Lowen breath. Bioenergy analysis. Examination of the circular muscles of the mouth
Chapter 7
The quality of a person's sexual sensations depends on his energy potential, since a decrease in the energy level means a decrease in the level of sensations. Sensitivity also depends on or grace, which allows the energy charge in the body to move freely. It also depends on how well a person is grounded, rooted, that is, energetically connected to the ground under his feet. If some power system, such as an electrical circuit, is not grounded, there is a risk that too much charge will overload it and disable it. Likewise, people who are not rooted in reality can become enslaved to strong feelings of a sexual or other nature. In order to avoid this, they are forced to suppress any feelings, as they are horrified at the thought that they can be defeated by them. In contrast, a grounded person will be able to withstand strong excitement, which will lead him to joy and a transcendent state.
We human beings are like trees, one end of which is rooted in the earth and the other is directed to the sky. The strength of the upward drive depends on the strength of our root system. The leaves of a torn tree die off. If a person breaks away from the roots, his spirituality turns into a dead abstraction.
Someone may object that people do not have such roots as trees. However, as earthly beings, we are connected to the earth with our feet and groans. If this connection is alive, we say that the person is grounded. We use the same term for connecting an electrical conductor to earth in order to prevent an electrical circuit from being overloaded. In bioenergetics, we use this term to characterize the connection of the human personality with the soil and reality. When we say that a person is well grounded, or that he stands firmly on the ground, this means that a person is aware of himself and his surroundings. Being grounded means being connected to the basic realities of life with the body, sexuality, the people around you, and so on. We are connected with them in the same degree as with the earth.
In diagnostics, it is important to consider the posture of a person and determine how firmly he is connected to the ground. This is a common approach in bioenergetic analysis. A person who feels strong and secure has a natural and upright posture. (Too straight posture is a disease - H.B.) When he is sad or depressed, he hunches over and becomes limp. When a person tries to compensate for the feeling of inner insecurity, the body becomes unnaturally rigid. In the pose of a person, not only psychological, but also social meaning is hidden. When we say that a person has a certain position in society, we mean that he is someone important. We expect from the king that he will stand like a king, and from the servants that they will assume a submissive pose. We know that a "person of character" will stand up for his beliefs no matter the circumstances.
It is known that some adults, despite their years, cannot stand on their own feet. We are talking about the fact that such people depend on others, they try to rely on someone. The lack of sensation in their feet results in their contact with the ground being purely mechanical. The table has legs for support, but we would never say that it is grounded. Of course, in contrast to material objects, people always have a certain degree of sensitivity in their feet. However, for some, these sensations are so weak that they do not reach consciousness, since they do not concentrate on their body. It is not enough just to know that our feet are touching the ground. An energy process is needed in which a wave of excitation moves down the body to the legs and feet. The feeling of grounding occurs as the wave of excitation hits the ground, changes direction, and then moves upwards, as if the earth were returning power upwards to support us. Standing in this way, we can consciously maintain the unity of opposites.
When we talk about someone walking in the clouds, we mean that most of the attention a person pays to his thoughts or his dreams, and not to the sensations in his feet. This person knows where he is going, but may be so preoccupied with what he will do when he arrives at his destination that the very act of walking becomes automatic. Since we human beings think almost all the time except for sleep, one might think that absent-mindedness is a natural state. However, attention can move so quickly that we can be simultaneously aware of what is in the mind and what is happening in the body. I have developed this habit in myself and during lectures I often pause to control the state of tension in my body and breath, and also to feel how my feet touch the floor. My listeners take these short pauses with pleasure, because at this time they can rest, and I can concentrate. The success of my lecture is directly proportional to the degree of my contact with the body and the senses. The success of this practice depends on the presence in the body of a strong energy pulsation that unites the two poles of the body. When this connection is interrupted, the person loses grounding, which causes a breakdown in communication between the speaker and listeners. I have been working with my body for a long time to develop good grounding.
The quality of a person's grounding reflects his inner sense of security. When a person is well grounded, he feels confident on his feet and is sure that he has ground under his feet. It does not depend on the strength of the legs, but only on how much we feel them. Strong, muscular legs may seem like a very good support for a person, but they are often very mechanical. Such a structure of the legs indicates a deep self-doubt, which is compensated by excessive muscle development. (Some kind of fucked up, just fucked up - H.B.) A similar lack of confidence can be observed in people with underdeveloped legs, but with excessively broad and strong shoulders. Subconsciously fearing a fall or defeat, such people support themselves with their hands, instead of looking for support on the ground. This posture puts a lot of pressure on the body, deepening the underlying uncertainty.
A person's sense of security is determined by his relationship with his mother in early childhood. Positive feelings - guardianship, support, tenderness, approval - allow the child's body to be in a soft, natural state. The child feels his body as a source of joy and pleasure, we identify with it and experience unity with our animal nature. Such a child will grow up to be buried in reality as a person, gifted with a strong sense of inner security and vice versa, when the child feels a lack of love and support from the mother, his body becomes tough. Rigidity is a natural reaction of the body to both physical and emotional cold. Indifference on the part of the mother weakens the child's sense of security, breaking his connection with the primary reality. Mother is our personal earth, and Earth is our common mother. Any insecurity that a child experiences in relations with his mother is reflected in the structure of his body. The child will subconsciously tighten their diaphragm, hold their breath, and raise their shoulders in fear. If insecurity becomes entrenched in the structure of a person's body, he will fall into a vicious circle, as if experiencing insecurity long after he becomes independent from his mother.
The problem of lack of a sense of security is unresolvable until a person realizes that he is not grounded enough. He may believe that he is safe because he gets money, has a family and position in society. But if he is not grounded, he will suffer from a lack of inner security.
The most obvious manifestation of insufficient grounding is a locked knee stance, which makes the legs stiff and less sensitive. This position makes it impossible for the knees to act as shock absorbers for the body. Just like shock absorbers in a car, the knee joints flex when the body is overloaded, allowing stress to be passed down the legs and into the ground (Figures 7.1 A and 7.1 B). As you can see in Figure 7.1B, Locked Knee Joints Transfer Stress to the Lower Back Most of us understand that mental stress puts as much strain on the body as physical strain. When we lock our knees to bear these G-forces, we do serious damage to the lower spine.
Standing on slightly bent knees can be uncomfortable at first. When the muscles get tired, instead of blocking the knee joints, it is better to let them rest. Blocking the knee joints can relieve pain, but only by making the legs stiffer and less sensitive. People who have learned to stand correctly usually begin to feel the body in a new way. As one reader wrote to me: “By unlocking my knee joints, you have unlocked my life energy.” With this in mind, in the process of bioenergetic therapy, we constantly remind patients to always stand with their knees slightly bent.
One day a young woman came to me for advice, complaining of dissatisfaction with life and lack of self-realization. When I asked her to return to her normal posture, I noticed that her knees were locked and the entire weight of her body rested on her heels. I demonstrated to her how unfavorable and unstable such a position was by lightly pressing one finger on her chest, which caused her to fall. When we repeated this exercise, she fell again, although she foresaw that this might happen. She immediately realized how important her posture was. She noted that men say she has "rounded heels." "It means I give in too easily," she said. In fact, she couldn't resist them. I asked her to bend her knees and shift her body weight forward, placing her center of gravity halfway between her heels and her toes. By adopting such a position, she ceased to be a girl who can be put down with one finger. (And how long could she control this pose? - H.B.)
