The paradoxical breathing exercises proposed by A. N. Strelnikova do not attract enough attention of specialists in the field of official medicine, but the inhabitants practice such exercises with great willingness, recognizing their effectiveness. Many books have been written about this by people connected with medicine. They also give an idea of what kind of method it is, why it is effective and why it is useful. Consider the features of breathing exercises aimed at improving the body.
General information
One cannot say that the paradoxical gymnastics proposed by A. N. Strelnikova was the main business of her life, moreover, one cannot say that she devoted herself entirely to medicine and treatment. Gymnastics, created by the author, was first offered to singers who needed measures to restore their voice. In addition, as practice has shown, such exercises help to expand the vocal range. Two people worked on the creation - Alexandra Nikolaevna directly, andalso her mother. As the women later recalled, they discovered the benefits of breathing for the voice literally by accident. First it became known that certain breathing practices weaken the attack of suffocation, and so much so that it completely passes.
Continuing research in the chosen area, the creator of paradoxical breathing exercises Strelnikova A. N. found out that gymnastic exercises help people suffering from asthmatic diseases. It was possible to apply a new practice to patients with pneumonia in a chronic form, and the results were positive. The result of the practice of gymnastics on persons with chronic forms of rhinitis, bronchitis, sinusitis was positive. Practice has shown effectiveness in the fight against influenza, high blood pressure, low body tone. Over time, the benefits of proper breathing have been proven for people with stuttering, osteochondrosis. The practice has been proven beneficial for arrhythmia and weakness of the heart.
Benefit
As people who practiced Strelnikova's paradoxical gymnastics exercises say, they helped to significantly improve the condition with VVD. Proper breathing facilitates the course of angina pectoris and improves the condition of those suffering from peptic ulcer of the intestinal tract and stomach. You can use safe exercises for venous varicose veins. It is believed that such exercises help with a number of specific gynecological diseases.
Features of technology
The breathing system proposed by Strelnikova was called paradoxical because of the peculiaritiessequence of actions. Simultaneous movement and inhalation, expulsion of air from the respiratory system is assumed. The need at this moment to move somewhat complicates the act of breathing. Strelnikova suggested inhaling at the moment when a person brings his hands together in front of him or leans forward, which leads to compression of the sternum. Exhalation, on the contrary, is carried out at the moment when the chest expands. To do this, spread the upper limbs or straighten up from an inclined position.
During the block, practiced in 8 minutes, in Strelnikova's gymnastics, there must be breaths comparable to the clap of the palms. This is a sharp and noisy breath that takes a minimum of time. It is necessary to do it as if it seems to a person that it smells of smoke. Another comparison is sniffing. It is necessary to take emotional, strong breaths, as if the person is surprised, horrified by something. In order for the breath to be correct, the lips close without straining. It is not supposed to stimulate the respiratory act by muscular contraction of parts of the face or other parts of the body that are normally involved in the process. It is forbidden to stick out the stomach, change the position of the shoulders or straighten the sternum. At the time of inspiration, you need to inhale a small amount of air; too deep breath is wrong and harmful.
About the rules in more detail
How to conduct classes? A whole book has been written about this called Strelnikova's Breathing Gymnastics. Shchetinin is the author of this manual, a student of the creator of the methodology. For gymnastics to be useful, you need to personally determine for yourself which breaths are optimal. It is difficult to articulate whatthe breath is considered too deep, and which one will benefit the person. The purpose of the practice exercise is to track your own feelings. If during the practice a person takes in excess volumes of air from the environment, the head begins to spin, a general unpleasant sensation arises, then the exercise should be reconsidered.
The main idea of the exercises proposed in the framework of breathing exercises is to control the volume of air entering the body. All exercises are chosen so that the person cannot inhale too much. It is for this reason that at the moment air enters the chest, they specifically move in such a way as to prevent the receipt of too much gas. To do this, compress the sternum by tilting or moving the hands.
Exhale and inhale
To learn how to practice exhalations correctly, you need to refer to the recommendations, Shchetinin's work "Respiratory gymnastics Strelnikova". Strelnikova devoted quite a lot of time to explaining her ideas of breathing to the public, and the author's student made an impressive contribution to the popularization of gymnastics through modern media. As you can learn from the recommendations of these experts, it is necessary to exhale air through the mouth as naturally as possible, as if the gas simply leaves the lungs freely. The lips are slightly pursed. It is necessary to make sure that the air is not obstructed, that as much gas as possible comes out. One of the main mistakes that beginners make is trying to obstruct inhalation.
