What is Autogenics?
Autogenic Training is the world’s first and only western developed meditation technique. It is self-hypnosis, meditation, mindfulness, relaxation therapy and biofeedback training all rolled into one….and it is more. It is unique and it is evidence-based.
Developed by German Neuroscientist and Psychoanalyst Professor Johannes Schultz in the 1920s and further enhanced over subsequent decades by both Schultz and his student Dr Wolfgang Luthe, Autogenic Training is much more than just a relaxation technique. It is a neurological and psycho-physiological tool or therapy for psychological and medical self-healing.
Autogenic Training takes you through a series of validated and prescriptive mental exercises that target specific physiological reactions in the brain and body that underpin optimal health and well-being. Through the power of self-suggestion you are taught how to consciously and intentionally control your Autonomic Nervous System. Through a state of passive observance of bodily sensations or signals as a form of biofeedback, Autogenic Training trains you to consciously direct your brain and heart, using passive instruction, to ‘turn down’ your Sympathetic Nervous System (stress) response and ‘kick into gear’ your Parasympathetic Nervous System (rest) response, allowing the body’s natural repair and regulation mechanism, including the immune system, to strengthen.
This self-directed process enables you to directly influence the functioning of your heart (cardio-vascular), lungs (respiratory), stomach, gut and bowels (gastrointestinal and excretory system), kidneys and liver as well as your brain, muscles, biochemical responses and immune system. Brain scans show the effect that Autogenic Training has on improving the concordanc
e between the brain hemispheres as well as enhancing brain function. This process of body-mind self-regulation therefore not only assists in improving physical health but also assists in the self-adjustment of cognitive and emotional functioning leading to improvements in morale, thinking and behavior. It is the ultimate in self-healing, true resilience building, stress management and performance enhancement.
On a micro level of regeneration, Autogenics retrains cells, glands, the brain and organs to behave as they are ‘meant to’, that is, to work in harmony and to restore the natural order. We are now coming to understand Autogenic Training’s role in neuro-plasticity, gut health, epigenetic modulation and the placebo response and the future for Autogenic Training world-wide in becoming a mainstream therapy for the self-regulation of body-mind healing and optimal functioning is exciting to say the least.
In the more advanced levels of Autogenic Training, whilst in an altered or amplified state of consciousness called the Autogenic State, potent visualization/imagery and affirmation techniques are introduced which further enhances our ability to heal and maximize our potential as human beings.
Based on decades of research and thousands of clinical studies, Autogenic Training is a body-mind regeneration technique that actually works! It is easy to learn and a skill for life.