Many people adopt a passive posture from which it is impossible to move forward. When I bring this to their attention, they usually admit that they have taken a passive stance towards life in general. However, some of them said that they are aggressive in dealing with people. In such cases, it can be foreseen with a high degree of certainty that the upper part of their body looks ready to attack, while the lower part is passive. This dissociation is common. Since the aggressiveness of their upper bodies looks unnatural, it is often exaggerated, indicating that this is nothing more than a defensive maneuver. Neither the passive nor the pseudo-aggressive stance provides the opportunity to get the softness of movement that is a prerequisite for a person to feel grounded. Free movement is possible only when we stand with our knees slightly bent and the weight of the body is transferred forward, and that in a naturally aggressive position.
The following exercise will allow you to assess your normal position (See Figure 7.1)
Exercise 7. 1
Take the starting position - the feet are parallel, the knees are slightly bent, the pelvis is relaxed and slightly pushed back. Now allow your upper body to lean forward until you feel the weight of your body on the balls of your front feet. It may seem to you that you will now fall face forward, but in fact, if you lose your balance, just take a step forward. Balance will not be lost if your head is in line with the body.
Raise your head so that you can look straight ahead. In order to balance your center of gravity, imagine that you are carrying a basket on your head.
Lifting your head, allow your chest to become sunken and your belly to expand so that your breath becomes sweaty and deep. Let the earth support you.
At first, this position may seem uncomfortable. It can even cause pain during stretching of tense muscles. When the muscles relax, the pain eventually subsides, it just needs to be patiently accepted. There is no need to be afraid that the pain will intensify. It can be easily transferred, especially if you really want the life energy to move freely in your body. (It is impossible to forcefully maintain such a pose all the time - H.B.)
Figure 7. 1 Grounding and stress
A. When your knees are relaxed, you stand in a fully straightened position.
B. When stress increases due to physical overwork or emotional overload, the knees bend to absorb it.
B. When the knees are locked (which prevents them from absorbing stress), stress is concentrated in the lower back, which causes the upper body to tilt
It is from this position that you can start the movements most gracefully. Unlocking the knees allows for a springy stride that feels grounded
Exercise 7.2
While walking, try to consciously feel how your feet touch the ground with each step. To this end, walk very slowly, allowing your body weight to be transferred alternately to each of your feet. Relax your shoulders and pay attention not to hold your breath or block your knee joints.
Do you feel a decrease in the center of gravity of your body? Do you feel better contact with the ground? Do you feel safer, more relaxed? This way of walking may seem strange at first. If so, then you must realize that under pressure modern life you have lost the natural grace of your body
Walk slowly at first to develop sensitivity in your feet and moans. As you feel the ground better, you can change the rhythm of your steps depending on your mood.
Do you feel better contact with your body after this exercise? Are you less likely to get lost in your thoughts while walking? Do you feel more relaxed and free?
Bringing attention to the gait is only the first step towards regaining grace. We must also develop elasticity and sensitivity in the legs. The following exercise I recommend to my patients to perform regularly, both during therapy sessions and at home. I have called it the basic grounding exercise and it was first described in my bioenergetic exercise book, The Way to Vibrant Health. Since it is very important, I include it in this book as well.
Exercise 7.3
Stand straight with your feet parallel and about 45 cm apart. Lean forward and reach the floor with the fingertips of both hands, bending your knees as much as necessary. The main weight of the body is on the balls of the feet, and not on the palms or heels. Touching the floor with your fingers, gradually straighten your knees, but do not block them, stay in this position for 25 breaths. Breathe freely and deeply. You will probably feel that your legs begin to tremble, which means that waves of excitement begin to pass through them.
If trembling does not occur, then the legs are too tense. In this case, trembling can be provoked by gradually bending and straightening the legs. These movements should be minimal, their goal is to relax the knee joints. The exercise should be performed for at least 25 breaths, or until trembling occurs in the legs. You may notice that your breathing becomes deeper and more spontaneous. Returning to a standing position, keep your knees slightly bent, feet parallel, and the center of gravity shifted forward. Your legs may still tremble, indicating their vitality. Do you feel better in your legs now? Do you feel more relaxed?
If the legs do not vibrate in this position, you can continue the exercise up to 60 breathing cycles and repeat them several times a day. (You can also provoke leg vibration by standing on one leg in the same position as described above and lifting your foot off the floor. This increases tension in your skating leg.) This basic grounding exercise enhances the feeling of "letting go," or release. When many years ago I taught a series of bioenergy classes with a group of psychologists at the Essalen Institute, I demonstrated this exercise to a young woman who was a dancer and also a tai chi instructor. When her legs began to tremble, she said, "I've spent my whole life on my feet, but this is the first time I'm in them." When a person gets too excited during bioenergetic therapy, this exercise brings back self-control. One of my patients, a comedian, practiced it while standing backstage before auditioning for his new role. When his colleagues warmed up with vocals or practiced singing, he took a grounding position and brought his legs to vibration. He said that most of his colleagues were so tense during the audition that as a result of this tension their voice broke. At the same time, he felt relaxed, and therefore often the roles went to him. I myself have been doing this exercise regularly for about 32 years and repeat it every morning to keep my legs flexible and relaxed. It may not seem so important to young people, but it is necessary if we are to retain a little grace in movement in old age. Age affects the legs more than other parts of the body. It is no exaggeration to say that a person is only as young as his legs are. (And yogis say that about the spine. Everyone is arguing what he wants - H.B.)
Another exercise that enhances the feeling of grounding is the squat, as it brings the person as close to the ground as possible. Children, as well as inhabitants of underdeveloped countries and primitive peoples, easily accept this position. (Yeah, another very popular activity in prisons is H.B.) However, most Westerners will not be able to do it without twisting backwards. They can hold this position only for a short time, holding on to some kind of support. This inability to hold a squatting position without support is due to the enormous tension present in most people in the hips, buttocks and lower back. Squats are necessary for people with such problems.
Exercise 7. 4.
Place your feet parallel at a distance of about 20 cm. Try to squat down and hold this position without any support. If some support is needed, grasp some furniture in front of you. The correct squatting position requires both heels to touch the floor and the weight of the body resting on the front of the feet.
If you need support, another way to do this exercise is to use a rolled up towel, which is placed under your heels before squatting. The roller must be thick enough to ensure that this position is maintained. This support should not be comfortable, since in this case the goal of the exercise - stretching the spasmodic muscles of the legs - cannot be achieved. The achievement of this goal can be brought closer by shifting the weight of the body forward and backward alternately.
If squatting starts to hurt, get down on your knees, step your feet back and sit on your heels. The ego can be painful if the legs and feet are tense. If so, squat down again to relax your ankles. Regular squatting and sitting on your heels speeds up the “letting go” process.
