First, preparation. Lie on your back in bed or on a couch or sofa, put a low pillow under your head; place your feet shoulder-width apart, relax your legs, while the socks should move apart; bend your arms slightly at the elbows, put your palms down; the hands do not touch the body.
If you are lying without a pillow, then your arms should be extended straight at an acute angle to the body, palms pointing up. The difference in hand position depends on the position of the head (with or without a pillow). Changing the position of the head requires a change in the position of the hands due to discomfort in the shoulder joints. Remember the symmetry of the pose!
Important! Throughout the meditation, keep the «Mask of Relaxation» — this is a facial expression in which mimic, chewing muscles and tongue are relaxed as much as possible. Each tense muscle has a stimulating effect on the brain, and this prevents the emergence of an autogenic state. There are muscle groups — facial, chewing, tongue and hands — that have a greater influence on the state of the brain than other muscles, so more attention is paid to their relaxation. To relax the chewing muscles before auto-training, practice in front of a mirror. With your head upright, silently say the sound “Y”, let your jaw drop. Then, to relax the tongue, silently say the syllable «Te», while the relaxed tongue gently rests on the back of the lower teeth. Remember that only passive concentration produces a physiological effect.
Now the eyes are closed. Speak to yourself the following text (previously learned, but not thoroughly, the general meaning). You can turn on the music, you can without it. It’s good if someone reads this text to you for a start. Or you can listen to an audio recording of auto-training with the already recorded voice of another person.
Text
«I’m relaxed! I turn my attention to the “mask of relaxation”. I breathe calmly through my nose … as in a dream, inhale … exhale, inhale … exhale … (say 3 times).
Relaxation practice is led by Polina Sukhova (demo version).
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A pleasant calm and relaxation fills my body. I am in a cozy warm house, which is located in a beautiful and colorful forest filled with birds of paradise, kind animals, lush greenery and delightful flowers … a waterfall is rustling nearby.
Outside the window it is raining lightly, drops are slowly rolling down the glass… I am lying on a soft bed with my eyes closed…. There is no one around … just me and the colorful nature outside the window. And all around me is one great calm …
The energy of relaxation has penetrated into my right hand, into my shoulder, it flows down like water in a stream down my forearm into my wrist … it passes into my hand, filling each finger with serene silence. Having made a circle with the brush, my calm attention rises up the arm, passes the shoulder, slowly flows over the chest. The energy goes to the left hand, fills the shoulder and forearm. It sinks into the wrist, enveloping each finger, they become calmer than ever, they are completely relaxed. My attention rushes up my arm… leaves my arm, swims like a boat across the calm sea across my chest and flows down to my legs, hips, knees… calves… feet. They are filled with relaxation … each finger is relaxed and serene …. A wave of calm spreads up the legs, crosses the whole body, all the organs in turn. I feel this wave with every cell … and this pleasant wave rushes to my head. She is calm… the mimic muscles of her face are completely relaxed. I see with my inner vision and feel how each wrinkle straightens. Under the eyes, at the nose, at the mouth … The face is resting. I feel a pleasant calmness and relaxation of my body …
Heaviness slowly sets in on the body … Pleasant heaviness. I lie in a bath filled with warm water. Now the water is slowly leaving the bath, and the heaviness in the whole body remains. I contemplate it where it is. The weight slowly moves to the right hand in the shoulder, it became heavy, as if lead had been poured into it. The heaviness slowly rolls into the forearm, hand, and now the little finger is filled with lead, … further on the ring finger … the middle one becomes heavier than the hand, it has become the heaviest in the whole body … The heaviness moves to the index … from there it came out … right into the thumb … and went up the arm … further into the shoulder … and then, as a heavy wheel rolls into the other hand … goes down. The forearm is filled with lead … the wave descends into the hand … it poured like an apple that is ripe and ready to fall down. Fingers filled with metal. The middle one is the heaviest… it is huge… it pulls towards the ground… The energy of gravity slowly starts to rise up… the shoulder… goes out into the body and sinks down into the right leg… The thigh fills… the calf… the foot. Fingers like bunches of huge grapes pull down. Gravity energy passes into the left leg and permeates all parts in turn. Heaviness makes its circle and goes up … again into the body. Every internal organ passes… the genitals are saturated with heaviness… the wave goes to the kidneys… the attention of gravity flows into the liver… from there to the lungs. Breathe easy, but they are heavy. We pass the heart, it beats evenly, nothing interferes with it, then it is heavy, pleasant heaviness, like after visiting a bath. The heaviness comes out and rushes to the head … The head is rooted to the bed. I feel my eyelids pressed against each other. I feel how the heavy chewing muscles and the jaw pull down … the tongue is like lead … The gravity has done its job, it leaves the body and head into the world.
