Methods and techniques of emotional self-regulation. Methods of psychological self-regulation

Mental self-regulation is a conscious, purposeful dynamic change in individual psychophysiological functions and the mental state as a whole through specially organized mental activity.

Methods of psychological self-regulation are a set of methods and training programs aimed at developing adequate human actions to manage one’s own condition.

Set of methods:

· neuromuscular relaxation;

· breathing techniques;

· concentration;

· auto-training;

· meditation;

· kinesiological gymnastics;

· individual skills training;

· group psychological trainings, etc.

The main effects of mental self-regulation:

· calming effect (elimination of emotional tension);

· recovery effect (weakening of symptoms of fatigue);

· activation effect (increased psychophysiological reactivity).

Relaxation. Relaxation exercises

Most of us are already so accustomed to mental and muscle tension that we perceive it as a natural state, without even realizing how harmful it is. It should be clearly understood that, having mastered relaxation, you can learn to regulate this tension, suspend and relax of your own free will, at your own request.

So, it is advisable to perform relaxation gymnastics exercises in a separate room, without prying eyes. The goal of the exercises is to completely relax the muscles. Complete muscle relaxation has a positive effect on the psyche and reduces mental balance. Mental autorelaxation can cause a state of “ideological emptiness.” This means a momentary disruption of mental and mental connections with the outside world, which gives the necessary rest to the brain. Here we must be careful not to overdo it with detachment from the world.

To start the exercises, you need to take the starting position: lying on your back, legs apart, feet turned toes outward, arms lying freely along the body (palms up). The head is slightly thrown back. The whole body is relaxed, eyes are closed, breathing through the nose.

Here are examples of some relaxation exercises.

1. Lie quietly for about 2 minutes, eyes closed. Try to imagine the room you are in. First, try to mentally walk around the entire room (along the walls), and then make a path along the entire perimeter of the body - from head to heels and back.

2. Be mindful of your breathing, passively aware that you are breathing through your nose. Mentally note that the inhaled air is slightly colder than the exhaled air. Focus on your breathing for 1-2 minutes. Try not to think about anything else.

3. Take a shallow breath and hold your breath for a moment. At the same time, sharply tense all your muscles for a few seconds, trying to feel the tension throughout your body. As you exhale, relax. Repeat 3 times.

Then lie quietly for a few minutes, relaxing and focusing on the feeling of the heaviness of your body. Enjoy this pleasant feeling.

Now perform exercises for individual parts of the body - with alternating tension and relaxation.

4. Exercise for the leg muscles. Tighten all the muscles of your legs at once - from your heels to your hips. Hold the tense state for a few seconds, trying to feel the tension, and then relax the muscles. Repeat 3 times.

Then lie quietly for a few minutes, completely relaxed and feeling the weight of your relaxed legs.

Register all environmental sounds in your consciousness, but do not perceive them. The same applies to thoughts, however, do not try to overcome them, you just need to register them.

The following exercises are identical to the exercise described above, but apply to other muscles of the body: gluteal muscles, abdominal muscles, chest muscles, arm muscles, facial muscles (lips, forehead).

In conclusion, mentally “run through” all the muscles of the body to see if there is even the slightest tension left somewhere. If yes, then try to remove it, since relaxation should be complete.

When completing relaxation exercises, take a deep breath, hold your breath and, for a moment, tense the muscles of the whole body: as you exhale, relax the muscles. After this, lie on your back for a long time - calmly, relaxed, breathing evenly, without delays. You have regained faith in your strength, are able to overcome a stressful situation - and a feeling of inner peace arises. After completing these exercises, you should feel rested, full of strength and energy.

Now open your eyes, then close them a few times, open them again and stretch sweetly after a pleasant awakening. Sit down very slowly, smoothly, without jerking. Then, just as slowly, without sudden movements, stand up, trying to maintain a pleasant feeling of internal relaxation for as long as possible.

Over time, these exercises will be performed faster than at the beginning. Later you can relax your body when needed.

Progressive muscle relaxation by J. Jacobson

We strongly recommend this technique, at least to begin with, to anyone who has difficulty relaxing their muscles. According to its author, the pressing problems of a person living in the civilized world are excessive haste, anxiety and an excess of reasons to which he is forced to react. Under these conditions, physical and psychological stress leads to overexertion. It tends to be extended over time and accumulate. Since our soul and body are a single whole, neuromuscular tension contributes to increased mental stress and irritability. If a person, being in such a state, tries to relax, he often achieves the completely opposite result. General relaxation (especially experienced psychologically) is possible only with relaxation of all skeletal muscles.

The training should be carried out in a lying position: it is advisable that you are not disturbed during the training. This refers to active actions - spouses, children, neighbors, etc., who came to ask something and then immediately leave, continue to do your own thing. Sounds that do not carry information and represent a more or less one-dimensional background sound (the ticking of a clock, the noise of a refrigerator, the hum of trams passing by, etc.), as a rule, do not cause concern. If they bother you, it is enough to say to yourself at the beginning of each exercise: “The surrounding sounds do not interest me, they are indifferent to me, they do not bother me” (the phrase is formulated in individually, to your liking).

The “lying place” for exercise should be wide enough so that you can freely place your arms next to your body. If you have problems with the spine, place a pillow under your head, and, if necessary, under your lower back. In a word, position yourself in such a way that you feel comfortable lying on your back with your arms extended along your body. Nothing should weigh on you. Your arms or legs should not go numb. Clothes are loose and do not restrict movement. Temperature is also important: you should be neither hot nor cold. In the latter case, you should cover yourself with a light blanket.

Before starting each exercise, make yourself comfortable in a lying position on your back. The arms lie motionless along the body, palms down, legs slightly apart. Lie quietly and slowly close your eyes. The slower you close them, the faster you will achieve calm.

Relaxation of arm muscles.

Exercise No. 1. Lie quietly in the starting position for about 5 minutes. Then bend your left hand at the wrist so that your palm becomes vertical, hold it in this position for several minutes; the forearm remains motionless. Observe the feeling of tension in the muscles of your forearm. Relax your hand, allowing your hand to fall onto the blanket under its own weight. Now your hand cannot help but be relaxed - after such muscle tension, relaxation is a physiological need. For a few minutes, notice the feeling of relaxation in your hand and forearm. Repeat this exercise again. Then spend half an hour at rest. The most important thing is to learn to recognize feelings of tension and relaxation.

Exercise No. 2. The next day, repeat the previous exercise. After the second relaxation of your hand, bend it at the wrist away from you (that is, differently than before), with your fingers down. The remaining time is up to an hour - relax.

Exercise No. 3. Today you are resting. Do only relaxation, while paying attention to the sensations in your left hand (is it relaxed or, from time to time, do you feel tension in it?).

Exercise No. 4. Let’s add to the first and second exercises the experience with the elbow joint flexor. Bend your left arm at the elbow at an angle of 30 degrees, that is, lift it from the blanket. Repeat this operation three times for about 2 minutes, followed by relaxation for several minutes. Relax for the rest of the hour.

Exercise No. 5. Repeat all previous exercises. Then we will train the triceps. You will achieve tension in this muscle if, placing a stack of books under your forearm, you forcefully press on them with your lying hand. Alternate relaxation and tension three times (for relaxation, move your hand away from your body, behind the books you use as an aid). Relax for the rest of the hour.

Exercise No. 6. An hour of repetition. Do the four exercises you know for your left hand.

Exercise No. 7. This exercise will show you how successfully you have mastered all the previous ones. Your task is to lie with your arms calmly extended along your body. You will achieve tension without moving your left hand, solely by concentrating your attention on it. Focus on tension for about half a minute, then release it into relaxation. Repeat this several times. Relax again for the rest of the hour.

In the future, do the same with right hand(that is, only seven exercises).

Relaxation of leg muscles.

You can start by repeating exercises for the arm muscles, but this is not at all necessary. If you have already learned to recognize tension and relaxation in each muscle group and are able to control these processes, then you can immediately begin relaxation. So, relax your whole body, you will train only your legs (first the left, then the right).

Exercise No. 1. Bend your leg at the knee - tense the muscles in the upper leg and below the knee. We train in a threefold alternation of tension and relaxation.

Exercise No. 2. And now, on the contrary, we bend the limb with the toe towards us. Calf tension and relaxation.

Exercise No. 3. Tension and relaxation in the upper thigh - the trained leg hangs off the bed (sofa, etc.), thereby achieving tension. Then return your leg to the starting position and focus on relaxing.

Exercise No. 5. Tension in the hip joint and abdomen - lift your leg so that only the hip joint is flexed.

Exercise No. 6. Tension of the gluteal muscles - placing several books under your knee, press hard on them.

Discharge these six exercises with one or two repetition sessions, or provide one session devoted exclusively to relaxation.

Relaxation of the trunk muscles.

Exercise No. 1. Abdominal muscles - perform as follows: either consciously draw the stomach into ourselves, or slowly rise from a lying position to a sitting position.

Exercise No. 2. Muscles located along the spine - tension is achieved by arching and bending in the lower back (while lying on your back).

Exercise No. 3. Muscles of the respiratory system. Before starting the exercise, it is recommended to do about half an hour of general relaxation. Then take a series of deep breaths and exhalations. At the same time, you will constantly feel the tension that arises in the chest when you inhale (it is possible that at first you will only notice the tension under the sternum; thanks to training, you will easily be able to recognize it in other parts of the chest). Once you understand the general pattern of tension during deep breathing, you will be able to identify it during normal breathing. The purpose of this exercise is not to control breathing (as in a number of other relaxation techniques), rather on the contrary - we are talking about freeing this process from the arbitrary influence of volitional factors, so that it functions absolutely spontaneously.

Exercise No. 4. Relaxation of the shoulder muscles. Involves the acquisition of several skills. By crossing your arms outstretched forward, you will fix the tension in the front of the chest; by rotating the shoulders back - tension between the shoulder blades, by lifting them - tension on the sides of the neck and in the upper part of the shoulders themselves. Tension in the left side of the neck is achieved by tilting the head to the left, in the right - to the right. It is fixed in the front and back sides when the head is tilted forward and backward. This shoulder relaxation exercise can be done in one step, but it can also be done in stages. Generally, trunk relaxation exercises should be carried out for about a week (if you find it necessary to consolidate some skills, in this case, consider classes devoted exclusively to relaxation).

Relaxation of the eye muscles.

Exercise No. 3. Tension of the extraocular muscles - in this case we feel tension in the eyeball. With our eyes closed, we look right, left, up, down. We train until we are able to clearly recognize tension, and thereby get rid of it (that is, relax these muscles).

Exercise No. 4. Having mastered the previous exercise, open your eyes and watch what happens when you look from the ceiling to the floor and vice versa. Feel the tension and relaxation.

Relaxation of facial muscles.

Exercise No. 1. Gritting my teeth. Observe in every detail the tension that accompanies this. Relax. Repeat the exercise several times.

Exercise No. 2. Open your mouth. What muscles tensed during this? You should feel tension in front of your ears, but more deeply.

Exercise No. 3. Bare your teeth, watch the tension in your cheeks. Relax.

Exercise No. 4. Round your mouth as if to say “oh!”, feel the tension, then relax your lips.

Exercise No. 5. Moving your tongue back, watch the tension and relax.

Relaxation of mental activity.

A quarter of an hour after complete relaxation, imagine (with your eyes closed) that you see the ceiling and floor of the room in which you are. If what you imagine is effective, you will also feel the muscle tension that you would experience when performing this exercise “in reality.” Relax for five to ten minutes. Then imagine a wall to your left and to your right. The goal is to develop the ability to evoke an intense mental image, and thereby tension in the corresponding muscle groups.

Later (again after relaxation), imagine that a car is driving past you. You can practice in a similar way with any moving objects: you can imagine that a train is moving, an airplane or bird is flying, a ball is rolling, etc. Once you feel the tension in your eyes when imagining moving objects, focus on imagining the tension in your eye muscles when “observing” stationary objects, for example, imagine yourself reading a book. This approach leads to “clearing thoughts” - already during or after the exercise you will feel that your thoughts have calmed down, have stopped bothering you, none of them flash in your brain.

Jacobson's Progressive Muscle Relaxation Timeline.

The author himself considers the lines below to be advisory rather than mandatory. In any case, they are convenient to navigate: most people believe that learning is progressing too slowly if the very next day they do not master what they have learned perfectly. Therefore, we present the Jacobson scale below:

Left hand.............................................an hour for 6 days

Right hand................................................ ........................ Same

Left leg....................................for an hour for 9 days

Right leg................................................ ........................ Same

Torso........................................................ ........................... 3 days

Neck................................................. .................................... 2 days

Forehead................................................. ...................................... 1 day

Brows................................................. .................................. 1 day

Eyelids........................................................ .................................... 1 day

Eyes.............................................by hour for 6 days

Cheeks................................................. ....................................1 day

Jaws........................................................ ...............................1 day

Mouth................................................. ........................................1 day

Language................................................. ......................................2 days

Imaginary conversations................................................... .. 6 days

Mental images.............................for an hour during the week

Concentration

Inability to concentrate is a factor closely related to stress. For example, most working women perform three roles at home: housewife, wife and mother. Each of these functions requires concentration, utmost attention and, naturally, complete dedication from a woman. Multiple lack of concentration occurs. Each of these three functions causes a number of impulses that distract a woman’s attention from the activity currently being performed and can cause a stressful situation. Such tearing into pieces day after day ultimately leads to exhaustion, mainly mental. In this case, concentration exercises are simply irreplaceable. They can be done anywhere and anytime during the day. To begin with, it is advisable to study at home: early in the morning, before leaving for work (study), or in the evening, before going to bed, or - even better - immediately after returning home.