It should be remembered that graceful movement starts from the ground, from the feet. After completing the grounding exercises described above, you can feel this principle in action more vividly by doing the following exercise, which mimics one of the most common activities we do every day, namely getting up from a chair.
Exercise 7.5.
Sit in a chair with both feet flat on the floor in your normal position. Rise, pushing off the floor, and not leaning on a chair. To do this, place your weight on the balls of your feet, then plant your feet on the floor and push straight up. By doing this movement, you have strong contact with the soil. Repeat this exercise again, but now get up from the chair as you normally would. (Contraindicated in people with exacerbation of back pain, see Travell - H.B.)
Do you feel the difference between these two ways of getting up from a chair? Repeat the exercise two or three times until the difference becomes apparent. Pushing up, make full use of your legs. When standing up from a chair, the upper body is most involved, and more effort is also required.
In addition to relaxed muscles, in order to achieve full and free movement of excitation in the body, correct body geometry is necessary. It starts with the feet, which act like springs to dampen shocks while walking. If a person is well grounded, with each step his foot flattens slightly. Obviously, a person cannot be well grounded if the arch of the foot is too high, or if the feet have lost their elasticity and flattened, which does not allow full contact with the ground. (Feet flatten NOT because they lose their elasticity, but because of the structural features of the connective tissue and congenital deformities among a number of factors - H.B.) Flat feet cause loss of springy stride. Flattened feet are not energetically charged enough and are overstressed. Obese people tend to have flat feet, as well as people who are emotionally or physically overwhelmed. At the same time, a high arch of the foot is found in people with "bird" legs. Such people were usually brought up by unapproachable or unfriendly mothers. And they feel the need to stay above ground.
The way you place your feet is also important for correct geometry. In our cultural environment, we rarely see people standing or walking with their feet pointing forward. Most people walk with their feet turned more or less outward. This position causes the weight of the body to be transferred to the heels, and tension to the lateral sides of the legs. In conjunction with flat feet, this position can cause serious damage to the body, as one of my doctor friends described it in a letter to me: “I still suffer from overweight, and my feet and knees show the effects of long stretches of stress and symmetry breaking. The sides of the cartilage in my knee joints have worn down to the bone and I can't stay up for long. I asked the orthopedist how this could have happened. In his opinion, my flat feet from early childhood have redirected most of the load on the outside of the knee joints, which have now collapsed, and in this state he cannot help me. Now, as usual, it is very difficult for me to move.” These unfortunate consequences could have been avoided by exercise.
Each of us must learn to stand with feet parallel at a distance of 20 cm and slightly bent knees, placed in line with the middle of each of the feet. If we suffer from flat feet, we must put the weight on the ribs of the feet, keeping the knees in the described position. (DO NOT transfer you to the edges of the stop, and, categorically !!! - H.B.) The legs may begin to tremble, indicating a decrease in tension.
Standing or walking with the feet turned outward in a V-shape may also be the result of chronic tension in the gluteal muscles. In most cases, this tension is the result of past habits of "cleanliness", which causes a "squeezing of the priests" and a "herringbone" gait. The following exercise shows the effect of this tension on the body.
Exercise 7.6.
Take a standing position with your feet perfectly parallel at a distance of 20 cm. The knees should be slightly bent and the weight of the body transferred forward. Place your palm on the bottom of the pelvis, below the anus. Then place your heels together, making a V. Do you feel your buttocks tense and contract?
Walk around a bit with your feet in V positions and notice how little grace is left in your movements. Now take a few steps with your feet parallel. Do you feel a significant difference in your movements? Watch other people walk. Do you notice the difference between those who place their feet parallel and those who turn them out?
The purpose of the next exercise is to relax the feet. It is used before going to bed and allows many people suffering from chronic insomnia to fall asleep, as well as relieve tension in the head.
Exercise 7.7.
Stand with one or two feet on a wooden roller or brush stick. As with other exercises, you need to take off your shoes in order to increase sensation in the feet. You can move the roller so that it presses on the front of the foot, its arch, or near the heel.
Did you feel any sensitivity in your feet after this exercise? Has the contact with the soil improved? Do you feel the difference in the degree of relaxation of the body?
These bioenergetic exercises are no doubt valuable in helping people to feel how deeply their feet are rooted in the ground, however, in order to achieve significant changes in sensations and behavior, it is necessary to constantly be aware of your body. It is important that we be aware of our legs and feet, whether we are walking, standing or sitting. While sitting, we should also be aware of those parts of the body that are in contact with the chair. Most people sit in a chair so that the center of gravity of the body falls on the sacrum or tailbone, and not on the ischial tuberosities. This position may seem comfortable and conducive to relaxation, but it reflects a certain degree of self-isolation, like a child who curls up in some corner to hide from the world. Such an attitude lacks a real sense of security if the person sitting in this way is not prepared to turn their heads to the reality of adulthood. In order to sit in a grounded position, we must feel our buttocks touching the back of the chair. In this case, the back remains straight and the head is directed forward.
The therapist often sits face to face with the patient discussing their problems and feelings. I have noticed that these discussions are more productive and immediate if the patient and I are sitting in a grounded position. Contact between us is facilitated if each of us looks the other directly in the eyes. (Looking directly into the eyes is a sign of aggression and a habit artificially instilled in Western culture - H.B.) This sense of visual contact and contact through the ground brings a spiritual element to the therapy. By reducing anxiety and increasing the sense of security, it has positive influence in any situation where people sit and talk among themselves. This type of contact is invaluable in times of crisis, as I witnessed while flying in a small hydroplane when we were caught in a hurricane. I managed to avoid the panic that gripped the rest of the passengers by concentrating on the feeling of my back against the seat and free, deep breathing.
Since low back pain is so common, some believe that a person should never have assumed an upright position. But if problems with the lumbar spine were due to a mistake of nature, then all people would suffer from it. When I examine the posture of many people in terms of bioenergetics, it becomes clear that only ungrounded people experience problems in the lumbar spine. The one who is grounded and has retained the grace of movement is held in an upright position by the life force that moves from the ground through the feet, legs, hips, pelvis, back, neck and head. This life force or energy is called kundalini in yoga and is believed to flow along the spine from the sacrum to the head when the yogi meditates in the lotus position. While walking or standing, this movement of energy is felt as coming from the ground. Regardless of the position we are in, this movement of energy is possible only when we are grounded. Some people are naturally like that As Lee Strasberg says, Eleanor Deuce, a famous acting teacher, "had a very unusual smile." “That smile seemed to start from the very tips of her toes. It seemed to travel through the body before reaching the face and lips."
Exploring the question of the vertical position of a person, one should return to the image of a tree. The ability of a tree to maintain an upright position depends more on the strength of its roots than on the rigidity of its structure. In fact, the stiffer the structure of the tree, the more pliable it is to the wind. (Reeds are pliable to the wind, and trees like willows - H.B.) Roots are important not only because they provide a support system, but also because they extract from the ground the nutrients necessary for the growth of a tree. The juices that carry these substances up to the leaves are necessary for the tree to live. But these juices must also flow down after being charged with the energy of the Sun. Also in the human body, energy flows up and down.
