Amosov’s joint gymnastics: a set of exercises, features and reviews. How to treat the spine with the help of physical education: Amosov’s exercises Amosov’s exercises for the spine

Nikolay Amosov is a cardiac surgeon, author and innovator of cardiac surgery methods. In addition, Nikolai Mikhailovich invented a system of “restrictions and loads” and his own set of exercises, the effectiveness of which is proven by his bright, eventful and long life. Amosov’s gymnastics is called “1000 movements.” Its goal is to combat physical inactivity and health problems, primarily of the spine, which today begin to arise at a very young age. Amosov’s set of exercises includes 10 exercises; the famous academician recommends performing them 100 times. Multiply 100 by 10 and you get 1000 movements.

Nikolai Amosov believed that human health does not depend either on surrounding circumstances or on medicine. The decisive factor is everyone’s choice to be healthy or not. At the age of 40, Amosov felt the beginning of a deterioration in his health, and it was then that he decided to invent something that would not only save him, but would become a panacea for society, which was already suffering from physical inactivity in those years.

To perform Amosov's exercises you do not need either strength or endurance. You can start with 10 repetitions, but add “ten” weekly.

Amosov recommended combining his complex with a daily jog: either 2 km in 12 minutes, or jogging, but with maximum acceleration in the last 100 m. Acceleration is necessary to increase the heart rate to 130 beats per second; a lower rate will not benefit the training. It is for this purpose that when performing the exercises of Academician Amosov, maximum tempo is required.

All 1000 movements took Amosov himself 25-30 minutes. In addition, Amosov performed all exercises (except 1, 8 and 9, 10) in the fresh air at any time of the year.

Now many people are against running because it puts a lot of stress on the spine, which can lead to protrusions and hernias. It is recommended to replace running with Nordic walking.

There are a lot of opponents of Nikolai Amosov’s gymnastics in the ranks of doctors. Their opinions agree that 100 repetitions is too much load. However, while he could, Amosov fought their allegations. If you only tie and untie your shoelaces throughout the day, you will get just the “classic” recommendation: 10-20 repetitions, so the number 100 is not at all as much as it seems at first glance. Look at a chimpanzee, how many movements of the shoulder joint does it perform?

Just start with a few reps and gradually work your way up to a hundred. The main thing is regular exercise. Even if you miss one day, you will have to start all over again.

A set of exercises by Academician Amosov

1. Bend forward. We touch the floor with our fingers, and if possible, with our palm. The head moves in time with the body.

2. Tilts to the side - “pump”. Leaning to the left, the right hand is pulled up to the armpit, the left hand is pulled down.

3. Throw your hand up and lower it back behind your back. The right hand reaches for the left shoulder blade, the left hand for the right. The neck moves to the beat.

4. Hands clasped on the chest, we make turns left and right, turning the head at the same time. The movement of the hands should increase the amplitude.

5. IP – standing, we throw our knee to our chest, press it as high as possible with our hand, and make alternating movements with both legs.

6. Lie with your hip joint and stomach face down on a stool, hands clasped behind your head, body stretched with a string parallel to the floor. By bending at the lower back, we raise the upper part of the body as much as possible.

7. We take our hands behind the back of the chair and squat.

8. We rest our hands on the sofa (or, if possible, on the floor) and do push-ups.

9. Jump on each leg as high as possible.

10. Birch, then throwing your legs behind your head. As you can see, nothing complicated. We know all these exercises well from school physical education classes, but for a very long time, precisely from school, we have not performed them. According to Academician Amosov, nature is favorable to humans: just a little exercise is enough and health problems will subside.

Don't be afraid of high repetitions. Start with the minimum, and you will see for yourself that even for an untrained person, 100 repetitions is a very realistic number

Nikolai Amosov is an outstanding surgeon, a famous scientist, whom each of us knows about. But few people know that this man, who is directly related to medicine, advised visiting doctors as little as possible. “You need to gain health through active training,” said Amosov. An active lifestyle, sports and proper nutrition are the three pillars on which good health rests. And as soon as the surgeon felt approaching problems with the joints and spine, he began to fight them with simple physical training. Today the site will introduce you not only to the principles of health, but also give an example of Amosov’s exercises for the spine. You will learn how to treat your spine without having to visit a doctor.

