Autogenics
Training:
Introduction
 |
 LTHOUGH
one of the most
simple and easily learned techniques for relaxation is Progressive
Muscle Relaxation (PMR), autogenics, while requiring considerable time
and discipline to learn, has more far-reaching benefits than simple muscle relaxation.
Composed of auto- (from the Greek autos, self) and -genous (a
suffix meaning produced by, and reflecting the word genesis, creation),
the word was chosen by Johannes
Schultz,[1,2] a German doctor, to describe his original discovery first
published in 1932. Today, autogenics
training [3] teaches you to self-produce a feeling of warmth
and heaviness throughout your body, thereby experiencing a profound state
of physical relaxation, bodily health, and mental peace.
Once
you become proficient at it, you can use autogenics to overcome addictions
(such as smoking or gambling), change unwanted behaviors (such as nail biting),
resolve phobias (such as fear of flying), and mitigate symptoms of physical
ailments (such as high blood
pressure).[4] If you tend to be a nervous or anxious person, autogenics can help
you find an inner place of calmness and emotional peace. If you are a highly sensitive
person, with autogenics you can learn to cope with environmental stimulation by dismissing
it from your attention rather than feel overwhelmed by it. In fact, you can use autogenics
to help overcome just about any psychological or physiological problem; the results will
vary according to the severity of the problem and according to your own discipline
and confidence.
Be advised, however,
that there is nothing “mystical” about this training. It’s
pure physiology. But it can be a first step to real spiritual healing. |
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About
the
Training
Time
|
This
training sequence takes about
Three
Months.
If you
decide to pursue it, it will be one of the most important investments of
time you will ever make.
Moreover, if
you do make the investment of time, please send
a donation to this website to express your gratitude
for what you have received here.
What is the point of “success” if your heart is stained with ingratitude?
Gratitude is
joy to the heart. |
The training
presented here does not take much actual time each day; it is based on discipline
over time. You can find dozens of other websites on the Internet that make
autogenics—and healing itself—seem simple and easy, so, as I say
throughout this website, take your choice: the
right way, or the easy way.
Remember: the only escape from darkness is to seek the light.
|
Some people ask
about audio recordings for this training. But recordings only miss the point.
Autogenics is not passive hypnosis; it requires much
conscious effort to learn how to communicate with your body so as to take personal
responsibility for your life. |
|
Keep in mind that
this is not a training that can be rushed. So, please remember that even if you
“complete” any phase (or part of a phase) according to the specified
repetitions, if you don’t actually feel the results of what you are saying,
then take the time to repeat the phase (or the item of the phase). Maybe it will take
you four months instead of three. So what? The idea is not to “finish”
the training but to learn the material. If you compare the initial
“extra” work to the ultimate benefits over a lifetime, the burden
will seem light indeed. |
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Suggestions
for
Practice
|
Here are some suggestions for
practice:
•
|
Practice in a
quiet place, alone. If you prefer, you may use soft environmental
sounds or classical instrumental music of a largo (very slow) tempo.
Avoid all other music because your physiological responses will be unconsciously
influenced by the melody and rhythm of the music. |
• |
Keep your eyes closed
while practicing. Although you will need to open your eyes to read the
instructions, just close your eyes again while you practice. |
•
|
Although it can
help the initial training to lie flat on your back on a carpeted
floor, so as to enhance your ability to feel the heaviness of your arms
and legs, you may sit in a reclining chair if you prefer.
|
After you have
mastered the complete training sequence, you can use your autogenic routine
under any other circumstances you like, whether sitting, standing, walking,
or lying down. |
|
|
•
|
Avoid eating,
smoking, or drinking before practice. It’s
best to practice before meals rather than after, because the digestive processes
interferes with the relaxation process.
Never practice after using any
intoxicants. |
• |
If you fall asleep
during a session, repeat that routine in your next session. |
•
|
You may practice
in bed at night, but plan on falling asleep before you complete your cycle.
