It is likely that we are simply talking about unique people whose abilities for some reason turned out to be exceptional. But the same exceptional abilities sometimes suddenly appear in the most ordinary people who find themselves in unusual circumstances. There are many examples.

Soviet test pilot Yuri Antipov performed a training flight in 1956. His plane could not recover from the spin; it had to be ejected. But the mechanism did not work, the cockpit canopy did not shoot back. Saving his life, Antipov manually opened the lantern, overcoming the resistance of the air flow. It saved his life. It later turned out that in an emergency he applied a force of 220 kgf.

An equally amazing case is recounted in his book “Reserves of our body.” » Nikolay Alexandrovich Agadzhanyan:

One day, a polar pilot, while securing his skis near a plane that had landed on an ice floe, felt a push on his shoulder. Thinking that his comrade was joking, the pilot waved it off: “Don’t interfere with your work.” The shock was repeated again, and then, turning around, the man was horrified: standing in front of him was a huge polar bear. In an instant, the pilot found himself on the plane of the wing of his plane and began to call for help. The polar explorers ran up and killed the beast. “How did you get on the wing?” - they asked the pilot. “He jumped,” he answered. It was hard to believe. When jumping again, the pilot could not cover even half of this distance. It turned out that in conditions of mortal danger he reached a height close to the world record.

Superhuman loads

In addition to extraordinary strength, speed and endurance, the human body sometimes exhibits equally unexpected strength. On January 26, 1972, an amazing incident occurred. A DC-9-30 plane exploded in the sky of the city of Serbska Kamenicke in Czechoslovakia. Flight attendant Vesna Vulović (Vesna Vulović) was thrown out of the cabin and fell from a height of 10,160 m. She remained alive, although she received numerous fractures and lay in a coma for 27 days. However, after 16 months she recovered and was discharged from the hospital.

A similar incident occurred with American schoolboy Matt Suter from the village of Fordland in Missouri. He was picked up by a tornado and, spinning, thrown to the ground, like Ellie’s house from the fairy tale about the Wizard of the Emerald City. Having flown more than 400 m, Suiter escaped with only a couple of minor bruises. How is this possible?

To answer this question, we must remember that the strength of human bones is close to the strength of concrete - the femur bone can withstand a load of almost a ton. At the same time, half of the bones consist of soft living tissue, which gives them flexibility. For example, rib cage can bend by 3 cm. Thus, our bones form natural armor that can save us from a fatal blow. But for the bone protection mechanism to work effectively, there is no need to make unnecessary movements. Suiter was caught in a tornado while unconscious: he hit his head on a heavy lamp. That is why at the moment of landing his body was not constrained by fear, which softened the fatal fall. And Vesna Vulovich was in a state of shock, that is, her consciousness was also turned off. Although, alas, it does not at all follow from this that all people who found themselves in a similar situation in a similar state were also saved. Finding out what was the decisive factor for salvation in such critical circumstances is extremely difficult due to the very uniqueness of such events.

There are no less amazing examples where the human body has withstood severe temperature changes. Agadzhanyan’s already mentioned book tells how during World War II, Soviet army sergeant Pyotr Golubev swam 20 km in icy water in nine hours. And today the record was set by the famous American illusionist David Blaine White. Almost naked, he stood in an ice sarcophagus for a day and a half. But the most amazing thing is that it would seem that a person frozen to death in icy water can literally be unfrozen and brought back to life. The fact is that cold does not so much kill as it slows down all the internal processes of the body. The pulse of a frozen person may not be palpable at all, but this does not mean that his heart is dead, it just makes only a few beats per minute.

It is worth saying about our breathing. Most people cannot hold it longer than 1-2 minutes, but this ability can be developed. The world record for holding breath, set by David Blaine in 2008 - 17 minutes 4.5 seconds - was broken five months later by German Tom Sietas. But, obviously, over time he too will be beaten. According to the records of the English anthropologist and traveler Geoffrey Gorer (1905-1985), in Senegal they are able to stay under water for up to half an hour, for which they are nicknamed “water people”.

We need water just as much as oxygen. At normal temperatures, a person can go without drinking for up to ten days, but in hot weather he won’t last more than two. But there are many known cases where those lost in the desert lived without water for two weeks. Without food, a person can live much longer. Few people know that even an untrained body can go without food for an average of two months. As the rate of nutrients entering the body decreases (or stops altogether), metabolism slows down, and some processes stop altogether - for example, hair and nails stop growing. There are cases when savings of this kind allowed (admittedly very thin people) to go without food for more than six months.

The power of suggestion

We had the opportunity to make sure that psychological barriers that disappear in extreme situations often prevent us from activating the body’s reserve forces. But does this mean that they cannot be removed in other ways? Comprehensive research conducted over the past fifteen years has proven that the physical capabilities of a person in a state of trance or under hypnosis are significantly increased. The data obtained is also actively used for training athletes. And there are already some discoveries here. For example, during experiments on changing consciousness, different groups of volunteers were given two attitudes: “I am strong, I can easily lift a weight,” and “the weight weighs nothing, it is light as a feather.” The second installation gave a much more effective result. People not only began to believe in their own strengths, but they began to feel that they could change the world around them. This gives grounds for some researchers to assume that in this case, as in the case of severe stress, a person is capable of falling out of reality for a short time, overcoming the known laws of physics.

What is new for us has a thousand-year history in the East. Indian and Chinese practices make it possible to create simply miracles, at least that’s what it seems to us, representatives of Western civilization. The orientalist Yuri Nikolaevich Roerich (1902-1960), for example, described yogi-runners living in the Himalayas. They could run up to 200 km along mountain trails overnight at high speed without slowing down. For this ability they were nicknamed “heavenly walkers.” And in eastern martial arts schools, the “steel shirt” technique is used. A person falls into a special spiritual state in which he does not feel pain. His skin is not pierced by a knife, and the blows do not leave bruises. A yogi can safely walk on hot coals without getting burned. Regular meditation and exercise allow them to control their body temperature.

In 2005, Nepalese Buddhist Ram Bahadur Bomjon meditated in the shade of a large tree without food or water for more than eight months. Scientists came to him, he was shown on television, but no trick was ever discovered. He really didn't eat or drink anything for more than six months. According to ancient records, the monks could go without food or water for decades. But the most amazing thing is that some of them sank under water for several days, buried themselves in the ground and did without oxygen, falling into a special state similar to clinical death.

The methods by which they achieved such results are not entirely clear, but are relatively well known. The same yogis willingly share their secrets, publishing books and giving lectures all over the world. Athletes are increasingly using these methods. It's not just about physical exercise, but also about the ability to control your body, breathe correctly, and monitor the state of your spirit. Only at first glance it may seem simple. Even the technique of meditation is improved only by long practice. And their benefits have already been tested in some American schools.

Well, sports medicine has made significant advances throughout the 20th century. But will we be surprised if in the 21st century traditional practices come to the fore, which, among other things, allow sports competitions to remain attractive and the people participating in them to have the prospect of further improvement?

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Review of modern concepts and hypotheses.

Are there limits to human physical perfection? There are at least two answers to this question. One of the points of view, which many modern experts in the field of sports adhere to in one form or another, says: the current world records are truly the highest world achievements for all times and peoples. The further growth of records is associated not with the physical improvement of man, but with the development of measuring technology. Quite recently, achievements in athletics were recorded with an accuracy of tenths of a second, but now electronic chronometers record time down to hundredths of a second. And that's not all. In sports such as cycling, thousandths of a second count. But that’s not all either. In weightlifting, the prospects for new records are associated with the registration of not only kilograms, but also grams, etc. Thus, records will grow, results will improve, first by grams, then by milligrams, then by fractions of milligrams, but man as the bearer of records reached his physical limit. Why?

Because there are natural biological limitations of the human body, associated purely physiologically with the resistance of the skin, joints, bones, muscles, with the maximum load that they can withstand. American biochemist and biomechanist Gideon Ariel, who studies human reserve capabilities, calculated the limit in the 100-meter run for men to be 9.60 seconds. A person’s muscles, tissues and bones will not be able to withstand higher speeds - they will burst from tension. In the long jump, the maximum limit lies at around 896 centimeters (14 each). Thus, Bob Beamon’s record of 890 centimeters can be said to be borderline. The computer film of Beamon’s record attempt is recognized as an almost ideal machine, and the load is hip joint at the moment of the push, 700 kilograms - almost critical; the muscles, ligaments, and joints could simply not withstand a greater load.

