Autogenic training It is a technique based on self-hypnosis. It was developed by the German psychiatrist I. Schultz. He revealed the similarity of reactions in hypnotized patients, consisting in their feeling in a trance state of heat spreading through the body, and heaviness in the torso and limbs. Psychotechnics, created by Schultz, is a combination of exercises aimed at the appearance of the described sensations, which lead to the emergence of self-hypnosis. The sensation of warmth pouring over the body is due to the expansion of the blood capillaries, which causes the flow of blood to parts of the body. The feeling of heaviness is generated by muscle relaxation. Because capillary expansion and relaxation muscle tone are key components of the relaxation response. Auto-training began to be used as a psychotechnics to achieve a special state of relaxation, which causes relief from stress. Initially, Schultz described autogenic training as a way to cure neurotics with the presence of psychosomatic ailments. Subsequently, healthy individuals began to use his methodology, striving to independently master the technique of controlling their own psychological mood and physiological state.

Autogenic training relaxation

The method of autogenic training is based on the use muscle relaxation, suggestions to one's own subconscious and autodidactics. He is a "relative", but has one serious advantage, which is the active involvement in the process of psychotechnics, while in hypnotherapy the patient remains a passive participant.

The therapeutic effect of autogenic training is due to the occurrence of a trophotropic reaction that comes as a result of the onset of relaxation, which is accompanied by an increase in the activity of the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. This, in turn, helps to neutralize the stress response. human body. Some scientists attribute the effect of autogenic training to a decrease in the tone of the limbic system and the hypothalamic region of the brain. In accordance with the classification of Dr. Schultz, which is still used today, there are stages of autogenic training, which is divided into the first and highest stages.

The first step includes exercises aimed at achieving relaxation, after which the stage of self-hypnosis begins.

The highest level is aimed at introducing individuals into a hypnotic state of varying intensity and depth. Naturally, the highest autogenic training is available only to trained individuals. At the initial stage, it is recommended to master the first stage of auto-training. At the lower level, correct breathing plays a huge role. During practice, special attention should be paid to the ease of air distribution through the respiratory tract during inhalation and exhalation. There is a special technique that consists in suggesting to oneself a verbal formula: “all internal clamps disappear”, carried out on inspiration during expansion chest. In the process of self-hypnosis, it is recommended to imagine mentally how constraint disappears, lightness appears and warmth spreads through the body. The deeper the relaxation, the deeper the breath. The self-programming test material should be used in this order: “My breathing is absolutely calm. I breathe freely. Air pleasantly fills the lungs. All internal clamps disappear. I am completely calm and relaxed. The body feels light and warm.

After mastering the control of breathing, a state of autogenic immersion is reached, which is characterized by a deep rest of the body. Such a state is considered borderline, in other words, the individual is no longer awake, but still controls attention and does not sleep. Three phases of the boundary state can be distinguished. The first phase is described by individuals as a feeling of warmth, relaxation and peace. The second is a feeling of weightlessness. The third phase is characterized by a kind of “disappearance, dissolution of the physical body”, the individual practicing auto-training does not feel it.

Being in a borderline state, it is important to maintain full concentration of attention and not allow yourself to fall into sleep. It is this state that is optimal and most effective for the effects of formulas. The test material for convincing oneself, first of all, is aimed at regulating the functioning of internal organs, gradually moving on to changing behavioral reactions, creating a positive emotional mood, and strengthening willpower.

The method of autogenic training is aimed not only at relieving neuropsychic tension and feelings of fatigue, but also at forming the mental culture of the individual. This is due to verbal influence, figurative-mental representation, concentration of attention, physical exercises and breath control. The effectiveness of verbal influence is due to the fact that the text of self-hypnosis is pronounced by an individual who is in a borderline state called reduced wakefulness.

A vivid representation enhances the magical effect of the word at times, while provoking a conscious and unconscious reflex reaction of the human body at the same time.

During auto-training, there is not a strong-willed, intense concentration of attention on certain parts of the body, but free observation, the so-called "game process", which makes it easy to concentrate attention for a long time. This leads to the formation of new personal qualities, such as focus, perseverance, the ability to fully concentrate on the work being done, or them.

Thanks to exercise and deep breathing, significant transformations occur in the nervous system of the individual. Relaxation muscle corset lowers the level of arousal. Exhalation helps to relax and calm down, lowering the level of wakefulness, and inhalation, on the contrary, causes excitation of the central mechanisms. Because of this universal impact on human body and consciousness of practitioners, began to be used not only for restorative and preventive purposes, but also as a powerful pedagogical tool that contributes to the harmoniously directed formation of character and personality traits.

Autogenic training solves the following tasks. At the physical level, there is a regulation of respiration, blood circulation and the functioning of other vegetative processes, tension and relaxation of muscle muscles. On the emotional level - the assimilation of arbitrary emotional moods. On the intellectual - the formation of arbitrary self-regulation of intellectual functions, mental activity, memory and perception. On the motivational level - free self-regulation of motives, interests, needs, goals and attitudes. On the social - the formation of a holistic personality, its worldview, moral qualities, beliefs.

Autogenic training and relaxation

Today, there are a huge variety of mind control techniques. Some of them can be used independently. Such techniques are usually used to increase the efficiency of one's own body or, conversely, for the purpose of relaxation. Self-training should be done alone, after internally setting yourself up for the process. Often, the stages of autogenic training affect the body no worse than various drugs, and sometimes even more effective.

Auto-training and relaxation help to solve minor problems, overcome malaise, eliminate insomnia, eliminate stress and anxiety.

Autogenic psychomuscular training is recognized as the most popular technique among the known methods of controlling the mind and one's own body. Its goal is complete relaxation and relaxation.

Autogenic training and relaxation are aimed at acquiring the ability to control mental activity, muscle muscles, achieving the ability to quickly relax and move into a natural state of sleep. It is also believed that autogenic training helps prolong life, which is confirmed by studies conducted by American scientists in the 90s. They conducted the experiment in seventy-three nursing homes. The experiment consisted in the fact that all the subjects, whose average age reached eighty-one years, were divided into 3 groups. The first group of old people practiced transcendental meditation, the second - autogenic training, and the third - lived as before. Three years later, the old people from the first group were all alive, about 12.5% ​​of the elderly died in the second group, and the mortality rate in the third group was 37.5%.

This study has proven the power of meditation and auto-training to prolong life. Autogenic training is considered no less effective than meditation.

Two methods of autogenic training and relaxation are described in detail below.

The first method is practiced before a night's rest. It is recommended to take a half-hour walk in the evening, after which you need to take a warm foot bath. In addition, it is necessary half an hour before going to bed to purposefully slow down your own movements, reduce the lighting of the room, speak as quietly as possible and less. If there are unfulfilled worries, then it is better to postpone them for the next day, having previously said out loud to yourself several times: “I will do them tomorrow.” The process of undressing before going to bed is also recommended to deliberately slow down. These manipulations are preparation for autogenic training and are necessary for deeper sleep and fast falling asleep.

Auto-training itself begins after the individual lies down in bed, closes his eyes and proceeds to the process of relaxation. In this case, breathing should be characterized by rhythm, and the exhalation should be somewhat longer than the inhalation. Then, without opening your eyes, it is recommended to look up and say to yourself: “I”, after which you need to look down and say “calm down”. Verbal formulations that are directly related to falling asleep should not be used. It is necessary to repeat to yourself persistently: “I am absolutely calm, my face softened, all my thoughts go away, a pleasant warmth spreads through my body, everything in me calms down, I feel free and easy, my body is absolutely relaxed, I am completely immersed in peace and quiet. Having completed this exercise, it is necessary to imagine a pleasant monotonous picture or a moment of life in front of your own mind's eye. For most people, images of the endless sea, dense forest, green meadow, etc. are suitable. No need to be upset if you can’t fall asleep immediately after doing the exercises. The main thing is that the body was able to relax and throw off the accumulated tension. One should learn to maintain a state of absolute mental and muscular relaxation, then sleep will come quickly and imperceptibly. Such systematic autogenic training will eventually bear fruit. Sleep will become healthier and deeper, which will improve the functioning of all organs.

The second method of autogenic training is also performed while lying in bed. Auto-training to achieve relaxation is best done in a well-ventilated area.
It is necessary to take a comfortable lying position of the body and imagine your own stay in a kind of spacesuit that protects from unnecessary thoughts, interfering worries and overcoming anxieties. After that, you should set yourself up for relaxation. Now you can close your eyes and move on to pronouncing the following verbal formulas: “I calm down, my hands relax,
my hands are completely relaxed, still and warm, my legs are relaxed, my legs are completely still, relaxed and warm, my body is relaxed, my body is completely relaxed, warm and still, I feel complete peace.
When pronouncing the above described text formulas, one should mentally represent their content in detail. For example, if the spoken phrase has the meaning that the hands are getting warm, then we can imagine that the hands are in warm water. If it is not possible to correlate the formula mentally with the images, then it is recommended to choose a time during the day and dip the limbs in warm water, fully concentrating on the sensations in order to remember them. This practice will help you quickly master the necessary skills of self-regulation.

Auto-training and relaxation should be carried out daily for ten minutes. It is recommended to pronounce each verbal formula slowly at least three times. After the appearance of distinct sensations of spoken formulas, the number of repetitions can be reduced.

Autogenic training - exercises

Exercises of the first stage of autogenic training are used to restore the body's strength after overwork, control one's own emotional mood, fight insomnia, eliminate stress and depression. Higher autogenic training - its exercises are more often aimed at liberating the psyche, gaining inner freedom, understanding one's individual characteristics, revealing the cause of the appearance of shortcomings, complexes, often developing into a painful state, as well as eliminating such deviations.

Autogenic training exercises are successfully practiced by athletes, creative individuals, people whose professions require excessive mental stress, individuals striving for self-development and self-knowledge. In addition, neuropsychic overstrain happens to everyone.