Therefore, consider a practice session at night, in bed, to be in
addition to your basic practice. |
•
|
When you finish
a session, relax with your eyes closed for a few seconds, and then get up
slowly. (Orthostatic hypotension—a sudden drop in blood pressure
due to standing up quickly—can cause you to faint.) Before you get up,
you might want to count backwards from 5 to 1, timed to slow, deep breathing,
and then say, “Eyes open. Supremely calm. Fully alert.” |
•
|
During the training,
you will be focusing intently on your inner experiences, to the exclusion
of external events. Therefore, it is possible that you might encounter some
kinds of hypnagogic (i.e., dream-like)
dissociative
experiences in which bodily perceptions seem distorted. In general, just
ignore these things and they will pass. If you find them exceptionally
troubling, then you might want to consult with a psychologist to try to understand
the particular meaning of these symptoms for you. |
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The
Breathing
Warm-up
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The Breathing
Warm-up
Use this Warm-up before every
autogenics practice session, even after you have become proficient at the
more advanced exercises.
Begin a process
of deep breathing, exhaling to a mental count that is twice as long
as you inhale. With each breath cycle, increase the duration. For instance,
inhale counting, “One,” exhale counting, “One,
Two.” Inhale counting, “One, Two;” exhale counting,
“One, Two, Three, Four.” Go up the scale to six counts in,
twelve counts out. Then reverse: six counts in, twelve counts out;
five counts in, ten counts out; and so on, down to one count in,
two counts out. |
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Phase
1:
Heaviness
|
Phase 1:
Heaviness
After the
Breathing Warm-up, begin this Phase 1 practice with your right arm.
(But if you are left-handed, begin, in this as in all other exercises, on
your left side.) Breathe deeply, one count in, one count out, and silently
repeat the following formula—the first half of each phrase (the part
before the “/”) as you inhale, the second half (the part after
the “/”) as you exhale:
|
What does it mean
that your arm or leg is limp and heavy? Well, most of the time your arms and legs
are supported by muscle strength, and so you won’t notice their weight, but if you
deliberately relax your muscles in an arm or leg it will drop of its own natural
weight. Thus a limp arm or leg is an arm or leg not supported by muscle
strength, and a heavy arm or leg is an arm or leg resting as natural weight
when it is limp. To demonstrate this, lie on the floor with your arms at your side;
then bend one arm at the elbow to raise your hand above the floor; and then relax the
muscles in your arm so that it will drop to the floor as natural weight. That, then,
is an arm that is “limp and heavy.” |
|
So, breathe slowly and deeply,
and silently repeat the following Heaviness formula—the first half of
each phrase (the part before the “ / ”) while you are inhaling, the second half (the part
after the “ / ”) while you are exhaling:
My right arm
is getting / limp and heavy |
8 times |
My right arm
is getting / heavier and heavier |
8 times |
My right arm
/ is completely heavy |
8 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
Practice this
routine two or three times a day, for three days. After that, continue
with the same basic routine structure but with the following
substitutions:
• My left arm is getting
/ limp and heavy, etc. — 3 days
• Both my arms are getting
/ limp and heavy, etc. — 3 days
• My right leg is getting
/ limp and heavy, etc. — 3 days
• My left leg is getting
/ limp and heavy, etc. — 3 days
• Both my legs are getting
/ limp and heavy, etc. — 3 days
• My arms and legs are
getting / limp and heavy, etc. — 3 days
The Phase
1 routine takes 21 days of practice.
