Autogenic training
Encyclopedia
Autogenic training is a relaxation technique
developed by the German
psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz
and first published in 1932. The technique involves the daily practice of sessions that last around 15 minutes, usually in the morning, at lunch time, and in the evening. During each session, the practitioner will repeat a set of visualisations that induce a state of relaxation
. Each session can be practiced in a position chosen amongst a set of recommended postures (for example, lying down, sitting meditation, sitting like a rag doll). The technique can be used to alleviate many stress
-induced psychosomatic disorders.
Schultz emphasized parallels to techniques in yoga
and meditation
. It is a method for influencing one's autonomic nervous system
. Abbe Faria
and Emile Coue
are the forerunners of Schultz. There are many parallels to progressive relaxation. In 1963 Luthe discovered the significance of "autogenic discharges", paroxistic phenomena of motor, sensorial, visual and emotional nature related to the traumatic history of the patient, and developed the method of "Autogenic Abreaction". His disciple Luis de Rivera, a McGill trained psychiatrist, introduced psychodynamic concepts into Luthe's approach, developing "Autogenic Analysis" as a new method for uncovering the unconscious.
Herbert Benson, MD, a Harvard professor also did significant research in the area. He called it the Relaxation Response and wrote an influential book with that same title.
When you end your practice it is a good idea to Cancel to avoid your thoughts from inadvertently materializing. To Cancel say "arms firm" and move your arms vigorously, say "breathe deeply" and breathe deeply, and say "open eyes" and at open your eyes.
Many practitioners will choose not to cancel between the three iterations, in order to maintain deeper relaxation.
Quite often, one will ease themselves into the "trance" by counting to ten, and exit by counting backwards from ten. This is another practice taken from progressive relaxation.
(flight or fight) and the parasympathetic (rest and digest) branches of the autonomic nervous system
. This has important health benefits, as the parasympathetic activity promotes digestion
and bowel movements, lowers the blood pressure
, slows the heart rate
, and promotes the functions of the immune system
.
of 60 studies was published in Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, finding significant positive effects of treatment when compared to normals over a number of diagnoses; finding these effects to be similar to best recommended rival therapies; and finding positive additional effects by patients, such as their perceived quality of life.
In Japan, four researchers from the Tokyo Psychology and Counseling Service Center have formulated a measure for reporting clinical effectiveness of autogenic training.
Autogenic training was popularized in North America particularly among practitioners by Wolfgang Luthe, who co-authored, with Schultz, a multi-volume tome on Autogenic Training. Luthe was a firm believer that Autogenic training was a powerful approach that should only be offered to patients by qualified professionals.
Like many techniques (Progressive Relaxation, Yoga, varieties of meditation) which have been developed into advanced, sophisticated processes of intervention and learning, Autogenic training, as Luthe and Schultz wrote in their master tome, took well over a year to learn to teach and over a year to learn. But some biofeedback practitioners took the most basic elements of autogenic imagery and developed "condensed" simplified versions that were used in combination with biofeedback. This was done at the Menninger foundation by Elmer Green, Steve Fahrio, Patricia Norris, Joe Sargent, Dale Walters and others, where they took the hand warming imagery of Autogenic training and used it as an aid to develop thermal biofeedback.
Relaxation technique
A relaxation technique is any method, process, procedure, or activity that helps a person to relax; to attain a state of increased calmness; or otherwise reduce levels of anxiety, stress or anger...
developed by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz
Johannes Heinrich Schultz
Johannes Heinrich Schultz was a German psychiatrist and an independent psychotherapist. Schultz became world famous for the development of a system of self-hypnosis called autogenic training.- Life :...
and first published in 1932. The technique involves the daily practice of sessions that last around 15 minutes, usually in the morning, at lunch time, and in the evening. During each session, the practitioner will repeat a set of visualisations that induce a state of relaxation
Relaxation (psychology)
In psychology, relaxation is the emotional state of low tension, in which there is an absence of arousal that could come from sources such as anger, anxiety, or fear. Relaxation is a form of mild ecstasy coming from the frontal lobe of the brain in which the backward cortex sends signals, or...
. Each session can be practiced in a position chosen amongst a set of recommended postures (for example, lying down, sitting meditation, sitting like a rag doll). The technique can be used to alleviate many stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
-induced psychosomatic disorders.
Schultz emphasized parallels to techniques in yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
. It is a method for influencing one's autonomic nervous system
Autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system functioning largely below the level of consciousness, and controls visceral functions. The ANS affects heart rate, digestion, respiration rate, salivation, perspiration, diameter of the pupils,...