Of course, the human body is very different from a tree, but in fact, all life on Earth exists in the atmosphere, where the Earth meets the Sky. It is here that the energy of the Sun transforms the matter of the Earth into protoplasm. Just like a tree, we human beings look to the sky as a source that gives energy to life, but we also depend on the earth, which provides us with nourishing substances. Only angels are not dependent on the Earth, since they are neither trees nor animals. A person cannot, unfortunately, be both an animal and an angel at the same time. If we disconnect from our animal nature (and lower body), we will lose our grounding. To be grounded, you have to be a sexual being. And as we see from the discussion in chapter 6, a person can become truly sexual only when the movements of his pelvis become free.
These movements in the pre-orgasmic phase depend on the will, but during the orgasmic peak they become spontaneous and uncontrollable. Uncontrolled movements are a lot of fun, but volitional movements can also be pleasurable if they are not forced. Compulsion causes tension. In short, our movements are graceful when we allow the wave of excitement to flow unhindered upwards from the ground. A relaxed pelvis helps with this. When we push it forward while walking or in sexual intercourse, the muscles around the pelvis tighten, which limits sensation. It is much better to let the pelvis move forward on its own.
In the sixth chapter, we presented exercises, the purpose of which is to measure the tension clamped in the pelvis. Now, using the concept of grounding, we can do certain exercises that will help the pelvis to move freely.
Exercise "Arch of Lowen No. 1". Stand straight with your feet parallel and about 45 cm apart. Lean forward and reach the floor with the fingertips of both hands, bending your knees as much as necessary. The main weight of the body is on the balls of the feet, and not on the palms or heels. Touching the floor with your fingers, gradually straighten your knees, but do not block them; stay in this position for 25 breaths. Breathe freely and deeply. You will probably feel your legs begin to tremble; this means that waves of excitation begin to pass through them.
If trembling does not occur, then the legs are too tense. In this case, trembling can be provoked by gradually bending and straightening the legs. These movements should be minimal, their goal is to relax the knee joints. The exercise should be performed for at least 25 breaths or until trembling occurs in the legs. Returning to a standing position, keep your knees slightly bent, your feet parallel, and your center of gravity shifted forward. Your legs may still tremble, indicating their vitality. If the legs do not vibrate in this position, you can continue the exercise up to 60 breathing cycles and repeat them several times a day.
Lowen demonstrated this exercise to a young woman who was a dancer and also a tai chi instructor. When her legs began to tremble, she said, "I've spent my whole life on my feet, but this is the first time I'm in them."
Exercise "Arch of Lowen No. 2". Feet at a distance of about 40 cm from each other, socks slightly turned inward. Squeeze your palms into fists, rest them on the sacrum (thumbs pointing up). Bend your knees as much as you can without lifting your heels off the ground. Bend back, leaning on your fists. Transfer your body weight to your toes. The line connecting the center of the foot, the middle of the thigh and the center of the shoulder girdle is extended like a bow. In this case, the stomach is released. If there are chronically tense muscles, then a person, firstly, is not able to perform the exercise correctly, and secondly, he feels these chronic tensions as pains and inconveniences in the body that impede the performance of this exercise.
Exercise "Arch of Lowen No. 3". Lie on the floor on your back, bend your knees and spread your legs 30 cm apart.
Arch your back, pulling yourself towards your ankles with your hands. Only the crown, shoulders and feet touch the floor. Place your fists under your heels, knees moving forward. Breathe deeply, relax your buttocks as much as possible.
It is believed that Lowen's arches are the most powerful tool for grounding a person.. After completing the exercise, a person begins to feel very well his legs as a support, connects to the earth, takes root, begins to make decisions differently, and even changes his material well-being for the better.
Exercise "Electric Current"(psycho-muscular exercise). The purpose of the exercise is to consistently release muscle groups from tension.
Starting position: hands down. Vibrations begin in the fingers, as if it were an electric shock. Vibrations are distributed to the entire brush. In a minute they will seize the arm up to the elbow, then (with the same interval) the shoulders, the upper half of the body, and finally, the whole body "shocks". The total duration of the exercise is 6 minutes, one minute for each added muscle group.
As a result, a feeling of warmth appears in the body, tingling in the skin, relaxation of the muscles. The exercise has ancient Zen roots, its usefulness has been tested for thousands of years. However, there is also modern scientific substantiation of its effectiveness. Relaxation is achieved by excessive tension.
Exercise "Thread"(Exercise to release the spine). Attention is focused on the internal sensations that occur in the body when performing these exercises.
It is necessary to squat down, clasp your knees with your hands, hide your head in your knees. You are a ball of threads, they unwind you, someone pulls on the thread and makes you tumble forward, backward, and sideways at different speeds. The ball becomes smaller and smaller (rolls and somersaults - at least three minutes), until it unwinds into a thread. Your thread consists of two fibers (the right half of the body is one fiber, the left half is the other). Someone pulls the fibers in the opposite direction, back and forth. The impulse of movement is set by the feet, the knees are straight, the toes of the feet are on themselves. The two halves of the body move relative to each other for 3-5 minutes.
Natural dizziness after somersaults and tension of the paravertebral muscles in the first and second phases of the exercise will lead to deep unconscious relaxation. Concomitant effect - with systematic implementation, osteochondrosis manifestations are removed.
Exercise "Sarvangasana" (pose for all parts of the body). This pose is sometimes referred to as Candle Pose or Birch Pose.
Starting position: leaning on the palms of your hands, slowly lift both legs up, first to a vertical position, and then move them slightly in the direction of the head; lift the body up and support it with your hands on the side. The chin rests on the jugular fossa. Pull your toes up. The support is carried out on the shoulders, neck and elbows. Don't close your eyes. Attention - to thyroid gland. Breathing is arbitrary, through the nose. For the first 10 days, stay in this position for 10 seconds, then every decade add 10 seconds until you reach 200 seconds (for both men and women). The exercise is performed 1 time.
Exit the pose: slowly move your legs in the direction of the head, put your hands on the mat to its original position, after which, without lifting your head, return the torso and legs to the mat.
Therapeutic effects: 1) has a beneficial effect on the endocrine glands; 2) very useful for constipation, indigestion, poor circulation, bronchial asthma and sexual disorders; 3) helps with impotence in men and frigidity in women; 4) strengthens the nerves and purifies the blood; 5) maintains in good condition almost all the internal organs of a person, as the name of the posture implies; 6) gives strength, good tone and energy.
Contraindications: 1) cervicothoracic sciatica; 2) serious heart disease; 3) high blood pressure.
In this pose, all parts of the body, including the legs, should be tense. Please note that you need to support yourself from the side, that is, mainly from the sides, and not from behind, so that there is no spasm of the latissimus dorsi. You need to enter the pose on the exhale. The chin should clearly rest against the jugular (coronal) fossa.
Exercise "Shavasana" ("Dead Pose"). This posture is a posture of complete relaxation of the body, and if performed correctly, one can get a feeling of relaxation, equivalent to a long night's sleep. Shavasana does not replace a night's sleep, but simply relieves fatigue caused by hard and prolonged physical or mental labor in the shortest possible time.