However, the idea that the current generation has already reached the limits of the human body is not new. A similar idea has been expressed more than once by specialists in almost every past generation. Especially often, the limit was associated with the existence of a certain boundary that is impossible for a person to overcome.

For example, in weightlifting at the beginning of the century, the unattainable magic number was “400 kg.” Experts, spectators and the athletes themselves increasingly expressed the opinion that the athletes had reached the limit of what was possible. Years and decades passed, and the 400 kg mark remained unattainable. In 1928, at the 9th Olympic Games in Amsterdam, the 110-kilogram hero Josev Strassberger set a stunning world record in triathlon, but this was only 372.5 kg. Another 7 years passed until Joseph Manger lifted 402.5 kg in triathlon. Munger himself weighed 145 kg, and all his contemporaries unanimously decided that he had reached the limit of what was possible. After that, many more years passed, the techniques were improved, but for a long time the result was 400 kg. remained a grandmaster milestone. But in 1955, the 170-kilogram Paul Anderson showed a result that his contemporaries, fascinated by the magic number, refused to believe - 512 kg. He was called the most outstanding athlete of all time. And none of his contemporaries had any doubt that 512.5 kg is the final limit of human capabilities, which will remain an unattainable peak. The champion himself told reporters that he has breakfast with “30 scrambled eggs, drinks 5 liters at a time. milk and can eat 20 steaks” [7 each].

Indeed, the limit of human capabilities. However, 5 years later, at the Olympic Games in Rome (1960), a slender, tall athlete, weighing almost one and a half times less than Anderson, lifted 537.5 kg. This was the Russian athlete Yuri Vlasov, who ate like all ordinary people. Then Vlasov was asked the question: “How much, in your opinion, will the most outstanding athlete be able to gain in the very, very distant future?” He named a figure that seemed unrealistic to many - 600–630 kg. And in 1972, Vasily Alekseev already surpassed the 600-kilogram mark - 640 kg [7].

So, sports authorities call one or another record the limit of human capabilities. However, there has not yet been a limit that has not been overcome. Therefore, other sports authorities are more optimistic. Immediately after the Moscow Olympics, the vice-president of the International Athletics Federation L. Khomenkov compiled a table of expected results by the end of the 20th century. For example, he believes that male sprinters will run 100 meters in 9.75 seconds, and women will show a result of 10.60 seconds. As for the high jump, men will take a height of 250 cm, and women 210 cm [14 each].

And very often, researchers associate going beyond the limits of a person’s physiological capabilities with the study and use of altered states of consciousness and the activation of a person’s reserve abilities. As L.P. Grimak writes: “Many sports physiologists and psychologists are increasingly saying that modern sport deals with the maximum human capabilities, which are close to the calculated, theoretically permissible. In our opinion, such views are explained only by the fact that the calculations carried out include only physical, “machine” indicators of a person and do not take into account those highly productive properties of the nervous system and psyche, which will continue to contribute to the emergence of even higher sports results.” He found that this condition is largely identical. This is a peak state, close to a trance state, and it is characterized by calm, confidence, optimism, focus on what is happening, high energy, extraordinary clarity of perception, self-control and maximum use of internal resources.

Optimistic researchers usually look east to prove their predictions, since eastern culture self-improvement has always actively used altered states of consciousness. For example, the famous orientalist Yu. A. Roerich told how he observed in the Himalayas the art of running yogis - “heavenly walkers” who were able to run for several days without stopping or slowing down. They could cover 200 kilometers overnight along narrow mountain paths, maintaining a speed equal to the world record for an hour run. Our athletes have not yet come close to such a pace and such endurance. Therefore, many psychologists tend to be more optimistic about the future of sports, suggesting that huge prospects will open up for coaches and athletes when science manages to reveal the mechanisms of the abilities of Eastern masters, which are still called supernatural. Altered states of consciousness are used both in eastern healing systems and in combat. In fact, almost all Eastern self-improvement systems are based on a spontaneously occurring trance state. In the early work of one of the co-authors of this article, S.A. Rybtsov analyzed psychedelic techniques used in martial arts. He showed that the main requirement necessary to achieve success in classes is usually called a requirement - to change the state of consciousness, to enter a trance. As yogi Ramacharaka writes, accompanying his “Science of the Breath of Indian Yogis: “The exercises given in this chapter require appropriate internal conditions and a certain spiritual state. People who are not serious by nature, who do not have a sense of spirituality and reverence, should better leave these exercises and not try them, since they will not get any results.”

Based on the phenomena activated through altered states described in the literature, human physical capabilities are quite wide. For example, in relation to temperature conditions. On one scale are Bulgarian women dancing on hot coals; on the other - Tibetan yogis, who on a frosty night, sitting near an ice hole, can use the heat of their bodies to dry sheets soaked in icy water. Eastern styles, thanks to the use of special trance states in them, revealed the reserve capabilities of the body in their adherents, giving them almost supernatural physical abilities. Modern science has not yet confirmed some of these abilities (although, note, it has not been able to reject them either) - for example, the ability of yogis to levitate. The existence of other abilities has been proven, although not explained - the ability of yogis to stop the heartbeat, plunging into a state close to clinical death for days and weeks. The third abilities are more or less studied and widely used in the Eastern sports arts, even those practiced in Europe. These are the “steel shirt” and “steel hand” states. “Steel Shirt” is a condition in which a person becomes insensitive to blows in general, to knife blows (the knife cannot cut through the skin), and even (according to experts) to a bullet. “Steel hand” is a condition in which a person is able to break hard objects with his hand.

In his previous work, S.A. Rybtsov presented several ways to obtain such states, which are used by martial arts trainers today: “One of the well-known qi gong techniques is to mentally grasp an imaginary tree and swing it. This method allows you to quickly enter a trance and is often used to achieve such complex “miracles” of qi gong as the “iron shirt” and the ability to break solid objects. Another qi gong technique is associated with the ability to petrify, turn into rock, and become insensitive to blows. An analogy with this technique can be found in modern hypnosis, it is called catalepsy. Unfortunately, not everyone gets catalepsy easily. People with a sensory perception of the world (kinesthetics) are considered the most talented at it. The technique consists of maximally tensing all or a group of muscles for several minutes; usually, after an attempt to relax, the most talented people experience stiffening of the muscles, insensitivity of the body and the ability to deliver crushing blows.”

WITH purpose To test the reality of some of the capabilities of yogis and martial artists described in the literature, we conducted the following study. We took for study a number of well-known phenomena: walking on coals, lying on glass, breaking hard objects (bricks, boards) with your hand, creating a “steel shirt” - insensitivity of the body to a knife blow, increasing physical strength. And until now, some researchers generally reject the reality of some of these phenomena, others explain them on the basis of some mystical concepts, for example, walking on coals is a special disposition of the spirits of fire.

Hypothesis. We assumed that many of these abilities are associated with altered states of consciousness and that all these things that are impossible for an ordinary person (more precisely, in a normal state) are achievable with a change in mental state.

When planning the experiment, we proceeded from the following assumption: if physical abilities of this type are indeed associated with altered states of consciousness, then by purposefully changing the state of consciousness, we can reliably demonstrate them. The study was conducted as part of training and practical classes with psychology students.

This hypothesis was confirmed.

Experiment. The following models were selected for the experiment:

1. Lying on glass. In the presence of the subject, several bottles were broken; it was necessary to lie on the glass with your bare back, raise your head and stretch your arms up to obtain maximum load on your back.

2. Lifting weights. A group of subjects (consisting of 4 or 2 people) was asked to lift a person sitting on a chair with outstretched fingers, grabbing his armpits (group of 2 people), or the armpits and under the knees (group of 4 people). . The weight of the person being lifted ranged from 60 to 80 kg, so there was a load of 15–40 kg per subject.

3. Insensitivity to the impact of a flying knife. A knife of medium dullness was selected, such that when released from a HEIGHT of 50–70 cm, it would stick into a wooden object. Then the knife was released over the subject’s stomach, first from a height of 50–70 centimeters, then the height increased to one and a half meters.

4. Walking on coals. The fire burned out (burned for at least 2-3 hours). The coals were raked out in a thin layer, forming a 1.5–2 meter path. The subject was asked to walk along them.

5. Breaking hard objects (boards and bricks). The bricks were the most ordinary ones, from a nearby construction site, and the boards were chosen so as to withstand the weight of a person standing on them. Boards and bricks were placed on two stands, after which the subject was asked to break them.