So, let’s outline the approximate order of performing concentration exercises.

1. Try to ensure that there are no spectators in the room where you plan to practice.

2. Sit on a stool or regular chair - only with your side to the back so as not to lean on it. Under no circumstances should the chair have a soft seat, otherwise the effectiveness of the exercise will decrease. Sit as comfortably as possible so that you can remain still for a certain amount of time.

3. Place your hands loosely on your knees, close your eyes (they should be closed until the end of the exercise so that your attention is not distracted by foreign objects - no visual information).

4. Breathe through your nose calmly, not strained. Try to focus only on the fact that the air you inhale is colder than the air you exhale.

5. And now two options for concentration exercises:

a) concentration on the score.

Mentally count slowly from 1 to 10 and focus on this slow count. If at any point your thoughts start to wander and you are unable to concentrate on counting, start counting again. Repeat the count for several minutes.

b) concentration on the word.

Choose a short (preferably two-syllable) word that evokes positive emotions in you or with which pleasant memories are associated. Let it be the name of a loved one, or the affectionate nickname your parents called you as a child, or the name of your favorite dish. If the word is two-syllable, then mentally pronounce the first syllable as you inhale, the second as you exhale.

Focus on “your” word, which from now on will become your personal slogan when concentrated. It is this concentration that leads to the desired side result - relaxation of all brain activity.

6. Perform relaxation and concentration exercises for several minutes. Exercise as long as you enjoy it.

7. Having finished the exercise, run your palms over your eyelids, slowly open your eyes and stretch. Sit quietly in your chair for a few more moments. Note that you managed to overcome absent-mindedness.

Situations often arise when it is difficult to remember someone’s name or some thought of your own. We often stop confused in the middle of a room or corridor, trying to remember what we went for or what we wanted to do. It is in such cases that short-term concentration on command is recommended - on your word or on your score. In most cases, a word (or thought) that has fallen out of memory will come to mind literally within a moment. Of course, there is no guarantee that this will always succeed. But with the help of concentration on a word or count, you can remember something forgotten faster than with the help of increased memory tension. With this simple method a person is able to make an effort and overcome himself.

Autoregulation of breathing

IN normal conditions no one thinks or remembers about breathing. But when, for some reason, deviations from the norm occur, it suddenly becomes difficult to breathe. Breathing becomes difficult and heavy during physical exertion or a stressful situation. And vice versa, when they are very frightened, tensely expecting something, people involuntarily hold their breath (hold their breath).

A person has the opportunity, by consciously controlling his breathing, to use it to calm down, to relieve tension - both muscular and mental, thus, autoregulation of breathing can become an effective means of combating stress, along with relaxation and concentration.

Anti-stress breathing exercises can be performed in any position. Only one condition is required: the spine must be in a strictly vertical or horizontal position. This makes it possible to breathe naturally, freely, without tension, and fully stretch the muscles of the chest and abdomen. The correct position of the head is also very important: it should sit straight and free on the neck. A relaxed, upright head stretches the chest and other parts of the body upward to a certain extent. If everything is in order and the muscles are relaxed, then you can practice free breathing, constantly monitoring it.

We will not go into detail here about what breathing exercises exist (they are easy to find in the literature), but we will present the following conclusions:

1. With the help of deep and calm autoregulated breathing, you can prevent mood swings.

2. When laughing, sighing, coughing, talking, singing or reciting, certain changes in the rhythm of breathing occur compared to the so-called normal automatic breathing. It follows that the method and rhythm of breathing can be purposefully regulated through conscious slowing down and deepening.

3. Increasing the duration of exhalation promotes calm and complete relaxation.

4. The breathing of a calm and balanced person is significantly different from the breathing of a person under stress. Thus, by the rhythm of breathing one can determine the mental state of a person.

5. Rhythmic breathing calms the nerves and psyche; The duration of individual breathing phases does not matter - the rhythm is important.

6. Human health, and therefore life expectancy, largely depends on proper breathing. And if breathing is an innate unconditioned reflex, then, therefore, it can be consciously regulated.

7. The slower and deeper, calmer and more rhythmic we breathe, the sooner we get used to this method of breathing, the sooner it will become integral part our life.

Meditation

Meditation techniques can be used effectively for self-regulation purposes. Depending on the tasks set, the text of the meditations can be focused on relaxation, activation, a sense of strength, integrity, etc.

Examples of meditations:

“Imagine that you are a small float in a huge ocean... You have no goal... a compass... a map... a rudder... oars... You move where the wind takes you... ocean waves.. A big wave may cover you for a while... but again and again you emerge to the surface... Try to feel these shocks and surfacing... Feel the movement of the wave... the warmth of the sun... drops of water... the pillow of the sea below you, supporting you... See what other sensations arise for you... when you imagine yourself as a small float in a big ocean...”

“Focus on your breathing... Air first fills the abdominal cavity... then your chest... lungs... Take a full breath... then several light, calm exhalations... Now calmly... without special effort take a new breath... Notice which parts of the body... are in contact with the chair... the floor... in those parts of the body where the surface supports you... try to feel this support a little stronger... Imagine that the chair ...the floor... rises to support you...

Imagine a big white screen...

Imagine any flower on the screen...

Remove the flower from the screen and place it on the screen instead white rose.

Change the white rose to a red one.. (If you have any difficulties... imagine that you have painted the rose red with a brush...) Remove the rose and imagine the room you are in... all its furnishings... furniture.. . color...

Flip the picture... Look at the room from the ceiling... If this is difficult to do... imagine yourself on the ceiling... looking down on the room and its entire environment...

Now imagine a big white screen again...

Place a blue filter in front of the light source so that the entire screen turns bright blue...

Change the blue color to red...Make the screen green...

Present any colors and images you wish..."

“You take a walk through the grounds of a large castle... You see a high stone wall... entwined with ivy, in which there is wooden door... Open it and enter... You find yourself in an old... abandoned garden... Once upon a time it was a beautiful garden... however, no one has been caring for it for a long time... The plants have grown so much and everything is so overgrown with herbs... that you can’t see the ground... it’s hard to distinguish the paths... Imagine how you, starting from any part of the garden... weeds... trim branches... mow the grass... replant trees... ... dig in, water them... do everything to return the garden to its previous appearance...

After a while, stop... and compare the part of the garden in which you have already worked... with the one that you have not touched yet..."

“Imagine a small rocky island... far from the continent... On the top of the island... is a tall, firmly placed lighthouse... Imagine yourself as this lighthouse... Your walls are so thick and strong... that even strong winds, the constant winds on the island... cannot sway you... From the windows of your top floor... you day and night... in good and bad weather... send a powerful beam of light that serves as a guide for ships... Remember about that energy system that maintains the constancy of your light beam... sliding across the ocean... warning sailors about shoals... being a symbol of safety on the shore... Exercise “Water”

Now try to feel the inner source of light within you, the light that never goes out...”

Ideomotor training

Since any mental movement is accompanied by micromovements of the muscles, it is possible to improve action skills without actually performing them. At its core, ideomotor training is a mental replay of the upcoming activity. For all its benefits (saving effort, material costs, time), this method requires the student to take it seriously, the ability to concentrate, mobilize the imagination, and the ability not to be distracted throughout the entire workout.

The psychologist conducting this training must have a clear idea of ​​the situation or action being played out before it begins. You can even compose a text describing the situation in advance. Paying special attention to creating an emotional background.

At the beginning of the training, you can recommend that the trainees relax their muscles, use lower breathing and immerse themselves in a calm, slightly drowsy state. After this, the psychologist begins to describe the situation. When conducting ideomotor training, the psychologist is recommended to observe the following principles:

1. Students must create an extremely accurate image of the movements being practiced;

2. The mental image of movement must necessarily be associated with its muscular-articular feeling, only then will it be an ideomotor idea;

3. When mentally imagining the movements, you need to accompany it with a verbal description following the lesson leader, spoken in a whisper or mentally;

4. When starting to train a new movement, you need to mentally see it at a slow pace, which can be accelerated in the process of further training;

5. If during training the body itself begins to make some movements, this should not be prevented;

6. Immediately before performing a real action, there is no need to think about its result, since the result displaces the idea of ​​​​how to perform actions from consciousness.

Ideomotor training helps reduce the impact of the novelty factor, which leads to faster mastery of new skills, formation of an image of upcoming actions and increases the level of psychological readiness to them.

Kinesiology

Kinesiology exercises are based on the experience of different cultures and are included in the methodology according to the principle of the “optimal minimum”. Exercises integrate the functioning of the brain and the nervous system as a whole, ensure the speed and intensity of nervous processes, relieve stress, have a positive effect on the emotional system, stabilize and rhythmize the nervous processes of the body.

Exercise "Water"

Stress reduces water levels in the body and leads to cell dehydration. Drink a few sips of water.

Exercise “Brain Buttons”

One hand gently massages the points under the collarbone to the left and right of the sternum, and the other touches the navel.

Exercise "Cross step"

Counter or, conversely, divergent movements of the arms towards the opposite legs.

Exercise "Owl"

Squeeze one shoulder forcefully while simultaneously rotating your head in all directions and blinking your eyes, while pronouncing the sound “U” with each synchronous movement of your head and hand.

Exercise "Duck"

Massage the points in the middle above and below your mouth.

Exercise “Thinking Cap”

Massage your ears with strong and deep strokes.

Exercise “Positive points”

Lightly touch the points located directly above the eyes on the forehead, exactly halfway between the hairline and eyebrows. Before synchronizing at pulse points.

Exercise “Lazy Eights”

With your left hand at eye level, draw a figure eight in the air lying on its side (infinity sign), looking at the nail thumb. Follow your eyes as you move. Then do the same with your right hand. Then connect your thumbs with an “X” sign.

The first self-influence technique is breathing control

Breathing is not only the most important function of the body, but also an effective means of influencing muscle tone and emotional means of influencing the centers of the brain.

Slow and deep breathing reduces the excitability of nerve centers and promotes muscle relaxation. Frequent breathing, on the contrary, ensures a high level of body activity.

Most people in Everyday life use only shallow breathing, when only the upper part of the lungs is filled. Full breathing includes filling the lower, middle and upper parts of the lungs. By changing the type, rhythm of breathing, the duration of inhalation and exhalation, a person can influence many functions, including mental ones.

To start mastering, you can master 2 types of breathing: lower (abdominal) and upper (clavicular).

Lower breathing(abdominal) is used when it is necessary to overcome excessive anxiety, overcome anxiety and irritability, and relax as much as possible for quick and effective rest. Lower breathing is the most productive, because the largest number of pulmonary vesicles (alveoli) are located in the lower parts of the lungs.

How to do abdominal breathing?

Perform abdominal breathing as follows: while sitting or standing, you need to relieve tension from the muscles and focus your attention on breathing. Then 4 stages of a single breathing cycle are performed, accompanied by an internal count to facilitate learning. At the count of 1-2-3-4, a slow inhalation is carried out, while the stomach protrudes forward, the abdominal muscles are relaxed, and the chest is motionless. Then, for the next 4 counts, you hold your breath and exhale smoothly for 6 counts, accompanied by pulling the abdominal muscles towards the spine. Before the next inhalation there is a pause of 2-4 counts. It should be remembered that you need to breathe only through your nose and as smoothly as if a fluff was hanging in front of your nose at a distance of 1 - 15 cm, then it should not flutter. After just 3-5 minutes of such breathing, you will notice that your state has become noticeably calmer and more balanced.

Upper ( clavicular) breath is used in cases where you need to cheer up after monotonous work, get rid of fatigue, and prepare for vigorous activity, it is recommended

How to perform upper breathing?

It is carried out by vigorously taking a deep breath through the nose, raising the shoulders and exhaling sharply through the mouth. In this case, there are no pauses between inhalation and exhalation. After just a few cycles of this breathing, you will feel a feeling of “goosebumps” on your back, freshness, and a surge of vigor.

The following exercises can be used:

"Geometry of Breathing" In the starting position, standing or sitting, take a full breath. Then, holding your breath, imagine a circle and slowly exhale into it. Repeat this technique four times. After this, inhale again, imagine a triangle and exhale into it three times. Then exhale into the square twice in the same way. After completing these procedures, you will definitely feel calm.