The feeling of heaviness is replaced by a feeling of lightness. Now there is a complete state of relaxation. The whole body is airy. The sky brightens, the sun appears, the forest around comes to life, the birds rejoice in warmth and light. I rejoice with them in this divine beauty of the world. This world is now inside me, my body, in my thoughts. The body and thoughts are light and weightless, they are filled with the solar energy of soft heat. Hands get warm, shoulders get warm in the warm rays. The heat descends down the brushes into the fingers, and each finger lights up with warmth like a New Year’s garland. This warm wave rises up like a solar brook and passes into the left hand, starts to ignite every cell of my body with warmth from the inside … shoulder … forearm. This energy passed through the brush and filled the fingers in turn. They lit up, and a warm trickle rushed up, rolled like a warm ball over his stomach and slid into his right thigh. Caviar, feet, fingers, leg warms up. The energy here has done its job and rushes slowly into the left leg. Going down like a waterfall, capturing every cell of space with its rays. Thigh… calf… foot… It sinks to the very bottom, igniting each nail with warmth… and goes further. Heat is sent to the stomach, passing it ignites everything that meets in its path. Sex organs. Affectionate warmth goes like a solar ball through the body, pouring into the kidneys, from there to the liver … it gets warmer. The energy rises up into the stomach… Further into the lungs, they were filled with gentle warmth, pleasant and joyful… And finally, the heart… this is my flashlight lit up with the warmth of care and joy. It works clearly and rhythmically … Everything is fine! From the heart, heat comes out, onto the skin in the area of the solar plexus. In this place, the skin of the abdomen warms up … and this heat energy bursts clockwise. Inhale… exhale…. inhale… exhale… The clock spins and warms the solar plexus… inhale… exhale… Attention to the solar plexus… inhale exhale… On exhalation, the heat passes into the abdomen, it warms with pleasant deep warmth, dispersing throughout the body.
I am so relaxed that my body has become so light that my hands are missing. The legs are weightless, they are not. My body is no longer felt. It loses its shape, I lose its boundaries, it becomes everywhere and nowhere, solid solar energy.
I slowly return back to the room, I again feel my body, how it breathes evenly and slowly.
A calm pulsation passes through the body — this is good. I feel the pulse of my healthy body. It tells me that everything is in order. I focus on my pulse. I feel how every cell responds with an even rhythm of life. My attention slowly shifts to my breathing.
Breathing is calm … I don’t control it, I just watch it. It flows like a stream, calm clear water, very gently. I feel good, it’s nice how slightly cool air first enters me and soon it is lost in me, warmed by the warmth of the body. Breathe easily and naturally. The movement of my stomach is exactly in time with my breathing, even and calm. Breathing harmoniously lifts the whole body up and down gently. I breathe easier than ever. I love this life — it’s beautiful! The world is beautiful, and I am part of this world.
I had a great rest, I am full of strength and energy. I really want to live and do everything that I have in mind. It’s time to return.
I’m starting to get out of my state of relaxation. I return to the room where I am now. I begin to feel myself, my hands, my fingers, which can move. I feel my lips that can move. Muscles become elastic. I slowly clench my fists, I feel strength in my hands, fingers. I pull on my feet, strain them. I feel power in my legs. I bend my back up. Now I feel at the same time a powerful force in the whole body, the body as a whole — a powerful core of energy.
I prepare to take a deep breath, hold it for 2 seconds. At the same time: I exhale vigorously through my mouth, open my fists and open my eyes and make an exit. I woke up!
I am cheerful, charged with new energy. There is a noticeable surge of strength in the body. I go out into life with a cheerful state of energy and inner peace of mind. I am ready for fruitful work. I can handle everything!!