AUTOGENIC TRAINING

noun (Health and Fitness) (Lifestyle and Leisure) A relaxation technique in which the patient is taught a form of self-hypnosis and biofeedback as a way of managing stress. Etymology: A translation of the German name, das autogene Training. Autogenic, an adjective which has been used in English since the late nineteenth century, literally means 'self-produced'. It is not the training that is self-produced, though; autogenic training is designed to teach people how to produce a feeling of calm and well-being in themselves in stressful circumstances. A more accurate (though long-winded) name would be training in autogenic relaxation. History and Usage: Autogenic training was invented in Germany and first popularized by psychiatrist and neurologist Johannes Schultz from the thirties until the fifties. It is the first of three stages in a method which is known in its entirety as autogenic therapy. Although it has reputedly been used by East German athletes for decades, it only became widely practised outside Germany in the seventies and eighties. The technique is particularly useful for athletes because it offers the possibility of bringing about positive changes in one's own physical state (such as lowering blood pressure or reducing heart-rate). Autogenics is an alternative name for autogenic therapy or autogenic training; although plural in form, this noun (like aerobics) can take singular or plural agreement. A new study indicates that autogenics--a form of mental press-ups--are as good for reducing stress...as physical exertions. She July 1985, p. 115 Liz Ferris uses autogenic training with athletes. This discipline is designed to help switch off the body's stress mechanisms. Observer 6 May 1990, p. 21