"Life force." Lie on your back. Relax, establish slow and rhythmic breathing. Imagine as clearly as possible that with each inhalation the lungs are filled with vitality, and with each exhalation it spreads throughout the body.

3. "Good morning." According to experts, a yawn allows you to almost instantly enrich the blood with oxygen and get rid of excess carbon dioxide. The muscles of the neck, face, and mouth that tense during yawning accelerate blood flow in the vessels of the brain. A yawn, improving blood supply to the lungs, pushing blood out of the liver, increases the tone of the body, and creates an impulse of positive emotions. It is said that in Japan, workers in the electrical industry yawn in an organized manner every 30 minutes.

To do the exercise, you need to close your eyes, open your mouth as wide as possible, and tense your oral cavity, as if pronouncing a low “oo-oo-oo.” At this time, it is necessary to imagine as clearly as possible that a cavity is forming in the mouth, the bottom of which is descending. A yawn is performed while stretching the entire body. The effectiveness of the pharynx is enhanced by a smile, which enhances the relaxation of the facial muscles and creates a positive emotional impulse. After a yawn, the muscles of the face, pharynx, and larynx relax, and a feeling of peace appears.

4. “Candle flame.” Performed in any comfortable position - standing, sitting, lying down. Helps quickly relieve fatigue, cleanses the blood of toxins, and increases the body's resistance.

After a full inhalation, exhalation is carried out in small portions through a narrow gap between the lips, outwardly reminiscent of attempts to extinguish the flame of a candle. Each subsequent portion should be smaller than the previous one. At first, the number of repetitions should not exceed three, and later you can increase it to ten.

5. "Duel" Raise your hands above your head, imagine that you have all your tension, all your stress in your hands... and with the sound “HA”, with a sharp movement, release your negative state. Repeat several times! The sound should not be pronounced, but formed by the air leaving the chest. This will help relieve nervous tension and relieve feelings of internal anxiety.

After the next exhalation, close the left nostril with the finger of your left hand and inhale through the right nostril;

Hold your breath while inhaling, then close your right nostril with the finger of your right hand and, opening the left, exhale;

After holding your breath while exhaling, inhale through the left nostril;

After holding your breath, close your left nostril with your right hand and, releasing the right nostril, exhale;

Hold your breath while exhaling;

Repeat the described breathing cycle 5 times. The duration of inhalation, exhalation and breath-holding during inhalation and exhalation is 8 seconds.

7. Exercises based on breathing concentration. Before the exercises: imagine an inflatable balloon or ball, remember how the air comes out of it in a thin stream if you untie the balloon or open the ball. Try to mentally see this stream of air. We will imagine each of our exhalations in the form of the same stream of air emerging from the points that we will open.

Focus on your breathing. Breathe as usual; Notice your inhalation and exhalation. You can say with your inner voice: “Inhale”, “Exhale” (30 sec).

Feel your knees. Inhale. Exhale again through the points that you mentally “open” on your knees. (In fact, we exhale through our nose, but we imagine that we exhale through our knees). Inhale and exhale through the points on your knees (30 sec).

Feel your spine. Mentally “walk” along it from top to bottom. Find a random point at the very bottom of the spine. Inhale through your nose, and exhale mentally through the point that you yourself identified on the spine at the very bottom. Imagine a thin stream of air emerging from this point when exhaling (30 sec).

“Climb” up the spine. Find a point in the middle of your spine. Inhale. Exhale through a point in the middle of the spine. (30 sec). We mentally try to “draw” our exhalation.

Raise your mind to the cervical spine. Inhale. Exhale through a point on the cervical spine. Breathe like this (30 sec).

Feel your arms and hands. Inhale and exhale again through the points on the hands (30 sec).

Mentally rise to your elbows. Inhale and exhale through the points on the elbows. Breathe like this, mentally imagining the air coming out (30 sec).

Raise your mind to your shoulders. Find the points through which we will “exhale” on both the right shoulder and the left. Inhale and exhale through the points on the shoulders. Streams of air go up. We breathe, imagining these streams (30 sec).

Find the point between the eyebrows. Inhale and exhale through the point between the eyebrows (30 sec).

Exhale through the point on the top of the head (30 sec).

Exhale the next time through all the points we mentioned. Breathe like this. Feel how the air passes through all the pores, through the entire skin (30 sec). Breathe calmly. Stay in this state for as long as you need. Come back refreshed.

These exercises are useful for relaxation after hard work.

The second technique is exercises aimed at concentration

The state of emotional tension that accompanies any extreme situation is characterized by a number of changes in psychophysiological processes, including concentration. Behavior loses its adaptive features, loses the plasticity and flexibility characteristic of it in an emotionally adequate environment.

In this case, behavior is characterized by a weakening of conscious control, which in extreme situations of emotional tension can lead to panic, which in emergency conditions is a rapidly spreading, mass mental reaction.

We offer you several types of exercises aimed at concentration:

Exercise 1.

On a white piece of paper, draw a circle with a diameter of 1-1.5 cm in ink and hang it on the wall. Sit on the contrary, at a distance of 1.5 meters and try to concentrate your attention on it. If you are tired, blink several times and continue to concentrate.

While observing the circle, at the same time make sure that not only your gaze, but also your thoughts do not “spread” in different directions. Try to mentally “feel” the circle, feel its boundaries, color saturation.

The duration of execution gradually increases from 1 to 5 minutes. Analyze the dynamics of sensations.

Exercise 2.

Sitting with eyes closed. Give yourself the command: “Right hand!” and try to focus on the right hand.

After 10-15 seconds, the next command: “Left hand!”, then: “Right foot!” etc., focusing on different volumes of the body.

Gradually move on to smaller volumes - a finger, a nail phalanx - and to more subtle sensations, for example, a pulse beating at the tip of a finger.

At the end, the whole body is in the field of attention, observed calmly, against the backdrop of general relaxation.

Exercise 3.

Extend your arms at chest level and then slowly bring them together, keeping your palms parallel. After several repetitions, the palms begin to “spring”, encountering the elastic resistance of the environment. You need to “blind” a ball from this invisible “field substance” and, helping with your hands, “absorb” it into yourself in the solar plexus area. Assess the difference in conditions: before and after exercise.

Exercise 4.

Performed in pairs. One of the participants closes his eyes, and the second, taking his hands, slowly leads him around the room. It is very important that the “blind” person feels safe, completely trusting his “guide”.

The “guide” leads his follower along the wall, inviting him to evaluate the difference in the perception of space: to his left and to his right.

Swap roles in pairs. Focus on the mutually compensating role of the visual, auditory and kinesthetic analyzers (sense organs).

Note: all concentration exercises should be done with a fresh mind, preferably 2-3 hours after eating. If you experience any discomfort - headache, worsening emotional state - stop doing the exercise.

The third technique of self-influence is controlling muscle tone

The ability to relax, relieve muscle tension that occurs under the influence of mental overload, allows the body to get complete rest, quickly restore strength and relieve neuro-emotional tension. As a rule, it is not possible to achieve complete relaxation of all the muscles of the body at once. Therefore, it is recommended to sequentially relax various muscle groups, following a number of rules:

Firstly, the task of the exercise is to realize and remember the feeling of a relaxed muscle in contrast to its tension.

Secondly, each exercise consists of 3 phases: “strain - feel - relax.”

In the initial phase, the tension of a selected muscle group increases smoothly, then the maximum tension is maintained for several seconds until the muscles tremble, and the tension is released abruptly (relaxation phase). It must be taken into account that a completely relaxed muscle seems to “sag”, and a feeling of heaviness arises in it.

Third, slow tension corresponds to slow inhalation, relaxation is synchronous with a free full exhalation.

Each exercise is repeated 3-4 times.

Skeletal muscle is one of the most powerful sources of brain stimulation. Muscle impulses are capable of changing its tone over a wide range. It has been proven that voluntary muscle tension helps to increase and maintain mental activity and inhibit undesirable reactions to an existing or expected stimulus. To relieve irrelevant or excessive mental activity, on the contrary, muscle relaxation (relaxation) is necessary. Experiencing negative influences, the body mobilizes to the maximum for intense muscular work. So you need to present him with such work. Sometimes 20-30 squats or the maximum possible number of push-ups on the floor will help relieve mental stress.

In other cases, differentiated auto-training of the “express method” type will be more effective. It consists of maximally relaxing those muscles whose work is not currently required. So, if when walking, mainly the muscles of the legs are tense, then you need to relax the muscles of the face, shoulders, and arms. While sitting, you should relax the muscles of your face, arms, shoulders, and legs.

Formation of facial muscle relaxation skills

It is in this part of the body that muscle tension most often occurs, i.e. muscle groups are chronically in increased tone even when a person is relaxed. Therefore, it is important to learn to relax all muscle groups at least for a short time.

The work of the facial muscles begins with tension and relaxation of the forehead muscles (“mask of surprise”, “mask of anger”), and then the muscles of the cheeks, chewing muscles, and neck muscles.

Exercises for the face and visual system:

These exercises well relax and train the muscles of the face and visual system, which helps to strengthen them, and therefore maintain them in a certain tone. Some of the exercises are recommended to be performed from the greatest number of times to the least. For example, 8-5, which implies - when mastering the exercise - fewer repetitions.

Vertical lifting of hair throughout the head, perpendicular to it - pinch the hair at its base and pull it at various points on the head from the periphery to the center. Do 3-2 cycles (at the beginning of the cycle of exercises 3, and when mastering the exercises 2).

Horizontal movements. Bring your fingers together and move your palms from the periphery to the center.

Place your hand on your forehead while trying, without wrinkling your forehead, to raise your eyebrows and eyes up. Repeat 5-7 times.

Brows.

Raising eyebrows upward (surprise). Do 6-4 times.

"Discontent". Frown your eyebrows until they form a vertical crease. Relax. Do 6-4 times.

Eyes.

"Horror". Close your eyes, close your eyes and relax, perform 8-5 times.

Open your eyes as much as possible for 3-4 seconds, hold, close your eyes for 3-4 seconds. Do 4-2 times.

Cover your eyes. Point them upward and look at the upper eyelashes. Rest and do 4-2 times.

Wink with the right and then the left eye alternately. Do 8-5 times. Raise the corners of the eyes slightly with your hands up and down, then diagonally 6-4 times.

“Prostration” We look into nowhere. Thoughts about space. Eyes open for 3 minutes.

Fold your hands into a basket and close your eyes with your hands without pressing. The center of vision relaxes. You can rest your elbows on the table. Try to see blackness (black velvet). Do 30 -40 seconds.

Close eyes. Close your eyes tightly. Feel that it has become dark. Cover your eyes with your hands. Feel that it has become even darker. Imagine in front of you a dark bottomless well, black velvet or just something black. Feel that it has become even darker, see, feel this darkness! Be in it. Remove your hands from your face. Feel that it has become lighter. Without opening your eyes, feel that it has become lighter. Slowly open your eyes. (Going back is twice as slow). The exercise is performed 1 time.

Cheeks.

Relaxation and tension of the cheek muscles. Puff out your cheeks, hold for 8-5 seconds and relax. Do it 5 times.

Balloon rolling. Take in air and roll it from cheek to cheek, through the upper and lower lips. In each direction, 3-6 times.

Puff out your cheeks. Exhale the air, mentally inflating the balloon. Repeat 7-5 times.

Moving the jaw to the side. Hold for 3-4 seconds. Only 4-6 times. Right – left – 1 time. The same thing only quickly 12-8 times

"Fish". Slowly open your mouth. Hold for 5-3 minutes, and then slowly close 6-4 times.

“Rage” - bare teeth. Stay in this position for 2-4 seconds and relax. Do 8-5 times.

Disgust". Lowering the lower lip down, pull it back. Do 8-5 times.

"Air kiss". Push both lips forward and relax 8-5 times.

Separately raising the lips up and down with the right and left alternately. Do 8-5 times. Then do the same at the same time. Do 8-5 times.

Roll your lips inside your mouth. Do 8-5 times.

Lowering the corners of the mouth alternately. Only 6-4 times. The same thing together. Do 6-4 times.

Move the corners of the mouth up and down at the same time 6-4 times.

Movement of the corners of the mouth diagonally. One corner is up and the other is down 6-4 times.

Smile of Buddha. Place your thumbs to your mouth, index fingers to your ears, middle fingers to the corners of your eyes and pull back slightly. At the same time, smile slightly for 1 - 2 minutes.

Make swallowing movements.

Relax the widening and narrowing of the nostrils. Do 8-5 times each separately.

“Contempt” – raise your upper lip, wrinkle your nose, relax.

Wrinkle the bridge of your nose, relax. Do 4-6 times.

Chin.

Move your chin forward and lift it with force. Do it slowly, 6-4 times. Release down and lift with force. Do it slowly, 6-4 times.

Tighten your neck muscles. Pull your head into your shoulders. Stay in this state for 5-3 seconds. Relax. Do 4-2 seconds.

Raise your head, pull your lower lip into your mouth. Neck muscles work. Do it only 9-8 times.

