NeuroVIZR Body Scan Methods
Garnet / Lucid Studios
June 6, 2023
Introduction
The proposal is made that humans have a natural dynamic capacity for psychological and physical resolution and self-healing.
If the four states of consciousness—Waking, Sleeping, Sleeping Dreams and Waking Dreams—are harmonized, this natural capacity may help us fluidly resolve many psychological and physiological challenges.
This harmonized dynamic may also be a hidden enabling influence behind many applied techniques and therapies.
The key position in this paper is that modern lifestyles commonly leave us with limited access to Lucid Visions, or the Fourth State of Consciousness known as Waking Dreams.
As a result, we may have an inadequate natural response to trauma resolution.
NeuroVIZR Body Scan Methods
The NeuroVIZR Body Scan concept has three basic versions:
- Simple Body Scan – derived from Benson’s Relaxation Response;
- Active Body Scan – derived from Jacobson’s Progressive Muscle Relaxation;
- Dynamic Body Scan – derived from Schultz’s Autogenic Training.
Benson’s Relaxation Response
The term “Relaxation Response” was coined by Dr. Herbert Benson, professor, author, cardiologist and founder of Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute.
The concept became widely known through his influential 1975 book, The Relaxation Response.
The response is described as the body's ability to encourage the release of chemicals and brain signals that help muscles and organs slow down while increasing blood flow to the brain.
Benson played an important role in helping bring meditation into the mainstream by describing its effects through the concept of the Relaxation Response.
His studies during the 1960s and 1970s explored how meditation could promote wellbeing and help counteract the physiological effects of stress.
The Relaxation Response is essentially considered the opposite of the “fight or flight” response.
According to Benson, learning deep relaxation and regularly taking time to quiet the mind can help create greater inner peace and wellbeing.
Relaxation Response Method
- Sit quietly in a comfortable position.
- Close your eyes.
-
Deeply relax all your muscles, beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face.
Keep them relaxed.
[Relax your tongue—and thoughts will cease.] - Breathe through your nose and become aware of your breathing. As you breathe out, silently say the word “one” to yourself. Breathe easily and naturally.
- Continue for 10 to 20 minutes. When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes, first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes opened. Do not stand up immediately.
- Do not worry about whether you are successful in achieving a deep level of relaxation. Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace. When distracting thoughts occur, do not dwell on them and simply return to repeating “one.”
- With practice, the response should come with little effort. Practice once or twice daily, but not within two hours after a meal, as digestive processes may interfere with the Relaxation Response.
Jacobson’s Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation was initially developed by American physician Edmund Jacobson.
He first presented the technique at Harvard University in 1908.
Jacobson developed a detailed method focused on becoming aware of the body's musculature and learning to control levels of tension.
His method was designed to help practitioners eventually learn to automatically and unconsciously monitor and release unwanted tension.
The process was later adapted and shortened by others, most notably Joseph Wolpe.
This adaptation became known as abbreviated Progressive Muscle Relaxation training.
It includes a tension-and-release cycle, such as making a tight fist and then releasing it, combined with attention to breathing.
The method focuses on becoming aware of tension within the body and learning to let it go in a controlled manner.
In this relaxation technique, you slowly tense and then relax each muscle group.
This can help you become more aware of the difference between muscle tension and relaxation, as well as other physical sensations.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Method
- Start by lying or sitting down.
- Relax your entire body.
- Take five deep, slow breaths.
- Lift your toes upward. Hold, then let go. Pull your toes downward. Hold, then let go.
- Tense your calf muscles, then let go.
- Move your knees toward each other. Hold, then let go.
- Squeeze your thigh muscles. Hold, then let go.
- Clench your hands. Pause, then let go.
- Tense your arms. Hold, then let go.
- Squeeze your buttocks. Pause, then let go.
- Contract your abdominal muscles. Pause, then let go.
- Inhale and tighten your chest. Hold, then exhale and let go.
- Raise your shoulders to your ears. Pause, then let go.
- Purse your lips together. Hold, then release.
- Open your mouth wide. Hold, then let go.
- Close your eyes tightly. Pause, then release.
- Lift your eyebrows. Hold, then release.