We took two groups of subjects. The control group included 10 people, student psychologists attending other training not related to the development of physical abilities. Experimental, which included 30 people, students and teachers from different universities, who came to trainings involving the use of altered states of consciousness (“the art of trance”, “Ericksonian hypnosis” and “self-improvement training”).

Participants in the control group were told about the development of physical abilities with a change in the state of consciousness, were shown photographs, and then were asked to try to do the same in easier conditions (lie on “dull glass”, step on coals once). The execution of the phenomena was not demonstrated by the experimenter.

Results. For the majority of subjects in the control group, it was usually enough to look at the equipment prepared for the experiment to refuse to participate in the experiment. Or the subjects tried to break a brick or step on coals, but a feeling of physical discomfort quickly led to the cessation of these attempts. However, two people who had good prior trance training (two years of experience in yoga or meditation), after explaining the technique, could perform some of our phenomena due to the fact that they were able to achieve the desired state themselves.

For the subjects of the experimental group, the experiment was carried out in two stages. At the first stage, they were shown techniques for changing the state of their own consciousness (methods of self-hypnosis [see 2]), after which they did a series of exercises on using these techniques. Next, the experimenter demonstrated the phenomena described above, visually using changes in his state of consciousness for this (he repeated self-hypnosis formulas, did some physical exercises of a trance nature). At the second stage, the subject was asked to repeat all this. First, the subject using physical exercise(some yoga poses) or self-hypnosis, or light hypnosis changed the state of my consciousness. Suggestion like “I don’t weigh anything, my back is absolutely relaxed, I cover it with an invisible force cocoon,” etc.

After which more than half of the participants in the experimental group could immediately repeat many of the demonstrated phenomena. The rest refused the experiment, mainly because when looking at the glass or coals they came out of a trance state. However, after training in the art of trance (for 1–4 days), they were all able to achieve the necessary states of consciousness and perform most of the experiments.

The first sign of achieving the desired state is the loss of the feeling of fear, the emergence of a feeling of confidence in oneself and one’s strengths. Without this feeling, practicing complex trance phenomena (lying on glass, walking on coals, etc.) is strictly contraindicated.

Reserve abilities that were once discovered were “anchored,” that is, they were fixed. And after several repetitions, the subjects automatically entered the desired state without the help of the experimenter, barely starting to perform the experiment. Although all people develop trance qualities if they reach the right state, as in any other area, there are also talents here. One person, after 4 days of training, barely takes a few steps on the coals and is content with that. Another, from the very first immersion in a trance, expresses a desire to dance a complex dance on the coals and is able to dance it for a long time. Just like any ability, trance qualities can be trained. With the help of training, even those subjects who at first did not succeed in something eventually mastered what they were looking for.

Minor physical injuries in the participants in the experimental group occurred mainly due to the fact that they unexpectedly came out of a trance, or tried to perform a phenomenon based on willpower rather than trance (“I’d rather cut myself, but not seem like a coward”). Example, an experienced subject once again lies down on the glass, feeling something like a feather bed under him, and then a mosquito lands on his nose - an annoying representative of our everyday reality - this is enough for the subject to feel, instead of a feather bed, how a sharp piece of glass is digging into back. /Another case. The subject, imagining herself weightless, walked across the coals. After which she turned around in disappointment and shouted: “But they’ve completely cooled down” - and poked her foot into the coals, checking, and then jumped back with a gasp - the coals didn’t seem to be cooling at all.

To be fair, it should be noted that there were very, very few such cases. And the explanation for this is not only the unique technique developed by us. It’s just that, even in normal conditions, it is almost impossible to receive significant physical damage in such conditions. In a few seconds, while a person takes steps on scattered coals, it is impossible to get serious burns; by carefully laying on the glass, in the most severe case, you can get only a few superficial cuts (the experimenters checked all this with their backs and legs beforehand). All this suggests that the unusual physical abilities that we studied are not rightfully called unusual, they are almost ordinary, and only slightly require a change in mental state.

Of all the phenomena described above, the last one caused the greatest difficulty: breaking hard objects with the hand; To demonstrate it, in addition to changing the state of consciousness, a number of other abilities were needed, in particular, a tendency to develop muscle catalepsy.

Probably, the ability to lie on glass, beat off knives, and walk on coals is associated with a specific effect on the skin and neuromuscular systems. And the one who knows how to do this can also do many other things, such as maintaining health, the ability to quickly heal wounds: superficial and deep (including ulcers). Some of the above-described phenomena also have a unique healing effect, of course, not the breaking of bricks, but lying on glass and walking on coals. One of the participants in the experiment said that after she walked on the coals, her head stopped hurting. Another, who complained of radiculitis, noted that lying on glass had a very beneficial effect on her. And there are many such examples. The reasons for this action are varied - this is the effect of stress that takes place before the start of the experience, and euphoria after its positive outcome. The influence of massage carried out during these experiments is possible.

Discussion of results. And yet, what about the “physiological limit” of the human body? After all, the relationship between reserve physical abilities and the state of trance, hypnosis and self-hypnosis has been known in sports psychology for a long time and is used in preparing athletes for competitions, in psychological preparation during training, etc. . “Most often, suggestion and self-hypnosis are used to achieve the necessary states: sleep before a responsible start, rest in the intervals between attempts, emphasizing one’s own advantages and disadvantages of opponents, bringing oneself into an optimal pre-start, pre-training or post-training state.” Well-known psychotherapist, creator of “Ericksonian hypnosis” M In his book, Erickson gives several interesting techniques for generating certain mental states in athletes, which he used in his practice. He used one of these techniques to prepare Olympic champion in Shot Put by Donald Lawrence. Putting the future champion into a trance for the first time, Erickson told him: “You have already thrown the cannonball 17 meters. And tell me honestly, do you really think you know the difference between 17 meters and 17 meters and 1 centimeter? Naturally, Lawrence replied no. Then Erickson gradually increased the distance: “17 meters and 2 centimeters”, “17 meters and 3 centimeters”, etc. Thus, Erickson showed the athlete the relativity of his limiting beliefs. And the athlete’s real results also gradually began to increase and finally brought him the long-awaited victory in the Olympic Games.

Indeed, many authors associate the activation of the reserve capabilities of the human body with altered states of consciousness. Indeed, these abilities either appear under the influence of stress (and this is already an altered state) or are demonstrated by trance masters (yoga, martial arts). And in our experiments, a change in the state of consciousness (hypnosis, self-hypnosis) led to the activation of the body’s physical capabilities (withstanding high temperatures, heavy weights, etc.). Yes, but... there are well-known, purely biological laws of the functioning of the human body. For example, heating water under normal conditions to a temperature of 100 degrees leads to its evaporation. And heating the body leads to burns. And the tensile strength of leather when trying to cut it is the same physical reality as the tensile strength of paper under the same conditions. This is confirmed by the opinions of sports doctors and biologists about the limits of sports records, the limits that our body imposes on us. This position was very well formulated by the famous researcher of the “physiology of records” E. Yorkl: “Some athletic achievements can no longer be improved. The graphically displayed sprint curve has leveled off. The long jump seems to already have a “record-limit” - it seems to me impossible to jump further than Bob Beamon with his phenomenal jump-flight of 890 centimeters. If, contrary to my theory, athletics constantly progressed, then soon the result in the 200 meters would be 16.97 seconds, and in the 400 meters -37.23. But everyone understands that this is impossible.”

And no change in the state of consciousness should affect the laws of material resistance. A change in state of consciousness can activate some usually untapped reserves of physical strength, flexibility, endurance, but cannot increase the temperature of inflammation of the skin, or the tensile strength of the skin, bones and muscles. But, as our research and the research of other authors have shown, such a phenomenon turns out to be possible. Why? What happens when a person changes the state of his consciousness, and the result of the change is the activation of some unusual physical abilities of his body.

We analyzed the formulas of suggestion and self-hypnosis that were used in our experiments to achieve the desired states by the subjects.