Complete facial relaxation. Sit on a chair. Take a relaxing pose while sitting. The head hangs slightly to the side. Your back rests on the back of the chair. Eyes closed. The gaze is directed inward, downward. The jaw lightly touches the roof of the mouth. We focus on the solar plexus. Perform for 1 – 2 minutes.

Run your hand over the neck muscles and, if they are tense, make several tilts and rotational movements with your head, massage your neck. Then lightly stroke the muscles from the shoulder to the ear, and rub the behind-the-ear tubercles with your fingertips. This improves blood flow to the head and helps relieve nervous tension.

If the clamp cannot be removed, it can be smoothed out using light self-massage in a circular motion with your fingertips. The end result is the achievement of a “relaxation mask”: the eyelids are lowered, all the facial muscles are smoothed, the face becomes somewhat sleepy, indifferent, the lower jaw of the face is lowered, the tongue is slightly pressed against the teeth, as if about to say “yes”.

To learn how to relax muscles, you need to have them, therefore, daily physical activity increases the effectiveness of muscle relaxation exercises.

Exercises based on muscle tension and relaxation:

Sitting. Stretch your arms forward, clench into fists (1 minute). Subsequent relaxation.

Standing on tiptoes, we “grow” our spine, stretching our arms up. We “grow” our heels into the floor (1 minute). Relaxation.

Standing. Imagine that your buttocks are squeezing a coin. We tense our hips and buttocks. “We keep the coin, we don’t give it to anyone” (1 min). Relaxation.

Sitting. The back is straight. Legs extended forward. We press our heels into the floor, pulling our toes up towards the shin. (1 min). Relaxation.

Sitting. The back is straight. Legs on tiptoes. Heels are perpendicular to the floor. We press our toes onto the floor. Raise your heels as high as possible. (1 min). Relaxation.

Sitting. Arms extended forward. The fingers are spread out. We strain (30 sec). Clench your hand into a fist. We strain (30 sec). Relaxation. Repeat.

Sitting. We pull our shoulders towards our ears. As high as possible. Feel the warmth (1 min). Relaxation.

Exercise to relax the facial muscles.

Exercises to regulate muscle tone

Performed in pairs. Sit down, close your eyes, mentally scan the muscles of your left arm from your fingertips to the collarbone and try to relax them. When you are ready, your partner takes your hand by the wrist and, swinging it freely, suddenly lets go. With proper relaxation, the hand falls like a whip. Repeat for the other hand. Swap in pairs.

Make a fist with one of your hands. At the same time, you need to mentally review the remaining volumes of the body and relax them as much as possible, without weakening the effort in the loaded hand. With this skill, you can complicate the exercise every 20 seconds. changing the location of a tense muscle group.

Close your eyes, scan your body on the internal screen and select the most tense muscle group. For example, muscles of the shoulder, thigh, calf. Having concentrated your attention on it, try to expand the relaxation zone to adjacent volumes. Using visualization, you can imagine how a hot and heavy liquid of a pleasant color flows from the center of relaxation and slowly fills the entire body.

Cover your eyes. Focus on the left hand. We imagine how she plunges into hot water, gradually turns red and becomes heavier. The “ray of attention” goes to the wrist and slowly moves to the elbow. The muscles of the forearm and then the shoulder relax, become “cotton-like,” heavy, and hot.

Get on your knees and sit on your heels (toes back). Spread your knees 20-30 cm. Bend over, place your forehead on the floor, stretch your hands forward with your palms folded together. Close your eyes, relax the muscles of the abdomen, neck, face. Execution time 5-7 minutes.

Eyes are half closed: you need to quickly look and relax all the muscles. Next, imagine that your body is made of rubber and has the ability to bend and twist in all directions. All restrictions - bones, tendons - are absent. The feet are firmly glued to the floor. The wind is blowing, gusts every 2-3 seconds. change direction, causing the body to tilt in one direction or the other.

Picture a drunk with poor coordination of movements, who is constantly drifting from side to side. The legs are tangled, the head hangs from side to side. The legs are tangled, the head hangs first on one shoulder, then on the other.

"Siegfried". Phase 1 - tension: Sitting on the tip of a chair, bend your elbows and spread them 90 degrees to the sides, bringing your shoulder blades together as much as possible. The head is tilted forward and down. Take 2 inhales and exhales, relax on the second breath, drop your hands down. Relieve tension. Phase 2 - relaxation: Sitting, bend one knee, clasp it with your hands and pull it down forward, relax your back muscles. Change leg.

"Quasimodo." Phase 1 - tension: Sitting, bend your elbows. Raise them perpendicularly forward. Raise your shoulders as much as possible and pull your head in. Feel the cushion that forms on your neck. Take 2 inhalations, 2 exhalations. On the second exhalation, relax, lower your shoulders, and place your head on your chest. Phase 2 - relaxation: Slowly roll your head from your chest to your right shoulder and touch your right ear to your shoulder. Then slowly roll your head onto your chest, then onto your left shoulder, touching it with your ear.

"King Kong". Phase 1 - tension: Stretch your arms in front of your chest, slightly round them at the elbows and clench your fists tightly - until you tremble. Phase 2 - relaxation: Take 2 inhalations, 2 exhalations. On the second exhalation, release tension - relax.

“Tank”. 1st phase - tension: In a sitting position, arms are bent at the elbows and moved 90 degrees forward at the waist. Fingers clenched into fists, palms up. It’s as if we are squeezing ourselves from the sides with force. It becomes difficult to breathe (passive breathing, as it happens). Phase 2 - relaxation: Relax. Move your arms, relax your armpits.

Gymnastics complex for joint flexibility.

1. "Compass". Walking on straight legs. You need to walk without bending your knees. Movement only in the hip joint, depicting a compass.

2. "Punishment". Starting position - standing straight, legs together, feet parallel to each other. Bend your legs alternately at the knee, hitting your buttock with your heel, first with your right, then with your left. Make sure that during bending the knee remains at the same level as the knee of the straightened leg. Do: 30 times (15 times with each leg).

3. "Vanka-vstanka." Tilts in different directions. Starting position - standing, feet shoulder-width apart, feet parallel to each other, hands on the belt, thumbs and elbows pulled back:

a) Tilt your body forward as much as possible (while pushing your chest forward, your shoulders back);

b) return to i/n. Bend as far back as possible;

d) return to i/n. lean as far to the right as possible;

e) return to i/n. Lean as far as possible to the left;

g) return to i/n. Make 6 circular movements clockwise;

i) return to i/n. Make 6 circular movements counterclockwise;

Do the exercise smoothly, slowly, without bending your knees.

4. Bend to the side with arms outstretched. Starting position - standing, feet shoulder-width apart, feet parallel to each other, arms along the body. Bend down with your right side, touching the floor with your right hand (you can bend your right knee for this), and raise your straight left arm up through the side. Repeat the exercise to the left. This is 1 time. Do: 6 times.

5. Bends forward to the sides. Starting position - standing, legs spread as wide as possible, arms raised and spread to the sides. Breathe. Exhale and bend forward/to the left towards your left leg without bending your knees. At the end of the bend, grab your ankle with your right hand, pressing your head to your left knee. Inhale - straighten up. With a new exhalation, repeat the exercise with an inclination towards the right leg. This is 1 time. Do: 6 times.

6. Tension and relaxation of the abdominal muscles. Starting position - standing straight, legs together, feet parallel to each other. Tighten and then relax your abdominal muscles 6 times in a row without a break. This is 1 episode, make: 6 episodes. Rest after each episode. To control muscle tension and relaxation, place your hands (fingers) on your stomach.

7. Okay. Starting position - sitting on a chair, legs extended and raised above the floor. Turn your feet with your soles facing each other, then turn them the other way around. At the same time, do not spread your knees. This is 1 time. Do it 15 times.

8. Three types of foot movements. Starting position - sitting on a chair, legs straightened and raised above the floor. With tense feet, perform a series of movements:

a) vertical swings - 15 times;

b) horizontal swings - 15 times

c) turns clockwise 15 times;

d) the same, only counterclockwise 15 times.

9.Rotation of the shoulder girdle. Starting position - sitting on a chair, arms bent at the elbows, hands clasping the shoulder joint, elbows and shoulders pressed to the chest. Rotate the shoulder girdle, without lifting your elbows, forward 15 times, then back 15 times.

10. Compression of an imaginary spring. Starting position - sitting at the table, elbows resting on the table, arms bent at the elbows. With tension, we lower the right hand and forearm (as if squeezing an imaginary spring) onto the table. When you touch the table, relax your hand. Then repeat the exercise for your left hand. This is 1 time. Do: 8 times.

11. Tilts of the head to the shoulders. Starting position - sitting on a chair. Slowly tilt your head to the right, as if trying to touch your shoulder with your ear. At the same time, do not raise your shoulders. Then, slowly tilt your head to the left. This is 1 time. Do: 15 times.

12. Tilts to one point. Starting position - sitting on a chair. Legs bent at the knees and apart, clasp your knees with your hands (thumbs pointing outward, the rest inward), Elbows spread to the sides. The head is straight. We bend our right shoulder forward to an imaginary point (in the center of the distance between the knees), trying to touch the chin with our shoulder in the final position. At the same time, the head is motionless. We repeat the exercise for the left shoulder. This is 1 time. Do: 8 times.

13. Pushing away walls. Starting position - sitting on a chair. With tense arms, we push away imaginary walls: a) forward - 4 times; b) to the sides - 4 times; c) up - 4 times.

14. Rotate the head in a horizontal plane. Starting position - sitting on a chair. Turn your head horizontally to the right, then to the left. In this case, the chin describes a semicircle. This is 1 time. Do: 15 times.

15. Side turns while sitting. Starting position - sitting on a chair. Place one hand on your knee and the other behind your back. Turn as far back as possible towards your clasped hand. Return to starting position. Swap your hands and repeat the turn in the other direction. This is 1 time. Do: 6 times.

16. Raising and lowering legs. Starting position - lying on your back. The arms are extended along the body. Raise your legs, bend them at the knees and pull them towards your stomach. Then extend your straightened legs 90 degrees to the floor. Slowly lower your feet to the floor. This is 1 time. Do: 4 times in a row.

17. Horizontal scissors. Starting position – lying on your back. Raise your legs, bring them together and spread them in a horizontal plane. This is 1 time. Do: 15 times.

18. Vertical scissors. Starting position – lying on your back. Raise your legs, bring them together and spread them in a vertical plane. This is 1 time. Do 15 times.

19.Rest. Starting position – lying on your back. Raise your arms up above your head and join them in an inverted lock. Stretch up. Legs straight and extended. Pull your toes towards you, simultaneously with the movement of your arms. Relax. Gently lower your arms along your body. Rest 2 – 3 min.

Let's get up. The set of exercises is completed.

Method of controlled psychophysiological self-regulation.

Now let's get acquainted with one of the unique methods of managing internal resources, which helps to reveal abilities and potential, overcome stress and psychological barriers.

Exercises for liberation:

Take a comfortable position. The techniques can be performed standing, sitting, or lying down, as is more convenient. Standing is more interesting, and you can immediately see what is happening and how. When the exercises are performed while standing, you are immediately convinced of their high effectiveness, because they allow you to get a comfortable state (if desired, even very deeply relax) without the need for a comfortable position.

Pay attention to your head, the features of its position, feel its heaviness. Make several pleasant, repeatable movements for 30-40 seconds.

Shift your attention to your shoulders, feel the movement that arises in your shoulders, follow this movement, do it several times at a pace you like, for 30-40 seconds.

Concentrate your attention on your hips. Make several repeated movements from the “hip” in a pleasant rhythm, for 30-40 seconds.

Shift your attention to your legs, what position they are in, whether it is comfortable. Then do a few pleasant movements at a comfortable rhythm for 30-40 minutes.

Track the movement that brought you the greatest liberation, repeat it several more times.

Then add relaxation exercises:

Exercise 1. “Bridge”.

Close your hands as you feel comfortable, then imagine that your hands are a sliding St. Petersburg bridge (Choose a comfortable image for yourself that will help you achieve movement), give them a mental command to move apart, as if automatically, without muscular effort. For the exercise to work, you need to find a state of internal balance within yourself; for this you need to relax and feel comfortable. Do what is most pleasant for you, go through the options (decline or bow your head, take a deep breath or exhale, hold your breath for a moment, etc.), the main thing is to find this feeling of inner comfort, in which your will will begin to influence the automaticity of movement.

Starting position of the arms to the sides. You need to close your hands, imagining that your hands are attracted to each other, like two halves of a bridge or magnets.

Repeat the divergence and convergence of the arms several times, achieving continuity of movement. At the moment when your hands seem to get stuck, you can push them slightly. If the desired state of internal relaxation has arrived, stay in it to remember it.

Exercise 2. “Wings”.

Starting position - arms down. You can close your eyes to better feel the movement that is generated in your hands. Watch this movement and help it turn upward. When your hands begin to float up, a lot of new and pleasant sensations arise. Help yourself with pleasant imagery. Imagine that your hands are wings! Wings carry you! Allow yourself to breathe freely. Allow yourself to feel the state of flight.