Starting position: lie on your back on the mat, heels and toes together, arms pressed to the body.
Savasana has three stages, which are learned as they are mastered one after another.
First stage . Close your eyes, tense your whole body for a second (for contrast), and then immediately relax it. At the same time, the heels and toes of the legs will disperse, the hands will lean back on the mat with palms up, and the head will bow to the left or right. Breathing is arbitrary, through the nose.
At this stage, mentally control your complete relaxation, starting from your toes and down to the smallest muscles in your face. After a while, you will feel that your hands and feet will start to warm up.
It usually takes 15-20 days to complete this stage.
Second stage. After a good and complete relaxation (i.e. the 1st stage), you should try with your eyes closed to imagine a clear, blue, cloudless sky.
At first it will seem difficult, the image of the blue sky will disappear, but after appropriate training for 30-40 days, the difficulties will disappear. In order to better master this stage, it is recommended to often look at the real blue sky and then, closing your eyes, keep its image in front of you.
The third stage. When you succeed in the first two stages, then try to imagine yourself in the form of a bird soaring in this clear, blue, cloudless sky.
It can take quite a long time to work out this stage, from three months or more. But when you succeed in this stage, then turn your attention to the heart and stay in this position for at least 5 minutes.
Finish the exercise like this: open your eyes, stretch your whole body (hands can be extended behind your head) and sit on the mat. You can’t jump up right away, you need to sit for a while, and only then get up.
Therapeutic effects: 1) yogis believe that this is the best posture for prolonging life; 2) "Shavasana" gives a person rest, freshness and cheerfulness; 3) helps in the treatment of hypertension; 4) helps with sleep disorders (instead of daytime sleep, it is better to do "Shavasana"). Well, for an actor, this is a great technique to acquire liberation and master the stage movement.
Other similar yoga exercises for removing muscle blocks can be found in the book S. Kukaleva "Manual for the development of talent."
THE ROLE OF STAGE MOVEMENT
The expressiveness of an actor on stage depends on his ability to feel movement. The feeling of movement is the fusion of a number of psychophysical qualities of the actor, which are manifested in visible form and can and should be controlled through the amplitude, speed, strength and clarity of the lines of movement. The feeling of movement is a skill that is formed in the process of “experiencing” movement, that is, conscious mastering of its structure, and improved through a conscious attitude to the process of building movement.
From a micro gesture to a whole body “gesture,” this is the path an actor needs to take to go beyond the purely external sensation of movement and feel his body as matter filled with energy in constant motion. We approach the sense of movement through the cultivation of a sense of perspective, where the main task is to learn to feel change in body position in millimeters.
In the human body there is a motor, a "transmission", shock absorbers, there are the finest regulators and even pressure gauges. All this requires study and use. There should be a special science - biomechanics. This science may not be narrowly "labor", it should border on sports, where movements are strong, dexterous and at the same time airy and artistic.
A.K. Gastev
The human motor apparatus is a self-propelled mechanism, consisting of 600 muscles, 200 bones, several hundred tendons. These figures are approximate, as some bones (for example, bones spinal column, chest) are fused with each other, and many muscles have several heads (for example, the biceps of the shoulder, quadriceps femoris) or are divided into many bundles (deltoid, pectoralis major, rectus abdominis, latissimus dorsi and many others). It is believed that human motor activity is comparable in complexity to human brain, the most perfect creation of nature. And just as the study of the brain begins with the study of its elements (neurons), so in biomechanics, first of all, they study the properties of the elements of the motor apparatus.
Lowen's bioenergetic exercises revitalize the human body, helping it to release repressed emotions and feelings, as well as resolve internal conflicts. Certain experiences of impact on different parts of the body increase a person's resistance to stress and harmonize the mind with the body shell.
Lesson Basics
The bodily practice of Alexander Lowen is aimed at generating certain vibrations in the human body. In fact, vibrational waves in this therapy are the general reactions of the physical shell, including the pulsation of both individual organs and entire organic systems. The main thing is only what factor became decisive in the appearance of these vibrations.
The creator of bioenergetics believed that the cause of flowing bodily sensations is excitement, which is a mixture of excitement, desire for intimacy and the activity of intuition.
It is in the vibrations that the natural mobility of the individual lies, which is characteristic of emotional activity or spontaneous actions.
Everything that belongs to the sphere of the unconscious is not controlled by the human mind or ego, which means that it is the most natural manifestation human essence. In childhood, all individuals are very mobile, but over time, their lifestyle more and more resembles a static one. An early loss of body activity occurs in stressful situations, during depression.
The ideal way of life implies a harmonious balance of conscious and partially conscious actions. A person with such a system of movement is a graceful person, but this grace can only be achieved by striving for higher self-control and self-consciousness. It is precisely bioenergetic therapy that is called upon to acquire such elevation, which weakens the rigidity of the body, increases the energy potential of the individual and deepens his breathing.
How to detect muscle tension
Before choosing a system of exercises, Lowen advises the therapist to diagnose the patient for bodily blocks. First, the client should lie on their back.
Breath analysis
The first stage of examination is breath analysis. It is necessary to assess whether the chest and abdomen enter the process of breathing and how often inhalations and exhalations enter the pelvic region. It is necessary to check the chest for the degree of rigidity by slightly pressing on it. It is also worth evaluating the skill of conscious breathing when the specialist asks the client to breathe under his hand placed on the patient's stomach.
Here, the soreness of the abdomen and chest, their bulge, and the reaction to tickling are checked. Then you need to evaluate the hips. The feeling of tickling, soreness, the degree of muscle tension or their excessive laxity are analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the gluteal muscles.
Examination of the muscles of the neck and shoulders
Then the condition of the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle is examined. Muscles from the cervical spine are carefully studied, where they connect the neck and skull. The therapist looks at the level of soreness, sensitivity from tickling.
Attention is also paid to the throat blocks. They are evidenced by the quiet and high voice of the patient, as well as the occurrence of throat spasms in him during excitement, the appearance of lumps in his voice, frequent nausea with difficult to elicit vomiting.
Examination of the circular muscles of the mouth
Equally, like other muscles, the circular muscles of the mouth are checked, the tension of which is not recognized at all, but is manifested by specific wrinkles and tightly closed lips. Then the therapist checks the soreness of the masticatory muscles.
It is also necessary to diagnose blocks in the eye muscles. They are indicated by radial wrinkles, rare tearing, blurred eyes.
Pelvic mobility study
The next step is to ask the person to stand up. It is necessary to check how mobile the pelvis is when respiratory process. To analyze blocks in the pelvis, you can perform a simple exercise: take a standing pose with knees slightly bent and feet apart 25 cm apart.
It is necessary to transfer the weight of the body to the toes and set the pelvis as far as possible, while still bending the knees and moving, as in the process of defecation. At this moment, the muscles in the pelvic floor area relax, and then they contract. If a person does not feel the difference, he clearly has a block.
Tension in this area has to do with early teaching about cleanliness or masturbation inhibitions.
