We regularly talk about the importance of visualisations to assist in training the conscious mind to access the subconscious processes of the body during practice.
The following research, whilst limited to diabetes sufferers, highlights the real physiological effects that mental imagery can generate. It's quite a dry read (it's a research paper after all!), but the abstract and conclusion are worth reading even if the body of the paper is a little more information than you require.
The private Facebook group where I initially found the research offered this summary:
"We did study at Loma Linda University Drayson Center: An 8 week class, twice a week. There were two groups: one of normal older adults and the other, Diabetics with Neuropathy. The curriculum taught was exactly the same as that taught to new students.
After completing 8 weeks of classes, all the students had a significant reduction in blood pressure. A Previous study on this group demonstrated a significant improvement in the balance of all participants.
Curriculum taught by Harvey Kurland, MSc, MFS, CSCS, Certified Instructor with the assistance of Myra Allen, Instructor."
