One of the methods of recuperation and peace of mind is autogenic training. Exercise helps to normalize the physiological processes in the body and calm the nervous system. With the help of such training, you can learn to enter a trance state without outside help. But it is important to learn the technique of their implementation and get acquainted with some of the rules of auto-training.
What is autogenic training
This is a special method that allows you to independently enter the autogenic state, as well as exit it, is used to normalize physiological and psychological processes.
The method of autogenic training was proposed by Schultz, who, in the course of scientific research, analyzed the stories of people who went through hypnosis. Numerous experiments allowed him to reveal that in a hypnotic state a person feels the spread of heat throughout the body, heaviness in the arms and legs against the background of muscularrelaxation.
Autogenic training and relaxation are aimed at enhancing these sensations. Schultz proposed a method that allows you to cause a physiological shift by passively focusing on the sensations that appear.
Those who have completed autogenic training courses are able to balance mental processes, relieve physical stress and quickly restore their strength. After such classes, it becomes possible to control blood circulation, the work of the heart and the respiratory system.
Goals and objectives of auto-training
Relaxation and autogenic training are effective for various nervous disorders, psychosomatic diseases, for getting rid of bad habits and changing personal traits.
Main goals of AT:
- Improve he alth conditions.
- Increase vitality and performance.
- Self-education.
During autogenic training and self-hypnosis, the following tasks are solved:
- Anxiety is reduced.
- Increases the ability to control emotional states.
- There is a harmonization of body functions.
- Reduces the intensity of pain.
- Recovering strength.
- The process of falling asleep is normalizing.
- Economically the body consumes energy during exercise.
- Positive personality traits are being formed.
- Get rid of bad habits.
- Positive motivations are created to achieve goals.
- Increases concentration, introspection andreflections.
What is useful auto-training
AT easily handles recuperation. Autogenic training exercises are a combination of hypnosis techniques with yoga postures. This allows you to restore homeostasis in the body in a short time by gaining calm and neutralizing stress conditions.
AT is similar to therapeutic hypnosis, but there is a significant difference. The person has the opportunity to actively participate in the process. To obtain maximum relaxation and relaxation, autogenic training should be carried out taking into account several factors:
- There must be a strong desire to practice.
- Self-control and the ability to self-regulate is important during exercise.
- Starting classes, you need to take a comfortable position.
- Consciousness must be fully concentrated on inner sensations.
Autogenic training is a method of self-regulation of body functions that is beneficial for the nervous system. A person lives in an environment of stressful situations, often experiences a feeling of anxiety, fear, and there is no need to talk about chronic fatigue. The Schultz method helps to learn how to adequately and calmly respond to negative external stimuli. Constant training allows you to minimize emotional outbursts.
From auto-training, one can also expect a physiological effect, which consists in the ability to regulate heart rate, respiratory rhythm, and the degree of musclevoltage. In the course of research, it was found that relaxation and autogenic training help lower cholesterol levels, normalize sleep, and lower blood pressure. Relaxation of consciousness during AT provokes an increase in alpha waves, which has a beneficial effect on all body systems and helps to cure various diseases.
Stages of auto-training
There are several stages of autogenic training:
- Inferior or first. At this stage, one can learn to relax by using several suggestions.
- High autogenic training is the second stage in which the body achieves specific tasks through the use of visualizations and suggestions.
The first stage, according to Schultz, involves the performance of special exercises that cause a feeling of heaviness in the body, a feeling of spreading warmth. During their implementation, control over the work of the heart and breathing takes place. The lowest step affects the autonomic functions.
Autogenic immersion consists of several phases:
- Feeling of warmth and heaviness all over the body.
- The appearance of lightness and a feeling of weightlessness.
- In the last phase, patients report the appearance of sensations that their body has simply disappeared.
Training in autogenic training of the highest level allows you to achieve the following goals:
- Enhance the ability to enter the autogenic state.
- Learn to see vivid visual images of certain colors and specific objects.
- Develop the ability to see abstract concepts,e.g. beauty, hate.
Schultz believes that after mastering the highest level of AT, it becomes possible to extract answers to philosophical questions from the depths of the unconscious: “What do I represent in this world?”, “What is the meaning of life?”. The highest level of autogenic training for neurosis helps to cope with negative experiences and gradually get rid of them completely.
It will take more than one month to master the high level, you will need to go through several steps:
- Learn autogenic diving.
- Perform autogenic training exercises.
- Pay attention.
- Learn exercises that help model positive emotional experiences.
The highest step Schultz called autogenic meditation.