Practicing Strelnikova's gymnastics for 12 minutes, a little more or less time period, you need to followthe correctness of all movements. In many ways, it is the technique, and not the duration of the sessions, that determines how great the benefit will be. It is advisable to inhale as if a person is inflating a tire. The optimal frequency is from 60 to 72 per minute. When a person is just starting the exercises, it is quite difficult for him to repeat the breaths often and for a long time, so there is a simplified version of the practice. You need to take as many breaths as is easy. If there is a feeling of an unpleasant general state of the body, they stop. From time to time, the number of breaths should increase. A geometric progression is considered optimal. First, at least a couple of breaths and exhalations are taken, then four, eight, and so on. You can count all the respiratory acts, you can sing a song to yourself.
Features of the state and combinations
As you can find out by studying the recommendations for practice in 10, 12, 7 minutes of Strelnikova's gymnastics, in some cases such methods cannot be used for recovery. For example, with glaucoma and very strong myopia, exercise will be harmful. It is not recommended to use the described technique if the pressure is very high. It is impossible to combine the described method with other breathing practices. Especially great harm can bring a combination with special breathing, proposed in yoga. Some individual exercises of these two systems have similar elements, but there is no compatibility at all.
As for yoga, you can see: a pronounced, emotion-filled breath, described above, is very similar to the elements of hatha yoga. It's so gymnastica system that is aimed at cleansing the body. Yogis suggest starting breathing exercises by slowly letting in air through the nasal cavity, after which they expel gases through the mouth, then inhale sharply through the nose. All stages of gymnastic practice are supposed to be performed at high speed.
Yoga and Strelnikova's method
As you can see from the works devoted to the study of the features of Strelnikova's gymnastics, the idea of combining this technology and purification using the Vishuddha-chakra method looks rather unsuccessful. Exercises start in one basic position, but you should not combine them. Both require straightening of the back and immobility of the main part of the body. The practitioner should look straight ahead at one point. However, this is where the similarities of cleansing through throat tension and the exercises proposed by Strelnikova end.
In yoga there are exercises designed to increase willpower and develop intelligence. They require you to tilt your head back, open your eyes, concentrate on the top of your head. In other practices, the head is tilted forward, looking down, keeping the back perfectly straight. In yoga, it is believed that such postures simplify the cleaning of the lungs from residual gases. This results in a slight change in the voice - it sounds stronger and clearer. At the same time, the blood flow in the brain stabilizes, the work of the endocrine glands improves.
Qigong and Strelnikova's theories
According to experts, it is impossible to combine Chinese practices and Strelnikova's gymnastics. The exercises also have some common features. As some say, in many waysit is their presence that imposes restrictions on possible combinations. The Chinese system of healing the body requires breathing in a special way, superficially and shallowly, drawing in air through the nose, while making soft sounds. According to qigong experts, such breathing activates the pituitary gland, thereby controlling the functionality of the body's secretory system.
The usual and the not-so
When planning to start doing Strelnikova's gymnastics, you should take a responsible attitude to the features of the compatibility of different practices. However, if a person does not do anything specific, but only engages in sports familiar to a European person, then there will be no restrictions. Excellent compatibility with swimming and a variety of activities is noted. You can walk and run, heal the body in a different way. No he alth problems will arise if special breathing is introduced according to the system proposed by Strelnikova. However, it will never be superfluous to consult a specialist who will tell you how useful breathing practices will be for a person. Sometimes there is simply no opportunity to contact a doctor or a trainer. In this case, it is enough to take into account the contraindications for the diagnoses mentioned earlier.
About the method
When planning to practice in accordance with the program developed by Strelnikova (breathing exercises), you should first learn two basic rules that must be followed in all classes. The first is proper breathing. It should be short and filled with emotion. The second principle is the passivity of exhalation. It is recommended to first practice the correct intake of air and the purification of the lungs from gases. Only when it is possible to master the basics, they begin specific exercises.
The author of the theory did not make any notes, after her there were no written works left. The exercises that are considered basic today vary quite a lot from description to description. There are many books devoted to this gymnastics, and they provide a variety of details that are not found in other works. Particularly curious are the works of Shchetinin devoted to the popularization of Strelnikova's theory. The most important work was published in 1999.
The optimal program is considered to be a coursework program. It is necessary to do exercises twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. The course lasts three days. After a pause, repeat it.
Exercises: with examples
As part of Strelnikova's breathing exercises performed in 7 minutes, it is worth doing a simple exercise that begins with head turns. Look first to the right, then to the left. At the final point of the movement, they inhale quickly and briefly through the nose, and the act is quite noisy. During inhalation, the nasal wings should contract a little, shrink. If they swell, then the person is doing the task incorrectly. For greater efficiency, the first time they do the exercise in front of the mirror. The pace of practice is a breath every second or a little more often. Exhalation - independently, involuntarily. When exhaling, the mouth is slightly open.