Grounding exercises
Alexander Lowen was a supporter of many Eastern practices that highly valued the lower centers of the human body as stores and conductors of energy. Bioenergetics suggests that it is vital for a person to stand on the ground with both feet, and firmly and confidently. On a personal level, this gives a sense of independence and security, it also does not allow you to lose contact with reality and your own physical shell.
Grounding allows you to know your sexuality and tune in to receive true pleasures.
These exercises are aimed at focusing attention and shifting the center of gravity to the area below the abdomen in order to be closer to the ground and forever forget about the irrational fear of falling and losing support. In the case of successful grounding, a person becomes the owner of a harmonious body, in which there are no barriers to the natural course of vital energy.
In addition, a number of bioenergy experiments in this block allow you to realize which muscles are tense and why it is dangerous for the individual's breathing.
Checking the level of rooting
First, you should check the level of your own rooting on the surface of the earth and the degree of vibration signals.
- Spread your feet at a distance of 45 cm from each other and turn them slightly inward so that the muscles of the buttocks tighten.
- Bend forward and touch the floor with your fingers, slightly bending your knees. At the same time, transfer the body weight to the big toes, there is no need to put pressure on the hands.
- Lower your chin as low as possible without straining your neck. Watch for free and deep breathing through your mouth.
- You can slightly lift your heels off the floor.
- Then begin to straighten your legs, pulling the tendons under your knees. Hold the pose for a minute and then reflect on how you feel.
There should be vibratory activity in the legs, marking a wave of excitement in the body, all energy blocks temporarily subside.
For this experience to be successful, two rules must be observed:
- Always bend your knees. The elasticity of this part of the body allows you to shift the load on the lower back, and this corresponds to the effect of a stressful situation on the body. It is the knees that absorb the shock of a person from any unexpected event and allow the pressure to sink into the depths of the earth.
- Let go of your belly. Ideas about perfect figure almost inextricably linked with thoughts about the smartness of a person. However, tension in the abdomen blocks the spontaneous actions and skills of sexuality. It also significantly complicates abdominal breathing and simply wastes the energy of the individual. It must be remembered that physical tightness always provokes psychological stress, while the released stomach has little to do with the belly. The main block for the movement of energy is located in the navel.
Abdominal relaxation exercise
Lowen's bioenergetics, whose exercises help to feel chronic ailments in the body, pays a lot of attention to relaxing the abdomen. There are two techniques aimed at relieving tension in the abdominal region:
- Place your feet parallel at a distance of 25 cm.
- Bend your legs a little.
- Shift your weight onto your heels, pushing forward with a straight but not rigid body, and keep your feet on the floor.
- Release your belly while maintaining even mouth breathing for a minute. You will feel tension in the lower half of your torso. Think about whether you are breathing with your stomach and whether it is possible to feel like a careless, slumped individual with such a released stomach.
The second method of working on the abdomen is called the Arc (Arch, Bow) and is actively used in the oriental technique of Tai Chi. This exercise helps to open the breath in a stressful situation and create the necessary pressure on the legs.
- Spread your feet 45-50 cm apart, slightly turning them inward.
- Clench your hands into fists, place them on the lumbar region, turning the knuckles of the thumbs up.
- Bend your knees as much as possible without lifting your heels off the ground, and bend back.
- Move over the fists, shifting the weight only forward, onto the feet. Breathe deeply, engaging your belly.
If there is a feeling that the lower back is stretched, then there is muscle tension there. Please note that with relaxed legs, discomfort should not occur in the hips or knees.
Place your feet parallel, bend your knees, relax your pelvis and take it back a little. The upper half of the body should go forward without tilting, as in a fall. The body weight is transferred to the tips of the feet.
Keep your head and torso in line so you don't lose your balance. Raise your chin, look straight ahead.
Visualize a heavy basket on your head. Your chest is drawn in and your belly expands to make your breathing as full as possible. The earth supports you. Tight muscles in this position are slowly stretched, so you may feel pain at first.
For maximum rooting, it is helpful to change your gait so that each step is associated with a conscious sense of being in contact with the ground. Move slowly and transfer your body weight to each foot in turn. No need to hold your breath or strain your shoulders, blocking the knee muscles also negatively affects.
When walking, a person should feel that his center of gravity is shifting down, from which a sense of security and grace grows.
Place your feet 20 cm wide and squat down. Hold the position without external supports, in extreme cases, grab the furniture.
The feet should be pressed to the floor, and the weight of the body is transferred to the toes. You can facilitate the exercise with a soft roller under the heels. The task of such an exercise is to stretch the muscles of the legs, relieve them of tension, therefore it is useful to periodically shift the body weight back and forth. The soreness of such a pose is associated with blocks in the legs, so you can sometimes kneel down and sit on your heels, but this also causes discomfort due to energy stagnation in the legs and feet.
Take a seated position in a chair. Put your feet on the floor, start lifting the torso without resting on furniture, pushing from the ground. To do this, transfer the body weight to the front of the feet, then rest against them and spring up.
This exercise allows you to experience the closest contact with the ground and does not require as much effort.
Place your feet at a distance of 30 cm from each other, bend your knees and put your hands on them. The purpose of this workout is to move the pelvis to the sides due to lower extremities, keeping the upper half of the body passive.
It is necessary to transfer the body weight to the pads of the right foot, straighten the corresponding knee and tilt the pelvis to the right. Then the action is repeated with the left limbs, and the pelvis is shifted to the left.
The exercise must be repeated 5 times in each direction in order to realize that a true grounded movement excites and looks graceful, while forced turns of the pelvis with twisting of the entire body do not bring pleasure.
Activation of the pelvic muscles
A tight stomach is a consequence of limiting one's own sexuality. However, the flow of sexual feelings may not even reach this area if the pelvic area is not free. Blocks in the pelvic area interfere with the necessary vibrations, they also negatively affect the way the head is held.
Alexander Lowen noted that most often a person tightens the buttocks, and the pelvis pushes forward, creating a strong stressful tension in the lower back, in the lower back. When the pelvis is pulled back, sexual feelings enter the genitals, and this helps the personality to be energetically discharged. Without relaxed pelvic muscles, a person is not able to feel grounded in the sexual area of his life.
That is why, within the framework of bioenergetic therapy, one must learn to spontaneously rock the pelvis. At the same time, however, one should not forget about the need for vibrations in the legs and harmonious breathing movements.
Exercise 1
Stand up and bend your knees slightly, spread your feet 30 cm apart. Transfer the body weight to the balls of your big toes, release your stomach and calmly place your palms on your hips. Begin to rotate your hips from side to side, grabbing only the pelvis, and not the upper half of the torso or legs.
Breathe freely using only your mouth. Move 12 times to the left and the same number to the right. Try to keep the pelvic floor relaxed, as well as the anus.
Usually this exercise is not given to those who suffer from sexual problems or lack of grounding.
Exercise 2
Now try to become aware of the blocks at the base of the back and in the pelvis. Lie down on the ground, bend your knees and place your feet on the floor. With each breath, move your pelvis back so that your buttocks rest on the surface and your stomach comes out. As you exhale, the pelvis rises slightly, and the feet press into the floor, providing grounding.