To master the techniques of auto-training, it is necessary to practice its exercises exclusively in a calm environment and with a relaxed body position. The most comfortable position is the supine position. In this case, the arms should be slightly bent at the elbows and lie along the body with the palms down. Legs should be spread apart by 30 centimeters.

You can also practice this psychotechnics in a sitting position, but in a comfortable chair, necessarily equipped with armrests and a headrest.

In situations where conditions do not allow one to adopt the body positions described above, it is recommended to use the “coachman” position. To do this, you need to sit with a straight straight back on a chair and relax all the skeletal muscles. At the same time, the eyes are closed, and the head is tilted to the chest, the lower limbs are bent at an obtuse angle and slightly apart, the upper limbs are on the knees, the elbows are slightly rounded.

It should be understood that auto-training does not introduce anything extraneous into the individual, and even more so, negative. They only contribute to the development of the best qualities in themselves, the elimination of "bad" traits.

Exercises of autogenic psychotechnics can be used as an independent psychotherapeutic technique, and can be combined with other methods, as well as with drug treatment. Auto-training can be practiced individually or in a group.

The guarantee of the effectiveness of autogenic psychotechnics is confidence in success and one's own potential, sincere aspiration to perform the exercises completely and as well as possible.

It is believed that it takes at least two weeks to master each exercise of the technique, provided that at least three workouts are carried out per day, lasting about ten minutes.

The verbal material used for self-hypnosis must be combined with certain images with a bright emotional color, which necessarily evoke the sensations necessary for a particular exercise in an individual. It is recommended to pronounce textual formulations mentally, correlating with breathing.

It is believed that phrases spoken on the exhale have a greater relaxing effect. A more complete rest causes a relaxed state of the entire muscles of the body. This condition is often referred to as a feeling of heaviness. Often this feeling appears after physical work, sports activities, a long walk, but it is involuntary. The task of auto-training exercises is to voluntarily evoke the described sensation in the body. To this end, it is recommended to practice relaxing the dominant hand first, that is, right-handers train to completely relax the right upper limb, and left-handers train the left. For this, the formula is applied: "my left / right hand is heavy." This phrase must be presented with all possible clarity. You should feel how the muscles of the shoulder and forearm relax, the hands seem to be filled with lead, the arm has become completely heavy and relaxed. She lies helplessly, as if with a whip and does not have enough strength to move her.

The described formula is recommended to be slowly repeated about 8 times. In this case, you need to try as clearly as possible to remember the evoked sensations. In addition, it is important that the emerging feeling of relaxation does not carry an unpleasant connotation. If, nevertheless, a negative sensation arises, then in the formula you can not use the word "heaviness", but use only the word "relaxation".

After mastering the ability to relax the leading upper limb on the first attempt, that is, reflexively, you need to learn to relax the rest of the muscles in the same way. In general, this is already much easier to achieve. You can use the following formulations: “a pleasant feeling of heaviness arises in my right hand, my hands are filled with heaviness, my hands are becoming heavier, my hands are completely relaxed, I am absolutely calm, peace brings rest to my body, my legs are getting heavy, my right leg is being filled with heaviness , my left leg I feel heavy, my legs are pleasantly heavy, my arms and legs are relaxed, my torso is getting heavier, all the muscles of my body are relaxed and in a state of pleasant rest, my body is pleasantly heavy, the heaviness will disappear after class, I am completely calm.

1. Causing a feeling of heaviness in the arms and legs. Accompanied by relaxation of the striated muscles. Formulas are used - the right hand is completely heavy, then the left hand is completely heavy, both hands are completely heavy. Same for the legs. Final formula: arms and legs are completely heavy.
2. Causing a sensation of warmth in the arms and legs in order to master the regulation of the vascular tone of the limbs, "the right (left) arm is completely warm" "the arms are completely warm" also for the legs, then "the arms and legs are completely heavy and warm." Each control including the accented part and the previous one (more and longer on what is being done now, with not so much earlier)
3. Regulation of heart contractions. "Heart beats strong and steady"
4. Normalization and regulation of the respiratory rhythm. "I breathe quite easily and calmly."
5. Causing a sensation of warmth in the abdominal cavity. "My solar plexus radiates warmth
6. Causing sensations of warmth and coolness in the forehead alternately. It is used to regulate the vascular tone of the head. "My forehead is warm and my forehead is pleasantly cool"

Ovl workouts. 1 step is carried out in one of 3 poses:

• Lying on your back (at home or in the hospital more often Spanish) hands along the body, eyes closed.
• Sitting or coachmen on the tracks. The legs are freely spaced, the middle of the back rests against the back of the chair, hands on the hips, hands below the level of the hips. The position of the spine is important. To not fall. Take a deep breath in with lifting the shoulders and exhale, lowering the head and relaxing the muscles of the face and neck.
• Reclining in a comfortable chair with a high headrest. Comfortable armchair. Workplace psychologist, an office with good soundproofing, pleasant coloring of the walls, good video, audio equipment.

Trainings are divided into group (10-12 people) and individual.

2 step.(highest)

It begins to be performed only after mastering ex. 1 step.

Must be at least 30-40 minutes in a state of autogenic immersion. This is a state between sleep and wakefulness, does not hear and does not perceive the environment. This increases suggestibility.

Performed against the background of autogenic immersion:

1. Fixation of color representations spontaneously arising in this state.
2. Calling def. color representations. Vision of a given color. On this ex. Psychotherapist Spanish. This training includes diagnostic and correlative moments in its implementation.
3. Visualization of specific items
4. Focusing on the visual representation of abstract concepts (truth, honesty, etc.) while doing this exercise. The stream of representations which as a rule are strictly individualized increases. (For someone, freedom is a cloud, for someone, a motorcycle) Analytical-psychotherapeutic individual technique.
5. It involves the concentration of passive attention on arbitrarily caused, emotionally significant situations for the client. During the execution of this exercise. Trainees often see themselves as if they are inside this situation. This suggests that this situation is usually deeply experienced by the client. Sometimes a person sees the situation as if from the outside, it is more favorable for the person, while the traumatic beginning in such situations is less. A) diagnostic, to figure out how he sees the situation b) therapeutic, to transfer from deep experience to a more superficial one
6. Calling up images of other people. First, images of neutral faces are evoked, and then images of pleasant and unpleasant people. Images of unpleasant people can be called caricature, but then they become calmer, more impartial, lose the features of emotional hyperbolization. This means that there is an autogenous neutralization of the image. This improves the client's condition.
7. The trainee asks himself "what do I want" "who am I" "what is my problem" and so on. In response, he subconsciously responds with a stream of images that help him see himself as if from the outside, in a variety of situations, including disturbing conflict situations. This is autogenic neutralization.

Indications for the use of autogenic training.

1. Psychological preparation:
   1. development of skills in ex. Your emotional state in difficult, extreme, conditions of activity
   2. Developing skills for quick recovery of strength and performance
   3. Normalization of night sleep
      • Health Preservation
      • Improving work efficiency
2. Psychocorrection
3. Psychotherapy. Autogenic training isp. in combination with getterosegustia. Nervoses and neurotic moods psychosomatic states (ulcer, bronchial asthma, abs, hypertension). Somatic diseases (heart attack and stroke) are accompanied by significant changes in mentality. The condition of the patients. Along with rehabilitation measures, Spanish is required. Various methods, including autogenic training.

Contraindications:

1. Mental disorders in the acute stage, usually accompanied by delirium and the inability to make contact with the patient
2. Epilepsy
3. Alcohol, drugs, energy drinks

Possible complications:

• Epilepsy may begin, it is necessary to explain what did not bring it to this. The method is approved by the Ministry of Health. In a state of disinhibition, epilepsy may occur.
• It may be that a person did not get enough sleep and someone cannot get out of this state. We need to reassure everyone around. The controlled state turned into an uncontrolled one, rapport is broken. If nothing is done, then the person will sleep peacefully and wake up. Can be withdrawn. Strengthening the voice, switching to a louder voice and the obligatory giving of commands, the implementation of which we can control, for example, increase breathing. You can follow the exit procedure for everyone.
• The exit command should be loud and associated with breathing. "Now I will count from 1 to 3, as soon as I count to 3, you will feel lightness, freedom in every cell of your body. One, heaviness, lethargy, leaves the body, the body becomes light, weightless, in every cell of your body there is a feeling no heaviness and lethargy, only a feeling of strength. And now we take a deep breath, we approach people, put our hand on the shoulder or press the finger under the nose, press into the hole. Or rotate the finger in this place. And at the expense of 2, inhale twice exhalation.

Psychophysiological mechanisms of suggestion

1. Autogenic relaxation, while afferent impulses from the striated muscles are reduced, which contributes to the development of the inhibitory state of the cortex of the m. The occurrence of an inhibitory reaction due to autogenic relaxation.
2. When the cortex is relaxed, because the body is lying, the legs and arms do not move, the face is relaxed, the eyes are closed, then an area appears that holds rapport. The word begins to act as an irritant. The word begins to act very strongly, there are no other ways. Suggestion works very well. (Rapport, paradoxical phase)
3. A change in the interhemispheric activity of the brain in a state of autogenous or heterogeneous immersion is marked by a decrease in the activity of the left hemisphere and an increase in the activity of the right one. (There is a possibility of active perception of any information, he does not analyze information, a person is easily programmed). The right hemisphere is more connected with the subcortical.
4. The active role of imaginative processes or the information-regulating role of mental images. If you imagine in a way, for example, a hand falls into warm water, then this is much more effective. Those. We need to recode the verbal signal. We do it with submodalities (color, brightness, sharpness)
5. Training of attention processes (stream of consciousness). We switch the stream of consciousness to this area (arms, legs) with closed eyes, we work out concentration, switching, distribution.
6. Programmability of the human psyche. From childhood, we develop a whole range of reflexof. By creating a def. The program of behavior and actions, we thereby set up our body for their unconditional implementation and achievement of results. In a number of cases, through a change in consciousness, we also influence the environment and the behavior of other people and the attitude of these people towards us.

