The night before a performance, professor Jan Erkert, head of the department of dance, tells her students to visualize themselves rehearsing their dances three times before going to sleep.  The difference between those who take her advice and those who do not, she said, is obvious.

That’s because the concept of visualization, also called mental imagery or mental rehearsal, has developed into a strategy that has transformed approaches to rehabilitation and training.

Evidence has suggested visualization creates activation patterns from imaging. In other words, just picturing yourself performing an action, such as jumping, triggers the same neurological pathways that are stimulated when you physically jump.

The more someone practices imagining a specific action, the more efficiently the brain can remember the neurological patterns involved in performing that action. Because the brain recognizes the patterns once they have been created, it becomes easier for the brain to activate the motor cortex to physically perform the task, said Sean Mullen, professor of kinesiology and community health, who studies exercise psychology.

“An old way of thinking about it is that we can just train our muscles, strengthen and stretch them, and therefore we’re better movers,” Erkert said.

This kind of unilateral focus was less efficient, she said, and now it is widely accepted that it is in fact the union of the mental preparation and the physical training that makes a successful performance.

Erkert’s understanding of this idea comes from years of experience using imagery to create certain movements or choreographing to portray a certain idea. The science behind it is something that Mullen said researchers are just beginning to comprehend.

“We’re just now brushing the surface of understanding the neuro mechanisms, but there’s been imagery research for decades, particularly in sport and rehabilitation,” he said. 

To match the drill sequences with their music, musicians in the Marching Illini also practice imagining the drill while learning to play their music and vice versa “so that the connection between the two can take place,” said Barry Houser, director of the Marching Illini and associate director of bands.

“What (the band) does on a daily basis is so much triggered by the mental visioning that takes place,” Houser said.

This use of mental imagery and visualization has been met with much success, he added.

“Generally speaking, we find that we have better performances on the concert stage and on the marching field itself,” he said.

Erkert has also said she has found the technique to be essential in teaching dance.

“As a teacher, I am constantly using imagery and mental preparation for my dancers,” she said. “When I do that, I can see a difference in the classroom immediately.”

The image can be poetic or more spatial, she said, but either way the student can better align themselves with the intent of their movement to achieve it.

Encouraging students to engage in mental rehearsal has its health benefits as well. Instead of repeatedly practicing the movements, performers can reduce the wear and tear on their bodies by correcting mistakes mentally, visualizing the proper movements and then physically rehearsing.

“Rather than working in muscle systems we began to work with neurological patterns and we could see the difference,” she said. “The muscles are a byproduct of the training — but what we’re really training is the brain and the nervous system. It’s how the brain and the nervous system coordinate the firing of muscles that’s important.”

An athlete or musician suffering from a physical injury can use the visualization training as a springboard for his or her physical recovery.

Erkert experienced the power of this method when a severe physical injury prevented her from dancing.

“Of course I had to retrain my muscles because they atrophy,” she said. “But the nervous system was the most important part of the repatterning I did during that injury.”

Mullen attests that there have been a number of these type of successful interventions because the imagery not only allows the patient to practice and activate the neurological patterns in his or her brain, but also can distract them from the physical pain they may be experiencing in rehabilitation.

Mullen, Erkert and Houser all agreed that this technique assists them in preparing for lectures or rehearsals.

“I use it all the time,” Mullen said. “I use it prior to teaching my class, visualizing material, anticipating student responses.”

Even if this type of visualization does not directly involve the activation of certain muscles, it does what any kind of practicing can do, whether mental or physical: It creates confidence.

As experts pursue testing and researching about why visualization works and what exactly happens within the brain to make it effective, the concept continues to be widely utilized.

“Imagery is one of the most popular psychological methods for teaching, enhancing motivation and just performance enhancement,” he said.

Maggie can be reached at [email protected].