How it was. A group of volunteers who wanted to “develop these abilities” were taught the elements of self-hypnosis, after which one of the already trained subjects or the experimenter himself demonstrated “how simple it is” - this moment is necessary to create the desired mood (perhaps this mood can be called the expectation of a miracle ). Then the students changed their state in a directional manner. This is where the most interesting things can be read. As in many other experiments with changes in the state of consciousness, the self-hypnosis formulas contained not only appeals to oneself (“I am strong” - when lifting weights, “my legs don’t feel anything” - when walking on coals), but also changed characteristics of the external world (“the weight is light”, “gravity disappears and now I’m freely gliding through the air” or “I’m standing on the beach, there are smooth warm pebbles under me”). As a result of this, not only the state of consciousness changed, but also, as many subjects noted, perception of the outside world. First, the unpleasant feeling of fear disappeared, then an incomprehensible confidence in one’s abilities arose; then something happened and the person freely did what he considered impossible some time ago. It is interesting to see how the perception of the world around us has changed. For example, in a situation where the subject imagined himself on a hot beach, sometimes for a moment, it really seemed to him that there were not hot coals under his feet, but just hot beach pebbles. This moment was usually enough to take the necessary few steps and feel the euphoria of luck, stronger than any “anchors” that secure the new ability. Or the subject imagined that he weighed nothing and, for a moment, it suddenly seemed to him that he had actually lifted himself off the ground (of course, in neither case, impartial observers recorded anything, and, probably, there was nothing in our constant physical reality). And the subjects themselves, after demonstrating the phenomenon, never claimed that they really “glided over the ground” or “found themselves on the beach.” It was a state that lasted a fraction of a second and was almost indistinguishable from ordinary ones, but, as a rule, phenomena could not be realized without it. It should be noted that the change in the state of consciousness in our experiments was never profound (for example, we did not use classical hypnosis), the subjects during the experiment, before and after it, retained complete orientation, who they were and where, they talked with the experimenter, moreover, some of them did not even consider their condition to be changed.

By the way, there is an interesting hypothesis related to a related phenomenon: activation of reserve physical capabilities in a state of severe stress. In emergency situations (threat to life), sometimes even the most ordinary people could demonstrate, without expecting it from themselves, the truly inhuman capabilities of their body (the granny who pulled out a chest from a burning hot tub, which four healthy men barely carried back). However, they are not able to repeat this. Doctor of Philosophy N.A. Nosov collected quite a lot of examples of the manifestation of unusual human abilities in a state of stress and he explained them, based on his own concept, - human transitions from our reality to a reality of another level, an extraordinary reality in which other laws of nature operate, more precisely, the loss of a person for some time “from constant reality into virtual reality.” According to this hypothesis, under the influence of stress, a person for a moment “falls out” from the laws of nature inherent in our physical reality and finds himself in a virtual reality, where the laws of nature may be different, and these other laws (lower gravity, altered passage of time , change in the resistance of materials) allow him to escape.

But in our experiments, half of the trance formulas were not inducing additional abilities in oneself (“I am strong”), but a kind of description of the changed parameters of the external world, the world in which the subject must walk across the coals or lift a heavy object (“the weight of a person decreases” or “there is not glass around you, but soft round stones”, etc.). It turns out that the subject created a virtual reality around himself, where the laws of nature slightly different from ordinary ones reigned (gravity decreased, resistance of the skin and muscles increased). Exactly the same virtual reality can arise in a state of stress, when all the forces and capabilities of the body are activated with one - the only goal - to escape. It is much more difficult to create such a reality artificially, but the situations that were set by the conditions of our experiment were much simpler than those of the notorious grandmother with a chest or a polar pilot with a bear.

In previous works, we hypothesized that there is an initial relationship between consciousness and physical reality, which expresses that the physical environment can influence consciousness, and vice versa, the internal activity of the psyche (virtual worlds of imagination, fantasies, dreams, plans) lead to changes in the environment reality. We also suggested that the result of the influence of consciousness on the external world can be several ways of changing physical reality: 1) through objective activity (do it yourself); 2) through the creation of virtual reality, that is, to achieve what is desired in the internal plane (creativity /write a novel/, dream, hallucination, etc.); 3) through influence on random processes (achieving a goal by natural but unlikely means) - usually interpreted as an accident; 4) through an obvious miracle - interpreted as a miracle.

The idea that virtual reality (the own reality of the person creating it - the subject, the reality of the imagination) is capable of generating changes in the physical environment is deep, archetypal and primordial. And human consciousness is in complex interactions with the material world of physical reality. According to S.L. Rubinstein, the interaction of Man and the World presupposes “the introduction of a finite person to infinite being and the ideal representation of this being in man himself.” Moreover, not only the World influences Man, but also Man influences the World.

Activation of the body's reserve abilities in altered states of consciousness (as well as under stress) can be explained in two ways. For example, the case of the grandmother, the chest and the fire. Firstly, under the influence of stress, the woman’s physical strength increased. Secondly, under the influence of stress, she changed the physical environment so much that the chest became light (for example, she changed the gravitational constant of our physical world). The second approach, developed in our previous works, assumes that the mental activity of consciousness is capable of somehow influencing the reality surrounding the subject, not only in ways mediated by activity, but by directly influencing the laws of nature that govern the universe.

The latter approach is supported by the fact that modern physics has developed quite a lot of theories that assume the interaction of the psyche and the physical world (the bootstrap concept, the concept of wave function reduction with the participation of consciousness, the anthropic principle, the torsion field hypothesis, etc.).

The experiments we conducted with the activation of the reserve capabilities of the human body in altered states of consciousness also indirectly testify in favor of this assumption. Indeed, the subjects, trying to activate their reserve physical abilities, begin, in addition, to ask themselves the conditions of the external world. We can say this, they create a virtual reality around themselves, in which slightly different laws of nature apply. Of course, this happens in a limited space and for a very short time, and then the homeostatic universe can again triumph in its integrity. But this short moment of time may be enough to save yourself or set a new record.

Therefore, our answer to the question whether there is a limit to human physical capabilities turns out to be rather optimistic. The inherent property of consciousness to “influence the physical world” and “change physical reality” allows us to push far the upper limit of human capabilities. Of course, if a person can “influence physical reality,” for example, by changing the gravitational constant for a short moment, then Bob Beamon’s record is far from the limit. In the field of altered reality, you can jump higher and further. But the physical improvement of the human body turns out to be inseparable from the general development of man, as a representative of the species homo sapiens, and it is associated with the development of “mental” strength rather than physical.

Literature

1. Berezina T.N. Can mental activity change physical reality? A psychologist's view. // Consciousness and physical reality. Mind and brain sciences at the turn of the year 2000. Conference materials. M., 1999. p. 125–140.

2. Berezina T.N. Methods for studying deep personality traits. M.: Publishing House IP RAS, 1997, 48 p.

3. Vasiliev T.E. The beginning of hatha yoga. M. Prometheus, 1990

4. Gottwald F., Howald V. Help yourself. Meditation. M.: Interexpert, 1992

5. Grimak L.P. Reserves of the human psyche. M.: Politizdat, 1987.

6. Dolin A.A., Popov G.V. Kempo is a tradition of martial arts. M.: Nauka, 1990, 430 p.

7. Zalesky M.Z. Everyone needs strength. M.: 3knowledge, 1985

8. Laberge S., Reingold H. Study of the world of lucid dreams. M., publishing house of the Transpersonal Institute, 1995, 290 p.

9. Melnikov V.M. (ed.) Psychology. Textbook for physical education institutes. M: Physical education and sports. 1997.

10. Nosov N.A. Virtuals // Virtual realities. M., 1998.

11. Popov A.L. Sports psychology. M.: MPSI, 1999, 152 p.

12. Ramacharaka The science of breathing of Indian yogis. St. Petersburg, 1916. To the fourth section.

13. Rybtsov S.A. Psychedelic techniques in martial arts. Report. M., Moscow State University. 1996.

14. Chikin S.Ya. Health is the head of everything. M. Soviet Russia, 1983.

Notes:

The work was carried out with the participation of S.A. Rybtsova and E.I. Khitryakovo

© 2005-2009
E. Gazarova

Corporality is a special phenomenon: the most inherent in man and one of the least known to him. The word “corporality” itself appeared in Russian language dictionaries in the first half of the 20th century. First in I. A. Baudouin de Courtenay, and then in the dictionaries of Ushakov and Ozhegov. In the dictionary of the “living Great Russian language” Vl. Dahl did not have a chapter “body”, but there was a chapter “flesh” “the body of animals and humans; all the substance of which the animal body consists...” Baudouin de Courtenay, Ushakov and Ozhegov introduced “body” into their dictionaries and identified the adjective “corporal” “belonging to an organism, body... earthly, material, as opposed to spiritual” (1). This is followed by the noun derived from it “ physicality" They did not interpret “corporality,” and the word to this day, as a rule, is perceived in a meaning equivalent to “creatureship”: in contrast to spirituality, “corporality, i.e. creatureliness means that every creature has it” (8) . That is, it is assumed that “body bodily physicality” are adjacent concepts, meaning a material object that coexists with the spirit, but does not possess spirituality. But is this true? By what parameters are the body, bodily processes and physicality put on the same level?