How autogenic training is used to activate reserves.

1. Training people of extreme professions to improve their performance and maintain health.
   1. Teaching people methods of managing their functional state in the process of activity
   2. Increasing emotional stability (stress resistance) to the effects of environmental factors.
   3. In the functional state (accelerated) during the working cycle
2. The norms of the functional state in the event of a violation of the functional state and the initial stages of the disease
   1. The use of AT in psychocorrection and psychotherapy in the development of neuroses and psychosomatic diseases. Neurotic disorders are an altered system of attitudes towards oneself and people, the process of inhibition and excitation is disturbed. Normal fluctuations in excitation and inhibition up and down, and if inhibition sticks - asthenia, depression, etc., excitation-quarrelsomeness, aggressiveness, etc., but there is sticking, but not complete, that is, more excitation or inhibition. Such people require programs of regulation and correction that can be used in the treatment process. Leading to the norm - we get rid of somatic and neurotic disorders
   2. Activation of extraordinary abilities. To develop extraordinary abilities.
   3. Professional psychological selection - determination of the severity of certain professionally significant psychophysiological qualities (PVK). Abilities can develop into skills. A skill can turn into a skill, a talent.

Modification of Zvonnikov's autogenic training!

Methods of programmable mental self-regulation.
1 part text

I am more comfortable. The position of my body is free and not forced relaxed. I take a deep breath, exit and establish a calm free breathing rhythm. My breathing is even and calm. All anxiety worries of excitement remained outside my body and this room. There is only a free comfortable lazy state and developing peace in the body. Now I'm focusing on my hands. I really want my hands to become heavy and unusually calm. I feel the heaviness and peace fill my arms. The hands become heavy, very heavy. Heavy from fingertips to shoulders. Heaviness and peace completely covered my hands, my hands were heavy and absolutely calm. And now my attention is switched to the legs and I really want my legs to become heavy and absolutely calm. Heaviness and peace completely fill my legs. Legs are heavy. And absolutely calm. Breathing is even and calm. Heaviness and peace from the legs of the hands gradually spread throughout the body, penetrating into every cell of my body. And every cell of my body responds with joy to the feeling of pleasant, lazy, healing peace. Breathing is even and calm, with each breath there is more and more peace in the body. With each exhalation, the accumulated internal tension, anxiety, fatigue (we indicate its symptoms of diarrhea and pruritus) leave the body. Breathing is even and calm. In a state of rest, you have a very good rest, in a state of rest, you quickly develop skills in managing your body, your well-being. Breathing is even, calm, peace is stronger and more pleasant. Peace covers the body like a soft feather bed and the body sinks deeper and deeper into this soft feather bed of peace and absolute rest.

There is already a special state of consciousness!!!

• a. It is necessary to learn how to evoke this feeling that he experiences himself. We program him with confidence that now he can easily and freely evoke the necessary sensations on his own at a convenient time for him.
• b. The main part is corrective, to introduce programs. Here about what they complained about (bad sleep, ulcers, etc.)
• c. Output, activating part. A person should become active, vigorous.

part 2 text

In a state of rest, I rest very well, the feeling of peace is automatically fixed in my memory and subconscious and can now be called up after the end of this workout on my own at any time convenient for me. With each workout, the feeling of heaviness and peace will be more pronounced. I now easily and freely reach the level of heaviness and peace in the arms, legs, and throughout the body. breathing is even, calm. The state of rest has a very beneficial effect on my body, my psyche. All symptoms (for wasp, pruritus) will leave my body forever. Whatever I do, wherever I am, I will always have excellent health, efficiency and an unusually pronounced inner vitality. So, in my memory and subconsciousness, a program of self-regulation is very firmly entrenched, which I can launch at will at a convenient time for me.
And now, through my fault, the feeling of heaviness of warmth and peace will gradually leave the body. The whole body will become light, energetic and well rested. One - I take a deep breath, slow exhalation, another deep breath, exhale, the feeling of peace and heaviness leaves the body in every cell of the body, there is a feeling of pleasant lightness, like weightlessness in the body. Two I breathe in fresh energy, clench my fists, open my eyes, and feeling great, I enter the waking state. Three.

It is obligatory for students to conduct classes at home, individually, otherwise there will be no effect, independent work is needed. The first time they can sleep, this is the norm. Then there is the skill of not only inhibition, but also excitation.
Carry out in special rooms of psychological unloading.
2 group lessons per week. And not in my free time. There will be an effect in terms of staff performance.

2.7.1. The classic version of autogenic training (method of I. G. Schulz)

The required general relaxation during training at the first stage of autogenic training according to I.G. Schultz is achieved using six basic mental exercises, each of them is aimed at a specific area or system of the body: 1) muscles; 2) blood vessels; 3) heart; 4) breathing; five) abdominal organs; 6) head.

The meaning of the exercises is to concentrate attention (calm, relaxed, but complete) on a certain part of the body or on a certain organ; fixation of experienced internal sensations; representation of the desired experience (feelings of warmth, heaviness, relaxation, etc.) against the background of the repetition of the corresponding self-hypnosis formula.

The assimilation of each exercise is carried out in stages, over several days of regular training to evoke a particular sensation. Linking together all the self-hypnosis formulas is carried out at the end of the training cycle (ready-made exercises, as it were, are strung on one thread).

There are well-known recommendations on the form of organizing auto-training classes and the features of their conduct ( Leonova et al., 1988b; Leonova , Kuznetsova, 1987; Theory and practice of autogenic training, 1980; Everly , Rosenfeld, 1985). The main conditions for the effectiveness of training: the desire on the part of the student to master the relevant skills; systematic training; the sequence and completeness of the development of each stage; control over the course of classes by a psychotherapist or psychologist.

The classic exercises of autogenic training include the following:

1. Exercises for relaxing individual areas and the whole body by mental concentration and localization of sensations of pleasant heaviness: "My right (left) arm is heavy", "Both arms are completely heavy", "My right (left) leg is heavy", "Both legs are completely heavy".
2. Exercises to dilate blood vessels by instilling sensations of warmth in different parts of the body: "My right (left) arm is warm", "Both arms are perfectly warm", "My right (left) leg is completely warm", "Both legs are perfectly warm", "My arms and legs are completely warm".
3. Exercises to regulate the activity of the heart: "My heart beats evenly and calmly."
4. Breath control exercises: “I breathe evenly and calmly”, “I breathe easily.”
5. Exercises to regulate the activity of the internal organs of the abdominal cavity: "My solar plexus radiates a pleasant, inner warmth."
6. Exercises for the head and relieving mental stress: "My forehead is pleasantly cool."

The formulas recommended by I.G. Schultz for an active exit from the state of autogenic immersion can serve as an addition to this list:

"Hands are tense!"

"Take a deep breath!"

"Open eyes!"

It is assumed that as the corresponding skills of voluntary regulation are automated, the textual design of self-hypnosis formulas is linked together and then significantly reduced. So, after several months of regular exercise, it is enough to repeat to yourself the sequence of words: “calm, heaviness, warmth, heart and breathing are calm, the stomach is warm, the forehead is cool, the head is clear” to achieve a quick release of tension and activation of the state. This is useful in emergencies, but reinforcing a skill requires systematic deployment of it in longer sessions as a supportive training course.

2.7.2. Modifications of the classic version of autogenic training in the form of self-influences

An example of a modification of the classic version, developed according to the principle of constructing a detailed composition of self-hypnosis formulas within the framework of each classic exercise of autogenic training, is the methodology proposed by A.I. Nekrasov ( Nekrasov, 1980, p. 9–11). Below are textual versions of the main formulas of autogenic training of this modification and instructions for their use. Practicing the exercises in this sequence is the main training course for mastering the skills of the RPS.

"GRAVITY" (1st exercise)

The first exercise causes a feeling of heaviness in the arms and legs by repeating to oneself and vividly imagining the following self-hypnosis formulas:

My right hand (for left-handers - left) is completely relaxed (3 - 5 times).

I feel a pleasant heaviness in my right hand ... (3 - 5 times).

The fingers of my right hand became heavy ... (3 - 5 times).

The brush of my right hand became heavy ... (3 - 5 times).

My whole right arm is getting heavier and heavier... (3-5 times).

(1 time).

My right hand is very heavy, it seems to be filled with lead ... (3 - 5 times).

After completing the exercise, open your eyes, vigorously bend and straighten your right arm at the elbow 2-3 times, take 2-3 slow inhales and exhales.

Exercise for the first time lasts no more than 5 - 10 minutes. This exercise is done in a similar way with the left hand, both hands, the right and left legs, both legs, and finally, simultaneously in the arms and legs. 3 days for each element.

"WARM" (2nd exercise)

My muscles are relaxed for rest... (3-5 times).

My body is pleasantly resting ... (3 - 5 times).

I feel a pleasant heaviness in my right (left) hand ... (3 - 5 times).

The blood vessels in my right (left) arm dilated… (3-5 times).

Hot healthy blood rushed through them ... (3 - 5 times).

Hot blood warmed my right (left) hand ... (3 - 5 times).

I feel a pleasant warmth in my right (left) hand ... (3 - 5 times).

My right (left) hand became heavy and warm ... (3 - 5 times).

I breathe evenly, I am completely calm ... (3 - 5 times).

Then the feeling of warmth is worked out in the same parts of the body as in the first exercise. The figurative representation of the feeling of warmth, the corresponding sensations that arise when the hand is lowered into warm water, helps.

"BREATHING" (3rd exercise)

After repeating the previous formulas to ourselves 2 times, mentally pronounce the following phrases:

My muscles are completely relaxed ... (3 - 5 times).

I breathe evenly and calmly ... (3 - 5 times).

My inhalation is smooth and longer than exhalation (morning type of breathing) ... (3 - 5 times).

My exhalation is smooth and longer than inhalation (evening type of breathing) ... (3 - 5 times).

I breathe evenly, I am completely calm ... (3 - 5 times).

