Stand up straight and imagine the following: My head is floating lightly and buoyantly towards the sky like a balloon. At the same time, the spine becomes soooo long downwards – like the recoil of a rocket. And then there is this magic hand that gently smoothes out all the imaginary creases on my back. Always pretty from top to bottom. Sounds totally weird? True, but you will clearly feel how this exercise actually straightens and relaxes your back.
“Your movement is as good as the idea you have of it ,” says Eric Franklin. The sentence gets to the heart of what the renowned Swiss movement educator, dance therapist and inventor of the Franklin method teaches: Only those who feel deep within themselves, their body and all movementsconsciously perceives can really improve something. This “body scanning” uses memorable mental images (visualisations) to show unfavorable posture and movement patterns, eg during fitness training, and replaces them with better ones. All over the world, competitive and recreational athletes and dancers benefit from the exercises, but also people who simply want to stay fit and flexible in everyday life. Because the effect is remarkable: You need less strength and energy to move, feel more relaxed and flexible, have more fun and be more successful in sports . And: wear and tear due to incorrect loads is prevented.
“Positive thinking is the be-all and end-all with this method ,” says Rolf Amendt, who teaches according to Franklin’s concept in his “033 tanzwerkstatt” in Hamburg. Whether it’s jogging, walking or an abdominal workout: If you constantly want to do everything perfectly, you’ll quickly get frustrated. Make it a point to enjoy your next hour of exercise and engage your brain with the exercises to the right.
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Addresses & Tips
You can find everything about the method, the inventor, the trainer and the courses and dates on offer on the Internet at www.franklin-methode.ch.
“Movement begins in the head” by Eric Franklin, VAK Verlag, 166 pages, 15.95 euros. The book shows more than 100 easy movement exercises and mental images that make the whole body loose and dynamic.
7 exercises for the new lightness
7 exercises for the new lightness
- WHEN RUNNING With springy steps You can trot lighter and more dynamically like this: Imagine the floor being a conveyor belt that quickly slides backwards. To do this, an imaginary trainer places their hand on the back of your lower back and pushes you forward. You can also feel a forward thrust if you imagine small springs under the soles of your feet, catapulting you forward with every step.
- DURING THE BACK WORKOUT Air cushions stretch the vertebrae. If the back is tense and hurts, the “cat hump” has proven itself as an SOS exercise. If you also use your head and a little imagination – all the better. Here we go: On all fours, slowly arch your back up like a cat as far as possible. Imagine that there are small balloons stuck between the individual vertebral bodies, which gradually fill with air and expand. Start with the lower lumbar vertebrae and mentally hike up bit by bit until the entire spine stretches comfortably.
- DURING THE ABDOMINAL TRIM Muscles slide like ships. The crunch is the classic for a firm stomach. This is how it becomes even more effective: Lie on your back, fold your hands behind your head and bend your legs. Imagine your straight vertical abs sliding into each other as you slowly raise your torso. When lowering, on the other hand, focus on sliding the transverse abdominal muscles together. Your waist contracts – and becomes a “wasp waist”.
- DURING DUMP LIFT TRAINING Last longer with buoyancy. Grab two dumbbells or books and stretch your arms out in front of you alternately, as if you’re about to box. Visualize the following image: The arms are supported from below like a chain of buoys. Each individual muscle cell is a small buoy that floats on the water. You just push your arms back and forth “in the water”. Bet that the exercise will be easier and you will be able to keep the arm training much longer than usual?
- WHEN WALKING Rock ‘n’ Roll in the legs Important for the technique: The legs must move loosely out of the hip joints and the pelvis should remain straight. Imagine that you are walking on rails and there is a ball in the ankle of each foot, which as you walk slowly (while taking about five steps) through the lower leg up to the knee, through the thigh up into the socket of the hip joint rolls. Once he has arrived there, the roll cure begins again from bottom to top.
- WHILE RELAXING just wash away ballast. Close your eyes and stand under a paradise waterfall in Hawaii for a few minutes. Feel how the pounding water massages your shoulders and neck and gently flows down your back. The whole body becomes soft. You will feel how little by little all tension and worries are washed away and seep into the ground at your feet.
- WHEN BREATHING Relax , dear belly! Correct abdominal breathing is difficult for many. Tech Support: Imagine the torso is an umbrella with the tip pointing up. With every inhalation, it opens in the abdominal area and closes again with the exhalation.