The first serious studies of physicality began at the end of the 19th century in psychology. Pierre Janet, then a young professor of psychology, presented a theory of the relationship between “breathing, the circulation of fluids in the body, muscle tension, the formative process in the body during development, visceral(see) process and feelings, contact behavior, movement and motivation” (9). In his searches, he relied on the principles of ideological dynamics of Hippolyte Bernheim and ideomotor correspondences(cm) William James. His studies turned out to be isolated in psychology and did not receive further development, although Janet’s personality and his work had a huge influence on psychiatrists of the French and German schools. A little later, in the 20s and 30s of the twentieth century, it took shape body-oriented direction of psychotherapy(TOP). A practical basis has emerged for systematic and targeted research into human corporeality. But precisely due to the fact that ideas about corporeality were formed mainly in the course of psychotherapeutic practice, they bore the imprint of the peculiarities of the conditions, goals and objectives of bodily psychotherapy. And, of course, the personalities of bodily psychotherapists the authors of the concepts of TOP. Perhaps this is why the TOP does not have a unified idea of ​​physicality.

The last decades of the 20th century were encouraging with the advent of a new stage in research on this subject: it is now generally accepted that corporeality is not completely identical to the body, that it is “wider” and “more” than the body and bodily-metaphorically expresses psychological problems person. At the same time, despite modern level knowledge about the body and human psychology, the very essence of physicality is still not fully clarified. This is probably why we do not find not only a detailed definition of the concept of “corporality” in encyclopedias, but also a brief one in dictionaries. At the same time, there is a desire to define, if not boundaries, then at least field, territory physicality. To clarify more clearly its origin and specificity, to highlight accents that allow it to be differentiated. Of course, it is clear that when putting forward the hypothesis of corporeality, it is completely pointless to rely on any one (for example, natural science) area of ​​knowledge about a person or a group of related areas. The full-blooded hypothesis of corporeality, in my deep conviction, can be verified by experience only on the basis of interdisciplinary research united by one concept.

In this article I propose an analytical version of the concept of such a study. Based on objective and subjective data from various sciences and areas of human studies, I do not at all fall into the illusion that such an event is easily feasible. So, I assume that: 1) physicality is a special “product” of the interaction of body and spirit; 2) this is the visible and experienced part of the soul; 3) physicality is formed from the moment of conception to death; 4) the mechanisms of formation and the “composition” of physicality are extremely complex; 5) physicality (in general and in particular) expresses a person’s system of meanings, which is based on the attitude towards death and life; 6) all the constituent parts of physicality correspond to each other (congruent) and “grow” into each other.

I’ll start my reasoning with a completely material object body, since one of the most important conditions for the formation of mechanisms that form corporeality is properties of a biological organism person and shape featuresbody person (the form is not considered in this article).

The human body is a living, open, optimally functioning complex, self-regulating and self-renewing biological system with its inherent principles of self-preservation and adaptability. The body is a unity of multitudes, since certain organs and organ systems arise during the embryonic period from a specific germ layer. “In human development, the embryonic period is critical. The embryo is especially susceptible to the influence of various environmental factors and depends on the state of the mother’s body.” (2) Therefore, both early and later disturbances in the functioning of one organ or any organ system are reflected primarily in the functioning of those organs or systems that are in the closest, “family” connection with them. The “body” system interacts with the environment and needs a constant exchange of energy (substances) with it. This exchange is possible due to the constant influence of stimuli from the external and internal environment. They Always are new information for the body and processes it neuro-humoral system. Irritants affect the parameters of the body that were formed before this impact. That's why the nature of information processing depends on the nature of the information that has been recorded at that moment in the memory apparatus of the regulatory system. This, we believe, is one of the fundamental factors in the formation of individual characteristics of physicality, formed at the dawn of biological forms of life. Another important factor, according to our observations, is the correspondence (congruence)/inconsistency (incongruence) of the current state of the organism and the objective situation in which this organism is currently located. For example, state-situation congruence was very high in Homo sapiens ( 100 40 thousand years ago), since the main goal of ancient man was adaptation to real conditions. Three factors of development desire for life (fear of death), the real presence of danger and simple motives and attitudes of ancient man directed the work of his body. Stress was of natural origin and therefore caused active work of the body, increased its capabilities and contributed to the improvement of form. The body of our distant ancestors still had much in common with the animal body against the backdrop of a number of biopsychic advantages. Thus, the receptor apparatus of the sensory organs/skin and the most important subcortical formations of the brain, developed, like in animals, were supplemented by the parietal and frontal parts of the cerebral cortex, which were much more developed than in animals. It is especially important that a person of that time already had a sufficiently developed upper frontal lobe of the cortex, which is responsible for the control of emotions. The programming and controlling functions of consciousness were then still at a “tender age”, which, however, did not prevent them from contributing to the survival and formation of new human skills. At the same time, ancient man was already forming attitude to life through experience death: the dead (motionless) body of a fellow tribesman caused horror. Thus, congruence was ensured simple motives and attitudes, but was realized difficultorganized, “animal-human” processes of sensory cognition: deep purposeful “animal” attention, guided by “human”, albeit primitive, goals, tasks and experiences, led to synchronization effect, which created a feeling of identity with the observed phenomenon or object. In other words: equality of feeling between the observed phenomenon/object and interiorized image of this phenomenon/object. Movements characteristic of a phenomenon or object caused experiences through micromovements of the human body. Synchronization caused a response in the body, a reaction in sensations, the language of which was clear to our ancestors, and therefore brought knowledge and facilitated adaptation. Thanks to people's interest, memory recorded and stored in the muscle tissue of the body and in the form of vegetative reactions of the body significant information as useful for life (useful not necessarily positive). In case of danger, the body's memory through natural signs reminded a person of the meaning of this danger, promoting the simultaneous actualization of muscular and autonomic reactions corresponding to each other. This helped to form useful skills for avoiding danger and consolidate them in memory, and the body itself applied these skills at the right time. And this contributed to learning and the development of abilities, of which the most valuable and stable were fixed at the genetic level and passed on by inheritance. Thus, in the harsh reality of the life of ancient man, his “animal” body, through the language of reactions, played the role of an expert in matters of security and evolution. (For comparison: the congruence “state of the body current situation” is very low in a modern civilized person, who no longer lives in the real, but in the “ideal” world the world of reflected and embodied ideas. The bodily reactions of a modern “Western-style” person are socialized and tightly controlled The body itself is subject to the directive influence of a person’s mentality, which, alas, is usually a product of illusions and ideas about the truth of the assessment of the moment).

However, let us continue our discussions about the body-organism. A living healthy organism, thanks to the ability to perceive a constant influx of energy (information), is in dynamic equilibrium, which can be depicted sinusoid. This rule is established by the homeostatic systems of the body, which operate on the principle of feedback (negative or positive), and negative feedback increases the stability of the system and is therefore more common in the homeostatic systems of living organisms. Directly participate in metabolic and energy processes and maintaining homeostasis in the body internal environment of the body(blood, lymph and tissue fluid), powerful immunity And compensatory mechanisms aimed at eliminating or weakening serious functional changes results of super-aggressive environmental factors (including social ones). The sinusoid of homeostasis is expressed through rhythm, alternation of phases of duality and movement, showing signs of the fundamental Law of Life. It is expressed in the material world through processes .The life of a human biological organism, like any other, is possible only because every moment in its “bowels” numerous births and deaths occur: thanks to the ability of all cells to reproduce, the body has the ability to replace aging and dying cells, but as a result of the dying of cells conditions are created for regeneration fabrics: birth leads to death promoting life….+….-…..+…..-… Alternating phases of dualitydefines and providesinvoluntary nature of all processes andactivitiestissues, systems and body fluidsthrough “tension-relaxation”, “compression-expansion”, “inflow-outflow”(including the processes of normal childbirth and natural death) … Thus, a normal biological organism is a unity of sets. This is “a living thing that simply functions” (W. Reich) in accordance with the order of things established by Nature: it can, based on the characteristics of the current moment, independently choose the optimal states and reactions for itself. The biological human body is designed to provide unique adaptation and self-realization of a unique individual. Its distinctive features are naturalness and natural expediency.