"HEART" (4th exercise)

After repeating the previous exercises (that is, each exercise builds on the old one), we mentally pronounce the following verbal phrases:

My heart beats evenly and calmly ... (3 - 5 times).

I breathe evenly, I am completely calm ... (3 - 5 times).

I feel a pleasant warmth in my chest ... (3 - 5 times).

My heart beats rhythmically and calmly ... (3 - 5 times).

I breathe evenly, I am completely calm ... (3 - 5 times).

"STOMACH" (5th exercise)

Causing sensations of warmth in the epigastric region, where a person has a nerve formation "solar plexus".

Everything repeats first, then:

Pleasant warmth in the upper abdomen, in the area of ​​the "solar plexus" ... (3 - 5 times).

My stomach becomes warm, the tension of the abdominal muscles decreases ... (3 - 5 times).

A pleasant feeling of warmth gradually spreads throughout the body ... (3 - 5 times).

I breathe evenly, I am completely calm ... (3 - 5 times).

"LOB" (6th exercise)

The exercise is designed to learn how to cause a pleasant coolness in the forehead and temples. As usual, mentally repeat all the previous formulas (1 - 2 times), then:

I have a good rest ... (3 - 5 times).

My head is calm and fresh ... (3 - 5 times).

I feel a slight coolness in the forehead ... (3 - 5 times).

A pleasant sensation of a cool breeze in the forehead, temples, above the bridge of the nose ... (3 - 5 times).

My forehead is pleasantly cool ... (3 - 5 times).

I breathe evenly, I am completely calm ... (3 - 5 times).

In addition to this basic set self-hypnosis formulas, the author offers and special exercises. So, for example, a special exercise "head" has been developed, aimed at reducing and removing various unpleasant sensations in this area: headaches, feelings of "compression" in the temples. We give the composition of the formulas of this exercise ( Nekrasov, 1980, p.13):

Complete peace…

A pleasant feeling of relaxation and warmth swept over my whole body ...

At will, I dilate the vessels of the head ...

Vessels of the head slightly expanded ...

Healthy hot blood pleasantly warms my head ...

The nutrition of nerve cells has improved ...

Favorable conditions have been created to relieve unpleasant sensations in the head ...

I breathe evenly, I am completely calm ...

I feel a pleasant coolness in my forehead...

The feeling of a cool breeze in the forehead and temples ...

Pleasant freshness and clarity in the head ...

The nutrition of the nerve cells of the brain has improved ...

All discomfort in the head area disappeared ...

The head is clear, light ...

I breathe evenly, I am completely calm ...

Modifications of the classical technique of autogenic training, developed on the principle of compiling a single complex of self-hypnosis formulas for each session, include psychoregulatory training in the L.D. Giessen ( Giessen, 1973, p. 103-122). This technique has been actively used since the early 1970s. in the practice of elite sports. It consists of calming and mobilizing parts.

The soothing part of ORT

First group of formulas (introductory):

1. I calm down.
2. The circle of my attention narrows ... to the boundaries of my body.
3. I feel and control only myself.
4. I feel and mentally see my face.
5. It (the face) is calm, relaxed, motionless.
6. I feel and mentally see my body.
7. It (the body) is calm, relaxed, motionless.
8. I've calmed down.
9. My body is resting.
10. I rest calmly and pleasantly.

Second group of formulas :

1. My attention is directed to my hands.
2. I feel and mentally see my hands.
3. The muscles in my arms relax even more.
4. The muscles in my shoulders relax even more...

forearms…

1. All the muscles in my arms are completely relaxed.
2. I feel the relaxed, soft muscles in my arms begin to bleed profusely and warm up.
3. The muscles of the fingers are filled with blood and warm ...

forearms…

1. All the muscles in my arms are completely relaxed and warm.
2. All the muscles in my arms are resting.
3. I rest calmly and pleasantly.

Third group of formulas :

1. My attention is directed to my legs.
2. I feel and mentally see my legs.
3. My leg muscles relax even more.
4. The muscles of the thighs are even more relaxed ...

shins…

ankles…

1. All the muscles in my legs are completely relaxed.
2. I feel the relaxed, soft muscles in my legs begin to bleed profusely and warm up.
3. The muscles of the feet are filled with blood and warm ...

ankles…

shins…

1. All the muscles in my legs are completely relaxed and warm.
2. All the muscles of my legs and arms are resting.
3. I rest calmly and pleasantly.

Fourth group of formulas :

1. My attention is directed to the muscles of my torso.
2. I feel and mentally see the muscles of my torso.
3. The muscles in my torso relax even more.
4. Relax your neck muscles even more...

1. All the muscles in my torso are completely relaxed.
2. I feel how the relaxed soft muscles of my torso begin to fill with blood and warm up.
3. The muscles of my neck and back…chest and stomach are filling with blood and getting warm.
4. All the muscles in my torso are relaxed and warm.
5. All my muscles are resting.
6. I rest calmly and pleasantly.

Fifth group of formulas :

1. My attention is directed to the chest.
2. I feel and control my breathing.
3. It (breathing) is calm, light, free.
4. I feel and mentally see how my heart works.
5. The heart beats calmly and confidently.
6. My heart is working well.
7. I feel and control my stomach with my attention.
8. My stomach is soft and warm.
9. Everything in my body is at rest.
10. I am happy and relaxed.

Mobilization part of the PRT in two versions: activation and toning

Activation Formulas :

1. My body has gained strength.
2. The feeling of warmth and relaxation from all my muscles goes away.
3. All my muscles become light and elastic.
4. My attention is on my face.
5. The muscles of my face are mobile.
6. The drowsiness dissipated.
7. I'm getting stronger and stronger.
8. All my muscles are light and elastic.
9. I breathe deeply.
10. My head is rested and clear.
11. My health is good, cheerful.
12. I am full of energy.
13. I'm ready to act.
14. I get up! (Stand up abruptly).

Toning formulas :

1. The feeling of heaviness and relaxation is gone from my arms, my legs, from my whole body.
2. My breathing deepens, becomes faster.
3. I feel my exhaled air cool my nostrils.
4. Coolness covers my entire face.
5. As if a pleasant breeze is blowing over me.
6. My forehead became cool, my temples.
7. The muscles of my face became light, mobile.
8. A pleasant chill ran down her neck, shoulders, back.
9. I am becoming more and more energized.
10. Feeling great.
11. I am like a compressed spring.
12. Ready to act.
13. Get up!

It seems to us interesting to turn to the consideration of another technique as a variant of the autogenic training technique. It is also based on the principle of using self-hypnosis formulas. However, this technique has a number of characteristic features.

The technique was developed by L.P. Grimak and A.A. Israelyan, and has a special name - autoophthalmotraining. The name contains a specific purpose of the technique - preventing the development of visual defects in the early stages of their formation. This technique is based on the basic principles of auto-training (using self-hypnosis formulas, constructing formulas and the entire text of classes in the first person), its main feature is the introduction of special exercises for the formation of specific, clearly defined visual images, mentally working with which a person achieves an improvement in visual functions ( Grimak , 1991; Grimak, Israelyan, 1987). It is recommended to use the technique primarily for workers of visually intense work. The unconditional healing effect of the technique is also valuable because it allows you to delay the development of chronic visual fatigue. In conditions of visually intense work, combined with the risk of sudden development of stress reactions, the prevention of visual overstrain and fatigue becomes an essential factor preventing the development of extreme degrees of emotional arousal.

Text classes on methodology autoophthalmotraining

1. I am comfortable. The position of my body is free, relaxed, and the muscles of the body are relaxed. I learned to successfully manage my body in any, the most difficult conditions. I calm down. I mentally draw a line around myself and leave all my worries and problems outside this line. I enter a state of habitual and stable rest. I am gradually and deeper sinking into my inner world. I feel and really merge with my own body. I take a calm deep breath, exhale and establish an even, comfortable, calming rhythm of breathing. I inhale calmness, exhale the remnants of stress. I calm down and enter a steady state between sleep and wakefulness. As always, I focus on my face, and it becomes calm and motionless, like a mask. The face is a mask, a mask of absolute peace. The muscles of the neck and torso are also extremely relaxed. And now I direct my attention to my right hand and it becomes heavy and warm. Heaviness and warmth pour into the left hand, gradually filling the legs. Waves of heat rise higher, warm the back. I focus my attention on the epigastric region, and the heat fills it really and tangibly. The heat builds up, spreading to the chest and abdomen. I am free from all tension. I am calm, I am absolutely calm. The eyes are closed.

My mind's eye is directed to the forehead. In a state of complete rest, images of nature once imprinted spontaneously emerge in my mind. It can be a forest, a meadow, a seashore. And I continue to rest ...

(Pause 10 - 15 seconds.)

1. And now, being in deep peace, I will do mental gymnastics. It will completely relieve eye fatigue and increase my visual ability to the utmost. In this gymnastics, I actively use breathing. Here it becomes a little deeper and fuller. When counting one, I take a deep breath, when counting two, I exhale and vividly imagine how the exhaled healing air passes into the eye area and accumulates there. I will clearly feel it in the form of a pleasant warmth around the eyes. With each breath cycle, the heat becomes more and more.

So the count starts and I build up heat around my eyes: one or two (4 times). Heat around the eyes: one or two (2 times). There is more heat around the eyes: one or two (4 times). Explicit and palpable warmth around the eyes: one or two (2 times). The heat completely eliminated eye fatigue. And now the breathing becomes calm and rhythmic, and I take a short break to rest. Complete rest of the body and psyche ... (A pause of 1 minute, so as not to prevent the feeling of warmth in the eye sockets that continues to develop after this exercise.)

