Walking on hot coals is an ancient yogi practice that has suddenly become popular among the most ordinary people. Uniting, not fakirs and not magicians, but the simplest clerks, managers and accountants get an extreme experience of coal driving. Our reporter also went through the coals and at the same time found out who needs it and why.
Conscious choice
If you want to learn how to walk on hot coals, finding teachers is not a problem. Social networks are full of them. Everywhere a coal walking session costs about the same - 2 thousand rubles. Almost all of them promise amazing results: unity with nature, cleansing the body with the elements of fire, activating energy centers and even diagnosing diseases of internal organs based on the results of examining the foot.
Space gurus, shamans in the fifth generation, hypnologists and other esotericists did not inspire confidence in me, so I chose as mentors simply sane young people - the authors of the project “Heroes. Conscious choice . They kindly offered not only to walk over the coals, but in general to come off in full: bend spoons, walk on broken glass, lie on nails. I refused spoons and nails.
On Day X, a bright but insidious thought came to my mind: with healthy legs you can do a lot of cool things, like skating, swimming in the pool, or going on sale. And indeed walk. And with fried is inconvenient. However, it was too late to refuse.
Mystic and Physics
Promotional video:
Waking up on the appointed day, I looked at my feet for a long time. It was terribly sorry for them. Maybe something to spread? At that moment, coach Sergei Korolev called:
- You don't need to rub your feet! Dress so that the pants can be rolled up. And don't worry. The main thing is to have legs, the rest is little things.
The coal walking training took place not on the street, but in the House of Dance in the Sokol metro area, where on weekdays children are taught folk dances, and on weekends, aunts and uncles gather for various seminars. In the large hall, my “colleagues” were resting on mats after another practice (they had already gone through glass and knives, there was only fire left) and tuned in to the last - in order, and not in general in life - stage. Meanwhile, Sergei started the theoretical part.
“The temperature of the coals is about 700 degrees, but a person is not burnt,” he explained. - This is not mysticism, but physics. First, you need to walk quickly over the coals. Remember how you toss the coal from hand to hand. If you hold it, you can burn yourself. Secondly, you need to step with your entire sole, then oxygen does not flow and there is not enough power for combustion. You put out the coals with your feet.
If walking on coals is pure physics, why study it at all? The secret of walking, according to Korolyov, lies in technique: if you put your foot in the wrong way, you will get burned. To learn to walk hot, you need to work out the "fiery" step and overcome the feeling of fear that prevents you from clearly following the trainer's instructions.
We practiced the fire walker on the floor. First Sergei showed how to walk: put the sole horizontally, move your legs quickly enough, but not jogging. The people diligently, they only lacked protruding tongues, followed the coach's gait.
I'm not afraid of anything
- The coals are ready, let's go to the yard, - the organizers ordered.
Everyone reached out to the exit, I stood alone in the middle of the hall and begged: "Let's walk on the parquet floor, eh?"
In the courtyard, Sergei was turning a blazing pile of coals with a shovel. It seemed to me that I was not just cool, but went straight to hell: Sergei - devil, “colleagues” in training are devils in anticipation of their childish fun, and I am an unfortunate sinner. And I'm finished.
- On such coals kebabs can be fried, - the guy standing next to him busily remarked. And he began to chant along with everyone: - I'm not afraid of anything! I'm confident in myself!
I was not sure of myself and was afraid.
- Don't, - whispered from behind. - I have already walked several times: no burns, the sensations are amazing. Why do you think the soldiers are shouting "hurray"? Because we have the fifth chakra in our throat …
Listening to the whisper about the chakras, I did not notice how the unknown comforter took me under the white arms and led me to the fiery path. Also, on autopilot, I took off my boots and socks, rolled up my trousers and skipped the line, using my official position, lifted my leg over the coals. It was hot, loud, and cheerful around. There was no more fear - on the contrary, I wanted to go. And I walked. First, over hot coals, which after the cold earth seemed a little warm, then over rubber rugs with ice water. Then, through the dirty snow, I ran to my shoes and, when I put on my shoes, I continued to shout: "I'm not afraid of anything!" The organizers warned us not to forget the river even after the race, because the rest are still running and they also need a fighting spirit.
I screamed and screamed, and again I wanted to go to the coals, then to the water and again to the coals … At such a moment you realize that you can not only walk on coals, but in general a lot of things.
Everybody wants to be special
I thought about legs least of all, but in vain. Probably, a small coal stuck to the foot, it burned the top layer of the skin. The organizers gave peroxide, iodine and a patch. No one else needed a first aid kit. After the training, people wiped their feet with wet wipes and shared their fresh impressions.
- I ran three times! - admired herself Veronica, who half an hour ago looked at the burning path with eyes round with horror.
- And I wanted to have a good free weekend, - said her friend Alexei. - Fun, in the company of interesting people. I don’t regret it!
Alexey, as it turned out, came not only for fun, but in the hope of meeting a girl. Apparently, a really hot thing was required. However, everyone has different goals. For example, it is somehow believed that walking on coal helps in business.
By the way, Sergey Korolev, the organizer of coal walking sessions, has been doing business since school - he started by drawing Disney characters at school and selling them to classmates. When his peers went to college, he went his own way and soon already had his own furniture factory. Korolev took up extreme practices three years ago. He says that modern people who spend all day at the computer, and then at home on the couch, want to be special, have superpowers and are ready to pay for the opportunity to feel like heroes.
It seems that today I am also a hero. I walk to the subway, I shout to myself: "I'm not afraid of anything!" The next morning, a burned leg will remind of itself, but it will be tomorrow.
Firewalker Tips
For the first time, walking on coals should be under the guidance of an experienced trainer. The more trainings he did, the better.
You should not do a pedicure before the session - the rougher the skin on the feet, the safer.
Never drink for courage. Alcohol affects the processes of thermoregulation and the activity of the nervous system.
By secret
Doctor of Physics and Mathematics Vladislav Mikhalevich, Deputy Director of the General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences:
- Perhaps the secret of walking on coals is in thick calluses: the dead layer of the epidermis protects living cells. And the feet must be dry so that the heat does not pass. Surely the material from which the coals are prepared plays a role. Thermal conductivity is different for different tree species.