Let us now move on to the conditions of interaction between the psyche and the body. A person born into the world has a unique genotype. At the same time, the “biological” (bodily) is already inextricably linked with the “mental”: various factors of the mother’s objective and subjective life and her attitude towards them indirectly influence the fetus in the womb through her psycho-vegetative reactions. And since I believe that it is in the womb that the foundations of a person’s unique physicality are laid, we have to deal with peculiarities of mother's influence on the fetus and ways of forming physicality. The mother’s psycho-vegetative reactions are the result of a combination of many conditions and factors that affect the nature of her perception of reality. Information about reality is conveyed exteroceptivesensations, and the factors and conditions, briefly, come down to: 1) the characteristics of the situation and its objective stress level; 2) psychophysiological characteristics of a person (bioelectric in combination with vegetative and biochemical, as well as typological properties of the nervous system); 3) individual personal properties ( extroversion / introversion, level neuroticism, type interhemispheric asymmetry or ambidexterity, character); 4) cognitive style ( field dependencies field independence, impulsiveness reflexivity, rigidity flexibility); 5) current state (active passive, awake-waking, trance hypnotic); 6) quality of attention with varying degrees of internal and external interference (5). In other words, the features of a holistic image of perception depend on what a person identifies as the most important, significant in the flow of information (for example, phonemic or semantic aspects of speech; shape or color; image or word; volume, intonation or timbre of the voice; the essence of the event or emotions associated with it, etc.); how did he get this informationextracts(emotionally or rationally, unconsciously or consciously, critically or uncritically, recognizing as a modification of past experience, or perceiving as a new experience, etc.); why does he extract this information and for what purpose? he needs it (motivation, strategy and tactics). Consequently, the nature of perception itself (sensory knowledge of the world) and the image of perception depends on the innate and acquired properties and qualities of a person, his current state, objective and subjective factors and memory traces of all past perceptions(see above). The complex genesis of the image of perception confronts us with the fact of blurring three boundaries: between genotypic and phenotypic components sensory processes of the mother, between the objective subjective conditioning of her attention, between the physiological and personal components of it perceptions. “What”, “how”, “why” and “why” of exteroceptive sensations create only part of the holistic image of perception.

Another part of the perception image is created interoceptive and proprioceptive sensations provided by action somatovisceral systems; their common property is that they do not form sensory organs, but are widely distributed throughout the body" (3). Somatovisceral sensations are not a passive process, but cause motor reactions of the body, vegetative or muscular and, along with exteroceptive ones, they shape human behavior, although normally they are in intensity at a near-threshold level, increasing with various violations of the internal environment of the body" (3). They create the basis for affective activity, which ultimately shapes and regulates behavior and to a large extent determines itself the nature of cognition, mental states and personality properties (5). In the process of adaptation (social adaptation) of an individual, under certain external conditions, the properties of the somatovisceral system, together with the properties of the senses, create certain phenomena. It is known that a person (and the body, as an integral part of it) adapts every moment, because Changes in external and internal conditions occur constantly. Adaptation of the body to weak and average in terms of the strength of the stimuli, it occurs quite quickly and is hardly noticeable to humans, while the body's stability increases and skills and habits are developed. Insufficiently significant information is perceived by the body as a weak stimulus. It is often not even recognized by the psyche and is poorly structured. Slightly more significant information is perceived by the body as average stimuli, therefore the body’s reactions to it are more obvious, and the psyche structures it more. Adaptation to any significant factor for the body and psyche is stress. “In the process of adaptation, all organs involved in it, changing quantitatively and qualitatively, form functional system responsible for adaptation. The structural changes developing here represent system structural trace..." (3) Changes that occur as a result of stress cause a number of physiological, mental and psychological phenomena, since "traces of even single impacts of extreme factors... on the human body lead to changes in autonomic functions... These changes form the so-called "vegetative memory" which is based (among other things) on a peculiar relationship between individual elements of tissue, vascular, endocrine, immune systems..." (3), carried out through the muscular fascia (7). It is at the level of the stress reaction to any significant information that characteristic psychosomatic phenomena appear, generating a more or less stable “product” of interaction between the psyche and body in the form of individual psychosomatic patterns. The question of the stability of the “product” of interaction between the psyche and the body is inextricably linked with the inertial properties of the matter of the body, the properties of memory and the psychological significance of information. Since for the body and psyche information is “stimulants” that affect the parameters that were formed before this impact, then the nature of processing new information depends on the nature of processing previously recorded information. By layering, the same type of information and the same type of information processing methods (response) create the nature of individual adaptation. " The formation of individual adaptations is based on traces of previous stimuli."(3). Every time faced with a situation, somewhat and somewhat reminiscent of a significant, and even more so emotionally significant, person will experience similar state through experiencing a complex of initial sensations and ideas. They arise as a result of the recreation of the systemic structural trace formed at the moment of stress in the body with approximately the same set of somatovisceral sensations. will happen recollection the same emotions, thoughts, moods, signaling meaning somatovisceral sensations: due to the fact that it is stored in memory engram stimulus-standard (memory of stressful information), the information will be recognized by the person “ like before" Equally, this is true when the engram is actualized against the background of subliminal sensations. The image of perception of this type of situation and the characteristic type of response to them will be the more stable, the stronger the first shock was and the less opposing influences were subsequently exerted. I believe that the boundaries of bodily and mental reactions are blurred here, and therefore there is no reason to separate them in time (which arose earlier): the psyche indirectly learns the same information through the body(vegetative memory “substrate” of emotional-affective knowledge), and the body indirectly knows through the psyche(recognition of a standard stimulus is the recall of its meaning). In this case, exteroceptive sensations create mainly cognitive component of perception images, memory traces, thoughts, reflexive images (“I know that this is ...”), and proprioceptive and interoceptive sensations create mainly them affective component (“I experience something that I know is...”). This dense nature of interaction, mutual influence and interpenetration of the psyche and body connects the energies of the body and psyche into a single biopsychic energy of a person (Greek: energeia activity, activity, force in action) . Thus all sensations are congruent with each othersigns, jointly communicating the meaning of the same information, and partly forming a stable “product”. The “product” itself appears "procedurally"in characteristic rhythms, tempos, body temperature, the degree of its “flowability”, movements, postures, posture, breathing, smell and sound . It is this “product” of a pregnant woman that gives the fetus signals that it physically experiencesidenticallythe value (+,-) of her current reactions, experiences and somatovisceral sensations. However, the signs "+" and "-" do not contain meaning perceived information (“why did this happen, and why is it needed”): since the meaning is the formation of the spiritual sphere of a person, the fruit cannot comprehend it. But is this true?

Meaning permeates a person’s states and experiences; every action contains meaning and is conditioned by it. Meaning, as a psychological reality, 1) “the essence, main, main content (sometimes hidden) in phenomena, messages or behavioral manifestations; 2) the personal significance of certain phenomena, messages or actions, their relationship to the interests, needs and, in general, to the life context of a particular subject” (8). In psychology, meaning is used in the second definition. Meaning allows a person, guided by certain evaluative criteria, to choose the actual type of behavior and formulate an attitude towards his experience. Ideas about meaning begin to form in early childhood within the family in accordance with cultural/national characteristics, the general cultural level and the moral/ethical ideas of its older members. However, we assume that the rudiments of the system of meanings originate in the prenatal period of human development and are much more complexly organized than is commonly believed. Therefore, an analysis of the initial stages of the process of meaning formation (as I understand it) will help to understand the basic “material” stored in the depths of memory, from which a person’s life strategies are developed.

