, sponsored collaboratively by Can Do Multiple Sclerosis and the Greater Delaware Valley Chapter of the National MS Societ…

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Reducing stress for MS Caregivers in the Greater Deleware Valley

drmefranco — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:32:31 +0000

National studies on caregiver stress indicate that the number one pressing need of carepartners is to have access to effective, rapid stress reduction tools regardless of whether the source of the stress is economic, social, physical or emotional and regardless of the care recipient’s illness. Carepartners typically do not have time to attend local programs, so easy to use, in home, stress reduction techniques are in demand.

STRESS REDUCTION:

Mind body techniques that lower tension in the body first then allow for mental relaxation to follow are highly adaptive because most people can respond to this approach quickly and it does not require a lot of practice or clearing of one’s mind as do many forms of meditational practice. Techniques like Relaxation and Guided Imagery (RGI) are especially useful because:

* they reduce stress in the body even with first practice
* utilize sensory images in a playful way to continue to help you cope, heal and renew energy
* sensory imaging in a relaxed state creates fast shifts in perception and behavior -
* this allows reactivity to lower and frustration and guilt can be let go of, too.

RGI is practiced by many nurses in the States because these gentle yet powerful techniques can be learned by almost anyone, are painless, non invasive, can be practiced almost anywhere (except driving) and tend to lower blood pressure, tension headaches, minor aches and pains and promote sleep.

With RGI, after an initial week of practice, the mind starts combing out sensory images associated with letting go of stress more and more on its own. It is not necessary to practice it all the time. It can be returned to when a refresher is needed. It can be learned in a group, one on one or over the phone with a GI practitioner or alone via a cd or MP3 download. Certified Guided Imagery (GI) practitioners can be found at Imagery International, an international, professional GI organzation.

Local RGI Resources: This Philadelphia MS Examiner is a certified GI practitioner with interventions to relieve carepartner stress and other helpful GI interventions for MS. To learn more about GI programs available in Philadelphia area, contact imagerywork.com or email a question to the Philadelphia MS Examiner page.

Additional Local Resources to Relieve MS Carepartner Stress: Other needs than stress reduction vary depending on the age of the carepartner and the care recipient, their life situations, the stage of the disease and whether cognitive or advanced physical impairments are present in the care recipient. In general, most MS carepartners indicate a need to obtain reliable, local resources to cope with relational or intimacy issues, financial resources, in home assistance or respite care for carepartners.

HELP IS AVAILABLE IN PHLADELPHIA AREA:

* The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA) is a national MS organization but its headquarters are located in Cherry Hill, NJ. At this site, a trained social worker serves as a MS lifecoach and can work with persons with MS and their carepartners to help relieve relational stress. To use this service, contact their main website (www.msassociation.org) and select the icon for life coach.
* The MSAA also has a wonderful, free, online video entitled: A Closer Look at Intimacy and MS which explores handling communication, expressing physical and emotional care, overcoming emotional challenges of caregiving, strategies to manage the physical challenges of MS and how to achieve and maintain intimacy amidst the changes that MS can bring.
* The Delaware Valley Chapter of the National MS Society offers funding for respite care as too often the carepartner lets go of caring for themselves. This chapter can provide financial assistance for respite care up to $1,000 for a facility stay or in-home services once a year. To apply or learn more contact: www.nationalmssociety.org

For more info on Carepartner Stress and National Resources, there are numerous national organizations available to provide general information and tips, such as: National Alliance for Caregivers, Family Caregiver Alliance, Lotsa of Helping Hands, Wellspouse Family Caregivers.

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