After 15-20 breathing cycles through the mouth (with the departure of inhalations and exhalations into the pelvis), you can finish the exercise.
The pelvis and breathing should correspond to each other, there is no need to strain the buttocks. Do not push the pelvic region up with tight hips and abdomen, because this blocks the sexual experience and all spontaneity of action.
Exercise 3
Regularly also stretch the inner thigh muscles that bring the legs together. To do this, take a supine position, placing a folded blanket under the lumbar region. Buttocks should touch the floor.
- Bend your legs, spread them apart, but the feet should be in contact with each other.
- Keep your hands on the sides of the body or on the inside of the thighs, and tilt your head back.
- It is necessary to put pressure on the floor with your buttocks and spread your knees without tearing your feet apart.
- Hold the pose for a few minutes, letting go of your belly and taking deep belly breaths. With severe pain, you can remove the roller from under the back.
- You can continue the exercise by returning your knees to the starting position. The feet should be separated by 50-60 cm, followed by the knees.
- Then begin to slowly bring your knees together, but do not squeeze the muscles of the legs. Feel the pleasant vibration of your feet.
Emotional Expression
From Lowen's point of view, bioenergetic therapy should help a person to realize the self. Closely related to the last term is self-expression, i.e. freedom of expression. It is not necessary to manifest the self consciously, sometimes a deep voice and bright eyes are enough, and this cannot be achieved artificially.
Lowen in his experiments teaches people to consider their feelings in a safe environment, expressing fear, anger, and sadness.
The purpose of such exercises is to master self-control, which will help in the future to save a large amount of energy even in a stressful situation.
Bioenergetics makes a person balanced, i.e. promotes coordination of actions and feelings.
Exercise 1
The first exercise introduces a person to protest expression and demonstrates the level of self-expression of the individual. The advantage of these actions is also that they involve the lower half of the body in the activity.
- Lie down on a soft surface, relax your legs.
- Place your palms on the edge of the bed or mattress.
- Raise your leg and start hitting with your heel from top to bottom, at first slowly and lightly, and then harder and faster (from 25 hits at the beginning to 200 times at the end). Strikes should be a solid movement, passing through the entire body.
- You need to raise your head with each jump of the foot, and vice versa.
If it is difficult to perform the exercise, you can recall past unfair moments in life. You can also shout “No” while observing deep breathing.
Exercise 2
You can also hit a soft surface with your fists or tennis rackets.
- To do this, you need to spread your feet 25 cm, bend your knees, shift your weight on your toes.
- Hands are raised behind the head, bending the back and hitting the mattress or bed with screams that will help defuse the accumulated anger.
However, it is necessary to beat not with all the force, but very gracefully and smoothly, bringing the shoulders far back. A blow is not a contraction of muscles, but a free and calm action that gives excitement to the whole body - from the feet to the hands. As a result of the exercise, you can relax the upper half of the back and shoulders.
Exercise 3
If you are working with a partner or in a therapy group, be sure to refer to the exercise for developing trust and unity in a team. In a not too lit space, lie on your back on a soft surface, bend your legs at a distance of 45 cm from each other, relax, close your eyelids.
Focus on taking deep breaths in and out, and in a minute start remembering one event from your childhood when you were limited in your desire to learn something new, when you cried or were furious. Imagine the situation down to the smallest detail and try to express your feelings for your parents through tears, screams, any actions.
Then you need to calm down and lie down, inhale and exhale 5-6 times. Then open your eyes, spread your fingers and toes, and after 2-3 minutes put a towel in your mouth. Clamp it with your teeth and begin to drag to relieve pressure in the jaw area.
After 5 minutes, remove the towel and start twisting it aggressively with both hands. Relax, then close your eyes and return to the memories. Think of a different reaction to your parents, voice it, and calm down.
After a couple of minutes, open your eyes and breathe deeply and gently. Change places with a partner whose goal is to calm the patient with his presence, to remind him of the need for verbal manifestations of feelings. It can also relieve tension by massaging certain parts of the body.
Breathing practices
Proper breathing is the key to exciting body vibrations, since oxygen forms the necessary energy in the body.
Lowen's bioenergetic experiences help you become aware of your breathing, make inhalations and exhalations more natural and relaxed.
In adult life, people often suffer from respiratory disorders due to emotional contradictions and, as a result, muscle clamps.
Ideal breathing must necessarily involve the throat, diaphragm, chest, abdominal cavity, and lower ribs. Incomplete breaths and exhalations represent a person's protection from fear and panic.
When working with breathing, it is important to note the role of a loud voice, which provides confidence in the process of recruiting and assimilating oxygen.
Holding the sound creates blocks, and releasing it resonates in the body and leads to the necessary vibrations. Bioenergetics teaches a person to breathe effortlessly and loudly so that suppressed stress reactions and pain collapsed under the pressure of sound and freedom.
- Sit on a hard surface. Extend the sound "a" for at least 20 seconds. Gradually increase the time of the sound to neutralize the blocks in the breath. As a result of the exercise, people usually notice intense inhalations and exhalations, as well as crying. Also, the sound “a” can be replaced by counting aloud at regular intervals.
- Take a sitting posture, breathe relaxedly for a minute. Then make a sound throughout the exhalation. Repeat it as you inhale. Feel the air being sucked into the body, as before a sneeze.
- Place a roll of a towel or blanket on a chair. Lie down on it to stretch your back muscles and release your chest while breathing through your mouth. There will be back pain, but it is not too noticeable if there are no problems with the spine. This action helps to release blocked emotions, so a person may sob or vomit.
- To remove the throat clamps and deepen your breathing unconsciously, you need to sit down, relax and sound a long moan with each breath. Try to moan and inhale for three cycles. Then change your exhalation moan to “Wow” or fake sobbing to rock yourself into tears or a scream. Pronounce the sounds while inhaling, do not be afraid to cry, because this process perfectly relieves tension and corrects breathing.
Group lessons
With the benefit of breathing, you can also conduct group classes.
- Stand in a circle, spreading your feet 90 cm and transferring the weight to the fingers of the lower extremities. Let everyone in the team bend their knees, relax, let the pelvis sag. One palm should be on the stomach.
- Look at the opposite participant, inhale deeply through the mouth and send the air through the channel to the abdomen.
- As you exhale, let the sound escape from the depths, which you can hold for as long as possible, but without straining.
- After 16 slow inhalations and exhalations, you can shake yourself, shake your arms and legs.
As part of the exercise, you do not need to hold back, you need to monitor your feelings and possible obstacles in breathing. At the end, you can jump, taking your feet off the surface a little, walk in a circle, and then relax by moving your body weight forward and straightening your back.
Additional techniques
Exercise 1
To work on your own grace, it is useful to study spontaneous movements at the time of everyday activities, such as cooking in the kitchen or walking. Try to be aware of your movements, feel the steps, but do not think about them. The body must move at its own pace.
To understand the accuracy and grace of your movements, it is also useful to stretch out your hand, pressing your feet to the floor and bending your knees. At the moment of the gesture, you need to lean forward a little, feeling how the wave rises from the ground and passes through the body.
With such a supply of any movement, the isolation of the body disappears.