The next exercise is popularly called "ears". You need to tilt your head to the side. The end point of the movement is the moment of a sharp breath. Exhalation is arbitrary and soft. During exhalation, the mouth opens slightly.
Continue training with the small pendulum. The head is tilted forward and back. The final point of the movement is accompanied by a noisy inhalation.
The described set of three exercises is a warm-up stage of training.
Continuing activity
Planning to try all the basic approaches and practices of Strelnikova's gymnastics in 7 minutes, you should continue the lesson by hugging your own shoulders. The starting position involves bending the elbows with raising the arms to shoulder level. Hands are reduced in front of you, changing the upper hand in turn. The counter movement of the limbs suggests compression of the pulmonary region. It is at this moment that the person doing gymnastics should noisily and briefly draw air into the lungs.
The next step is commonly referred to as the "pump". This is an exercise in which a person bends the torso in a forward bend. Movement should be springy. Having reached the lowest point, you need to inhale briefly. You don't have to stoop very low, you don't need to straighten perfectly as far as possible. Continue training with similar tilts back, also somewhat springy in nature of movements. Raising your hands, bring them together, as was practiced when hugging the shoulders. Air is drawn in when the movement has reached the maximum point of inclination.
Squats and bends
Continue breathing exercises according to Strelnikova with springy squats. At the same time, the startingpose - half-lunge, that is, a position in which one leg is slightly forward, the second is set back. After a few repetitions, you need to change the limbs. The task of the practitioner is to bring the lowered hands together. The air is drawn in at the moment when the extreme point of the squat is reached, the hands are connected at the same time.
Another good option is the "big pendulum". This is the name of the exercise, during which a person swings like a pendulum back and forth. Having reached the maximum tilt position, briefly, noisily draw in air. Bending down, you need to reduce the upper limbs at the level of the sternum.
The listed practices form a set of exercises recommended by Strelnikova. Well-proven schemes have been developed that allow you to combine the described exercises in different ways.
About usage patterns
You can try the following course of breathing exercises according to Strelnikova. First, do the first exercise described above in two cycles. Each of them includes 8 breaths. This sequence is performed three times. The pause between sets is no more than six seconds, between cycles - twice as much. To continue, choose one of the exercises described below (for example, the fourth). It is practiced in two cycles, each including eight repetitions. The cycles are repeated three times. Then they take two more exercises they like, each of which is repeated eight times in two cycles, six approaches. One lesson will provide a person with 288 breaths and cleansing of the lungs from wasteair. Normally, this takes about six minutes. To make counting easier and more convenient, you can sing, but not out loud.
You can try a different workout format. All the exercises described above are practiced in turn. The first is performed in cycles of eight breaths. There should be four cycles in total. They are repeated three times. They continue with the exercise of breathing exercises according to Strelnikova, described by the second. Here, within one cycle, there are also eight breaths. The cycles are repeated four times, but two series are enough. The next exercise is reduced by one more series, leaving four cycles of eight breaths inside it. Then the series are increased again: two, then four. In each of them, the cycles should be eight breaths, but repeated six times in a row. The final block is two exercises practiced in cycles of eight breaths, repeated 4-6 times. Each of the exercises should be repeated in blocks of 2-3 series. In total, during such training, a person performs approximately 672 acts of breathing. The duration of the exercises is on average a little more than 10 minutes.
Features of practice
When planning to do the exercises given above in the description of Strelnikova's gymnastics, you should try to gradually increase the volume of classes. At first, five minutes of practice is enough, then ten minutes, gradually reaching a duration of a quarter of an hour. According to experts, a lesson lasting a quarter of an hour and made up of the previously described sequences of movements will include, on average, almost a thousand acts of breathing. This load is consideredoptimal for a responsibly and regularly exercising person. Further increase in duration and saturation is usually not required. It is desirable to achieve this level of load by the end of the first month of training. Then stick to the achieved intensity.
When performing exercises recommended as part of Strelnikova's gymnastics, you need to control your pulse. It is optimal if it is even, not more than a hundred contractions per minute. Sometimes a person who is engaged begins to feel dizzy. This indicates incorrect execution, non-compliance with practice. Perhaps the breaths are too deep or too long, there is a possibility of holding the breath. The task of a person who wants to practice for his own benefit, without putting himself at risk, is to control the position of the head, shoulder girdle. When drawing in air, these parts of the body must be slightly lowered. As the author of the practice said, the correct execution of all exercises leads to the appearance of a specific sensation of one's body, which is described by many as a mild version of euphoria. There is nothing wrong with this, this condition is considered the norm. But discomfort, unpleasant sensations indicate either non-compliance with the technique, or that such gymnastics is not suitable for a person.
