Relaxation and relaxation that autogenic training gives us.

Did you know that our breathing has a huge impact on our emotions? For example, an anxious person is usually advised to breathe deeply to calm down. Breathing regulation is an important component of autogenic training. But, let's take it in order...

Autogenic training is a special technique (in other words, autotraining), based on the use of muscle relaxation, the effect of self-hypnosis and the so-called autodidactics (in other words, self-education). In fact, being an analogue of hypnotherapy, auto-training differs significantly from the latter. The difference lies largely in the fact that the patient involved is not, in fact, a passive “test subject”, as is the case with hypnosis, but an active initiator of the entire process of self-therapy. This treatment technique was first proposed and described by the German physician Johann Schultz back in 1932. In Russia, autogenic training began to be actively practiced in the late 50s of the last century.

Regular auto-training sessions are accompanied by improved well-being and mood, increased tone of all parts of the autonomic nervous system. And this, in response, helps to neutralize the stress reactions of our body that accumulate over time.

According to the classification of Dr. Johann Schulz himself, auto-training is conventionally divided into “lowest and highest levels”:

1. The first involves relaxation exercises, relaxation and self-hypnosis,
2. The second is focused on deep immersion of the patient into the so-called trance state of varying degrees and intensity.

It is clear that the highest level is available only to very savvy individuals, such as yogis, Buddhist monks and other individuals “not of this world.” Well, “mere mortals” are especially recommended to try to master the lowest level of auto-training at the initial stage, and we suggest you start with it...

Of great importance in all this teaching, first of all, is correct breathing. Pay attention to the ease of air flow through your respiratory tract during the inhalation and exhalation phases. An interesting technique: when inhaling, when the chest expands, a formula is suggested with a mental image of the complete disappearance of “internal clamps,” tightness, and the appearance of lightness and warmth. As you calm down, your breathing becomes deeper. In the breathing exercise, the self-programming formulas go in the following order:

1. My breathing is calm.
2. I can breathe easily and freely.
3. The air pleasantly fills the lungs.
4. The internal clamps disappear.
5. I am calm.
6. I'm completely calm.
7. The chest is light, calm, warm.

While in this state, it is important to maintain full concentration, control yourself and not fall into natural sleep. In the phase of autogenic immersion, self-hypnosis and self-persuasion become most effective, aimed at:

1. I) regulation of internal organs,
2. ii) behavior change,
3. III) creating an emotional mood,
4. IV) strengthening willpower, etc.

Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor N. Volkov talks about the role of autogenic training:

Autogenic training not only relieves neuropsychic stress and fatigue, but also contributes to the formation of a person’s mental culture.

This happens under the influence of words, figurative representations, attention, physical and breathing exercises.

The effect of the word is explained by the fact that self-hypnosis formulas are pronounced by a person in a state of reduced wakefulness.

A vivid, figurative presentation enhances the impact of the word, causing not only a conscious, but also an unconscious, reflex reaction of the body. The image turns into a “key” when mastering the higher stages of this autogenic training, without using or pronouncing verbal formulas. The impact of exercises in stressful working conditions increases and accelerates.

With autogenic training, what is achieved is not a strong-willed, intense concentration of attention on certain parts of the body, but free contemplation, a kind of “game” that allows you to freely hold attention for a long time. This contributes to the development of such personality qualities as determination, perseverance, perseverance in achieving a formulated goal, and the ability to fully concentrate on the work at hand.

Thanks to such a universal impact on the body and personality of those involved, autotraining is used not only for the purposes of recovery, psychoprophylaxis and mental hygiene, but also as a powerful pedagogical tool that promotes harmonious, directional formation of personality.

At various levels of mental regulation, certain pedagogical tasks are solved with the help of autogenic training:

1. on the physical - regulation of breathing, tension and relaxation of muscles, blood circulation and other vegetative functions of the body;
2. on the emotional level - mastering voluntary self-regulation of emotional states;
3. on the intellectual level - the development of voluntary self-regulation of intellectual processes, perception, thinking, memory;
4. on the motivational level - voluntary self-regulation of needs, interests, motives, attitudes, life goals;
5. on the social level - the formation of the personality as a whole, worldview, beliefs, high civic positions.