2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43
Where are you now?
When you find yourself in a stressful situation, ask yourself the following questions:
- Where am I?
- Am I moving in time to the future, am I worried about what might happen, or am I planning what might happen?
- Do I travel in time to the past, revise my mistakes, revive bad memories, or think about how my life could have been, under different circumstances?
- or I live in the present, really paying attention to what I do, think or feel
If you are in the present moment, refocus your attention on what is happening to you now by doing the following:
- Pay attention to what you are thinking and find out if you are moving in time; bring your focus to the present moment.
- pay attention to how you breathe. Take slow, deep breaths to help you focus on the present.
- Pay attention to how your body is feeling and observe any tension or pain you may be experiencing. Determine how your thoughts affect your feelings.
- Pay attention to any painful emotions you may experience as a result of time travel and use one of the stress management skills that can help you relieve any sudden pain.
Cheer yourself up
We all need encouraging words to help us stay motivated or deal with pain. This can be done with self-encouraging thoughts.
- this situation won't last forever
- I went through many other painful experiences and survived
- everything passes and this will pass
- now my feelings make me uncomfortable, but I can accept them
- I'm worried, but I can handle the situation
- for me it is an opportunity to learn how to cope with difficult situations
- sometimes it is natural to feel sad / worried / fearful
- if I want, I can think differently
- there are alternatives, this is not the end of life.
Autogenic training
The six main stages of autogenic training and its second phase, autogenic meditation, are described below.
There are three main body positions for autogenous training: one lying position and two sitting. Choose your preferred one.
Lying position. You lie on your back, your feet are slightly apart, the toes point in different directions. Place a pillow under the part of your body that is uncomfortable. Beware of an uneven body position (for example, if you put a pillow under your head, make sure that your chin is not pressed against your chest). Hands lie along the body, but do not touch it; the elbows are slightly bent, and the palms are "looking" up. The eyes are closed.
Sitting position. In the sitting position, there are two options.
The first option is to sit upright in a chair or chair with a straight back that will support your head, keeping your spine straight. Your buttocks should be perpendicular to the back of the chair and the seat should be long enough to support your hips. Your arms, hands, and fingers may be resting on the armrests of the chair or on your lap. The eyes are closed.
The second option for a seated position: Take a stool or chair with a low back so that there is no back support during sitting. Sit on the edge of the seat with your hands on your hips, hands and fingers should be free. The head also hangs freely, the chin is near the chest. The feet are not shoulder-width apart, the tips of the toes are slightly visible from behind the knees. The eyes are closed.
Regardless of which position you choose, make sure your body is relaxed and muscle tension is minimal.
Six basic stages of autogenous training
Here are the six initial stages of autogenic training that precede imaging:
- concentration on the feeling of heaviness in the arms and legs;
- concentration on the feeling of warmth in the hands and feet;
- concentration on the sensation of warmth in the region of the heart;
- concentration on breathing;
- concentration on the feeling of warmth in the abdomen;
- concentration on the feeling of coolness in the forehead.
Stage 1: Severity.
My right hand is getting heavy …
My left hand is getting heavy … My hands are getting heavy. My right leg is getting heavy … My left leg is getting heavy … My legs are getting heavy. My arms and legs became heavy.
Stage 2: Heat.
Warmth spreads down my right hand …
Warmth spreads down my left hand …
Warmth spreads over my hands …
Warmth spreads down my right leg …
Warmth spreads down my left leg …
Warmth spreads down my legs …
Warmth spreads down my arms and legs.
Stage 3: Heart.
My heart beats evenly and calmly (repeat four times).
Stage 4: Breathing.
My breathing is calm and even.
I breathe easily and relaxed (repeat four times).
Stage 5: Abdomen.
Pleasant warmth flows through the stomach (repeat four times).
Stage 6: Forehead.
My forehead is cool (repeat four times).
At the end of the training, use the following formulas: "After the end of relaxation, I will be vigorous, active and in a good mood." Stretch your arms. Take a deep breath. Open your eyes.
As you gain experience, you will be able to induce a feeling of warmth and heaviness in the limbs, warmth in the solar plexus area, moderate the rhythm of breathing and heartbeat, etc. in just a few minutes. It takes several months of regular practice to achieve this level of proficiency. Regularly - this is from one to six times a day. You should not fuss when mastering autogenic training, as overly diligent attempts can only do harm. Work in your natural rhythm, moving to the next stage only when you succeed in the previous one.
In addition to basic autogenic training, there is a higher level. It is shown below.
Visualization
The next step in autogenic training is imagining pleasant, calm pictures in order to spread the relaxation achieved by the body into consciousness. Some imagine them boating on a calm lake on a sunny day. Some people prefer birds fluttering in the air, sea waves rolling onto the shore, or a cozy room with a fireplace. To start visualizing, define your relaxing picture. The following questions will help you with this.
- What is the weather like in your imaginary picture?
- Who is there?
- What colors prevail there?
- What sounds do you hear?
- What is happening there?
- How are you feeling?
Visualizing relaxing pictures begins with rolling your eyes upward, as if you are trying to look at your own forehead.
The next step is to render a single color of your choice across the entire field of view. Then imagine how paintings emerge from this color. After you have completed all these tasks, try to imagine an object against a dark background. The image of this object should be clear, motionless and unchanging, hold it for a few minutes.
The next stage of autogenic meditation is the visualization of an abstract concept (for example, freedom). This can take anywhere from two to six weeks. You can then move on to focusing on feelings by imagining yourself in different situations. For example, you can concentrate on how you feel by imagining that you are riding on a cloud.
To make the visualization as real as possible, you need to use all your senses. You should be able to smell, hear sounds, see colors, and even taste if present in your picture. You can imagine clouds, valleys, mountains, wildflowers, a cool forest, a clean spring, a gentle hill, or something else to help you relax.
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