At the
end of the 21 days, your last cycle of this routine will temporarily be known
as your final Heaviness
Formula:
My arms and legs
are getting / limp and heavy |
8 times |
My arms and legs
are getting / heavier and heavier |
8 times |
My arms and legs
are / completely heavy |
8 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
|
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Phase 2:
Warmth
|
Phase 2:
Warmth
Begin with the
Warm-up breathing exercise. Do the final Heaviness Formula
with all the repetitions. (Heaviness—and the muscular relaxation it
represents—is critical to the rest of the training. So you need to master
it well right from the start.) At the end of the Heaviness Formula
add this exercise for warmth:
My right arm
is getting / limp and warm |
8 times |
My right arm
is getting / warmer and warmer |
8 times |
My right arm
/ is completely warm |
8 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
Practice this
routine (the Heaviness Formula combined with the warmth exercises)
two or three times a day, for three days. After that, continue with
the same routine structure but with the following substitutions (remembering
to do the Warm-up breathing exercise and the Heaviness Formula
at the beginning of each practice session):
• My left arm is getting
/ limp and warm, etc. — 3 days
• Both my arms are getting
/ limp and warm, etc. — 3 days
• My right leg is getting
/ limp and warm, etc. — 3 days
• My left leg is getting
/ limp and warm, etc. — 3 days
• Both my legs are getting
/ limp and warm, etc. — 3 days
• My arms and legs are
getting / limp and warm, etc. — 3 days
The Phase
2 routine takes 21 days of practice.
At the
end of the 21 days, you may use a final
Heavy/Warm
Formula to sum up the first two
exercises:
My arms and legs
are getting / limp and heavy and warm |
8 times |
My arms and legs
are getting / heavier and warmer |
8 times |
My arms and legs
are / completely heavy and warm |
8 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
Practice this
Heavy/Warm Formula (beginning with the Warm-up breathing exercise)
two or three times a day for one week. |
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Phase
3:
A
Calm
Heart
|
Phase 3: A Calm
Heart
Do the
Warm-up. Then begin the following routine which incorporates your
previous work (the Heavy/Warm Formula) and adds the calm heart
exercise:
My arms and legs
are getting / limp and heavy and warm |
3 times |
My arms and legs
are getting / heavier and warmer |
3 times |
My arms and legs
are / completely heavy and warm |
3 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
My chest feels
/ warm and pleasant * |
8 times |
My heartbeat
is / calm and steady |
8 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
* This phrase helps to achieve a
calm heart response, but it will be dropped after this Phase.
Practice this
routine two or three times a day for two weeks. |
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Phase 4:
Breathing
|
Phase 4:
Breathing
Do the
Warm-up. Then begin the following routine which incorporates all your
previous work and adds command of your breathing as well:
My arms and legs
are getting / limp and heavy and warm |
3 times |
My arms and legs
are getting / heavier and warmer |
3 times |
My arms and legs
are / completely heavy and warm |
3 times |
My heartbeat
is / calm and steady |
3 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
My breathing
is / supremely calm |
8 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
Practice this
routine two or three times a day for two weeks.
By this time
you will probably have begun to notice some pleasant and surprising effects
from your practice. But continue on to further refine your sense of bodily
command. |
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Phase 5:
Stomach
|
Phase 5:
Stomach
Do the
Warm-up. Then begin the following routine which helps you add a radiant
feeling of central warmth and peace to your body:
My arms and legs
are getting / limp and heavy and warm |
3 times |
My arms and legs
are getting / heavier and warmer |
3 times |
My arms and legs
are / completely heavy and warm |
3 times |
My heartbeat
is / calm and steady |
3 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
My breathing
is / supremely calm |
3 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
My stomach is
getting / soft and warm |
8 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
Practice this
routine two or three times a day for two weeks. |
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Phase 6:
Cool
Forehead
|
Phase 6: Cool
Forehead
Do the
Warm-up. Then begin the following routine which helps you add a calm,
stabilizing sensation of coolness to your forehead:
My arms and legs
are getting / limp and heavy and warm |
3 times |
My arms and legs
are getting / heavier and warmer |
3 times |
My arms and legs
are / completely heavy and warm |
3 times |
My heartbeat
is / calm and steady |
3 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
My breathing
is / supremely calm |
3 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
My stomach is
getting / soft and warm |
3 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
My forehead is
/ cool |
8 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
Practice this
routine two or three times a day for two weeks. |
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Completion
|
Condensed Autogenics
Formula
By this
time you should have mastered all the six phases of the basic training. Your
final condensed autogenics
formula will now be as
follows:
Warm-up
(as in previous sessions) |
|
My arms and legs
are / heavy and warm |
3 times |
My heartbeat
and breathing are / calm and steady |
3 times |
My stomach is
/ soft and warm |
3 times |
My forehead is
/ cool |
3 times |
I feel / supremely
calm |
3 times |
|
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Summary
|
To maintain your proficiency, practice the final
condensed autogenics formula at least once a
day. If you maintain your practice faithfully, you will find that by using only one
or two cycles of the final routine you can achieve a pleasant and calm mental state
under almost any circumstances.
