Autogenic training for relaxation and relaxation: how to master autogenic training for beginners

Those who categorically deny even the very possibility of self-hypnosis are advised to try to perform at least a few exercises and try to achieve the desired result in practice. Perhaps after this, many skeptics will have to radically reconsider their views.

Autogenic training classes: exercises for beginners

One of the main causes of mental disorders is the inability to relax, get out of a tense state, and find mental balance. In the overwhelming majority of cases, in people prone to diseases of the eyelid – hypertension and coronary heart disease, doctors fix increased muscle tension, loss of the ability to muscle relaxation. A person cannot be stressed all the time. From time to time you should relax: be alone, think about something abstract, remember the past, dream, read poetry, a book with a good storyline, listen to music. It helps very well to relax, tune in the right way, and in the future even regulate the work of your internal organs autogenic training.

Autogenic training for muscle relaxation and insomnia is a scientifically based and proven technique, and not just a hypothesis about the power of self-hypnosis over human behavior. Autotraining is much stronger than ordinary everyday self-regulation, as it offers a system of exercises to achieve a state of autogenic immersion, in which it is possible to influence the autonomic nervous system with the help of figurative representations and, through it, the functioning of internal organs.

The optimal posture in which autogenic training is carried out for relaxation is called the "coachman's posture". In order to accept it, you must:

• Sit on the seat so that the edge of the chair falls on the gluteal folds.
• Spread your legs wide apart to relax the muscles that bring your hips together.
• Put the shins perpendicular to the floor; if after that tension remains in the legs, move the feet forward 3-4 cm until the tension disappears.
• To perform autogenic training exercises, you need to lower your head so that it hangs on the ligaments and hunch your back.
• While swaying back and forth, make sure that the posture is stable due to the balance between the lowered head and the hunched back.
• Place the forearms on the thighs so that the hands gently bend around the thighs and do not touch; you should not lean your forearms on your hips, since the pose is stable even without it.
• When doing autogenic training, you need to close your eyes.

Having formulated the requirements for the conditions for the emergence of an autogenic state, in 1975, the American researcher Herbert Benson, based on them, created his own method of entering the autogenic state. The main point for a simplified method of autogenic training is the focus on breathing.

Benson's instructions on how to master autogenic training for beginners:

• Deeply relax the muscles, starting with the legs and ending with the face, keeping them relaxed.
• Breathe through your nose. Be aware of the breath. After exhaling, mentally say: one. For example: inhale – exhale – one. Breathe easily and naturally.
• For beginners, autogenic training takes 10-20 minutes. Do not use a timer or alarm clock to find out the time; for this you can open your eyes. After finishing concentration on the breath and the word “one," sit quietly, first with your eyes closed, then with your eyes open. Don't get up for a few minutes.
• Do not worry about how deep you have gone into a state of relaxation (relaxation). Maintain a passive attitude and allow relaxation to penetrate into the inner world. During autogenic training for relaxation, if attention is distracted, you need to return to the word “one” again.

With practice, the state of relaxation will come more and more easily. You can do it 1 or 2 times a day, but not earlier than 2 hours after eating, so that the digestion process does not interfere with the emergence of a state of relaxation.

Autogenic workout exercises before bed

• I lie still. I feel good and comfortable. I am calm.
• I like not having to think about anything. Time passes slowly. Eyelids close.
• I don't see or hear anything. I sink into silence. I feel complete peace… complete peace…
• The muscles of the right hand are relaxed. Relaxed muscles of the left arm. The shoulders are relaxed and down. Both hands are relaxed. I feel the weight of my hands. I feel a pleasant warmth in my hands and in my fingertips. I feel complete peace… complete peace…
• The muscles of the right leg are relaxed. Relaxed muscles of the left leg. Leg muscles are relaxed. Legs are stiff and heavy. I feel a pleasant warmth in my feet and in my toes. I feel complete peace… complete peace…
• The whole body is relaxed. Relaxed back muscles. Relaxed abdominal muscles.
• I feel a pleasant warmth all over my body. I feel complete peace… complete peace…
• Relaxed facial muscles. Eyebrows are loosely parted. The forehead smoothed out. The eyelids are lowered and closed. The wings of the nose are relaxed. Relaxed mouth muscles. Lips slightly open. The jaw muscles are relaxed. I feel coolness on the skin of my forehead. The whole face is calm, without tension.
• I breathe calmly and evenly. I breathe slowly and calmly. The heart beats evenly and rhythmically. It is quite calm. The whole body is relaxed. Pleasant warmth. Complete peace… complete peace…

If after autogenic training for sleep you still did not fall asleep, the text must be spoken again.

And finally, psychologists recommend sometimes allowing yourself small weaknesses. Any favorite activity, such as shopping, watching an interesting series, always with a good ending, or reading an exciting detective story, is no less useful than physical activity. They cause the release of endorphins and adrenaline, which have a rejuvenating effect on the body. Autogenic training before going to bed after such pleasant activities will certainly give a positive result.