Exercise 2
Lowen pays great attention to the ability of a person to be in touch with his feelings and reality. You can not constantly use the body mechanically, so bioenergetics offers simple experiments to realize your own body. In particular, you can sit in a chair, raise your arms, bend back well and tip over the back of the chair. The bend of the body should be full, you need to hold the position for 30 seconds, while breathing through your mouth.
Practice helps to feel the tension in the shoulders, in the back. Most people intuitively want to hunch over again after exercise, although this should not be allowed. It must be remembered that a soft spine does not allow you to withstand stressful situations, and vice versa, a hard back does not allow you to bend easily if necessary.
Exercise 3
The harmony of sexuality and spirituality is achieved by several techniques. Firstly, you can admire your back in the mirror when you turn your head. In this case, you need to move the pelvis back and forth, placing the feet 15 cm apart. It is important to realize the difference between a compressed pelvis, which automatically reduces growth and ugly rounds the back, and a pelvis set aside, straightening the spine. As part of this exercise, it is also useful to bend your knees, relax your pelvis and breathe as deeply as possible so that the wave reaches the lower torso.
Secondly, bioenergetics are advised to spread the feet by 20 cm, bend the legs, move the torso forward and relax. It is necessary to release the pelvis, inhale with the stomach and increase pressure on the pelvic floor. This should relax the sphincter. Then consciously tighten the anus, pelvis and buttocks. The tension will immediately rise several times. These movements will help develop sensitivity to your pelvis, make sexual sensations more pronounced.
Exercise 4
The general dynamics of the body is often determined by the rotation of the head or the central transverse axis of the body, i.e. waist. This exercise is repeated in the morning, 5-10 times. You need to stand up, bend your knees, spread your feet and look over your left shoulder so that your head turns as much as possible. The pose is held for several deep breaths and exhalations so that muscle tension is created from the skull to the back.
Then repeat the turns to the right. You can also raise your arms with your elbows apart and turn either to the right or to the left, keeping the spinal muscles and the waist in tension.
Don't forget about abdominal breathing and shifting your weight to the front of your feet.
Exercise 5
Do regular facial work as well. Bioenergetics are advised to get up and push the chin for 30 seconds to strain the temporomandibular muscles. At the same time, you can move your jaw to the sides, feeling a slight pain in the back of the head. Then the mouth opens very wide so that 3 fingers fit in it.
After a few seconds, there is a period of relaxation of the chin, then it retracts. The task of a person is to clench his fists and shout “No!” convincingly.
Exercise-massage
Bioenergy favors massage, which allows you to feel muscle tension in different parts of the body. Together with a partner, therapists recommend performing a back massage when the client is sitting cross-legged, and the assistant massages him from the edge of the shoulders to the spine, while kneeling behind.
You need to press a little with your hands, and also knock with the ribs of your palms in places where energy tension is felt. You can even tap hard spots with your knuckles. Neck massage is also performed, but only the right hand works, while the left hand holds the head.
With a headache, bioenergetics are allowed to massage with three fingers a line from the lower part of the skull to the top of the head. And the so-called walking partner on the back of the patient is very useful, although this exercise has many contraindications.
Exercise 7
Bioenergetic therapy offers not only dynamic exercises, but also relaxation sessions. Sit somewhere in a quiet corner, press parallel feet to the floor, raise your head. Let your hands rest on your knees. Feel the contact between your buttocks and the surface underneath you.
Close your eyelids, think about your breath, allowing the process of inhalation and exhalation to flow freely. A wave runs through the body in each cycle of breathing, which goes on top of the breaths, and vice versa. On exhalation, the wave should reach the base of the abdomen and pelvis, so you need to let go of the stomach, and lower the buttocks as much as possible.
The exercise is performed for 10 minutes, while the pulsation in the body and the connection with the Universe are felt.
Lowen's bioenergetic exercises involve various manipulations with the body, the purpose of which is to understand oneself and one's character through energy and metabolic processes in the body.
These experiences synthesize consciousness therapy with physical activities to achieve resolution of emotional and psychological difficulties and increase resistance to stressful situations in life.
Working on the muscle tone of your body, it is important to never forget that the activity of consciousness always reflects the state of the body shell, as well as vice versa. Therefore, structured pressure on different parts of the body, as well as touching touches, always help not only to relax the muscles, but to free your life force from the shackles of social and personal restrictions. published by econet.ru
psychological exercises for training
tense postures
Target: Strenuous postures form the foundation of bioenergetic therapy. They can help expand the body's awareness and release tension through tremors and involuntary movements.
Required time: 30 minutes.
materials: Convenient place to work.
Training: The leader must have experience in bioenergy.
Procedure: A skilled bioenergetic therapist can recommend these postures to group members based on specific patterns of tension shown by the individual. Below are some tense Lowen poses to perform in a group.
Lowen Arch. Stand up, spread your legs about 45 cm apart, turn your toes slightly inward, bend your knees as far as possible without lifting your heels off the floor, put your fists on your lower back and bend back. Breathe into your belly and hold the pose for about a minute. Notice areas of tension in your body. The tension may be in the lower back or in the front of the thighs. A team leader or someone else can help you determine if the backbend is difficult (maybe it's too stiff or too loose). If you hold the right arch, continue to breathe, and stand relaxed, your legs should begin to tremble.
Lowen's ring. Spread your legs about 25 cm apart, turn your toes slightly inward and bend forward at the waist. Keep your knees bent and touch your toes to the floor. Shift your weight onto your toes. Remember to breathe deeply through your mouth. Slowly straighten your knees. Hold the pose for about a minute. Your legs will begin to tremble. Trembling - a natural reaction of the body to tension - an indicator of the energization of the muscles compressed by the "armor". The ring pose is excellent for enhancing the feeling of "underfoot," that is, the contact between the feet and the ground. Finishing the exercise, straighten up very slowly.
Deflection of the pelvis. Lie on your back on a mat or soft rug. Bend your knees and spread your legs about 30 cm apart. Arch your back, grabbing your ankles with your hands and stretching forward. Your head should be tilted back so that only the top of your head, shoulders, and feet are touching the floor. Now place your fists under your heels, push your knees forward, breathe deeply. You will feel a stretch in your thigh muscles. Try to keep your buttocks relaxed. By keeping your pelvis relaxed, you may feel that it is trembling. To increase the sensation, try to shake the pelvis up and down several times.
These and other bioenergetic tense postures should not be done mechanically. Use them to diagnose areas of tension and generate sensations in the body through involuntary movements and tremors. You need to focus on the sensations you experience, not how long you can hold the pose. Pain comes from exertion; pleasure comes from the release of tension. When a pose becomes too uncomfortable or painful, stop holding it.
Exercise sent by Elena Gainanova
23.11.2009
Olga
I tried the exercise on a group over 16. only one laugh came out ... they laughed at themselves and at others. It's better to refer to older people.24.11.2009
cloud
Laughter is also useful)) Although it all depends on the purpose and subject of your training. If, for example, he was devoted to the development of communication skills, then it is not advisable to use this and similar exercises on the body.- Dignities and clothes of Orthodox priests and monasticism
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