. Abbe Faria
Abbé Faria
Abbé Faria , or Abbé José Custódio de Faria, , was a colourful Goan Catholic monk who was one of the pioneers of the scientific study of hypnotism, following on from the work of Franz Anton Mesmer...
and Emile Coue
Émile Coué
Émile Coué de la Châtaigneraie was a French psychologist and pharmacist who introduced a method of psychotherapy and self-improvement based on optimistic autosuggestion....
are the forerunners of Schultz. There are many parallels to progressive relaxation. In 1963 Luthe discovered the significance of "autogenic discharges", paroxistic phenomena of motor, sensorial, visual and emotional nature related to the traumatic history of the patient, and developed the method of "Autogenic Abreaction". His disciple Luis de Rivera, a McGill trained psychiatrist, introduced psychodynamic concepts into Luthe's approach, developing "Autogenic Analysis" as a new method for uncovering the unconscious.
Herbert Benson, MD, a Harvard professor also did significant research in the area. He called it the Relaxation Response and wrote an influential book with that same title.
Example of an autogenic training session
- Sit in the meditative posture and scan the body
- "my right arm is heavy"
- "my arms and legs are heavy and warm" (repeat 3 or more times)
- "my heartbeat is calm and regular" (repeat 3 times)
- "my solar plexus is warm" (repeat 3 times)
- "my forehead is cool"
- "my neck and shoulders are heavy" (repeat 3 times)
- "I am at peace" (repeat 3 times)
- Finish part one by Cancelling
- Start part two by repeating from step 2 to Cancelling
- Start part three by repeating from step 2 to Cancelling
When you end your practice it is a good idea to Cancel to avoid your thoughts from inadvertently materializing. To Cancel say "arms firm" and move your arms vigorously, say "breathe deeply" and breathe deeply, and say "open eyes" and at open your eyes.
Many practitioners will choose not to cancel between the three iterations, in order to maintain deeper relaxation.
Quite often, one will ease themselves into the "trance" by counting to ten, and exit by counting backwards from ten. This is another practice taken from progressive relaxation.
Effects of autogenic training
Autogenic Training restores the balance between the activity of the sympatheticSympathetic nervous system
The sympathetic nervous system is one of the three parts of the autonomic nervous system, along with the enteric and parasympathetic systems. Its general action is to mobilize the body's nervous system fight-or-flight response...
(flight or fight) and the parasympathetic (rest and digest) branches of the autonomic nervous system
Autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system that acts as a control system functioning largely below the level of consciousness, and controls visceral functions. The ANS affects heart rate, digestion, respiration rate, salivation, perspiration, diameter of the pupils,...
. This has important health benefits, as the parasympathetic activity promotes digestion
Digestion
Digestion is the mechanical and chemical breakdown of food into smaller components that are more easily absorbed into a blood stream, for instance. Digestion is a form of catabolism: a breakdown of large food molecules to smaller ones....
and bowel movements, lowers the blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
, slows the heart rate
Heart rate
Heart rate is the number of heartbeats per unit of time, typically expressed as beats per minute . Heart rate can vary as the body's need to absorb oxygen and excrete carbon dioxide changes, such as during exercise or sleep....
, and promotes the functions of the immune system
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
.
Contraindications
Autogenic Training is contraindicated for people with heart conditions or psychotic disorders.Clinical evidence
Autogenic training has been subject to clinical evaluation from its early days in Germany, and from the early 1980s worldwide. In 2002, a meta-analysisMeta-analysis
In statistics, a meta-analysis combines the results of several studies that address a set of related research hypotheses. In its simplest form, this is normally by identification of a common measure of effect size, for which a weighted average might be the output of a meta-analyses. Here the...
of 60 studies was published in Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, finding significant positive effects of treatment when compared to normals over a number of diagnoses; finding these effects to be similar to best recommended rival therapies; and finding positive additional effects by patients, such as their perceived quality of life.
In Japan, four researchers from the Tokyo Psychology and Counseling Service Center have formulated a measure for reporting clinical effectiveness of autogenic training.
Autogenic training was popularized in North America particularly among practitioners by Wolfgang Luthe, who co-authored, with Schultz, a multi-volume tome on Autogenic Training. Luthe was a firm believer that Autogenic training was a powerful approach that should only be offered to patients by qualified professionals.
Like many techniques (Progressive Relaxation, Yoga, varieties of meditation) which have been developed into advanced, sophisticated processes of intervention and learning, Autogenic training, as Luthe and Schultz wrote in their master tome, took well over a year to learn to teach and over a year to learn. But some biofeedback practitioners took the most basic elements of autogenic imagery and developed "condensed" simplified versions that were used in combination with biofeedback. This was done at the Menninger foundation by Elmer Green, Steve Fahrio, Patricia Norris, Joe Sargent, Dale Walters and others, where they took the hand warming imagery of Autogenic training and used it as an aid to develop thermal biofeedback.