Recently I was asked what kind of relaxation exercise is best for the treatment of headaches. Here’s my response:
We all prefer and respond differently to various types of relaxation exercises. Keeping that in mind, one of the most effective relaxation exercises for headaches is Autogenics.
Autogenics is a systemic program that teaches the mind and body to respond quickly to verbal commands. These “commands” are about relaxing and returning to a healthy balanced state. The goal of autogenic training is to normalize physical, mental, and emotional processes, that can become imbalanced due to stress.
Autogenics has been recommended and practiced for a very long time. Early in the 19th century, a physiologist named Oscar Vogt demonstrated that people in a relaxed state experienced warmth and a sensation of heaviness.
In the 1920’s, another physiologist, Johannes Schultz, became interested in Vogt’s work and found that a deeply relaxed state can be induced by thinking of heaviness and warmth. Schultz used the term Autogenic Training for this process.
We now know that autogenics training changes physiology in the following ways:
- Blood vessels open up, increasing circulation and warmth.
- Muscles relax from increased blood flow.
- The heart works more easily and effectively.
- The calming parasympathetic nervous system is activated.
Autogenic Training consists of:
- Coming into a relaxed position.
- Practicing slow, deep breathing.
- Passively concentrate on verbal formulas that suggest warmth, heaviness, relaxation. Passive concentration is thinking and feeling warmth without trying to make it happen. In other words, you are putting thoughts of relaxation into your mind and then watching as your body responds to the thought.
- Ending the exercise, “When I open my eyes, I feel refreshed and alert.
Autogenics is effective when practiced in one of two ways:
- Repeating autogenic phrases for a few minutes, many times during the day.
- Repeating phrases over and over again, for 20 to 40 minutes.
There are six standard autogenic training themes. They are:
- Heaviness
- Warmth
- Strong and regular heartbeat
- Air breathes me
- Warm and relaxed abdomen
- Cool forehead
In the relaxation and meditation exercises I’ve recorded, you will find autogenics used frequently. It is incorporated as part of a meditation and also there are exercises that follow the standard autogenic training themes.
Try them and let me know how they work for you.
Happy Springtime!
Take care,
Kate
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