Throughout life, a person “accumulates” with many evaluation criteria, but before others, as is known, criteria are formed "pleasure"- "displeasure". The rudiments of these criteria arise, not in infancy, but in the embryo, and express, in my opinion, the relationship between the quality and strength of external influences and the level of reactivity of the fetal nervous system. The embryo is in the internal space of the mother, but for him this space is external: despite the closest connection, unity with the mother, he represents a separate life, like a grain planted in the soil. How desirable or undesirable this nascent life is, is how emotionally it is experienced by the mother and is expressed in her moods, mental states and changes at the somatic level (at the levels of the nervous system, muscle, internal fluids, etc.). Through maternal psychosomatic reactions, information about her attitude (conscious or unconscious - it does not matter) to a given pregnancy is encoded at the cellular level and is fixed in the nervous system of the embryo from the moment the neural plate is laid down, i.e. from about the third week after conception; this code is the first prerequisite for future basic, biopsychic human patterns. Subsequently, everything significant for the mother that changes her condition is “projected” into the external space of the fetus. “Information” comes with blood, lymph and tissue fluid. This internal environment of the mother's body, the composition of which depends on the reactions of her body to external and internal influences. The composition of the internal environment gives rise to “phenomena”, favorable or unfavorable for the fetus (naturally, the spectrum of “phenomena” is much wider, and here it is deliberately divided into polarities). Already in the second half of intrauterine development, the fetus feels characteristic changes in the amniotic fluid, signaling the current psychosomatic state of the mother, through smell and taste, which is reflected in its activity and condition. He experiences influences of opposite signs and their nuances through all kinds and types of sensations many times, learning bodily knowledge about the essence of the phenomena of his world, with which he is merged, but which he is not(probably the ability to synchronize and identify with the object of perception has intrauterine genesis). Unfavorable conditions mean a threat to life, i.e. danger of rejection and premature expulsion death, as opposed to favorable conditions, which simply mean life as a given. This is the “meaning essence”, the main content in the phenomenon, message(8). The feeling of danger stimulates in a biological organism the avoidance of death, or the desire for life, for which it fights to the best of its ability. Therefore, small intrauterine “difficulties” are seen as an indispensable and necessary condition for successful development survival skills even before birth . This is equally true in relation to the process of childbirth itself (albeit timely, but “expulsion-death”): the passage of ten centimeters of the birth canal is such a great danger and severe trauma for the fetus that the level of adrenaline in its blood rises much higher levels observed in an adult during a heart attack. But it is precisely these physiological conditions that are the key to the successful passage of the fetus through the birth canal and exit from the mother’s womb. These same conditions provide the first real (bodily!) experience of overcoming “death” and contribute to the first act of breathing and adaptation to new conditions. So, a person learns and evaluates the first and basic meanings through the experience of bodily states of balance and anxiety even in the womb; these states reveal the essence of the dual existence of physical bodies through the formation of two basic groups of sensations: pleasure (life) and displeasure (death). A biological organism does not know the desire for death. “The living thing that simply functions” (W. Reich) knows only one desire - for life. Since knowledge of life and death (fetal reactions) corresponds to the meanings communicated in phenomena (maternal psychosomatic reactions) and is acquired by the body through experience before and during birth, it is reliable biopsychic knowledge.

The baby is to a much greater extent a “biological” than a “social” and “mental” being, and the system of signs at this age is physical, consisting of specific, “natural signs” (6). What is tangibly known to the infant as pleasant or unpleasant(state), and there are natural signs. According to the laws of consolidation of memory traces, they gravitate toward the two polar groups of sign-states created in the prenatal period, forming day after day two parts of a single foundation of all human sign systems. Natural signs form the first cause-and-effect relationships (with whom/what is pleasant and unpleasant associated), forming the basic level of human memory motor bipolar memory. In infancy, good contact with the mother, breastfeeding and tender care strengthen the position of signs of pleasure, and the absence of such contact strengthens the position of signs of displeasure. Therefore, the presence or absence of mother’s love mainly determines development parameters emotional memoryperson, which is based on the material of natural signs of motor memory. Consequently, normally, biopsychic knowledge about life (pleasure) and death (displeasure) is complicated and deepened by the fact of the appearance emotional memory. It is formed signs of unconditional love that cause JOY. Biopsychic knowledge, like the body of an embryo in the first weeks of eubriogenesis, acquires a three-layer structure, and a certain number of cause-and-effect relationships between signs of three types (life/pleasure love/joy death/displeasure) forms the database of the first sign system systemssensations. On it, gradually developing, is superimposed associative and figurative sign systems, and later systems of ideas and concepts. Since for a child 1.52 years old the main assessment criteria still remain basic state(good/bad = pleasure/displeasure = life death), then in the process of education and socialization, through the mechanism reinforcement and rejection of love, in a multi-level sign system, formation occurs congruences. But a concretely thinking child, due to the still retained intrauterine ability for synchronization and identification, perceives and generalizes congruent signs into identities. And therefore, coming from the parents: “This Fine“for him means: “I’m calm” (state of balance) = “It’s pleasant » (feeling of pleasure) = “I am good” + possible presence of an image = “They love me (joy) » = "This "life"(meaning). Coming from parents "This Badly” means: “I’m anxious” (state) = “This is unpleasant » (feeling) = “I’m bad” + possible presence of an image = “They don’t love me (sadness) » = "This "death"(meaning). Thus, the child’s state and sensation, which convey the essence of phenomena (meaning), but imbued with individual associations, transformed into the foundation of a future building moral criteriathrough the concepts of adults “good” and “bad”. Therefore, when at the age of 37 a child enters a society whose laws are structured not according to the principle of pleasure and joy, but according to the rules “can”, “cannot”, “must”, “useful”, “harmful”, “profitable”, he remains outside the bodily marks and landmarks by which direct cognition of the essence of the object has hitherto occurred; now it is being replaced indirect through the opinion of significant adults, compliance with which brings love. But since meaningful opinions are a child are experienced, then they cause a number of characteristic vegetative-muscular reactions in the body, which are reinforced during subsequent similar experiences. A 7-10 year old child is already developing a system of meanings at the initial stage, with “personal significance... of phenomena, messages... actions...” arises from bodily experiences and memories of experiences of acceptance or rejection significant people, which is associated with integration into adult society and socialization. Focusing on the sensations that arise when rejecting or accepting, a person continues throughout his life to get used to assessing the significance, significance and usefulness of everything that happens to him, according to these or corresponding conceptual labels . This position contributes to the fact that a person is not “included” in the observation and awareness of the fundamental Law of Life, which manifests itself in everything and is expressed through processes conception, birth, development, decline and death. Adaptation often occurs not to real conditions, but to conditions generated by illusory ideas. Therefore, a person perceives as “life” everything that does not contain real danger (this illusion is ensured, as a rule, by the “immutability”, stagnation of his being), and as “death” everything that contains rejection, the end of stability and danger (in In particular, every new experience is fraught with such danger). Thus, on the foundation of biopsychic meanings (“life” “death”), double mediation occurs, the merging of personal and basic meanings and the substitution of concepts. The illusions of hundreds of millions of people, growing, give rise to pseudoreality, to which social adaptation occurs. In accordance with this type of social adaptation, a certain type of physicality is formed, designed to protect a person from the maladjustments and decompensations characteristic of him. The “fear of life” (danger!) attitude reorients the body’s activity, namely the quality and sign of the action of adaptation mechanisms. Since the desire for life manifests itself through overcoming danger (death), adaptation mechanisms give rise to psychosomatic protective patterns in a dangerous (stressful) situation (or in those that the individual considers stressful): “every muscle spasm contains a story and meaning its origin" (W. Reich). Deprived, as a rule, joy, joy a person learns to program his actions so that avoid bodily discomfort and/or corresponding individual performances, and through this achieve pleasure of a “higher” order. Unique systems of correspondences of individuals, imbued with unique associations and meanings, are expressed in a single, observable and experienced “product”. I’ll call it “physicality.”

Corporality refers to the quality, strength and sign of a person’s bodily reactions, which are formed from the moment of conception throughout the course of life. Corporeality is not identical to the body and is not a product of the body alone. As a reality, it is the result of the activity of the triune nature of man. This is a subjectively experienced and objectively observable expression and evidence of the vector (+ or -) of the total energy of the individual (Greek energeia activity, activity, force in action). Corporality is formed in the context of the genotype, gender and unique biopsychic characteristics of the individual in the process of his adaptation and self-realization. The basis for the formation of physicality is a single memory.
Corporeality manifests itself as a process in the form of the body through asymmetries, characteristic movements, postures, posture, breathing, rhythms, tempos, temperature, “flowability,” smell, sound and hypnotizability. Corporality is changeable: its character changes in accordance with the sign of bodily-sensory processes. These changes are not identical to the processes of development, maturation or aging, but the listed processes influence it and are manifested in it. Since its formation depends on external and internal conditions, significant changes in these conditions entail changes in a person’s physicality. The state of physicality is reflected by the motivations, attitudes and, in general, the system of meanings of the individual, therefore it stores the generalized knowledge of a person and represents a material, visible aspect of the soul (psyche).
Just like the body (glav. tъlo / lat. Tellus basis, soil, earth), corporeality is designed to perform protective and supporting functions in adaptation processes, and this is its first purpose.

The level of development of physicality (range) allows a person to “resonate” with the world to one degree or another, which is another of its purposes.

The third and final purpose of corporeality is to ensure the separation of spirit/soul and body at the moment of death.

Literature

1. Ozhegov S.I. Dictionary of the Russian language, M., State Publishing House of Foreign and National Dictionaries, 1961.


2. Fundamentals of perinatology, ed. Prof..N. P. Shabalova and prof. Yu. V. Tsveleva


3. Fundamentals of human physiology in 2 volumes, St. Petersburg, International Foundation for the History of Science, 1994.