Strelnikova advised to abandon the breathing practice according to her theory, if the exercises led to discomfort. In some cases, it is enough to stop training once, when the situation repeats, it is better to completely abandon the method in question.
Will it help me?
As you can see from the reviews, Strelnikova's gymnasticsattracts with its simplicity and accessibility. There are practically no contraindications, very few restrictions. Classes are given to people easily, do not require strong muscle tension, will. At the same time, the benefits, as many believe, especially for such relatively light and short-term exercises, are great. Many positive responses can be seen from people suffering from respiratory diseases. In asthma and bronchitis, pulmonary inflammation in a chronic form, one of the important problems of the process becomes obstruction of the air passageways.
According to the reviews, Strelnikova's gymnastics slows down and stops this process. True, before starting the practice, it is better to consult a doctor. Official medicine as a whole is indifferent to the described technique, but in private, doctors often advise practicing such exercises, assuring that they will benefit the person.
About the benefits
Strelnikova's paradoxical gymnastics is based on the benefits of a sharp breath that activates the diaphragm - the strongest muscle of the respiratory system. The peculiarity of the training is the formation of a noisy nasal breath at a sufficiently high frequency of movements - in a couple of seconds, on average, the practitioner takes a breath three times, releasing the air calmly and passively. In this case, it is necessary to focus on the correct retraction of atmospheric gases. You can’t think about how to exhale correctly, otherwise you won’t be able to follow the technology. Normally, the body itself will dump the exhaust air, leaving in the lungs exactly as much as is needed for furtherfunctioning. Inhalation is accompanied by movements that increase the effectiveness of the lesson. During practice, you need to concentrate on inhalation and only train it. Only acts of taking air into the lungs are also subject to calculation.
Noisy, short breaths are accompanied by movements due to which diaphragmatic activity is activated. Strelnikova's paradoxical gymnastics allows you to improve the quality of nasal gas retraction, improves blood flow. Vital lung capacity after the first lesson becomes 100-300 ml more. The composition of the blood improves in terms of filling with gases. The volumes of oxygen saturation of arterial blood increase sharply and very strongly. According to experts who have observed people practicing gymnastics, during exercise, oxygen actively enters the brain, which has a particularly positive effect on the cortex of the organ. The performance of the brain centers improves, therefore, the independent regulation of local metabolism becomes more effective.
Multifaceted pluses
Strelnikova's paradoxical gymnastics involves numerous repetitions. If a person is engaged in a quarter of an hour, he already takes about a thousand breaths, but some spend an hour on gymnastics, during which they perform up to five thousand acts. If you repeat this constantly, twice daily, after only six sessions, you can notice noticeable changes in the quality of the muscle tissue that ensures the performance of the lungs. By the twelfth lesson, strengthening the muscles becomes very significant. Although the muscles, due to which the respiratory organs work,invisible to the human eye, they are highly dependent on the load received, and training is important for them. During inhalation, there is resistance, due to which the respiratory function is normalized, stabilized, and restored. Regular training helps to develop the muscular corset of the sternum and eliminate the vertebral deformities that appeared earlier.
Strelnikova's paradoxical gymnastics does not provoke soreness in muscle tissue. This is due to the reasonable dosage of loads. Lactic acid does not accumulate in the tissues, causing pain. When a person actively breathes through his nose, thereby he stimulates a large zone of reflex activity on the nasal mucous membranes, thereby improving communication with the odor recognition center. Many people who practiced gymnastics admitted that their sense of smell is getting better, while their well-being has stabilized.
Features of influence
Research has shown that practicing Strelnikova's exercises provides diaphragmatic massage. This is due to the peculiarities of the activity of muscle tissue at the time of a sharp inhalation of air through the nose. Massage has a positive effect on the bulk of the internal organs located in the peritoneum. Excursion of the sternum is accompanied by an increase in the suction effect, the flow of blood and lymph becomes more stable and better. Active pulmonary ventilation is accompanied by mechanical stretching of the bronchoalveolar link. The effusion accumulated here disappears, adhesive processes slow down.
The fact of missing lungsinfiltrates, closure of decay sites recorded in special observations organized in accordance with scientific standards. Long-term studies were carried out at the university dealing with the problems of tuberculosis. Gymnastic exercises correct respiratory stereotypes, muscles become mobile, plastic, the musculoskeletal system is strengthened.