Exercise 3. “Free body”.

In a relaxed state, a person begins to sway. Feel this freedom, relaxation in your body, it is comparable to a gentle sway on the waves, in the wind, on a journey in endless space.

This technique also trains coordination. A person with good internal coordination is more resistant to stress, less susceptible to external influences than others, has greater independent thinking, and quickly finds a way out in the most difficult situations. Therefore, exercises aimed at developing coordination also build resistance to stress.

Exercise 4. “Tumbleweeds - tumbleweeds.”

Feel your head, take a comfortable comfortable position, relax and follow the movement of your head. Choose a rhythm that is pleasant to you, at which you want to continue the movement, and neck tension eases. You can find a moment when you can, as it were, let go of your head, and then it will “go” automatically.

In the process, you will encounter pleasant points - these are points of relaxation. If in the process you come across painful points, you should massage them lightly and continue moving. You can help yourself find relaxation using horizontal or vertical eye movements, find what is more pleasant for you (for example, describe figure eights).

Exercise 5. “Hedgehog”.

This exercise is aimed at defusing negative emotional states and maintaining a cheerful mood. Relaxation is achieved through tension. You need to tense, for example, your hands, and then relax them as much as possible. Imagine a hedgehog that curls and unwinds.

In the first 2-3 days of training, after performing the techniques (automatic), you need to sit down and just sit for a few minutes passively, as if neutrally (you should not close your eyes immediately, but only if they close on their own). At the same time, there is a feeling of emptiness in the head. (This is a rehabilitation state in which psychological relief and accumulation of new strength occur.)

Impact on biologically active points

Method - Biologically Active Points. This treatment method originated in ancient times (about 50 centuries ago) in the Far East (the territory of modern China, Korea, Mongolia, Japan). In the process of learning about the world and natural phenomena, information about what is useful and harmful for humans was accumulated. Ancient physicians, observing the functioning of the human body, noted certain systems of relationships. So one of the systems is the relationship of certain points on the body with the internal states of a person. By applying finger pressure to strictly defined points, you can dose, selectively and directed influence the functions of various organs and systems, regulate vegetative functions, metabolic and recovery processes. There are about 700 such points in total, but the most frequently used ones are about 150. The mechanism of therapeutic action on “vital points” (the modern name that generalizes them is “biologically active points”) lies in complex reflex physiological processes.

The principle of working with biologically active points (BAP).

How to understand that you have found a biologically active point:

Biologically active points have specific features that distinguish them from surrounding areas of the skin: relatively low electrocutaneous resistance, high electrical potential, high skin temperature and pain sensitivity, increased oxygen absorption and a higher level of metabolic processes.

When pressing on these points, as a rule, a peculiar sensation of aching, some distension, numbness, and pain occurs, which is absent when pressing outside these points. The occurrence of these sensations is so constant and obligatory that it serves as a criterion for correctly finding the point.

The points should be found with the greatest accuracy, this will provide a better and longer lasting effect.

Avoid affecting adjacent areas where there may be other points that should not be touched.

Rub your hands before the massage. This will revive the blood circulation in your hands and keep them warm. Carefully feel the point with your fingertip. Please note that when pressing on it, a feeling of pain and aching occurs, which can spread (give) around or to more or distant areas. This is very important for finding the “vital point”.

Acupressure techniques:

Touching or light non-stop stroking

Light pressure using the weight of a finger or hand

Deep pressure, during which a more or less noticeable dimple is formed on the skin in the area of ​​​​the point under the finger

Finger pressure can be horizontal-rotational clockwise or vibrating (slowing down or speeding up), but should always be non-stop. The stronger the impact, the shorter it should be in time.

The accelerating method is characterized by continuous exposure, smooth, slow rotational movements without moving the skin or pressure with a fingertip with a gradual increase in pressure and holding the finger at depth.

In the professional activities of a rescuer, situations often arise that are stressful in nature.

The need to make a quick decision, sometimes a feeling of guilt, not always favorable relationships with the relatives of the victims, psychological incompatibility with colleagues, difficult physical and climatic conditions for performing the task - these and other factors can disturb emotional balance and cause negative experiences. For emotional release and transfer of the psyche to an optimal state that meets the requirements of the situation, the following exercises are recommended.

"Discharge". This exercise consists of alternately pressing four points in the lip area (Fig. 1). It is necessary to massage point 1 with your index finger for three seconds. Then, after a break of 10-15 seconds, press point 2. After the second break, you should simultaneously massage points 3 and 4. The result will be relaxation of the muscles of the whole body. Then you need to sit down, relax, simulating falling asleep, and gradually slow down your breathing, paying special attention to lengthening your exhalation. After 3-5 minutes, many negative sensations will disappear.

"Anti-stress". This exercise also relieves excessive emotional stress." To do this, for three seconds you need to smoothly and evenly press on the anti-stress point, which is located under the chin (Fig. 2). When massaging this point, you will feel a slight aching, burning sensation. After massaging this point, relax, imagine a state of languor, try to evoke pleasant images.After 3-5 minutes, stretching on a yawn, tense and then relax all the muscles of the body.

"Dots". Sit comfortably on a chair, place your hands on your knees, pressing your thumbs to your index fingers. Clearly mark the place where the fold of skin ends between the index finger and thumb. Here is the “he-gu” point, massaging which tones and improves well-being. Perform the massage for several minutes using vibrating movements of the index finger. The exercise is performed on both hands. When performing this technique, the finger is screwed into the point, which causes a feeling of warmth and burning in it. After this, place your hands on your knees again so that your palm completely covers the kneecap. In this case, the index finger is located in the middle of the cup, and the remaining fingers are pressed against each other. Then ring finger will feel a small depression under the protrusion of the round bone. Find this point and massage it. In this case, you will experience a slight ache. This point (“zu-san-li”) is called the point of longevity or the point from a hundred diseases. Its stimulation allows you to increase the tone of the body, maintain vigor, and maintain the necessary performance.

Self-massage.

Self-massage is used to relax increased muscle tone, relieve emotional arousal and restore the normal state of the body.

1. Massage of the cervical spine.

Using soft, smooth movements, massage the muscles of the cervical spine. This will help improve the general condition of the body, relaxation, and normalize blood supply to the head. Consequently, attention improves, consciousness clears, breathing becomes smooth and deep (Fig. 3).

2. Stroking the neck.

Use your entire palm to massage your neck with light movements from the chin to the collarbone for 2-3 minutes. This will help you relax the anterior neck muscles and enhance the effect of the previous exercise ( rice. 4).

Rice. 3 Fig. 4

Massage of the upper chest.

Using your fingertips, massage the front surface of the chest from the collarbone to the armpits. This improves blood circulation, normalizes heartbeat and breathing rhythm. (Fig. 5)

4. Head massage.

Using light circular movements, massage the scalp, as if combing it with a sparse comb. This will give you a feeling of comfort, relieve headaches, and improve blood circulation. (Fig. 6)

Fig.5 Fig. 6

Psychophysiological and psychological effect of flowers

Certain shades of blue promote harmony; light green is refreshing; red and bright yellow excite, while pink evokes a feeling of serenity and happiness.

A color has a calming effect if it has the ability to evoke contemplation, humility, absorption, withdrawal and melancholy. It has a restorative effect if it creates conditions for change, balance, personal expansion, nobility, contentment, understanding and cohesion.

Exciting colors are those that can awaken hope, ecstasy, desire, thirst for action, ambition; free thoughts and feelings, promote achievement, spiritual renewal and growth.

Gray - provides a frank response to external influences (with closure, secrecy). Recommended for overwork and external stress.

Light gray - increases intellectual capabilities.

Black – used as a general tonic for people with poor health. Recommended for weak-willed people. Not recommended for aggressive and stubborn people.

Red - promotes wound healing and reduces inflammation. Has an analgesic effect. Recommended for headaches, dizziness and pain in the spine. Indicated for depression, depression and melancholy. Not recommended for impulsive, restless people.

Pink is a catalyst for good mood and promotes recovery from somatic diseases.

Orange - increases appetite, has a beneficial effect on digestion, stimulates the senses. With dosed exposure, it increases performance. Indicated for apathy and depression. Not recommended for dizziness.

Brown - helps to switch, “relax”. Not recommended if you are prone to motion sickness. Inappropriate if intellectual mobilization is necessary.

Brown-yellow - useful for people who do not receive satisfaction from life, who are in apathy and depression.

Brown - green - useful for people who love to travel, who are on a journey (path).

Yellow - useful for life disappointments and tension in interpersonal communication. Increases the speed of visual perception, increases visual acuity and stability of clear vision, stimulates brain function. Not recommended for dizziness.

Greenish-yellow – helps to get out of depression. Not recommended for motion sickness.

Green - gives confidence, perseverance and endurance. Recommended for nervous breakdowns and fatigue. Restores strength in case of insomnia. Indicated for neuralgia and migraine. Reduces the effects of motion sickness and prevents vomiting. Increases visual acuity, normalizes blood and intraocular pressure. Provides an increase in mental performance, promotes concentration.

Blue-green (sea wave) - provides control over thoughts and actions, useful for impulsive, emotional people. Strengthens strong-willed aspirations, recommended for people with low self-esteem.

Blue - dispels obsessions, reduces hyperactivity, soothes rheumatic pain, has an anti-emetic effect, and is an analgesic. Reduces anxiety levels.

Blue - reduces hyperactivity, restores strength during deep experiences, relieves pain, promotes sleep.

An important factor is also a person's individuality. A color that is mildly stimulating to one person may excite another. Or the color that calms in one case will not produce any effect in another situation.

Technique “immersion in color” - recommended for activating positive internal qualities and energy. This technique consists of several stages:

Take a comfortable, comfortable position, relax. It is best to do this exercise while lying down; the desired relaxation effect is achieved.

Choose one of the suggested colors:

Red, if you need strength and endurance.

Orange, if you want to attract the attention of other people to your business and personal life.

Yellow If you want to develop your intuition, you need new ideas and concepts.

Green, if you want to feel more empathy and love for your neighbor.

Blue if you are feeling stressed and need to relax.

Blue, if you want to generate more creative ideas and are looking for original concepts.

Violet, if you are trying to find unique, innovative ideas, such as developing a revolutionary concept or creating an invention.

Imagine this color as a pyramid above your head. Calmly watch this pyramid, it slowly begins to descend. Feel how it penetrates you. It passes through your body, dissolving and cleansing it of negative emotions and moods. Feel yourself in the center of this colored pyramid. Enjoy its properties and absorb them into yourself.

Now let the chosen color wash you from head to toe, that is, from the top of your head to your feet. Imagine a stream of this color flowing through you and eventually flowing out into a sewer pipe. Then check yourself. If you still feel the remnants of negative feelings in any place in your body, direct the color flow there and wash that area.

Finding the desired color quality. This can be done mentally, out loud, or in writing. Take five minutes to acknowledge the color red within you and its properties. Your statements should be brief, stated in simple words in the present tense, and formulated in the form that best suits you. Have faith in your words as you speak them or write them down. Let go of any doubts and put all your mental and emotional energy into affirmations.

Aroma therapy

The influence of odors on the mental and physical state of a person has been known since ancient times. The first evidence that people learned to extract fragrant substances from plant materials dates back to approximately the 5th century. BC. The poem about Gilgamesh of Sumer says “the smells created by the burning of cedar and myrrh should appease the gods and instill in them a good mood.” Confucius writes about the meaning of a good smell: “Your virtue is like a perfume that imparts beauty and satisfaction not only to your heart, but also to those who know you.”

Aromas help a person fight many ailments, then we will describe some of them, and also dwell on the methods of using essential oils.

Ways to use essential oils

Aromatherapy baths.

The effect is achieved through hot inhalation with simultaneous administration of oils through the skin. The bath temperature should not exceed body temperature, and the duration of this procedure should not exceed 15 minutes. The amount of essential oils per 1 bath is 7-8 drops, and since essential oils do not dissolve in water, they must first be mixed with an emulsifier, which can be regular milk, cream or kefir.

Before taking such a bath, you need to wash yourself, and after finishing the procedure, do not rinse, get wet with a towel and rest for a while.

The course of taking baths should begin with a minimum number of drops of 4-5, gradually increasing by 2 drops to the required volume of 13-15, then the number of drops is reduced by 2 each time. The course usually lasts 1.5 months with taking baths every other day. If you take a bath not according to the course, but according to how you feel, stick to the optimal dose of 7-8 drops per bath.

Inhalations.

Hot and cold inhalations are taken for diseases of the upper respiratory tract, bronchi, lungs, to influence the psycho-emotional sphere.

For hot inhalation in a 0.5 liter container. add 3-5 drops of essential oils (it is recommended to start with 1-2). Then, covered with a towel, lean over the solution and inhale the vapors for 7-10 minutes. During the procedure, the eyes must be closed.