1. And now I will perform the next part of the figurative exercises for healing the eyes. To do this, I clearly imagine a gray-blue screen two meters away from me, in the center of which there is a clearly distinguishable dark dot. With my mind's eye, I follow the point so that it does not fluctuate, but stands still. The dot screen appears at a count of "one" and will persist as you count to "nine" and disappear at a count of "ten". So, the counting begins, and a screen with a dot appears: one, two, three ... ten. The screen vanished, and the dot I was following on the screen moved high into the blue sky. I see this point very clearly and realistically.
2. And now this point is gradually approaching when I inhale and stops in front of my face at a distance of 20 centimeters, and when I exhale, it moves far into the blue sky. At the count of one, I inhale and visualize a clear point 20 centimeters from my face; at the count of two, I exhale and see a point high in the sky. I will very clearly follow in my mind's eye its removal and approach in the rhythm of the breath. So: one (inhale) - a point close to the face; two (exhale) - a point in the sky. One or two ... (10 times).
3. And now my mind's eye begins to follow in a circular motion dark dot. When inhaling, the point moves to the right-up, while exhaling - to the left-down. So: inhale - exhale, inhale - exhale (5 times). And now in the opposite direction: inhale - to the left-up, exhale - to the right-down (5 times, pause). As a result of the training, my eyes, my brain, my body were very well rested. I was filled with energy and strength. My eyes became able to distinguish the slightest changes in the field of vision without fatigue, my brain acquired the ability to instantly and accurately, very accurately respond to these changes.
4. And now I'm starting to inhale the cool energy. It refreshes my brain, eyes, face. Shoulders and back feel a slight chill, like a nice refreshing shower. Goosebumps run through the body. I very realistically and clearly feel how cheerfulness and strength fill my every muscle. Strength and vitality confidently filled my entire body. I am very resilient and confident. My body is obedient to me in any situation, in any most difficult conditions. Autogenic training completely restored my strength. I am very fresh, cheerful, confident and collected. Breathing becomes deeper and more energetic, muscle tone increases, it eliminates the remnants of drowsiness. The head is very fresh, the thoughts are clear and fast. The body is very light, filled with energy and strength. I'm like a compressed spring, ready for action. I clench my fists, open my eyes and very actively enter the state of wakefulness.

2.7.3. Methods of autogenic training in the form of heterotraining

As an example of the methodology of autogenic training, carried out in the form of heterotraining, we present a version of one of the stages developed by us for the formation of skills of arbitrary regulation of the state in order to prevent production fatigue and stress among microscopist operators ( Leonova, 1984, 1988a, 1988b; Leonova et al., 1988b). This modification is prepared for conducting classes in the psychological relaxation room during a short rest break during the work shift. The relaxation session consists of two main parts: the stage of immersion and the stage of exit from the deep degrees of autogenic immersion.

The text of the relaxation session in the variant of heterotraining according to the method of autogenic training

Immersion. Sit comfortably in a chair. Make sure that nothing in your clothes interferes with free breathing and relaxation. For a while, forget about all your affairs, worries, troubles. We will dedicate this short period of rest to ourselves - to improve your well-being and mood.

Autogenic training is a kind of auto-training. This process can also be called self-hypnosis or self-hypnosis. What is it for? This good remedy to relieve stress and various nervous tensions. The most important thing about autogenic training is to learn how to relax, achieve a state of relaxation, and then focus on what you would like to change. At the same time, a person plunges into a semi-drowsy state, but not into sleep, and with the help of special exercises he can control organs and systems that are not subject to reason in the normal state. To get the result, autogenic training must be carried out daily, it is also important to find convincing motives for yourself and believe that everything will work out.

This method was developed in 1920 by the German doctor Johann Schulz. In 1932, his book on autogenic training was published. It quickly gained popularity all over the world. The author's student, Wolfgang Luthe, translated it into English, and later began teaching autogenic training in Canada.

Stages of autogenic training.

Autogenic training takes place in three stages. This will be discussed further in our article.

The first stage is relaxation.

At this stage, you must ensure that your muscles and limbs are relaxed. AT should be practiced in a separate room, in silence and twilight, while there should be no external stimuli. Autogenic training exercises take place in a relaxed position. For example, lying on the mat, relax all the muscles, spread your legs slightly so that the socks are slightly apart, arms along the body, the neck is relaxed, and the head is slightly turned in the direction that is more convenient for you. It can also be a bed if you do AT before bed, but you should remove the pillow. Autogenic training can also be done in a sitting position. For example, in a comfortable chair, so that the back and the back of the head can rest on its back, the legs are relaxed and slightly apart, the eyes are closed, you feel comfortable, ready to dive into a state of complete relaxation and rest.

The system that Schultz developed is now somewhat simplified, and only four basic suggestions are used in practice.

1. Pleasant calmness and relaxation. This formula should be repeated for all parts of the body. Start with your hands. You can imagine that your hands are lying in warm water or covered with a light warm duvet: “my right hand is warm, it is relaxed and resting”, then imagine the same for the legs, back, stomach and other parts of the body. Then you can go to the face and apply the formula: "my face is calm and relaxed, it is resting." This formula promotes vasodilation.

2. Pleasant heaviness. This suggestion is not difficult, because our legs and arms, and indeed the whole body, have a real heaviness, only we do not feel it in the usual state. And in a relaxed state, you can feel the heaviness of each part of the body. Mentally repeat: “my arm is gradually getting heavier”, while it is from the fingertips to the shoulder, as if filled with something heavy and you do not want to move it. Do the same for other parts of the body. This is not an oppressive feeling of heaviness, it comes in combination with a general state of lightness. This formula relaxes the muscles.

3. Pleasant warmth. When you have reached a state of relaxation, blood circulation has improved, your hands and feet become warm. The heat formula, again, should be applied to all parts of the body except the face.

4. Even and calm, easy breathing. This process does not require control, but in this state you can track how the cool air you inhale feels when you inhale, and then leaves, warmed by your warmth. These are pleasant sensations.

Separately, I want to focus on the face. When the formula “the muscles of my face are relaxed” has worked, you will feel that the face has become softer, the muscles of the forehead have relaxed. Then you need to move on to the suggestion: "My forehead is cool." This distinguishes the process of relaxing the face from all other parts of the body that need warmth. To achieve the effect, you can imagine that you are blowing a cool summer breeze, or you are washing your face with cool water.

The most difficult thing at the first stage is that attention is constantly switched to extraneous thoughts and memories. You should not get annoyed, just patiently try to return to the self-hypnosis formulas.

That, in fact, is all about the first stage of AT. To get out of it, give yourself a mental command: “The body is tense. Breathing becomes deep. I open my eyes," then do it all. If you did autogenic training in bed before going to bed, then you can not apply this formula, just return the pillow to its place and fall asleep. Usually, in order to master the first stage of autogenic training, before moving on to the remaining stages, a person needs from one to four weeks.

The second stage is auto-training.

After you have relaxed your body, your mind also needs to relax so that you can give yourself the settings you need. Without leaving the state of autogenic immersion, continue to inspire yourself that you are calm, that you enjoy this peace. To help you with this, you can imagine any picture that you associate with peace. It can be a summer meadow, the blue sky above it, the aromas of herbs or the calm sea, the blue sky with which it merges, the aroma of the sea air. You must remain in this state for at least five minutes.

The third stage is installation.

At this point, your body is relaxed, you yourself are at rest, and you can move on to preparing to deal with stress-related problems. To do this, you need to find settings (formulas) that are relevant to the problem, but they should be short and positive. They should be formulated in advance.

Some of them can be cited as an example. If you are worried about work problems, then you can use such attitudes: "I do my job, I succeed, I am attentive, I am confident, I am calm." If you are tormented by insomnia, and you did not fall asleep in the first two stages, then you can inspire yourself with the following formulas: “my head is free from thoughts, my soul is calm, I am resting, my eyelids are heavy, my sleep is deep and strong.” If you want to lose weight, then use the settings: “I am calm, I am full, I am indifferent to food, an abundance of food harms my body, abstaining from food brings me joy.” For those who want to get rid of bad habits, such as smoking, the following formulas are suitable: “Smoking harms me, I hate smoke, I don’t smoke anymore, I breathe fresh air, and it’s so nice, freedom from nicotine brings me joy” .

The practice of autogenic training helps not only to prevent diseases, but also increases the positive effect of their drug treatment. It must be remembered that AT does not cure, but only suppresses the symptoms of diseases due to the fact that it creates a psychological climate that supports the body. For each disease, it is necessary to select its own specific settings. For example, for those who suffer from hypertension and heart disease, the following settings can be used: “Nothing bothers me, I am calm, my heart works smoothly and smoothly, I am calm and relaxed, I am confident in my abilities, I am detached from worries, life beautiful and happy." If you feel pain in some internal organ, it will be useful to inspire yourself with a feeling of warmth in this organ, for example: “In the region of the kidneys (liver, gallbladder, etc.) I feel a pleasant warmth, there is no pain. The joints are warm, mobile, do not hurt.

There is another trick that relieves pain. You need to visualize your pain as a large red disk that gradually lightens in color, turning to pink and then to white. So your pain decreases along with a decrease in the intensity of the red color, and with the appearance of white, it disappears completely.

After you have achieved the desired result, you must be able to properly exit the state of autogenic immersion. The exit formula in this case will depend on the type of self-hypnosis that occurred. General points for all types of self-hypnosis: the formula must be mentally pronounced energetically, and immediately you need to open your eyes. For example, if you used work settings, then the formula might be: “I have a rest, I am calm and confident, I have good mood, I feel a surge of strength and energy and I'm ready to go. One two Three". On the count of three, open your eyes and stand up.

How long does autogenic training take?

At the beginning of classes, autogenic training will take you about half an hour. Once you've mastered the first two steps, you won't need to work on each body part separately. You will be able to start relaxing both arms at once, then both legs, naturally, the suggestion formulas will change. Over time, you can reach a level where you can carry out autogenic immersion reflexively, automatically. After that, you can completely shorten and simplify the suggestion formulas: “My whole body is relaxed, it feels pleasant heaviness and warmth. The forehead is cool." Then ten minutes of autogenic training will be enough for you.

