Preksha Dhyana Self Awareness by Relaxation

Author(s): Mahapragna Acharya
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

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In modern age, Franz Mesmer, an Austrain doctor who is considered to be the first to give recognition to the importance of systematic suggestion, developed a technique of mass healing. “Mesmerism”, as the technique began to be called, spread all over the world and survives to this day in one form or another. James Braid recognised the technique as psychotherapy and renamed it as hypnosis (Greek word for sleep).
Later on earnest and selfless efforts by Jacque Liebeault of Nancy School in France, developed many applications of the technique that have become some of the foundations of modern psychotherapy. An important theoretical result was that suggestibility was natural, healthy and a normal element of everday behaviour.
The technique gained great acceptance during world wars and ultimately was given recognition by both British Medical Association as well as the American Medical As. sociation. Today more and more doctors as well as psychologists use hypnosis in their practices.
Auto-suggestion or self-hypnosis may be seen as a special kind of hypnosis in which the patient himself controls the process. Some researchers have established that all hypnosis is actually self-hypnosis in some fundamental way. Actually, during the late 1800's, Berlin Institute's renowned Brain Physiologist, Oscar Vogt found that some of his hypnotic subjects were able to "put themselves into a state which appeared very similar to deep relaxation”, and reduced their fatigue, tension and headaches. Thus definite clinical value of self-hypnosis was established long ago, but in the early 1900's Emile Coue' began to popularize conscious auto-suggestion and the phrase “Day by day in every way, I am getting better” became his landmark.
It has been established by experimental data that various types of body-changes which occur during the process, can be measured. Recent studies have shown that
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