Schultz Autogenic Training: What It Is And How It Is Used In Therapy
Relaxation is a state that is accessed through very diverse techniques; Furthermore, it is a state that many people in consultation want to reach, especially suffering from stress. One of the techniques to achieve this is Schultz’s Autogenic Training
This type of training aims to achieve relaxation in the individual, but also other deeper objectives, which we will see in this article. We will also know the exercises you use and their characteristics, in detail.
Schultz autogenic training consists of a relaxation technique through which it is intended to produce a general transformation of the individual, through a series of physiological exercises (specifically, six).
Etymologically, the term “autogenous” comes from the Greek “autos” (self) and “gen” (becoming); It could be translated as a training developed from the subject’s “self”, and which involves all of him.
However, Schultz’s autogenic training goes far beyond simple relaxation, and sometimes allows for important psychological changes to be produced in people, much more internal and profound, as we will see later.
More specifically, “autogenic training” means the act of exercising the mind for oneself voluntarily.
The objective is to influence the behavior of the rest of the organism, and the physiological changes that appear indicate that this technique is much more than a persuasion technique.
Schultz’s autogenic training exercises are 6, and focus on different parts of the body Specifically:
Goals
Some of the most relevant objectives of Schultz’s autogenic training were defined by Carranque (2004). More concretely, This author talked about the benefits of self-applying said training :
1. Self-regulation
Self-regulation of the body’s organic functions occurs, such as respiratory, cardiovascular and digestive functions
2. Body reset
The body is balanced, and good psychohygiene is achieved. Psychohygiene is a slightly deeper concept, which refers to self-care, and the fact of use one’s own reflections and affections to repair internal wounds
3. Self-soothing
Another of the objectives or achievements of Schultz’s autogenic training is that anxiety levels decrease and an internal state of peace and tranquility is produced, through internal relaxation.
4. Self-determination
Self-determination allows the person to know what they want and decide for themselves, in addition to cope better with stressful life situations
5. Increased performance
Another achievement of Schultz’s training is the increase in performance in areas such as memory and attention.
6. Pain suppression
In some cases, it also allows the sensation of pain to be modulated or suppressed.
7. Self-criticism and self-control
It allows us to improve our capacity for self-criticism and self-control, through improving our inner vision of ourselves
Fundamentals of this relaxation technique
The fundamentals, characteristics or “rules” of Schultz’s autogenic training are as follows:
On the one hand, Schultz considers the body and mental processes as a joint unit Furthermore, he believes that mental learning can influence the rest of the body, and vice versa.
This technique is based on clinical hypnosis; Hypnosis is a dream-like state, which is achieved through psychological influence. But there are other types of hypnosis: the superficial one. This provides a state of pleasant tranquility, where the inner life remains “awake.”
Training continues a kind of progressive and orderly self-hypnosis process (the same exercises and in the same order), which causes a series of physiological changes (in the body), such as muscle relaxation, modification of heart and respiratory rate, etc.
Furthermore, Schultz’s autogenic training does not resort to the person’s conscious will, but rather, as we said, it is a more self-hypnotic process (where the person “gives himself over” to the exercises naturally).
Finally,** it focuses on producing real physiological changes**, which can impact the psychological and physical well-being of the person. Consider that an idea represented with sufficient intensity in a state of concentration allows for these changes to be achieved.
Considerations
When putting Schultz autogenic training into practice, it is important to take into account a series of considerations.
On the one hand, You should find a quiet, pleasant place to work with adequate temperature and light, without noise, etc.
The person’s initial position should be comfortable; It can be seated in a comfortable chair or armchair, on a stool without a backrest, or directly lying down. The eyes must be closed.
Once in the initial position, It is recommended that the person begin to tell themselves a series of self-instructions previously practiced, such as “I am calm”, “I am comfortable”, etc. Finally, it is important not to change the order of the exercises.
If you practice it regularly 2 or 3 times a day, for 3 minutes, you can learn each exercise well in 10 or 15 days (under normal conditions).
It must be systematic and constant so as not to lose the progress that is achieved It is essential that learning the exercises be gradual, that is, overcoming a previous stage to advance to the next. Thus, in general, learning the complete training can take between 3 and 4 months.
On the other hand, if you abandon your practice, it is advisable to start again with the first exercise and resume learning each of them (although the learning will be faster).