4. Dictionary of a practical psychologist, Minsk, Harvest, 1997.


5. Modern psychology: reference guide, Moscow, INFA-M, 1999.


6. Solomonik A. Semiotics and linguistics, M., “Young Guard”, 1995.


7. Reader on body-oriented psychotherapy, ed. L. S. Sergeeva, St. Petersburg, 2000.


8. “Man”, Philosophical-Encyclopedic Dictionary, M., “Science”, 2000.


9. Wechowsky, Andreas (1997), Konzepte der Erdung; Energie@ Character, No. 15, Berlin, 1997

Physical qualities - what are they? We will consider the answer to this question in this article. In addition, we will tell you about what types of physical qualities exist and what their role is in a person’s life.

General information

It should be especially noted that without sufficient development of such properties, an athlete cannot dream of any success and achievements. Its basic physical qualities are developed during regular training, as well as various exercises. At the same time, one or another depends on the degree of their intensity and direction. Thus, the diversified development of all qualities is called general, and those necessary only in a certain sport are called special training.

The power of man

As a physical quality, strength is defined through a set of certain abilities that provide a measure of the influence of a person on external objects or objects.

As a rule, people's strength abilities are manifested only through the force of action (measured in kilograms), which, in turn, develops due to muscle tension. Its manifestations to one degree or another depend on such external and internal factors as the size of the weights, the location of the body, as well as its individual elements in space, and on the functional state of a person’s muscle tissue and his mental state.

By the way, it is the location of the body and its individual links in space that allows you to influence the magnitude of the force. This occurs due to different stretching of muscle tissue in different human postures. In other words, the more the muscles are stretched, the greater the magnitude of the force.

Among other things, the physical quality of strength, or rather its manifestation, depends on the relationship between breathing and phases of movement. Its greatest value is determined when straining, and its smallest value is determined when inhaling.

Types of forces

Strength can be absolute or relative. The first is determined without taking into account body weight by maximum muscle tension indicators. As for the second, such force is calculated as the ratio of the absolute value to the body’s own mass.

Ways to develop abilities

The degree of manifestation of strength abilities also depends on the amount of muscle tissue that is involved in the work, as well as on the characteristics of their contractions. In accordance with this, there are 2 ways of their development:

1. Using all kinds of exercises with maximum effort. Such tasks involve performing certain motor actions with near-maximum or maximum weights. This method allows you to maximally mobilize the neuromuscular system and provide the greatest increase in strength abilities.
2. Using all kinds of exercises with unlimited weights. This method is characterized by performing certain motor actions with the maximum possible number of repetitions. This happens with small burdens. This method allows you to perform a huge amount of work and ensure accelerated muscle growth. It should also be noted that unlimited weights are unable to complicate control of movement technique. With this mode of operation, the result is achieved over a long period of time.

Human endurance

The physical quality of endurance is determined through a combination of certain abilities, as well as maintaining long-term work in different power zones (moderate, heavy, near-maximum and maximum load). Moreover, each zone has only its own special set of reactions of the body’s structures and its organs.

The duration of mechanical work until fatigue is divided into 3 phases:

1. Initial fatigue.
2. Compensated.
3. Decompensated.

The first phase is characterized as the appearance of initial signs of fatigue. The second - as progressively deepening fatigue, namely maintaining the existing intensity of work through a partial change in the structure of the motor process (for example, reducing the length or increasing the pace of steps when running), as well as additional volitional efforts. The third phase is a high degree of fatigue, which leads to a noticeable decrease in the intensity of work until it stops completely.

Types of endurance

In the practice and theory of physical education, endurance is divided into:

• special;
• general

Special endurance is characterized by the duration of work, which, in turn, depends on the degree of fatigue and solving problems (motor). As for the general one, it means long-term performance of work with the connection of all life-supporting structures of the body and organs.

Special endurance classification

Almost all basic physical qualities have their own types and subtypes. Thus, special endurance is classified according to the following criteria:

• motor action, with the help of which motor tasks are solved (for example, jumping endurance);
• motor activity, under the conditions of which motor tasks are solved (for example, gaming endurance);
• interaction with other physical qualities that are essential for successfully solving motor problems.

Building Endurance

Human endurance is developed by solving motor tasks that require the mobilization of biological and mental processes at the end of the previous phase or compensatory fatigue. Such conditions should provide several options for working with a changing structure of motor action and loads.

The main thing in the development of endurance is the method of regulated exercise, which allows you to accurately set the volume and magnitude of the load. During rest breaks, athletes usually perform tasks to relax muscles, breathe, and develop joint mobility.

At submaximal loads, endurance should be developed only after exercises for coordination of movements. Rest intervals, duration and number of such exercises should be correlated with the type of work preceding.

Speed ​​of man

The physical quality of speed is expressed by a set of speed abilities, which include:

• speed of single movement, which is not burdened by external resistance;
• speed of motor reactions;
• frequency or tempo of movements.

Most of the physical abilities that characterize speed have their constituent elements in other physical qualities, including the quality of agility. Speed ​​is developed by solving various motor tasks, the success of which is determined by minimum quantity time allotted for their implementation.

The choice of exercises to develop such quality requires compliance with certain methodological provisions (high proficiency in the technique of motor action, optimal state of the body, which ensures high performance of the athlete).

Considering this physical quality, one cannot fail to mention the speed of motor reaction. It is characterized by the minimum duration from the presentation of a certain signal to the start of movements. In turn, such complex reactions are divided into reactions of a moving object and choice. The latter is a response to signals with some kind of movement. The conditions for developing this quality are high emotionality and increased performance of a person, as well as the desire to complete a task until the best possible result is obtained.

Human agility

Dexterity as a physical quality is expressed by a set of coordination abilities and the ability to perform certain motor actions with a given range of movements. This property is cultivated in athletes by teaching them motor actions, as well as finding solutions to motor problems that require constant changes in the principle of action.

When developing dexterity, a prerequisite is the novelty of the task being learned and the methods of its application. In turn, this element is supported by the coordination complexity of the action, as well as the creation of such external conditions that make it difficult to perform the exercise.

What are coordination abilities?

Such abilities are associated with the ability to control movements in space and include:

• spatial orientation;
• dynamic and static balance;
• accuracy of reproduction of certain movements in terms of strength, time and spatial parameters.

Spatial orientation is the preservation of ideas about changes in external conditions or existing situations. This element also implies the ability to rearrange motor actions in accordance with existing changes. At the same time, the athlete must not just react to the external environment. He is obliged to take into account its dynamics of change and make a forecast of upcoming events, and only on the basis of this build his program of action, which is aimed at achieving the required result.

Reproduction of temporal, power and spatial parameters of movements, as a rule, is manifested in the accuracy of the execution of certain motor processes. Their development is carried out by improving sensitive mechanisms.

Static balance manifests itself when the athlete maintains certain poses for a long time. As for the dynamic, on the contrary, it is characterized by maintaining the direction of movements with continuously changing poses.

Human flexibility

Flexibility is a person’s ability to perform motor actions with a certain amplitude. This quality is characterized by the degree of mobility in the joints, as well as the condition of the muscle tissue.

Poorly developed flexibility significantly complicates the coordination of movements and limits the spatial movements of the body and its parts.

and its development

There are active and passive flexibility. The first is expressed by the amplitude of movements that are performed due to the tension of one’s own muscle tissue serving a particular joint. The second flexibility is also determined by the amplitude, but this time of actions performed under the direct influence of any external forces. Moreover, its value is always greater than the active one. Indeed, under the influence of fatigue, active flexibility noticeably decreases, and passive, on the contrary, increases.

The development of flexibility occurs using the repeated method, that is, when all stretching exercises are performed in series. In this case, the active and passive types are developed in parallel.

Let's sum it up

Physical qualities are those human qualities that develop through intense and regular exercise. Moreover, such loads can have a double effect, namely:

• increase resistance to oxygen starvation;
• increase the power of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.

In the process of developing any physical quality, a person necessarily influences all others. By the way, the magnitude and nature of this influence depends on two reasons: the level of physical fitness and the characteristics of the loads used.

It should also be noted that the development of the presented abilities at the initial stages of training often leads to the improvement of others. However, this stops later. Thus, with exercises that previously influenced the development of all qualities, now only some of them will be affected. It is for this reason that it is incompatible to achieve maximum levels of endurance and strength at the same time (for example, running a marathon and lifting heavy weights). Although it should be borne in mind that the highest degree of manifestation of one physical quality can be achieved only with the development of the others.