It must be remembered that hot baths are contraindicated in acute attacks of bronchial asthma. In these cases, cold inhalations are used - inhalation of essential oils applied to a strip of paper, a handkerchief, a clay medallion (no more than 2 drops), or an aroma lamp. You can scent your pillow with a suitable oil (2-3 drops), which will also normalize your sleep.

Compress.

A very effective way to relieve pain and reduce inflammation. A hot compress can be easily prepared by filling a cup with hot water and adding 4-5 drops of aromatic oil. Next, dampen a folded piece of cotton or flannel cloth, squeeze out excess water, and apply to the affected area until the cloth cools to body temperature, then repeat. Hot compresses especially useful for back pain, rheumatism and arthritis, abscesses, ear pain and toothache. Cold compresses They are prepared in the same way, only very cold water is used instead of hot water. This type of compress is useful for headaches (apply to the forehead or back of the neck), sprained ligaments and tendons, and other local swelling caused by inflammation.

Aroma lamps.

Fill the upper porcelain cup with water and add 5-7 drops essential oil. A candle lit at the bottom of the lamp heats the water and the aroma of essential oil spreads throughout the room.

Before carrying out this procedure, it is necessary to ventilate the room and use the lamp itself with the windows closed. It is usually recommended to use the lamp from 20 minutes to 2 hours; using the lamp for more than this time does not make any sense.

Do not let the water boil, and add water to the cup from time to time. After use, it is necessary to rinse the remaining essential oils so that the oils do not mix later.

For insomnia, depression(massage, inhalation, aroma lamp, bath): chamomile, lavender, ylang-ylang, fir, myrrh, birch, basil, lemon balm.

For irritability, increased excitability and fear(massage, inhalations, aroma lamp, baths): oregano, mimosa, lemon balm, mint, valerian, ginger, fir, iris, myrrh, anise, coriander, basil, cinnamon, geranium, nutmeg.

For vegetative-vascular dystonia(massage, inhalation, aroma lamp, baths ) : rosemary, lemon, geranium, lemon balm, oregano, sage, eucalyptus.

For anxiety(aroma lamp, bath, inhalation): basil, bergamot, ylang-ylang, lavender, incense, juniper.

For headaches(aroma lamp, massage, compress): grapefruit, lavender, peppermint, rose, rosemary, rosewood, chamomile, sage, eucalyptus.

For dizziness(bath, inhalation): lavender, peppermint.

For depression(bath, massage): basil, bergamot, grapefruit, ylang-ylang, lavender, rose, sandalwood, clary sage.

For migraine(compress): basil, lavender, peppermint, chamomile, sage.

For nervous exhaustion, fatigue, general weakness(aroma lamp, bath, massage): basil, grapefruit, ylang-ylang, ginger, cinnamon, lavender, peppermint, patchouli, rosemary, pine, thyme, sage.

For nervous tension and stress(aroma lamp, bath, massage): orange, sweet orange, basil, bergamot, geranium, ylang-ylang, cedar, cypress, cinnamon, lavender, incense, mandarin, juniper, peppermint, petitgrain, rose, rosemary, rosewood, chamomile , sandalwood, pine, thyme, sage.

In shock(aroma lamp, bath, massage): lavender, valerian.

In case of poisoning(taken internally ): anise, lemongrass, tea tree, lemon, cypress, juniper, birch.

With reduced immunity(baths, oral administration, massage): lemon, orange, myrtle, oregano, eucalyptus, birch .

For injuries, sprains, dislocations(massage, compresses): juniper, ginger, lavender, sage, pine, cedar, rosemary.

For open wounds(applying oil pure and diluted): geranium, lavender, rose, rosewood, myrrh, sage.

For hematomas, bruises(compresses, massage): chamomile, sage, mint, lemon, cypress, lemon balm, juniper.

For insect bites(compresses, oiling): lavender, sage, lemon, geranium, eucalyptus, sage, tea tree.

Therapeutic effects of music on the psychophysiological state of a person

Art actively influences the spiritual world of people, and through it, their physical condition. Of all the arts, music has the widest and longest-standing use in medicine.

Music, according to modern researchers, has a healing effect on humans. It, as a rhythmic stimulus, stimulates the physiological processes of the body, occurring rhythmically, both in the motor and vegetative spheres.

Music acts both as a means of distraction from disturbing thoughts and as a means of calm. Music is of great importance in the fight against overwork. Music also helps to throw out accumulated energy, which we often see at all kinds of concerts where people dance and enjoy it. Music can set a certain rhythm before starting work, or set the mood for deep rest during a break.

Art comes to the rescue as an additional remedy in the treatment of somatic diseases.

Recognizing the profound effects of music on the senses and emotions, Pythagoras had no hesitation about the influence of music on the mind and body, calling it “musical medicine.” Pythagoras had such a clear preference for stringed instruments that he warned his students against allowing their ears to listen to the sounds of flutes and cymbals. He further argued that the soul should be purified from irrational influences by solemn singing, which should be accompanied by the lyre. The lyre was considered a symbol of the human constitution, the body of the instrument representing the physical body, the strings representing the nerves, and the musician representing the spirit. Playing on the nerves, the spirit thus created the harmony of normal music, which, however, turns into disharmony if human nature is corrupted.

When overworked andnervous exhaustion- “Morning” and “Solveig’s Song” by E. Grieg; “Polonaise” by Oginsky, “Dawn on the Moscow River” by Mussorgsky, “Pavane” by Ravel, “Symphony No. 1, part. 2” by Kalinnikova, Aria from “Brazilian Bahiana No. 5” by Villa Lobosa, “Adagio” by Albinoni, etc.

With a depressed melancholic mood- “To Joy” by Beethoven, “Aue Mala” by Schubert, “Anitra’s Dance” by Grieg, “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” and “Dance of the Shepherdesses” from the ballet “The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky, “Little Night Serenade, Allegro” by Mozart, “Spring, Allegro” Vivaldi et al.

Atsevere irritability and anger- “Pilgrim Choir” by Wagner, “Sentimental Waltz” by Tchaikovsky, “Scene by the Lake. Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky, Adagio by Albinoni, Piano Concerto No. 2 by Rachmaninov, Aria from the Brazilian Bahiana No. 5 by Villa Lobos, etc.

With decreased concentration and attention- “The Seasons” by Tchaikovsky, “Moonlight” by Debussy, “Reverie” by Schumann, “Symphony No. 5 (Reform)” by Mendelssohn, etc.

Classical melodies such as Tchaikovsky's Barcarolle, Wiese's Pastoral, Leclene's Sonata in C major, part 3, Saint-Saëns' Swan, Tchaikovsky's Sentimental Waltz, Für Elise and Moonlight Sonata have a relaxing effect. » Beethoven and others.

The tonic program is implemented with the help of: Monty, “Cumparsita” by Rodriguez, “Adelita” by Purcell, “Waltz of the Flowers. The Nutcracker" by Tchaikovsky and others.

As for modern music, it certainly affects our mental state. Lyrics can make you happy, happy, or sad. They can stimulate action or, on the contrary, inhibit it. They can combine, all this is individual for everyone. Pay attention to what music you listen to. What emotions does it evoke in you? What music brings with it, and what strings of your heart it plays on. Through this analysis, you will be able to understand what part of your life is voiced and manifested by music.

Music therapy is rarely the only treatment modality; usually it is one of the independent (to a greater or lesser extent) methods included in complex therapy. The combination of music therapy with autogenic training, aromatherapy and other relaxation methods is widely used.

Psychological and physiological essence of methods of mental self-regulation.

In practice, PSR most often represents a set of techniques for active mental self-influence on the stream of consciousness (current thoughts and images), skeletal and respiratory muscles. Subsequent, secondary, changes occur in the blood vessels and internal organs of a person, including the brain. This achieves the so-called trophotropic state, which is the “energetic antipode of stress.” The term "trophotropic" means "promoting nutrition." We can say that in stress, energy is spent excessively and unproductively (let’s take for example a state of anxiety with restlessness and empty chores), and in a trophotropic state, energy expenditure is minimized, while the lack of energy is replenished. In this state, the stress-limiting (limiting) system of the body begins to prevail over the stress-realizing ("accelerating") system, which achieves constructive (harmless for the body) coping with stress and a return to a normal working state and reasonable activity. Simply put, overcoming an unbalanced state and regaining temporarily lost control over one’s own emotions and behavior are achieved. To achieve this, a person needs to reduce the activity of consciousness at least for a short time, disconnect from the surrounding reality through shallow autohypnosis. This form of RPS (let’s call it classic RPS) is available to everyone healthy people. But there are also methods and techniques of ASR used during mental and physical activity (active ASR). Due to its complexity, we do not consider this form of RPS in this lesson.

Mastering the methods of mental self-regulation provides the opportunity to consciously and purposefully influence important mental and physiological functions body. A person acquires the ability for purposeful self-influence gradually in the process of performing special exercises under the guidance of a specialist - a doctor or psychologist. Subsequent exercises are performed independently or on the orders of the commander (chief).

The basis of PSR is self-persuasion and self-hypnosis - the main forms of communication between a person and himself. Initially, PSR methods were developed for purely medical purposes. Subsequently, numerous modifications were proposed, versions intended for psychoprophylactic purposes and addressed to healthy people. Of particular benefit is the use of PSR methods within units (in a collective format) under the guidance of psychologists, doctors or commanders. This is exactly how they were used during the first counter-terrorism operation (CTO) in Chechnya, developed at the Military Medical Academy named after S.M. Kirov special techniques. They were used both before and after combat operations. In this regard, we note that the German psychoneurologist Nonne, during the First World War, was the first to hypnotize military personnel in the theater of operations in order to normalize their mental and physical state.

The methods of mental self-regulation described below are easy to implement, but they require long-term systematic practice in order to achieve the desired result. Thus, the trainee must practice actively, persistently and consistently, without losing patience. The choice of the specific PSR method that is most suitable for oneself or their combination is made on the recommendation of a doctor or psychologist, taking into account the individual characteristics of the individual and somatic constitution (physique).

Methods of mental self-regulation are varied and are usually used in combinations. Not only the basic methods that we will focus on during the lesson deserve attention, but also others (for example, exercises based on yoga systems and other special physical exercises, acupressure self-massage, etc.).

Currently, hardware methods of mental self-regulation are being created for individual use. They can involve audiovisual, tactile, temperature and other types of sensory stimulation. For example, in Fig. Figure 1 shows a device for audiovisual (through hearing and vision) mental self-regulation.

Exist computer games and other programs intended for the RPS. Unfortunately, not all of them are well founded from a scientific point of view.

PSR methods are a healthy alternative to alcohol, drug use and smoking. They have also been successfully used to treat mental disorders associated with substance abuse.

Classes on mental self-regulation are conducted in a collective form. The optimal group size is 8-12 people. If necessary, the group can be increased to 20 or more people. The training is conducted by a trained military doctor or military psychologist.

Methods of mental self-regulation are based on the phenomena of self-persuasion and self-hypnosis, characteristic of the normal psyche of every person. Let us note that the abilities for self-persuasion and self-hypnosis appear only in late childhood or adolescence and require a minimum average level of mental development.

Self-conviction. Self-persuasion is based on awareness, comprehension of facts and the construction of consistent conclusions. In an effort to convince himself of something, a person debates with himself, using arguments and counterarguments, based on logical evidence and inferences. Let's give examples. A person who is inadequately, painfully experiencing his mistakes and mistakes is recommended to mentally look at himself from the outside, evaluate his behavior “through the eyes of a benevolent and reasonable person” and analyze the mistakes made, taking into account the popular wisdom that “every cloud has a silver lining”, “there is no sorrow in sight” - there is no joy." Having realized the true causes of mistakes, a mature person must draw appropriate conclusions for the future so that mistakes are not repeated. People who are overly sensitive and tend to worry unreasonably about minor things can be advised to recall and mentally recite passages from literary works imbued with a spirit of optimism. Uncontrollable cravings for foods prohibited due to health reasons can be extinguished by applying logically sound formulas. For example, with an irrepressible craving for sweets: “Sugar is a sweet poison! Man, unlike animals, can control himself! I realize that after a moment of pleasure, retribution will follow: my health will deteriorate. I can and must (must) overcome my weakness.” The use of self-persuasion by those people whose self-esteem is unstable and decreases for minor reasons is very important.

When the results of self-persuasion are insufficient (a person agrees with himself, but continues to act in the old way), self-hypnosis is activated.

Self-hypnosis (in Latin - autosuggestion) is the suggestion to oneself of any judgments, ideas, ideas, assessments, feelings without detailed argumentation, directively, almost by force. So, suggestion (from one person to another) and self-hypnosis are forms of psychological violence. But not all violence is bad. There are, for example, surgical violence, physical restraint of a violent mental patient, aimed at their own benefit. Likewise, self-hypnosis can be positive (helpful) or negative (destructive). Self-hypnosis leading to a positive result is nothing more than a manifestation of willpower. It is based on conscious self-regulation of activities aimed at overcoming difficulties in achieving a goal. Volitional activity is manifested in a person’s power over himself, controlling his own involuntary impulses. In this case, the mechanism of “pure” self-hypnosis is used, when a person listens and believes in what he claims.

