Autogenic Training _____________________________________________________________
Autogenic training is yet another technique that could be used to induce deep muscle relaxation. The technique is very popular among European athletes, but only recently has it been used by Americans. John Schultz and Wolfgang Luthein devised the technique in 1954 after they observed that subjects under the influence of hypnosis were capable of bringing about physiological changes in their bodies. For instance, Shultz and Luthe would hypnotize their subjects and give them suggestions that their arms were getting heavy. Interestingly, the suggestions caused changes in the subject’s muscle tension, bringing about deep muscle relaxation in their arms. Shultz and Luthe eventually realized that these suggestions, even without the use of hypnosis, could bring about the same physiological response, thus, the beginning of autogenic training. Autogenic training could be divided into three specific parts. First, you are instructed to tell yourself that your arm is heavy. You repeatedly say to yourself, “My arm is heavy, I am at peace, my arm is heavy.” You are then instructed on how to do this for each body part. According to Shultz and Luthe, it takes approximately three to six weeks to learn to relax specific body parts. After mastering that, the next stage involves learning to make your body feel warm using similar procedures. The suggestions of warmth cause the blood vessels to dilate just as the suggestions of heaviness cause the muscles to relax. After you become accomplished at bringing about the sensation of warmth to your body, you then practice controlling heart rate, respiration, abdominal warmth and a few other neat things. All of the aforementioned practices have been shown to correlate with relaxation. According to Schultz and Luthe, an individual who masters autogenic training will be able to adjust his activation threshold to meet the demands of competition. If the individual’s tension threshold is too high, he will be able to lower it. If it is too low, he will be able to raise it. Interestingly, Schultz and Luthe point out that not all individuals are able to use autogenic training. They maintain that in order for an athlete to achieve success with the method, he usually needs an I.Q. of over 100. The individual should also be reasonably suggestible and have the ability to concentrate intensely. They have also found that only 40 to 45 percent of individuals who use autogenic training will be able to achieve activation threshold adjustment. One of the major drawbacks of autogenic training is that a trained psychologist is usually required to help you through the initial training sessions. The psychologist should be an expert on the finer points of autogenic training if you are going to benefit from his help. There may be someone in America who fits the bill, but he will probably be harder to find than a five dollar hooker on Sunset Boulevard. Most American psychologists are just not schooled in autogenic training. Still, if you have the concentration, the I.Q. and the right help, autogenic training might be the method for you. Don’t forget, Europeans swear by autogenic training.
Biofeedback _______________________________________________
Prior to the 20th Century, it seemed that the best way to induce deep muscle relaxation was to sit in a cave for 20 years with a bed sheet wrapped around your behind and a towel wrapped around your head while you contemplated your “universal self.” Initially, the 20th