But make no mistake:
It takes long, hard practice to master the exercises, and they take you only
as far as your own intelligence and desire will allow.
May you go
far.
And, if you do
go far, please send a donation to this website
to express your gratitude for what you have received here. |
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Changing
Unwanted
Behavior
|
In general, changing unwanted behavior involves three basic
steps:
1. |
To know how ugly
the behavior is and how much damage it causes to yourself and to
others. |
2. |
To know the damage
caused by the behavior. |
3. |
To know the benefits
of new and different behavior. |
It isn’t
sufficient, however, that you “know” these things intellectually;
it is important to know them by feeling them in the depths of your
heart.
Autogenics can
be helpful in changing unwanted behavior because you can use your autogenics
skills to work through each of the three basic steps of change by actually
feeling the elements of each step with the help of autogenic visualization
and suggestion.
Of course, some
long-standing personality problems have roots deep in
unconscious conflicts, so you may need professional
psychotherapy rather than autogenics. Still, even
in these cases, the autogenics approach can be worth a try.
So here’s
how to do it.
First,
enter a state of relaxation by practicing your condensed autogenics
formula. This is important because the next
two steps (if done properly) will arouse considerable anxiety, and you need
to be able to reduce that anxiety again with your autogenics
skills.
Second,
create a negative mood state in which you visualize the harmful and disgusting
effects of the unwanted behavior. For example,
if you bite your fingernails, see the ugly, raw nails; notice how uncomfortable
and embarrassed you feel; see your fingers getting scarred and deformed.
If you smoke cigarettes, smell the stench of the smoke on your clothes and
body; see the stains on your fingers and teeth; notice your shortness of
breath and coughing; visualize the poisons coating your lungs and other internal
organs. After the intense negativity of this mood has been felt fully, reduce
the anxiety with relaxation.
Third,
contemplate how miserable and wretched your life will be if you do not change
your behavior. For example, if you bite
your fingernails, see yourself socially inhibited, fearful, and lonely, hiding
your hands from view everywhere you go. If you smoke cigarettes, see yourself
wheezing for breath and dying of cancer. Imagine your children suffering
from their own addictions because of your negative influence. After the intense
negativity of this mood has been felt fully, reduce the anxiety with
relaxation.
Fourth,
create a positive mood state in which you visualize the beneficial effects
of new, healthy behavior, all the while your anxiety from the previous step
begins to dissolve. For example, if you
now bite your fingernails, see yourself as you could be with beautiful nails,
moving your hands gracefully and without embarrassment. If you now smoke
cigarettes, see yourself as you could be, calm and confident, relaxed and
able to concentrate, free of frustration and tension, a positive influence
on others.
Fifth,
reinforce your positive mood with positive statements of
validation. Repeat them several times. Create
your own, or select from the following examples.
|
Be careful, though,
not to tell yourself lies. If you try to claim that you have the most brilliant
mind imaginable, that you will trample all competition underfoot, or that
you will become the greatest such-and-such the world has ever seen, then
such grandiosity will lead you right into self-destruction and psychological
doom. But if you complete the autogenics training successfully, all
the statements below are honest and humble reflections of the discipline,
patience, and respect for your body that the training requires.
|
• |
My confidence is strong and steady.