The main practical techniques of self-hypnosis are:

• self-order (ordering oneself) is widely used to mobilize will, self-control in extreme conditions, and overcome fear in difficult life situations. Self-orders come in the form of encouragement (“act immediately!”) or self-prohibition (“Stop!”, “Be silent!”). Self-order formulas play the role of a trigger for the implementation of immediate actions to achieve a goal;
• “frontal attack” technique (anti-stress assault). With the help of specially selected verbal formulas, pronounced in a decisive tone with a tinge of anger, an active attitude towards the psychotraumatic factor - the source of distress - is formed. Thus, narcologists recommend that alcohol abusers indignantly repeat the formula many times: “I mercilessly suppress, destroy the past need for alcohol that I now hate. I have a strong will and a strong character, I have no doubt that I will completely overcome my craving for alcohol.” It is useful to use figurative comparisons, vivid metaphors, for example, “I am like an indestructible rock, and the urges to use drugs break against me into small splashes.”

Like self-persuasion, self-hypnosis is carried out in the form of a person’s mental dialogue with himself. However, this dialogue involves the volitional and emotional components of the psyche. By encouraging a person to engage in objective activity or inhibiting it, self-hypnosis plays the role of a connecting link between the subjective world of the psyche and motor activity (behavior). Arising arbitrarily and purposefully in the form of a self-address statement, it then develops spontaneously, having a long-term aftereffect on the functions of the psyche and body. In the words of the outstanding Russian psychiatrist V.M. Bekhterev, self-hypnosis, like suggestion, “enters consciousness from the back door, bypassing the intellect and logic.” Russian scientist I.P. Pavlov wrote that “self-hypnosis is not controlled by meaningful perception and is subject mainly to the emotional influences of the subcortex.” So, a person’s speech to himself controls and regulates his behavior at both a conscious and subconscious level. Self-hypnosis authorizes personal choice, supports socially normative behavior, and formulates positive and negative assessments of committed actions. As already mentioned, according to the impact on mental health, one should distinguish between negative and positive self-hypnosis. As a result of negative self-hypnosis, a person can lose self-confidence, fall into confusion and despair, feel helpless, and lose hope for the future (“Now everything is lost; now my personal life is destroyed”). This option is called catastrophizing. The mental demobilization it causes contributes to the deepening of stress and its transition to a mental disorder. Negative events for which a person prepares and leads himself are called self-fulfilling prophecies. On the contrary, positive self-hypnosis strengthens self-confidence, stabilizes the psyche, making it less vulnerable to stress and illness. All of the above applies to natural self-hypnosis, which is an everyday mental function of any person. Along with natural ones, there are also special psychological techniques and self-regulation techniques intended for the treatment and prevention of mental disorders. Let's look at the main ones.

Brief description of the main methods of mental self-regulation

Voluntary self-hypnosis. The method of voluntary self-hypnosis was first proposed by the French pharmacist Emile Coue in 1910. The method allows you to suppress painful thoughts and ideas that are harmful in their consequences and replace them with useful and beneficial ones. E. Coue compared painful experiences to pins stuck on the periphery of consciousness (sometimes they are compared to paper clips), which can be gradually removed. Thus, the indications for the use of voluntary self-hypnosis are very wide - from overcoming an acute stress disorder to overcoming a deep personal crisis or an ingrained bad habit.

According to E. Coue, the formula for self-hypnosis should be a simple statement of a positive process, devoid of any directiveness. For example, “Every day I am getting better and better in every way.” At the same time, it does not matter, E. Coue believed, whether the autosuggestion formula corresponds to reality or not, since it is addressed to the subconscious “I”, which is distinguished by gullibility. The subconscious “I” perceives the formula as an order that must be fulfilled. The simpler the formula, the better the therapeutic effect. “The formulas should be “childish,” said E. Coue. The author has repeatedly emphasized that voluntary self-suggestion should be carried out without any volitional effort. “If you consciously suggest something to yourself,” he wrote, “do it completely naturally, completely simply, with conviction and without any effort. If unconscious self-hypnosis, often of a bad nature, is so successful, it is because it is carried out effortlessly.”

Formulas are developed for each student individually. A person who has mastered the method of self-hypnosis becomes able to compose new formulas that he will need.

The self-hypnosis formula should consist of several words, a maximum of 3-4 phrases and always have a positive content (for example, “I am healthy” instead of “I am not sick”). The formula can be stated in poetic form. The famous German doctor and traveler H. Lindemann believed that rhythmic and rhyming self-suggestions were more effective than prosaic ones. Long formulas may be replaced by abbreviated equivalents. So, to strengthen faith in your strengths, you can use the formula: “I can, I can, I can.” In some cases, the formula may be more specific. We are talking about overcoming bad habits, unrealistic fears and other pre-morbid disorders. For example, “When I see a dog, I remain completely calm, my mood does not change.”

During the session, a person takes a comfortable position, sitting or lying down, closes his eyes, relaxes and in a low voice or whisper, without any tension, pronounces the same self-hypnosis formula 20-30 times. Pronunciation should be monotonous, without emotional expression. During the session, the person enters a trophotropic state, and at the end of the session, he voluntarily and without difficulty leaves it.

The training cycle lasts for 6-8 weeks. Classes last 30-40 minutes. are held 2-3 times a week. Starting from the second half of training, there is a gradual transition to independent practice. A self-hypnosis session with any one formula lasts 3-4 minutes. If it is necessary to use several formulas, it can be extended to half an hour. E. Coue recommended conducting sessions against the background of drowsy (drowsy) states in the morning after waking up and in the evening before falling asleep. In order not to distract attention from counting when repeating the formula twenty times, E. Coue advised using a cord with 20-30 knots that move like a rosary.

Breathing rhythm control. Voluntary regulation of respiratory movements is described in ancient treatises of India and China. In the works of American psychophysiologists 1970-1980. The scientific basis for some of the many hundreds of ritual breathing exercises is provided. In particular, the patterns of influence of the phases of the respiratory cycle on the level of human mental activity have been established. So, during inhalation, the mental state is activated, and when exhaling, calming occurs. By voluntarily establishing a breathing rhythm, in which a relatively short inhalation phase alternates with a longer exhalation and a subsequent pause, you can achieve pronounced general calm. A type of breathing that includes a longer inhalation phase with some breath holding during inhalation and a relatively short exhalation phase (quite energetically) leads to an increase in the activity of the nervous system and all body functions. Disturbances in the rhythm and depth of breathing are signs of stressful conditions. Deep abdominal (diaphragmatic) breathing has the greatest health benefits. Properly performed abdominal breathing has a number of physiological benefits. It involves all lobes of the lungs in the respiratory act, increases the degree of oxygenation (oxygen saturation) of the blood, the vital capacity of the lungs, and massages the internal organs. During inhalation, the muscles of the anterior wall of the peritoneum protrude, the dome of the diaphragm flattens and pulls the lungs down, causing them to expand. During exhalation, the abdominal muscles retract somewhat, as if displacing air from the lungs. The increased curvature of the diaphragm lifts the lungs upward. Breathing exercises for mastering full deep breathing are carried out in standing or sitting poses and are accompanied by extension (as you inhale) and flexion (as you exhale) movements of the arms and torso. Students strive to gradually master the breathing cycle, consisting of four phases of 8 seconds each: 1) deep inhalation, 2) inhalation pause, 3) deep exhalation, 4) exhalation pause. This allows them to enter a trophotropic state. It is possible to perform breathing exercises while walking or running. The training cycle takes 4 weeks (2 half-hour lessons per week).

Active neuromuscular relaxation. The method includes a series of exercises for voluntary relaxation of the main groups of skeletal muscles. It was introduced by the American physician Edmund Jacobson, who published a book on this issue in 1922. A distinctive feature of the method is the alternation of voluntary tension and subsequent reflex (involuntary) relaxation of the corresponding muscle group. In a short-term (2-3 sec.) phase of tension, a person maintains the strongest static contraction of any muscle group (for example, clenching a hand into a fist). In the subsequent relaxation phase (up to 1 minute), he experiences sensations of softening, the spread of a wave of pleasant heaviness and warmth in the area of ​​the body being worked on (for example, in the hand). This is accompanied by a feeling of peace and relaxation. These sensations are a consequence of the elimination of residual, usually unnoticed tension in the muscles, increased blood flow to the vessels in this area and, accordingly, increased metabolic and recovery processes. To relieve emotional stress and fatigue, active relaxation is carried out in a certain sequence on all main areas of the body (legs, arms, torso, shoulders, neck, head, face). E. Jacobson rightly believed that all groups of skeletal muscles are associated with certain centers of the spinal cord and brain. Thanks to this, active muscle relaxation has a positive effect on large areas of the central nervous system, helping a person enter a trophotropic state, relieve tension and disharmony, and restore strength and energy. The progressive muscle relaxation method has a number of modifications. Neuromuscular relaxation is most indicated for prolonged stressful conditions with severe anxiety and insomnia.

For initial mastery of E. Jacobson's method, 8-10 lessons are required over 3-4 weeks. Relaxation of muscle groups throughout the body takes 20 minutes. The full course of training takes 3-6 months, subject to 2-3 lessons per week.

Meditation. The term “meditation” appeared on the pages of domestic popular and scientific publications only recently. Previously, it was not customary to talk about meditation, since it was believed that meditation was certainly a religious ritual. Indeed, meditation is associated with different areas of yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism. But today it has become known that meditation to strengthen one’s psyche, overcome internal contradictions and expand knowledge about oneself is possible without any connection with any religious or philosophical beliefs. For thousands of years, representatives of almost all human cultures have used some form of meditation to achieve mental peace and harmony. Its beneficial effect is not due to its focus on religion, but to the basic properties of the human nervous system. Experience testifies to meditation as an effective technique of mental self-regulation, in no way inferior to other methods.

The essence of meditation is the voluntary concentration of external or internal attention on any real, virtual or subjective mental object or process for a long time. As a result of this, a person distracts attention from all other objects and enters a special state of consciousness, which is a variation of the trophotropic state described above. Meditation has been successfully used for the prevention and treatment of arterial hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. It helps get rid of obsessive states, anxiety, depression and increased aggressiveness, improves concentration. Meditation can also be used to find solutions to various psychological problems. Under its influence, a person’s ability to use creative potential and make his life more conscious and purposeful increases.

Techniques for switching attention to positive objects of external and inner world. To do this, it is recommended, being in a comfortable position and a relaxed state, to closely examine for 5-7 minutes any paintings, objects or other objects that evoke positive emotions. In this case, you can hold the object in your hands without rushing to feel it. You can also, with your eyes closed, recreate the images that pop up in your mind, without focusing on them for a long time and moving from one to another. To distract attention from unpleasantly exciting, “stagnant” images and thoughts, people resort to reading books, viewing photographs, films, and television programs. They play computer games, listen to their favorite melodies and poems, look for exciting activities and hobbies, and communicate with interesting interlocutors. A variety of meditation objects can be found on the Internet.

So we see that meditation exercises are many and varied. Most of them require the practitioner to remain in a stationary position, but there are also those that involve movement. In one case, the student closely examines some object, in another, he closes his eyes and repeats certain sounds over and over again, in the third, he is completely absorbed in observing his own breathing, in the fourth, he listens to the sound of the wind in the branches of trees, in the fifth, he tries find an answer to a difficult question, etc.

Each meditation session includes three stages: 1) relaxation, 2) concentration, 3) the actual meditation state, the depth of which can be different and depends on the experience of the practitioner and the duration of the session. The training cycle takes 4 weeks (2 half-hour lessons per week).

Autogenic training (AT) is the most well-known method of mental self-regulation. He has collected all the best that other methods have. Its essence consists of self-hypnosis and meditation against the background of passive neuromuscular relaxation. The method was developed by the German doctor I. Schultz in 1932.

Autogenic training helps reduce emotional stress, feelings of anxiety and discomfort, reduces the intensity of pain, and has a normalizing effect on physiological functions and metabolic processes in the body. Under the influence of AT, sleep improves and mood improves. The main indications for the psychohygienic use of AT: stressful conditions, psychovegetative dysfunctions, accentuations (psychological disharmonies) of the personality, especially in combination with hypochondriacal tendencies. We emphasize that autogenic training is the method of choice for psychovegetative dysfunctions.

The goal of autogenic training is not only to teach relaxation, as is sometimes believed, but also to develop skills to manage one’s state, to develop the ability to easily and quickly move from a state of activity to a state of passive wakefulness, and vice versa. We are talking about voluntary control of psychological and physiological processes, expanding the range of self-regulation of one’s own state and, as a result, increasing the ability to adapt to changing conditions of the physical and social environment.