Auto-training formulas
Since AT is able to influence the psychological state of a person, as well as cause certain sensations, it is recommended to use various statements for self-hypnosis at the first stage. Specialists have developed the basic auto-training formulas, which differ in the object of action:
- Neutralizing. Helps develop the ability not to respond to external stimuli.
- Intensifying. Increase the activity of brain processes, activate intellectual activity.
- Withdrawal-directed. Their action is aimed at removing dependence on certain factors.
- Supportive. Contribute to enhancing the manifestation of positive personality traits.
Conditions for entering autogenouscondition
Autogenic training (self-hypnosis and self-hypnosis) is more effective if there is absolute silence around. Other important conditions:
- Comfortable body position.
- Passive focus on something.
Given them when entering a hypnotic state, Benson created a special method for quickly achieving results. An important place in it is the ability to concentrate on your breathing. Instructions for beginners are:
- You need to take a comfortable position in a secluded place where there will be no noise.
- Close your eyes.
- Gradually relax the muscles of the body, starting with the legs and ending with the face.
- Focus on breathing: on exhalation after inhalation, mentally pronounce "one", you need to breathe easily.
- Stay in this position for 10-20 minutes, just sit with your eyes closed for a couple of minutes, then you can open.
No need to worry about poor concentration during the exercise, if attention is distracted, you need to switch it to breathing, saying "one". Gradually, autogenic training exercises will become easier, and relaxation will come faster. Classes are best done a couple of times a day, but not immediately after meals.
To enter the autogenic state, it is important to choose the right place, especially at first. The conditions should be comfortable, it should not be too hot or cold. Weak noise, as a rule, does not distract, but you need to protect yourself from sharp and sudden sounds. It is not necessary to create twilight in the room, it is enough to sit with your back to the window.
At the initial stage of training, you need to be sure that no one will interfere and will not distract. For classes, it is important to choose the optimal position, for beginners, you can give the following recommendations:
- Sit with your buttocks on the edge of a chair or armchair.
- Place your legs wider than your shoulders so that the muscles can completely relax.
- The shins should be perpendicular to the floor.
- Head down, back slightly bent.
- You need to rock back and forth a few times to make sure the posture is stable.
- Place your hands on your hips so that your palms gently cover your legs.
- Close your eyes.
- Breathe calmly, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
For those who are just starting to use autogenic training, the pose may seem uncomfortable, but gradually you get used to it and realize that it can be used anywhere there is a chair.
The main mistake of beginners is to plant the buttocks on the entire seat, in this position after a few minutes you can feel the numbness of the legs, some lean forward strongly, which leads to pain in the neck. To avoid this, experts have created an introductory exercise that will help create the conditions for starting auto-training. It is as follows:
- Sit in a comfortable place and relax.
- Close your eyes.
- Make free and naturalbreathing movements.
- Focus on the calm that comes gradually.
- Concentration should be passive, don't forcefully try to concentrate. At first, it is enough to perform the exercise for a few seconds.
- If you have to constantly be distracted, then the exercise should be stopped.
Workout technique
There are special rules for performing autogenic training:
- Before starting the exercises, it is important to make sure that the body is completely relaxed. Muscles should be minimally tense.
- Regular exercise will allow you to learn how to control your body, only after that you can move on to visualization.
- Workout should take at least 10 minutes and no more than 40.
- It is recommended to repeat auto-training from 1 to 6 times a day.
- You can do the exercises in a sitting or lying position:
If you practice lying down, then you need to lie on a flat surface, legs apart a little, socks should look in different directions. Lower your arms along the body, but do not touch it. Slightly bend at the elbow joints, and turn the palms with the inside up
- The first sitting position involves landing with a straight back, leaning on the back of a chair or armchair. Feet are on the floor, knees bent so that the hips are at a 90-degree angle to the back. Hands can be placed on your knees or put on the armrests.
- The second sitting position has been discussed a bit above.
An important condition for the successful development of auto-training is regularity and gradualness. Before moving on to the next stage, you must fully master the previous one. All exercises are repeated three times with the maximum degree of confidence.
The stages of training differ from each other by the subject on which attention is concentrated or by the content of textual suggestion:
- At the beginning of the workout, you need to concentrate on the feeling of heaviness in the arms and legs.
- Further attention is focused on the feeling of spreading warmth over the arms and legs.
- Concentrate on the feeling of warmth in the area of the heart muscle.
- Focus on the breath, the feeling of air moving through the lungs and airways should gradually come.
- Concentration on the appearance of heat in the solar plexus and the entire abdominal cavity.
- At the last step, there should be a feeling of coolness on the forehead.
Next, consider the main exercises of auto-training.