The optimal mode for mastering autogenic training is five times a day for five minutes. If you take classes seriously, that in two weeks you will be able to relax before some exciting events that cause stress. And in a month, with the help of AT, you will be able to fall asleep at any time of the day for ten minutes and, upon waking up, feel rested.

Is it possible to do auto-training on your own?

Of course. Only self-training is less effective for the following reasons:

1. Each person has psychological mechanisms of self-control, which, during independent auto-training, do not allow to completely relax. If there is a person leading from the outside, then your brain automatically shifts the function of “security control” to him.

2. The plan, formulas, settings, the pace of the session are set by the moderator. And if it is not there, then you are forced to control all this yourself, which means that your thinking and self-control remain “on” and interfere with relaxation.

3. For autogenic training to be successful, you need knowledge and experience that you may not have yet.

That is, from here we can conclude that group training is more effective. But this does not negate the fact that self-training can bring a positive effect.

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If possible, the place for classes should have subdued lighting, all kinds of sounds and noises should be excluded. This is especially important at the beginning, when mastering the technique of autogenic training. It is better to do it either in the morning, immediately after waking up, or in the evening, before going to bed. During the day, you can also do some exercises when you have free time.

Autogenic training exercises can be performed in several relaxed positions: lying down, especially when waking up and before going to bed, reclining, for example, in an armchair, and also sitting - a position that is also called the coachman's position.

It should not be during training on purpose, by volitional efforts, to achieve relaxation. Concentration on exercises should be passive, not active. Before class, you should say to yourself the phrase "I am completely calm." For those who find it easier to work with images, you can imagine yourself as a bird or a balloon, soaring serenely in the air.

Autogenic training exercises

The first exercise is associated with a feeling of heaviness in the limbs, their relaxation. Self-hypnosis should be carried out according to the following formulas: “My right hand is very heavy”, “My left hand is very heavy”, then similarly with each leg. You can achieve a feeling of heaviness with successive steps: “The fingers of the right hand are getting heavier”, “The hands are getting heavier”, etc. For lovers of images, the phrases are suitable: “My hands are filled with heaviness”, “My legs are heavy as lead.” Everyone chooses the option that suits him personally. With regular training, a feeling of heaviness will appear reflexively.

The second exercise is to feel the warmth in the arms and legs, and you can start doing it only after mastering the first exercise. The formulas for autogenic training are similar to the previous ones: “My right hand is warm”, “My left hand is warm”, etc. At the end, the phrase "My arms and legs are warm and heavy" is pronounced. After performing these two exercises, a state of autogenic immersion is reached, which is on the verge of wakefulness and sleep. In order not to fall asleep completely, it is necessary to get out of this state by following the orders: “Bend your arms, stretch your arms! Breathe deeply! Open your eyes!"

The third exercise is to regulate the breath. The autosuggestion formula in this exercise should determine the unconsciousness of the process, i.e. breathing should not be changed by volitional efforts when a person consciously regulates its rhythm, frequency and depth. A variant of this formula: "I breathe easily and calmly." Repeating this formula regularly and working with images, such as imagining yourself walking in a pine forest, will help you achieve even and calm breathing.

The following exercises can be called local, because. they cover specific organs or areas of the body. One of them is aimed at regulating the heart rhythm. The immersion formula here is: "My heart beats evenly and calmly." You can break it down into several sequential actions: “The heart rate becomes more even”, “The heart works measuredly, like a motor”, etc. Saying the phrase “I feel good and calm” will help you quickly dive into an autogenic state. After mastering this exercise, it will be possible, if necessary, to speed up or slow down the heartbeat.

Another exercise is aimed at feeling warm in the solar plexus area. It is the feeling of warmth in this place that will allow you to achieve peace, relaxation, and also reduce pain. As a formula for entering the autogenous state, the phrase is used: "The solar plexus radiates heat." To better feel this, you can put your hand in the area between the sternum and the navel or imagine a heating pad in this place.

The last exercise is to feel coolness in the forehead. In addition to relaxation, this exercise helps to get rid of headaches. To enter the autogenic state, you need to repeat the formula "My forehead is pleasantly cool." You can divide the exercise into parts: “My forehead is cooling”, “Forehead is getting colder”, “My forehead is cool”. In this case, there is a feeling that a light wind touches the head area.

Autogenic training is based on the observation that changes in the body are accompanied by certain sensations. For example, when the muscles relax, there is a feeling of heaviness, and when the capillaries of the skin are filled with blood, a feeling of warmth. The opposite effect also takes place: focusing on the real weight of the body promotes muscle relaxation, and focusing on the real body heat promotes blood flow to the capillaries of the skin.

Mastering autogenic training allows you to achieve a number of effects:

1. Calm down, relieve physical and mental stress.
2. Get a quick rest (quicker than while sleeping or watching TV).
3. Regulate heart rate and breathing, blood supply to the brain, which is very important for the treatment of psychosomatic diseases.
4. Fight pain.
5. Activate attention, memory, imagination, ability to physical effort.
6. Activate creative resources through the development of intuition, imaginative thinking.
7. Defeat bad habits by rationally dealing with stress, emotional and intellectual activation.
8. Know yourself.

autogenous state(a state of thoughtfulness, laziness, contemplation) occurs naturally if a person:

• is located in a quiet place;
• relaxed in a comfortable position;
• focuses attention on something;
• does not seek to achieve any result.

To fulfill these conditions, autogenic training must be carried out in a comfortable place. It should not be too cold or hot, stuffy, noisy. Small background noise usually does not interfere with activities, but sudden and loud noise should be avoided. Shading is not required. If the light from the window interferes, you can sit with your back to the window. There should be no fear that you will be disturbed.

Before class, loosen the waist belt, unbutton the top button of the shirt, loosen the knot of the tie, take off the watch, glasses. Women should wear trousers.

Poses for autogenic training

"Coachman on a droshky"

This pose can be practiced almost anywhere where there is a chair, stool, box of suitable height, etc.

• Sit on the edge of the seat so that the edge of the chair falls on the gluteal folds (do not sit on the entire seat, as this leads to numbness in the legs).
• Spread your legs wide to relax the muscles that bring your hips together.
• Place your shins perpendicular to the floor; if after that there is tension in the legs, move the feet forward 3-4 centimeters until the tension disappears.
• Lower your head forward so that it hangs on the ligaments, and hunch your back.
• While swaying back and forth, make sure the posture is stable by balancing the lowered head and hunched back.
• Place your forearms on your thighs so that your hands gently curve around your thighs and do not touch; do not rest your forearms on your hips.
• Close your eyes and breathe calmly, as in a dream, inhaling and exhaling through your nose.

Reclining posture in a high back chair

Sit reclining in a chair so that when you relax your head leans back. The position of the arms and legs, as in the "coachman on the droshky" position.

When mastering postures for autogenic training, remember that they must be symmetrical. Any skew during the session will cause tension, preventing a fall.

Pose in a low back chair

The same “coachman in a droshky” posture with one difference - the student does not sit on the edge of the seat, but on the entire seat so that the hunched back rests against the back of the chair

Pose with a pillow under the head

The pose is convenient for practicing in bed before going to bed and in the morning immediately after sleep.

Lie on your back in bed, on the couch, sofa, put a low pillow under your head. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, relax your legs, while the socks will diverge to the sides. Bend your arms slightly at the elbows, place your palms down; the hands do not touch the body. Be mindful of the symmetry of the posture.

Lying position without a pillow

Lie on your back. Position the straightened legs so that the distance between the feet is 15-18 cm. Place the outstretched arms at an acute angle to the body, palms up.

Exit from the autogenous state

The exit technique allows you to activate as much as possible after the autogenous state:

• Stop following the instruction of the lesson and focus on the fact that you had a good rest and will soon leave the autogenic state.
• Slowly clench your fists, feel the strength in your hands, in your whole body; otherwise, do not change the position.
• Without unclenching your fists, stretch your arms towards your knees.
• Wait for the end of the next exhalation.
• Take a deep breath, while inhaling, raise your arms up, arch your back, turn your face up.
• Pause for 1-2 seconds to prepare for the last step of the exit.
• Simultaneously: exhale sharply through your mouth, open your fists and open your eyes. After that, calmly lower your hands.

During the exit from the autogenic state, focus as much as possible on the energy, strength accumulated during the session (even if their increase was small). Proceed to each exit step only after the previous one has been completed. Perform all steps except the last one slowly, the last one as quickly and vigorously as possible.

People with high blood pressure during the exit need to concentrate on the calm, peaceful strength that has accumulated during the session. prone to low blood pressure you need to focus on vigor, energized, feeling chills along the spine, running "goosebumps" along the body.

Do not use the described technique 1-1.5 hours before bedtime. After finishing the session, stop following the instructions for this session, sit for a while with your eyes closed, then slowly straighten your back and open your eyes. Sit for 1-2 minutes, then you can get up.

Advice. Insufficiently clear working out of the exit from the autogenic state leads to lethargy, weakness after classes. Avoid the most common mistakes: speed and crumpled execution, lack of pauses between steps, non-simultaneous opening of the eyes, exhalation, unclenching fists on last step, not enough sharp exhalation.

To exit in a prone position, follow the same steps. Then inhale and as you exhale sit up in bed.

Task number 1

Master the postures for autogenic training. Whenever possible, try to stay in the pose for 5-10 minutes. While in the pose, try to relax as much as possible. If you feel discomfort in any part of your body, try to correct the defect in your posture that is causing it. In the absence of time, take a pose for at least a few seconds. Relax in postures and end with an exit. Do not use the exit technique 1-1.5 hours before bedtime.

"Mask of relaxation"

“Relaxation mask” is a facial expression in which facial expressions are relaxed, chewing muscles and language. Each tense muscle has a stimulating effect on the brain, and this prevents the emergence of an autogenic state. Mimic, chewing muscles and muscles of the tongue and hands have a great influence on the state of the brain, so more attention is paid to their relaxation.

