The Self-Regulation Training Method, founded and completed by Dr. Schulz, a German medical doctor, in 1932, is an internationally authoritative and effective technique for adjusting the body and mind. Through his research on the phenomenon of hypnosis, he concluded that through systematic self-training, you can achieve the effect of relaxation, physical and mental reconciliation and psychological decompression that is characteristic of the hypnotic or meditative state. It is as useful as mental aerobics for people in all fields, and you only need 7-10 minutes of practice a day to achieve the desired effect sooner or later.
The famous neuroscientist Della noted that “even after years of meditation and a year of yoga practice, I have not been able to relax as completely as I have with the ‘Self-Regulation Training Method’. It is an elegant, credible and flexible system. Therefore I would recommend it to super learners. If you want to get excellent or just want to feel better, give it a try.”
The Self-Regulation Exercise consists of seven stages: Quiet Exercise, Heavy Sensory Exercise, Warm Sensory Exercise, Heart Adjustment Exercise, Breath Adjustment Exercise, Abdominal Warm Sensory Exercise, and Forehead Cool Sensory Exercise.
The main indications: various psychological decompression, tension, anxiety, insomnia; various psychosomatic diseases; various neurological disorders.
The practitioner can lie on his back on a bed or sofa, or sit on a chair. If the sitting position is used, the full feet of the feet need to be on the ground, the two knees slightly apart, leaving a fist-sized interval, hands naturally placed on the knees of the legs, fingers slightly open. The practitioner’s back should be straightened and the head can be slightly lowered. In order to relieve the tension in the body, the practitioner can lift both shoulders hard and then relax them all at once, while paying attention to adjusting the breathing so that the whole body is relaxed.
Phase 1: Quiet exercise. Practitioners can gently close their eyes, and then silently recite the following statements for self-cueing: “Relax, relax, relax the whole body ……” “Calm and stable, calm and stable… …” “I’m so calm ……” and so on. At the same time, the practitioner can visualize the blue sky and the vast grassland in his mind. The purpose of this stage of practice is to enable the practitioner to eliminate distractions and relax.
The second stage: the limbs heavy sense practice. Practitioners can follow the order of hands before feet, right before left (left-handed people can first left before right). At the beginning, you can first self-reference: “My right hand is sinking …… more and more sinking ……” and find the heavy feeling, then use the same method to do the left hand, right foot, in turn The left foot exercises, and can be transmitted to the four limbs at the same time this feeling.
Practice more times, the practitioner will easily find this feeling. In the practice can also change the cue words at the right time, such as: “My hands are heavy …… my feet are also heavy ……” the voice of the practitioner to self-cue should be slow and strong, to Make sure that the cue is the same for each session. In this way, when the whole set of exercises is particularly proficient, even without verbal self-cueing, it will have the same effect.
This stage of practice will enable the practitioner to relax the tense peripheral nerves by loosening the muscles of the limbs, which in turn will ease the overly tense mind and put it in a natural and calm state.
The third stage: limb warming exercises. The method of limb warming exercises is the same as the method of limb heavy sensory exercises. You can follow the order of hands and then feet to suggest: “My hands are warm …… my legs are also warm ……” at the same time you can picture in your imagination a scene like roasting by the fire This helps to find the warmth. The main purpose of this phase of the exercise is to enable the practitioner to release their entire body and psychological tension by improving the capillary blood flow in their muscles.
Phase 4: Heart adjustment exercises. The heart adjustment exercise is to make the heart in a quiet and regular beating state through self-cueing. The practitioner can place the right hand lightly on the position of the heart and focus all the consciousness on the slight beating of the heart.
Then, visualize in your mind that your heart is beating and suggest to yourself: “My heart is beating quietly…it is beating regularly. ……” Gradually, the practitioner will realize that his or her breathing level becomes deeper and the number of breaths decreases. The number of breaths decreases and the heartbeat is soothed. This stage of the exercise is mainly to release the mental tension by adjusting the function of the practitioner’s heart.
Phase 5: Breathing adjustment exercises. Breathing adjustment exercises are relatively simple, but are often used, that is, through self-cueing. To take long, relaxed breaths. The term “long, relaxed breathing” here refers to the most pleasant breathing. The practitioner should not intentionally vary the breath, but should slowly experience the depth and length of the breath that makes him/her feel happy and relaxed. Whether it is chest breathing or abdominal breathing, make it “pleasant breathing”. This stage of the exercise is to adjust their own breathing to release their physical and mental tension.
Phase 6: abdominal warmth exercise. To do this exercise, the practitioner should place his hand on his abdomen, while self-referencing: “My abdomen is warm …… warm ……” and can imagine the feeling of the abdomen after just drinking a cup of hot water. The feeling of the abdomen.
The practitioner should pay attention to keeping warm while performing this phase of practice, especially to keep the palms of the hands warm and dry. The main purpose of this stage is to warm the abdomen to regulate the functions of the internal organs and to keep the practitioner mentally calm. This exercise can also treat symptoms such as loss of appetite, nausea and abdominal pain.
Stage 7: Forehead cooling exercise. This stage of the exercise is the most difficult of all self-regulation exercises. The forehead cooling sensation is not easy to master.
Practitioners can perform this exercise while self-referencing: “My forehead is cool …… cool ……” and can imagine putting ice on the forehead that cool The feeling. The main purpose of this phase of the exercise is to adjust the nerves of the brain by cooling it down and relaxing its central nervous system from a state of tension. This stage of practice also has the effect of improving the practitioner’s attention, enhancing memory, enriching imagination, and strengthening self-awareness.
When the practitioner is about to finish the standard exercise, he can do 2 to 3 times of limb stretching, let the hands slowly make fists and then slowly open them, let the legs slowly flex and stretch, then try to stretch the back, then do 2 to 3 times of deep breathing, and finally calmly open the eyes and end the exercise.
The practitioner needs a quiet environment for the beginning of the exercise. It takes about] O minutes to do the whole set of self-discipline training. After mastering the standard exercise method, the practitioner can complete the whole set of movements within 2-3 minutes. And this exercise can be done in the office and in the subway car.
Because of its simplicity and effectiveness, the autogenic training method has been widely used in various fields. For example, it has been used in the treatment of anxiety, tension, insomnia and other neurological symptoms, bronchial asthma, cardiovascular dysfunction, fatigue syndrome, gastrointestinal disorders, headaches and leg cramps, and has been used as a training tool to correct the bad character of adolescents and test-taking candidates, actors and athletes with stage fright.
In addition, practitioners should pay attention to the following points when doing autogenic training.
① Pay attention to follow the procedure to practice. Practitioners can initially practice only the first two stages of practice each time, after which they can gradually increase until they can fully skilled in all stages of practice.
②Be persistent. Practitioners should do at least one self-discipline training every day without interruption, and 2-3 months is a course of treatment.
③Pay attention to defecation and urination before performing the exercises.
④Be careful not to drink cold water or cold drinks during the exercise.
⑤ Do this exercise with some walking, running and other exercises.