Then , studying the sources of information , I came across a new name for myself - Eric Franklin. And this man interested me so much that I rushed to look for his books. But it turned out that they simply do not exist in Russian!
No problem! After all, one of my educations is connected with English. So I started reading the book:
Relax your neck , liberate your shoulders
And as I read , that I could not help but share valuable information with my subscribers!
Modern man lives as if in constant stress. We are always somewhere and never getting anywhere.
An anecdote immediately comes to mind:
What does all this lead to? Obviously not to improve health , not to rejuvenate and not to preserve our beauty. I mean even not only external beauty: negative emotions , irritability and even anger accumulate inside.
There are many ways to relieve stress. But one of the most effective is to relax your neck and shoulders!
Franklin's method is based on ideokinesis.
Ideokinesis is a method of controlling your body , based on understanding the biomechanics of the body and conscious action through mental images.
Franklin says that this method began to be used as early as 1937 thanks to the publication of the book "Thinking Body" by Mabel Todd.
After the accident, she was paralyzed and the doctors said that her case was hopeless. However, the girl did not give up and began to train herself with the only thing that was possible: her own imagination.
Mabel cured herself and learned to walk again. And even with better coordination than it was before the accident. After this miracle, many students and patients turned to her , and the method of "exercises through the imagination" helped more than one "hopeless case."
Ideokinesis is now taught at many universities in the United States and is standard practice for many gymnasts and dance teachers. It is also used by physiotherapists , as well as in everyday life.
Franklin developed this method at his Institute , adding many new exercises , images and movements. I will present some of them in my article.
Relieving stress using the ideokinesis method ( according to Franklin)
1. Imaginary waterfall
Imagine that you are standing under a waterfall. Water flows around your neck , shoulders and back.
All tension is washed away.
2. Shoulder relaxation
There are muscles that are tense in the vast majority of people. Because we hold our shoulders too high and the muscles suffer from such chronic "shortening". Two of them are the trapezius muscle and the muscle that lifts the scapula.
Both of them are in the following photo:
Eric Franklin offers a fun and effective exercise to relax these muscles:
Sighing shoulders 
Raise your shoulders up. Now lower down very slowly. Feel the muscle fibers stretch like chewing gum. Imagine down your back.
Raise your shoulders up again and feel how your muscles shorten and tighten. Now allow your shoulders to drop down under the force of the Earth's gravity. Imagine that the muscles descend on their own , separate from the head and shoulders. And it will seem to you as if your shoulders will now fall to the very pelvis.
Repeat the exercise one more time , exhaling loudly with the sound "Aaa" or "Oooh" as the shoulders go down. It's like the muscles are sighing and saying goodbye , tension, letting all the air out like it 's coming out of an inflatable vest.
Lift your shoulders up again and let them drop down. Imagine all your problems falling down to the ground , where they will be absorbed by the soil , recycled and grow like beautiful flowers!
For the last time , raising your shoulders and inhaling , let them sink down with a deep exhalation. Let everything you don't need fall to the ground - boom! Let all your sorrows and regrets seep into the soil. Feel how your head has become free.
Open up your body , make it receptive to the new and the good. Breathe in harmony and hope. Feel the flexibility in your chest and say "Eeeee!" This sound helps to stretch the spine in length. Now again feel the flexibility in your chest and say "Ooooh" - the sound that gives the body depth. And finally , body a feeling of expansion.
3. Patting
Intuitively, many of us use this gesturewhen we want to cheer someone up: let's pat on the shoulder or on the back. Like , don't be shy!
Hold on! Be young!
Eric Franklin suggests using pats to relieve tension in yourself. At the same time, the wrist should be flexible and free , and all attention is focused on the area that you pat. Where do you feel muscle tension? We clap there.
This technique helps improve blood circulation , relax muscles.
4. Shake your arms and legs
Another way , already familiar to me from the exercise "Vibration" from Katsuzo Nishi.
Only I was familiar with the reception as lymphatic drainage and prophylactic against varicose veins. And Eric Franklin suggests shaking your arms and legs to relax your muscles. After all, they are attached not only to the bones , but can also be displaced relative to the bones to a certain extent. Muscles are packed into so-called "cases" of connective tissue - fascia , which thicken and shrink over time.
Shaking helps not only restore the flexibility of these "cases", but also increase the elasticity of blood vessels , speed up the movement of lymph.
Here's how Eric Franklin suggests shaking your hands:
Stretch your right arm out in front of you , parallel to the ground. Shake your arm and imagine that the muscles are spinning around the bones and dangling freely , like the wide sleeves of a large shirt. You can additionally imagine how your blood vessels , bone marrow and even white and red blood cells are shaking.
Eric suggests concentrating on the nerve endings and imagining how they are also shaking and clearing , as if we were shaking dust off the window with a powder puff.
We release nerve endings from old experiences and make them free to accept new pleasant events.
Before doing the move with your left hand , compare the sensations on both sides of your body . You will notice an amazing difference and feel the benefits of shaking.
Shaking your legs is much more difficult because of the need to balance. Therefore, Eric suggests doing this exercise while sitting , holding onto a chair with both hands.
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