The muscles of the hands can be quite easily relaxed, and for the rest of the muscle groups there are special exercises related to the fact that in everyday life we ​​do not encounter work on these muscles; in addition, the rules of decency do not allow you to keep your mouth open and relax your facial muscles.

After mastering the “mask of relaxation”, combine it with the learned postures for autogenic training in the following way. Reclining in a high-back chair, the “relaxation mask” is performed as described above. In the “coachman on a droshky” pose and in a pose in a low-backed chair, the mouth is passively closed when the head is lowered. In lying postures, when the masticatory muscles are relaxed, the jaw slides down.

The “Relaxation Mask” can also be used in isolation in cases where there is no opportunity to engage in autogenic training, to reduce physical and mental stress, and relieve headaches.

Task number 2

To relax the masticatory muscles with the head upright, silently say the sound "Y", let the jaw drop. Sit like this for a few minutes, watch how, with the relaxation of the masticatory muscles, a wave of relaxation passes through the whole body, how the muscles of the face relax, the eyelids become heavier, the gaze stops, the surroundings become blurred due to the relaxation of the muscles that focus the lens. At first, look at your face in the mirror. Finish the exercise with the exit from the autogenic state, since even at first, with good relaxation of the facial and masticatory muscles, an autogenic state of one degree or another of depth occurs.

Task number 3

With the head upright, relax the masticatory muscles with a silent "Y". Then, to relax the tongue, silently say the syllable "Te", while the relaxed tongue gently rests on the back of the lower teeth. Watch your condition. Let the heavy eyelids fall. End the exercise with an exit. If it is not possible to work out for 5-10 minutes, do the task for more than a short time even if only for a few seconds.

Autogenic training exercises

Introductory exercise "Calmness"

The purpose of the exercise is to prepare for autogenic training.

Task number 4

Take one of the poses for training, relax, paying special attention to the “relaxation mask”, close your eyes. Breathe calmly, as in a dream; inhale and exhale through the nose.

Focus on the calm that comes from silence, a comfortable posture, and closing your eyes. Do not inspire yourself with any special “complete” calmness, passively focus on the one that you have at this time. Practice only as much as you can passively. If you start to get distracted, you should make an exit. Don't go out before bed.

Remember that only passive concentration produces a physiological effect. The most common mistake at the beginning of training is the desire to inspire yourself with the “right” state. Such internal activity disperses even the beginnings of the desired state, turning "relaxation" into flour.

Advice. Concentrate on the exercise for just a few seconds the first time so that you are not tempted to actively induce calmness. For a few seconds, even an absent-minded person can focus on real calm.

Exercise "Heavy"

The purpose of the exercise is to feel the heaviness of the body. To do this, do the following experiments:

• Put your hand on a balloon or crumpled paper, make sure that under the influence of the weight of the hand they are squeezed.
• Put your hand on the scales, watch the deviation of the arrow, reflecting the severity of the hand.
• In any of the postures for autogenic training, try to raise your arms, gradually increasing efforts in the deltoid muscles (covering, like epaulettes, our shoulder joints), make sure that with little effort this fails, as the heaviness of the arms interferes; feel this heaviness.
• Lying in a bath of water, raise outstretched relaxed arms; when your hands rise above the water, feel the increment of heaviness in them; alternatively, let the water out of the bath and observe the increase in gravity throughout the body as the water flows out.

These experiments allow us to make sure that heaviness is inherent in our body and there is no need to inspire it. They need to be done within a few days. Learn to feel a little heaviness: concentrate on the heaviness that is; do not expect any particularly pronounced severity.

Task number 5

Take one of the poses for training, relax, focus on calmness. While continuing to feel calm, focus on the real heaviness of the right (left-handed - left) hand. Passively contemplate stillness and heaviness until the feeling of heaviness disappears and you become distracted. Make an exit (except for classes before bedtime). As you relax, heaviness will be felt in other parts of the body. Passively contemplate it where it is.

During the development of this exercise, do not try to spread the feeling of heaviness according to any scheme, to strengthen it with self-hypnosis. Any internal work will prevent the emergence of an autogenous state.

From session to session, as the relaxation of the muscles deepens, the sensations accompanying this process will change:

• a feeling of heaviness will spread to the whole body and become pronounced;
• a feeling of heaviness is replaced by a feeling of lightness, a feeling of alienation of the body may occur;
• the body ceases to be felt.

These changes usually appear in separate parts of the body, usually in the hands. In these cases, passively contemplate the combination of sensations that has arisen (for example, the body is light, the hands are missing).

Remember that the feeling of heaviness in the arms is brighter than in the legs and torso. Do not try to make it uniform by willpower. The exercise is mastered if during the exercises there is heaviness in the arms and legs.

Exercise "Heat"

Immersion in the autogenous state is accompanied by a redistribution of blood in the body - its content in large vessels and muscles decreases, and it increases in the capillaries of the skin. This is accompanied by a sensation of warmth in the limbs and trunk. Passive concentration of attention on the real body heat can cause the above-described physiological shift.

To feel warm, do the following experiment. Sit down. Bend your elbows, place your hands at the level of your stomach so that your hands with slightly bent fingers are facing each other with palms. Focus on the warmth that the palms radiate. Subjectively, it feels like a thermal ball between the palms. By bringing the brushes closer and further away, you can feel the diameter of this ball. After doing this for 3-5 minutes, bring your palms to your cheeks, at a distance of 1-2 centimeters. You will feel the warmth radiating from your palms on your cheeks.

Task number 6

Relax into one of the workout poses, focusing first on calmness, then on calmness and heaviness. After that, while continuing to feel calm and heaviness, focus for a few seconds on the real warmth of the right hand (left-handed - left). After that, exit the autogenic state.

If you have cold hands before class, rub them, otherwise passive concentration on heat will be impossible. In the future, the time of concentration on heat will increase, and the feeling of warmth will naturally spread to the second arm, legs, torso. The maximum concentration time is determined by distraction and interference.

The exercise is mastered if during the lesson you feel the warmth of the hands and feet.

In this way it can be ensured that the body is warm enough to provide material for passive concentration. Passive concentration of attention on the warmth of the skin can increase its temperature by 2-4 degrees, normalize high blood pressure.

Exercise "Heart"

While in the autogenous state, the heart rate decreases. This corresponds to a feeling of calm, measured pulsation in the body. Passive concentration on this pulsation helps to slow down the pulse, normalizes the rhythm of the heart.

In order to passively concentrate on the pulsation, you need to do several experiments to detect it:

• Place the second, third and fourth fingers of the right hand on the radial artery of the left hand, remember the rhythm of its pulsation; the same can be done by placing the index finger of the right hand on the jugular fossa above the upper end of the sternum.
• Connect the fingers of both hands into a “lock” and place your relaxed hands in front of you; feel the pulsation at the bases of the fingers grasped by the fingers of the other hand.
• Sitting on a chair, cross your legs and watch how the foot of the leg at the top rises to the beat of the pulse.

Task number 7

Relax into one of the workout poses. Focus on calmness, then on calmness and heaviness, then on calmness, heaviness and warmth. After that, while continuing to feel calm, heaviness and warmth, feel where you currently feel the pulsation, and passively focus on it. After a few seconds, exit the autogenic state.

In the future, the time of concentration on the pulsation will increase. From session to session, it will be felt in more and more areas of the body, and the time will come when a calm and powerful pulsation will be felt throughout the body.

The exercise is mastered if during the lesson the pulsation is felt in the arms and torso.

Exercise "Breathing"

This exercise helps to calm the breath.

Breathing during autogenic training is calm, superficial, as in a dream; inhalation and exhalation is done through the nose. During the session, passively observe your breath without trying to do anything with it. Despite the outward simplicity of this instruction, at first it is difficult to follow it. For example, sometimes there is a temptation to lengthen the exhalation or pause after it, due to the fact that on the exhalation, relaxation and peace are deeper. The retribution for this follows immediately - the oxygen debt that has arisen inevitably entails a deep breath that breaks the relaxation you like so much.

It is best to observe the breath as if from the side. Observe every aspect of the breath: the movement of the air as you inhale and exhale, the cooling of the nostrils as you inhale, the movement of the abdomen in time with the breath.

Task number 8

Relax into one of the autogenic training poses and focus on calmness, heaviness, warmth and pulsation. Then, without ceasing to feel them, focus for a few seconds on any aspect of the breath. After that, exit the autogenic state.

As always when mastering a new exercise, gradually lengthen the time of concentration on breathing, remembering that you need to do the new exercise only as much as you are able to do it passively. The exercise is mastered if during the exercise the breathing is calm, lulling, accompanied by the impression that "breathing by itself."

During the lesson, the mastered exercises merge into one image: a calm, heavy and warm body mass, which is under the influence of two overlapping rhythms of breathing and pulsation.

Exercise "Solar plexus"

In the autogenous state, the activity of not only the organs of the chest cavity, but also the abdominal one is normalized. This is accompanied by a feeling of warmth in the abdomen. Therefore, passive concentration on real warmth in the abdomen, or more precisely, in the area of ​​the solar plexus, normalizes the activity of the abdominal organs.

The solar plexus is a collection of nerve plexuses that control the activity of the abdominal organs. It is located on the back wall of the abdominal cavity, behind the stomach, midway between the lower edge of the sternum and the navel.

Before that, you learned to passively concentrate on your body heat. Now you have to learn to focus on the warmth in the solar plexus area. Some difficulty is that in our minds the stomach, the solar plexus are not as clearly represented as the head and hands. You can make up for this by determining the projection of the solar plexus on the skin of the abdomen and rubbing this place clockwise.

Task number 9

Relax into one of the workout poses and focus on calmness, heaviness, warmth, pulsation, and breathing. Then, without ceasing to feel them, focus on the warmth deep in the upper abdomen. After a few seconds of concentration, exit. In the future, the time of concentration on the warmth of the solar plexus will be lengthened, as it was with the previous exercises.

The development of this exercise can be helped by imagining during the lesson, as if on exhalation, heat passes into the stomach.