There are a number of modifications of autogenic training, adapted, for example, to combat traumatic (extreme) stress or to treat various diseases. For initial mastery of the AT method, 8-10 lessons are required over 3-4 weeks. The duration of one lesson is 30-40 minutes. The full course of training takes 3-6 months, subject to 2-3 lessons per week.

PSR methods have a wide range of applications. They can be part of the psychoprophylactic system, and also be an integral part of therapeutic and rehabilitation activities. With their help, you can achieve normalization of the psycho-emotional state, improve functioning internal organs. The main results of using autopsychotherapy techniques are: protection from damaging stress, activation of recovery processes, increasing the adaptive (adaptive) capabilities of the body and strengthening mobilization abilities in extreme situations. All this ultimately contributes to the preservation and strengthening of mental health. The RPS methods presented above have been tested many times in practice and have proven their effectiveness. However, achieving a useful result in any such method requires long and continuous practice. It can be assumed that systematicity and uniform rhythm in performing exercises is more important than their content. To strengthen mental health, it is important to choose the most subjectively acceptable and convenient method, and then persistently and methodically practice it for a long time. In this case, sooner or later success will be achieved.

If you manage yourself, you manage your life! This immutable truth, which is relevant in our time as never before, because modern world– this is not only a world of high speeds and a huge number of things to do and worries, but also a world of stress and emotional instability, in which even the calmest person can easily lose his temper.

What is mental self-regulation?

Mental self-regulation is a person’s control of his psycho-emotional state, which is achieved through a person’s influence on himself through the power of words (), mental images () and control of breathing and muscle tone (). Self-regulation methods are used in absolutely any situation, and they always produce the desired effect.

Thus, among the effects of mental self-regulation, three main ones can be distinguished:

• Activation associated with increased psychophysiological activity
• Recovery associated with reduced symptoms of fatigue
• Calmness associated with the elimination of emotional tension

In general, there are, of course, natural methods of mental self-regulation, including:

• Music
• Dancing
• Movement
• Massage
• Interaction with nature and animals

However, these funds cannot be used in many situations, for example, during work, when a person feels tired and observes tension in his mental state.

But it is precisely timely mental self-regulation that can be perceived as a psychohygienic means that can prevent the accumulation of overstrain, restore strength, normalize the psycho-emotional state and mobilize the body's resources.

For this reason, the most accessible methods of natural self-regulation are also:

• Expressing compliments, praise, etc.
• Breathing fresh air
• Real or imagined bathing in the sun
• on nice things, photographs and flowers
• Contemplation of landscapes and panoramas
• Muscle relaxation, stretching and other similar movements
• Reflections on the pleasant and good
• Humor, smile, laughter, etc.

But, in addition to natural ones, there are special methods of self-regulation, which in some cases are also called self-influence. It is about them that will be discussed further.

Methods of self-influence

So, methods of self-influence can be divided into:

• Related to verbal influence
• Movement related
• Breath-related

Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Methods associated with verbal influence

Start self-knowledge, and we wish you good luck and always be in the best condition for yourself!

Commandments of mental hygiene

Simple commandments of mental hygiene that will help you relieve nervous tension without resorting to medications:
Learn to “relieve tension” - instantly relax. To do this, you need to master auto-training skills.
Give your nervous system a rest. Remember: only those who rest well work well.
Replace unpleasant emotions with pleasant ones. This is difficult to do. But perhaps K.S. Stanislavsky argued that feelings cannot be commanded, but feelings can be “lured out.” For example, by shifting your attention and thinking to objects that usually evoke positive emotions in you.
Source: Tolstykh, A.V. Alone with everyone: about the psychology of communication / A.V. Tolstykh. – Minsk: Polymya, 1990. – 208 p.

Autotraining: advice from a psychologist

Let us remember Carlson’s famous phrase: “Calm, only calm!” It is calmness that is often lacking in women, who account for the majority of emotional, and, perhaps, physical activity. Many people do not realize that they create their own mood and, therefore, can change it themselves. Meanwhile, “tuning” yourself is very important, especially in a stressful situation. A tense person, as a rule, acts either constrained or, conversely, too impulsively.

The words “auto-training”, “relaxation”, “meditation” have become firmly established in our lives. But, understanding their significance, how often do we use these techniques to relieve stress, emotional stress, mobilize mental strength and lift our spirits? As a rule, no. We associate the concept of “auto-training” with mournful-sounding words: “My arms are getting heavy... My legs are getting heavy...” And for what? By the end of the work week, they already feel like weights hanging on them.
The name “autotraining” comes from two words: “auto” - itself and “training” - training. Autotraining means a technique for a person to teach himself techniques for self-regulation of physical and mental states.

Auto-training includes special exercises aimed at learning to control the muscular system, breathing, imagination and, through them, physical and mental states. Having learned to control our muscular system, we can achieve the fact that in any situation and at our own request we will be able to tense or relax our muscles and through them influence our own psychological states. After all, emotions and stress are almost always accompanied by excessive muscle tension, and if a person manages to relax, then at the same time the strength of his emotions decreases.

A similar effect is generated by changes in the depth, frequency and rhythm of breathing. When a person is in a state of excitement, his breathing becomes frequent, shallow and uneven. On the contrary, at rest, breathing normalizes and deepens. Special training in auto-training to arbitrarily change the frequency and rhythm of breathing provides the effect of self-regulation. As you probably already understood, auto-training in general is based on the relationship between people’s physical states, emotions and mental processes.

Imagination also plays a significant role here. You can, for example, imagine yourself in a dark cave or in a forest full of predators, and you will feel scared. You can imagine yourself in a cozy and warm bed, and this will make you feel comfortable. You can finally imagine that you are on the beach under the rays of a bright, hot summer sun, and you will definitely feel warmer.

Thus, by doing auto-training, you can learn to voluntarily change your feelings, physical and psychological states, create a certain mood, fight fatigue, and effectively restore mental strength.

Of course, within the framework of one article it is impossible to talk in detail about the method of autogenic training. Yes, there’s probably no need. You may have your own ways of achieving a state of comfort, relaxation and calm. You may already be familiar with relaxation and meditation techniques. And maybe reach the desired state Just a walk alone or a favorite tune helps you. But I still want to recommend one exercise to you. Very simple, it will help you achieve a state of calm and feel confident in your own abilities in any situation.

Sitting quietly in a chair, imagine that in the very center of your being there is a small particle that is very, very calm and happy. Unaffected by any fears or worries about the future, she is in complete peace, strong and happy. You can't reach it, you can't touch it. If you wish, it can be represented in the form of a certain image - a tongue of flame, gemstone or a hidden lake, calm, with a smooth surface without the slightest ripple.

She is there - deep inside you - your integral part. This hidden center always remains calm and quiet, no matter what difficulties, problems or worries you have to go through. If you want, you can feel this particle inside you at any time. And many times a day you can remember this small kernel of inner peace and mentally join it. Knowing that it is here, very close, you will feel more calm and relaxed and at the same time more confidence and strength. If this is what you consider relaxation, then you have already achieved what you dreamed of. And barbecue picnics, night dancing until the morning and fashionable film screenings are just the bright outer shell of a process called “rest”, which must be approached with the appropriate attitude.

Source: Bireva, A. Autotraining [ Electronic resource] / A. Bireva – Access mode: http://bel2.wsnet.ru/news/www.passion.ru/s.php/995.htm. – Access date: 07/03/2007.

Three basket technique

When your head is a mess and a lot of problems have accumulated, take 5-10 minutes and retire, and don’t let anyone bother you. Relax, take a few deep breaths. Close your eyes. Imagine three baskets. Start putting your thoughts into these baskets. In the first place, place thoughts related to the past. The second is related to the present. The third is related to the future.

Don't think about these thoughts, just sort them like this. Do this for the indicated 5-10 minutes.

Meditative Breathing

It has long been noted that concentrating on our natural processes makes us closer to nature, closer to our nature, strengthens us.

So, that's the essence of the method. When I feel that in my head there is not a brain, but a cauldron under high pressure, I understand that it's time to take a break. Previously, I just tried to go outside, distract myself with something, chat with someone on an abstract topic. Now I use this technique too.

I get up and close my eyes. I imagine myself standing on the top of a hill, and below there is such beauty. The river glitters in the distance, behind it Pinery, closer to me is a beautiful meadow with bright islands of flowers and flowering shrubs. A fresh breeze hits me, and I feel the light aroma of these flowers. I feign serenity on my face. Our facial expression reflects our inner state. But the opposite is also true. To improve your inner state, it is enough to change your facial expression to a kind smile. I begin to take a deep breath through my nose. I feel the air go into my lungs all the way to the bottom. I focus my attention on inhaling. I try to feel the air entering my respiratory tract, refreshing it with its coolness. Then, as I exhale slowly (through my mouth), I focus my attention on it, on the warmth of the exhaled air. It's so nice. I feel my lungs contract without strain. You can focus your attention on how the air enters through the nose and leaves through the mouth. Just feel what you feel most comfortable focusing on. The exhalation should be two to three times longer than the inhalation. Otherwise, you may feel dizzy from hyperventilation. You should do this for 12–15 breaths. This will take 2-3 minutes.

You will feel that your head has become clear and your body has relaxed (it is in this state that you need to make responsible decisions). Solutions to questions to which you did not know the answer until this moment have emerged.

Source: Pomazanov, R. Three basket technique / R. Pomazanov // Business on the Internet and personal development [Electronic resource]. – 2009. – Access mode: http://www.lifetools.ru/view_post.php?id=109. – Access date: 09/03/2010.

A set of exercises to relieve tension

A set of exercises to relieve tension, stiffness and fatigue through accelerated flexion and extension of muscles sequentially in the main parts of the body:
“Eyes are closed. The inner gaze is aimed into the distance. Arms are parallel to the table, knees bent at an angle of 90°. We quickly bend and straighten our feet, alternately, together. Raise the right, then the left shoulder, then together. We shake our heads, while the inner voice slowly counts to three, after which the shaking of the head stops. From 4 to 20 we count at an accelerated pace. We mentally imagine that each of us is an unwinding spring. At the count of 20, we simultaneously open our eyes and stand up.”

Source: Amirova, S.S. Self-organization of personality in the learning process / S.S. Amirova, V.M. Mosolov, G.P. Sechina, N.I. Sukhorukova // Pedagogy. − 1993. − No. 5. − P. 49–52.

7 ways to relax in a few minutes

Breathing exercises. This is the easiest and cheapest way to relax. For two minutes you just need to breathe. Take a deep breath - feel how the air reaches the very bottom of your stomach. But haven't you breathed before? Why, on the contrary... But in your haste and stress, you do not have time to inhale the proper amount of oxygen. This is especially felt when you need to give a speech in front of an audience. Your voice breaks, you need to take a breath, your throat is dry. To cope with the lack of oxygen, you should not go into meditation or take a yoga pose. You just need to take a few slow, deep breaths a few times a day. It’s not bad if you have the opportunity to be alone with yourself, put your feet up and close your eyes, but this is not at all necessary condition. You can do breathing exercises during a meeting, while driving, and while talking on the phone. It is not at all necessary to publicly announce that you need to replenish your oxygen supplies.

Mental journey. Remember the place - “the island of your dreams” - where you felt absolutely happy. Remember the past or imagine.

Go there for a couple of minutes.
Disconnect from reality, close your eyes and imagine that you are breathing, hearing, feeling. Plunge into the world of happiness and harmony with yourself. In a couple of minutes, you will return to reality refreshed and confident that at any moment you can go “to the island of your dreams.”

Imagine and get rid of it. Is something bothering you? Forget about it.
Imagine the cause of your irritation - with a fiery sword in your hand, ready to pierce you at any moment, and if it is abstract, give it some form. Are you frustrated by the constant lack of time? Imagine a clock with hands spinning at a frantic pace. Or dress up time in the image of a large boulder that is rolling towards you at great speed.

Now place this image in a soap bubble and imagine that it rises higher and higher, becoming smaller and smaller, and, in the end, completely disappears from sight.

Gymnastics for shoulders. Usually we transfer all the tension to a specific part of the body. In most cases, these are the shoulders. But you can avoid this if you pause in a timely manner and slowly rotate your shoulders back and forth for a couple of minutes. Sometimes the result is so good that you feel your shoulders drop a few centimeters and your neck relax.

Worldly wisdom. This way to relax will require some preparation from you, but believe me, the result will exceed your expectations. Get a notebook and write everything down there wise sayings, interesting observations, jokes, etc. - everything that attracts your attention. You can collect them anywhere: in the press, in conversation, or invent them yourself. Make it a rule to write down everything that seems interesting to you.

During breaks between work, take out a notepad, open it to a statement, and reflect on it for a few minutes. Don't try to direct your thoughts. Let the brain work on its own.

Everything you love. It's good to always have with you a photograph of a loved one, an item that is dear to you, or a talisman (for example, a silver dollar that has accompanied you everywhere for many years). Look at it: what comes to your mind? As in the previous method, do not direct your thoughts.

A way to relax for the especially gifted. Combine breathing exercises with any of the listed ways to relax. It may seem difficult at first, but over time you will get used to it.