I can deal with everything as it happens. I have no need for [cigarettes,
coffee, alcohol, drugs, etc]. Substances no longer control me. |
• |
My [fingernails, hair, thumb] are[/is]
an important part of my body, so I will care for them[/it] with kindness.
I have no need to harm them[/it] or [bite, twist, pull, suck, etc.]
them[/it]. |
• |
I have no need to rush or be concerned
about my speech. I can talk slowly and clearly. Just as I can take one calm
breath after another, I can speak calmly, one articulate syllable at a time.
I have no need to stutter. |
• |
I can work calmly and confidently.
My mind will not wander. My self-confidence will not be bothered by small
mistakes. I can meet all obstacles with confidence. |
• |
I approach all tasks with a calm
focus on the matter at hand. I do not lose my concentration by distractions.
I act with discipline and resolve. |
• |
I listen to and respect my own body.
I can present myself to others with respect and dignity. I will listen to
and respect others. |
• |
I can remain calm, relaxed, and composed
in any situation. |
• |
I can dissolve tension and anxiety
before it builds. |
• |
All cravings will pass within 10
minutes. I have the patience to remain calm and to wait. |
• |
My calmness and patience can result
in compassion and understanding. I can get along well with anyone. I will
return kindness to any insult. |
• |
My experience of peace and calm is
not threatened by anything outside myself. I have no need for rivals; I have
no use for jealousy. I wish good to all persons. |
• |
There are no “good” days
or “bad” days. I can do what needs to be done at all times. I uphold
my promises and value my word. In my relaxation, an unlimited source of ideas
is available to help me. |
Sixth,
conclude with a simple closure to the relaxation
session. Take a few deep breaths and affirm
that “I feel / supremely calm.” |
Lessons
In
Healing
And
Hope
|
 Psychology from the
Heart
The Spiritual Depth of Clinical Psychology
A collection of
texts from the writings of
Raymond Lloyd Richmond, Ph.D.
More
information |
Gratitude
|
Has this web page been helpful? Then please help support this
website in gratitude, as a “down-payment” on the success of your
hopes and dreams!
What is the point of “success” if your heart is stained with
ingratitude?
|
Notes:
1.
Schultz, J. H., & Luthe, W. (1959). Autogenic training: A
psychophysiologic approach in psychotherapy. New York: Grune and
Stratton.
2. Schultz, J. H.,
& Luthe, W. (1969). Autogenic therapy: Vol. 1. Autogenic methods. New
York: Grune and Stratton.
3. The autogenics
exercises presented here have been adapted from Ostrander, S., & Schroeder,
L. (1979). Superlearning. New York: Dell Publishing Co.
4. Relaxation practice
can help to alleviate a person’s anxiety about the developing symptoms
of any disease, and that’s good because if a person stays calm, then
anxiety won’t fan the flames of the symptoms. This doesn’t mean
that relaxation practice can “cure” a disease, but relaxation can
delay the progress of a disease and minimize the symptoms. Nevertheless,
it’s always possible that a person of strong belief can use autogenic
suggestions to so minimize the negative effects of the symptoms that the
person does not become incapacitated to such an extent as other persons without
such relaxation practice. Therefore, it’s well worth the try—and
not just for the specific symptoms of a disease, but especially because
Autogenics practice could promote a generally enhanced quality of life. All
that matters is that you believe in the depths of your heart that there will
be benefits.
Additional
Resources
Music:
Dovesong
International —About Positive Music (and negative music).
Related
pages within A Guide to Psychology and its
Practice:
Progressive Muscle
Relaxation
Self-administered
Systematic Desensitization
Stress
Trauma
CONTACT ME
INDEX of all subjects
on this website
SEARCH this
website |
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