A warning. If you have any diseases of the abdominal organs, consult your doctor before mastering this exercise. Exercise is contraindicated in acute inflammatory processes in the peritoneal cavity (appendicitis, peritonitis, pancreatitis), bleeding, tumors, women during menstruation. Suffering from diabetes, you need to understand that this exercise can activate the activity of the pancreas. Controlling sugar levels can reveal a decrease in the need for insulin.

The exercise is mastered if during the exercises you feel that the stomach is warmed up by pleasant deep warmth.

Exercise "Cool forehead"

In an autogenous state, blood flow to the head decreases. This is accompanied by a feeling of coolness in the forehead.

Passive concentration on the coolness of the forehead reduces the flow of blood to the head, the excess of which causes headaches. Performing the “coolness of the forehead” exercise allows you to increase mental performance, relieve mental fatigue and headaches. The object of concentration of attention is the temperature contrast between the warmth of the body and the coolness of the surrounding air. The difference from the “warmth” exercise is that we are not concentrating on the warmth of the body, but on the coolness of the air in contact with the forehead.

During preliminary training, try as often as possible to feel the coolness of the air on your forehead, the direction of air movement. You can feel the coolness especially clearly while walking, going down the stairs (climbing requires a lot of effort and makes it difficult to passive concentration), when leaving the room to the street.

Task number 10

Relax into one of the workout poses and focus on calmness, heaviness, warmth, pulsation, breathing, and warmth in the abdomen. Then, without ceasing to feel them, for a few seconds, focus on the coolness in the forehead. After that, exit the autogenic state.

In the future, lengthen the time of concentration on the coolness of the forehead. Do not try to feel a pronounced cold in the forehead - this can cause a spasm of the cerebral vessels, which will manifest itself as a headache. Coolness should be light.

The exercise is mastered if during the lesson you consistently feel a slight coolness of the forehead. With further training, coolness may spread to the temples, the root of the nose, the eye sockets, but this is not necessary.

Dynamics of the autogenic state

In autogenic training, you passively focus on calmness, the six standard exercises, and everything that happens to you. You should not try to change your state in any direction. Your body knows what state you need, and your passive attitude will allow the desired state to manifest. Two stages of the autogenous state can be distinguished:

1. passive stage. Calmness, relaxation, indifference to the environment increase, thinking slows down, while maintaining awareness of what is happening.
2. active stage. There is an increase in awareness. The student sharply perceives and experiences what is happening to him. Logical thinking stops, the perception of the environment is almost absent. Vivid experiences are possible: vivid visual images, suddenly formulated thoughts, liberation from the oppression of previously interfering experiences.

After leaving the active phase of the autogenic state, there is a surge of strength, a desire to realize the experiences that took place during the lesson. In this regard, classes before bedtime should be short in order to prevent the transition to the active stage of the autogenic state - this can make it difficult for the onset of sleep. Having worked out a little in the passive stage of the autogenic state, one should stop following the instruction and allow the autogenic state to pass into sleep. There is no exit from the autogenic state at bedtime.

The autogenic state differs from the drowsy state by the presence of constant awareness of everything that happens to us. Therefore, interaction with awareness allows you to regulate your state. By strengthening awareness, we remain in an autogenous state, preventing its transition into a dream. By allowing awareness to fade, we allow the autogenic state to pass into the drowsy state and then into sleep.

Autogenic modification

Autogenic modification - a change in one's state and behavior in an autogenic state.

Before engaging in autogenic modification, you should make a list of the tasks that you want to solve with autogenic training and rank them according to the degree of difficulty for you. Start with the easiest one.

Describe a picture of the state that interferes with the achievement of the goal. Pay attention to its emotional, intellectual (thinking) and bodily components.

For example, the successful passing of exams is hindered by timidity, accompanied by tension, a feeling of chill along the spine and thoughts like: “Well, that's it! I won't give up!"

Create a complex positive image, the opposite of the above. In this case, the image may be as follows: calmness, warmth along the spine and the thought: “I am confident in myself” or, in short, “I am confident.”

It is also good to analyze your state in those cases when you managed to overcome this difficulty, and supplement it with elements of a complex positive image.

Self-hypnosis formulas must meet the following requirements:

• brevity. We don't think in long extended sentences, so short phrase will be better imprinted by our consciousness. For example, the formula: "Calm" is better than "I am calm and confident in all situations."
• Positivity. The formula must affirm, not deny. For example, the formula: "I'm not afraid of exams" can increase fear. Formulas should be applied: “I’m sure”, “I remember everything”, etc.
• Individuality. The formula is made just for you, it doesn't have to satisfy everyone. Remember how in difficult times a phrase that only you understood helped you. If you have previously helped, for example, the word: “Everything!” in overcoming the craving for smoking, you can safely use it for autogenic modification, although it may seem pointless to another person.

Task number 11

Make a table. In the first column of it, place the tasks before you, starting with the simplest and ending with the most difficult. In the second column, write down the conditions that prevent each task from being achieved. In the third column, place a complex positive image for each situation. Consult with your class leader. In the autogenic state, in conjunction with the six standard exercises, contemplate a complex positive image of the easiest task. Once you have completed this task, you can move on to the next one. Example:

The fight against pain is carried out in a similar way. A complex positive image includes coolness or warmth in the area that needs to be anesthetized (specified by the doctor) and formulas about the insensitivity, strangeness or absence of this area. For example, a complex positive image for a tooth extraction: calmness, a huge relaxing heaviness in the whole body, cold in the lower half of the face, as if you were lying face down in the snow, and as a result, the lower part of the face became insensitive, the formula: "The lower part of the face is alien" or just "Alien" when directing attention to the lower part of the face.

In the event that a certain situation causes difficulties for you, for example, fear of riding in transport, fear of heights, fear of public speaking, you can use the contemplation of these situations against the background of an autogenic state. The systematic combination of the image of this situation with calmness will lead to the fact that in a real situation you will feel calm. This method, called systematic desensitization by Joseph Wolp (USA), can be combined with the application of a complex positive image.

In the autogenic state, motor skills can be obtained and improved. In the autogenic state, you can repeatedly repeat in your imagination the actions that need to be learned or improved.

For this you need:

1. Precisely think over the movements that should be learned.
2. During autogenic training, not only visualize the action being performed, but also feel, “imagine” with the muscles, “pass” it through yourself.
3. Mentally pronounce to yourself the actions performed in parallel with the performed action or before it.
4. Starting to learn the movements, imagine its performance in slow motion, then, as you master it, the pace of its presentation accelerates to the real one.
5. At the beginning of mastering a motor skill, it is better to mentally imagine it in a pose close to the actual position of the body during this action. In the future, this work can be continued in classical postures for autogenic training.
6. As you master a motor skill, you can include real movements or allow them to manifest.
7. When imagining movement, dissolve in it, do not think about the final result.

More details about the use of ideomotor images can be found in the book by A. V. Alekseev “Overcoming Yourself”.

The highest level of autogenic training

The highest level of autogenic training (autogenic meditation) allows, using visual images, using figurative thinking, to work on deep psychological problems pushed into the unconscious by conflicts, to better understand oneself. Signs of readiness for work at the highest level are:

• visual images spontaneously arising during classes;
• vivid, memorable dreams, accompanied by a premonition of the meaning contained in them and a desire to understand it.

Preparation for the highest level consists in training to lengthen the time spent in the autogenous state and to gradually introduce external interference. This is necessary so that the flow of visual images is not interrupted due to the inability to stay in the autogenous state for a long time and is not distorted under the influence of external interference.

More information about working with visual images can be found in the book by G. Eberlein “Fears of Healthy Children”.

Work at the highest level of autogenic training must be carried out under the guidance of an experienced psychotherapist familiar with this method.

Autogenic training and music

Any use of extraneous speech and music violates the principle of training autogenicity and turns the session into a veiled hypnosis session. This makes a person dependent on outside help.

You can use music before classes to create a mood, for a better feeling of what peace and contemplation are. This can be useful for active, energetic people who have little experience in contemplation.

To do this, you can use, for example, the works of J. S. Bach:

• Organ mass, part 2, B 669-671 part 3, B 676 part 6, B 682 part 8, B 686 Schmider's "Bach - Werke - Verzeichnis".
• Choral prelude in E flat, V. 622 from the Organ Book.
• Choral Prelude, V.745.
• Prelude and Fugue in G minor, V. 558. 5 Suite for Orchestra No. 3 in D major, V. 1068, movement 2 (aria).

Autogenic training in everyday life

It is easier to master autogenic training than to apply it regularly in the future. Try to organically “fit” autogenic training into your everyday life. Remember that active reluctance to exercise occurs if there is no need for rest. “Catch” the moments when fatigue begins to accumulate, and the activity will be desirable. On the other hand, do not bring yourself to overwork when the activity becomes impossible due to a deterioration in the ability to concentrate. And, most importantly, remind yourself more often that the autogenic state is not something inaccessible, that it arises by itself in everyone who creates the conditions for its occurrence.

Popular Literature

1. Alekseev A.V. To overcome oneself
2. Belyaev G. S., Lobzin V. S., Kopylova I. A. Psychohygienic self-regulation
3. Virah A. Victory over insomnia
4. Levi V. L. The art of being yourself
5. Lindemann X. Autogenic training
6. Pakhomov Yu. V. Entertaining auto-training. - In the book: Tseng N.V., Pakhomov Yu.V. Psychotraining. Games and exercises
7. Schultz I. G. Autogenic training
8. Eberlein G. Fears of healthy children

Literature for instructors

1. Petrov N. N. Autogenic training as a method for correcting violations of intra-family relations. In the collection: Family and personality formation (edited by A. A. Bodalev)
2. Lobzin V. S. Autogenic training
3. Khramelashvili VV, Lebedev VB Psychological problems in the clinic of cardiovascular diseases: non-pharmacological methods of intervention in coronary heart disease. Overview
4. Everly J., Rosenfeld R. Stress: nature and treatment
5. Benson H. Relaxation response