Starting with concentration
This exercise precedes the whole complex and aims to calm down as much as possible and drive unnecessary thoughts out of your head. The bottom line is this:
- On the inhale, say "I".
- As you exhale, say "completely calm."
Several repetitions contribute to the achievement of complete relaxation and concentration on the implementation of further exercises. This formula of calmness can be repeated not only before the main complex, but also between exercises.
Basic exercises
For beginnersit is recommended to master the complex gradually, 1 exercise per week:
- Exercise for the feeling of heaviness aims to completely relax all muscle groups. On the inhale it says "my hand" and on the exhale "very heavy". The next respiratory cycle: "very heavy" (inhale) and "heavy" (exhale). Right-handers during the exercise need to concentrate on the right hand, left-handers - vice versa. If it doesn’t work, then you can imagine that you have a heavy bag or suitcase in your hand.
- Feeling warm. This exercise allows you to expand the blood vessels. (Inhale) - "my hand" - (exhale) "very warm." Further "very warm" - "warm". It is recommended to focus more on the palm. You can speed up the appearance of sensations if you immerse your hand in hot water before training, and then remember your feelings.
- Exercise for the heart muscle will normalize the rhythm. On inhalation, “heart” is pronounced, and on exhalation “it beats calmly”, the next respiratory cycle can be accompanied by the words: “exactly”, “calmly”. It is not necessary to make maximum efforts to hear the beat of the heart, this can lead to overexertion. You need to relax as much as possible and just observe your feelings.
- Breathing exercise is necessary for relaxation of the nervous system, normalization of the depth of breathing. On the inhale “breath”, on the exhale “completely calm”. Then you can pronounce the words: “smooth and calm”, “I breathe easily and freely.”
- Next comes the solar plexus exercise. Achievedrelaxation of all abdominal organs. Slow and even breathing is accompanied by the words: "heat spreads through the solar plexus." If it is difficult to cause such sensations, then you can imagine that there is a hot heating pad on your stomach.
- For the head. This exercise aims to prevent the heat spreading through the body in previous concentrations from touching the head. On the inhale "forehead", and on the exhale - "pleasantly cool." This is repeated several times. Exercise is good for toning, so it is not advisable to perform it before going to bed. To speed up the achievement of such sensations, one can imagine that a window is open nearby and a draft pleasantly refreshes the forehead or a cold compress lies on it.
- The following exercise will help get rid of excess tension in the neck and occiput. It is necessary to slowly pronounce "my neck is soft and warm." Repeat several times. Performing this exercise will even get rid of a headache. It can be done before bed.
- Exercise for general relaxation. This can be achieved by pronouncing the following statement: "the whole body is relaxed and a pleasant warmth spreads over it." Experienced practitioners are only able to go into full trance after uttering this one phrase.
Beginners should not immediately start doing all the exercises. It is necessary to gradually master each, and then apply the whole complex as a whole.
Visualization
After successfully mastering the entire set of exercises of the first stage, you can move on tomore difficult level - visualization. Its essence lies in the creation of images that will help transfer the state of relaxation to consciousness. There is no specific recommendation about what images to call in your mind, it all depends on personal preference. Someone remembers skiing on snow-capped peaks, and someone - drinking tea in a pleasant company. To quickly determine the picture for relaxation, you can answer some questions:
- What kind of weather do you like.
- Who do you prefer to see in your looks.
- Favorite colors.
- Sounds you like and enjoy.
- Own fortune.
An important requirement of visualization is the creation of a living picture in the mind, and for this all the senses must be involved. You need to feel touch, smell, hear the surrounding sounds.
Autogenic training - self-hypnosis, which, with the help of visualization, helps to get rid of depression, develops a sense of self-confidence and one's own strengths.
How to get out of the autogenous state
For successful auto-training, you must also learn how to get out of this state correctly. Recommendations are as follows:
- Stop exercising and focus on thoughts that have received a charge of vivacity and strength.
- Without changing body position, clench your hands into a fist.
- Pull them out to the sides.
- On a deep breath, stretch and lift your face up.
- Hold your breath for a couple of seconds.
- Exhale sharply, unclench your fists and openeyes.
After autogenic training, the reviews of many people confirm this, a surge of strength is felt, experiences fade into the background, and a desire appears to move mountains.
To master the technique of entering an autogenic state, you can work out with an instructor or read special literature. Autogenic training is described in accessible language in books:
- Yu. Pakhomov "Entertaining auto-training".
- Petrov N. N "Autogenic training for you".
Meditation and auto-training is an affordable way to regain peace and psychological comfort. The main thing is to fully master the execution technique and adhere to all recommendations.