Schultz’s Autogenic Training
One method for supporting our innate recovery process was developed over 130 years ago and is known as Autogenic Training.
Autogenic Training was developed by German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz during the 1920s as a relaxation technique designed to influence the physical expression of stress through structured relaxation exercises.
Schultz first published the method in 1932.
The technique traditionally involves regular practice sessions of approximately 15 minutes, often practiced in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening.
Essentially, Autogenic Training helps a person consciously move from an “exteroceptive Task Mode” into an “interoceptive Non-Task Mode.”
In this way, it shares certain similarities with Herbert Benson’s Relaxation Response.
Autogenic Training is not presented here as a direct Lucid Visions technique, but it offers useful insights into the neurology of interoceptive Non-Task Mode states.
The goal is to create maximum opportunity for the self-regulatory processes of the brain.
In this way, it shares several features with the proposed Fourth State of Consciousness.
Spontaneous Brain-Discharge Experiences
In Autogenic Training, various types of spontaneous brain-discharge expressions can occur:
- visual pseudo-hallucinations of colors and patterns;
- small muscle twitches and jerks of the limbs;
- feelings of heaviness and lightness;
- sensations of warmth and cold;
- tingling and electrical sensations;
- feelings of pulsation and electric current;
- distortions of body image;
- detachment or displacement of body parts;
- dizziness, spinning, floating and turning.
In certain meditation traditions, similar phenomena are called kriyas, a Sanskrit term.
They may be regarded as both “stress releases” and Kundalini activities.
The basic attitude toward these expressions is positive, and individuals are encouraged to welcome them as evidence of progressive benefits.
For some people, these phenomena may initially trigger anxiety.
However, this reaction may dissipate as the process becomes more familiar.
Autogenic brain-discharge was intensively researched, and it was found that seemingly random and chaotic brain discharges could become increasingly coordinated over time.
These experiences could develop into a meaningful, hallucinatory waking-dream process.
Lucid Visions and Fourth State of Consciousness experiences were reported to emerge over a period of guided training sessions.
It is proposed here that the eventual harmonized emergence of Lucid Visions may be accelerated through the inclusion of well-crafted photic stimulation experiences.
The Six Exercises of Autogenic Training
Autogenic Training is a standardized relaxation technique that uses the mental repetition of six systematic exercises to decrease sympathetic tone and encourage general relaxation of the organism.
The six exercises focus on:
- heaviness;
- warmth;
- calm and regular heart function;
- self-regulation of respiration;
- warmth in the upper abdominal area;
- agreeable cooling of the forehead.
Repeated practice of these exercises may increase a person's capacity to induce progressively deeper relaxation and support the accumulation of therapeutic benefits.
Autogenic Training Method
The six standard exercises used in Autogenic Training include:
1. Heaviness in the Muscles of the Arms and Legs
Starting with one limb at a time, you state something like:
“My left arm is growing heavy.”
Initially, focus on only one limb, repeating the phrase several times and allowing yourself to experience the relaxed, heavy sensation.
Practice with one limb at a time for several days before moving to the next.
Once this phase is mastered, relax the arms and legs together by stating:
“My arms and legs grow heavy.”
2. Warmth in the Body
Once you are experiencing heaviness, move your focus to the sensation of warmth.
As before, begin by focusing on one body part at a time.
After becoming familiar with the sensation, you can focus on warmth throughout your whole body.
3. Calm Heartbeat
When you feel warm and heavy, turn your attention to your heartbeat.
You might state:
“My chest feels relaxed and warm. My heartbeat is slow and peaceful.”
Repeat the phrase slowly several times while allowing yourself to notice the response.
4. Calm, Deep Breathing
Next, progress to your breathing without directly trying to force it into a particular pattern or rate.
To avoid actively controlling your breath, you might say:
“My body breathes me.”
5. Softness and Warmth in the Abdomen
Gently allow your abdominal area to let go of tension and discomfort by stating:
“My gut, chest or solar plexus is warm and soft.”
6. Coolness in the Forehead
Soothe tension in your head and face by imagining a cool sensation in this area.
You might state:
“My forehead is relaxed and cool.”