Amosov's exercises: a simple complex for health

The complex consists of only 10 exercises that need to be performed every day. It is useful not only for the spine, but also for the joints of the whole body. Regular implementation of this complex will allow you to maintain mobility, prevent age-related changes, and maintain excellent physical shape. Start training gradually - this is what Amosov himself advised. First, perform 10 movements in each exercise, and every week increase this figure by another 2-3 movements.

Amosov exercises for spinal health:

1. Lie on your back, hold onto the headboard of the bed or the side of the sofa (if you are lying on the floor). From this position, raise your legs, as if trying to throw them behind your head, and touch your forehead with your knees.

2. From a standing position, bend down and try to touch your fingers to the floor.

3. Circular rotations with your arms - the amplitude should be maximum. You can turn your head left and right along with alternating hand movements.

4. Bends - you need to stand straight, stretch your arms along your body. Bend to one side so that one palm moves towards the knee, and the other upward towards the armpit. As you tilt your body, tilt your head in the same direction.

5. Raise your elbow up, and with your palm try to touch the shoulder blade on the opposite side of your back. The chin is lowered.

6. Torso rotation clockwise and counterclockwise. You need to keep your hands in front of you and move them synchronously with the rotation of the body. Movements should not be sudden.

7. From a standing position, pull your knee towards your stomach - try to achieve contact.

8. Push-ups from the back of a sofa or chair. If your physical fitness allows, do push-ups. You can do this with emphasis on your knees.

9. Sit on the couch and hook your feet over the legs to create support. From this position, lower yourself back as far as possible, and then return to the starting position, then bend towards your feet.

10. Squats - do them while holding the back of a sofa or chair.

During exercises, watch your breathing - forceful movements should be accompanied by exhalation. Don't hold your breath - it should be even.

How to treat the spine with physical education? Try these 10 simple exercises. They need to be performed slowly, without haste or sudden movements. Start with 10 repetitions for each exercise, and then gradually increase the number.

Amosov's exercises and the principles of health of an outstanding surgeon

Prevention of a disease is better than its treatment - this was the principle that guided Nikolai Amosov. In order not to wonder how to treat the spine, it is better to train your body, “getting health.” Amosov believed that you should go to doctors when you already have an illness, and you should literally “earn” your health through training. It is achieved not with drugs, but with physical activity, exercise, work and developing patience for cold or heat, fatigue or hunger, and proper nutrition. That is, self-discipline plays an important role.

We invite you to get acquainted with some of Nikolai Amosov’s advice, which will help you visit doctors less often and get sick less:

1. Do not shift your health care to doctors, but deal with this issue yourself. Doctors are needed to save a life or cure a disease. But the overall health of the body is the concern and responsibility of the person himself.

2. Reasonable training - you need to start playing sports, running or hardening gradually, without fully loading the body from the very first days.

3. Food should contain a minimum of fat, vegetables and fruits should be 300 grams per day.

4. At least an hour of physical exercise a day - this can be simple gymnastics, running, brisk walking on a treadmill, dancing, or the gym. Try to walk more.

5. Learn to manage your emotions - to do this, learn meditation or auto-training techniques.

Amosov’s exercises, together with the recommendations described above, will help you maintain body mobility and health. You will be able to prevent the occurrence of problems with the spine and joints, and you will visit doctors less.

Take care of your health yourself: exercise, move more, eat right, manage your emotions. All this will help maintain good health for many years!

Amosov's exercises do not require special physical training. If you haven't played sports before, you can easily do them. By gradually increasing the load, you can achieve improved well-being and prevent problems with the spine and joints. Don't know how to treat your spine? Start with this physical therapy! Remember that you are responsible for your own health. A doctor treats a disease or saves a life, but a person must take care of his own body and its well-being.

The famous cardiac surgeon N.M. Amosov left behind not only a galaxy of talented students, but also his works promoting a healthy lifestyle, substantiating his own system and view of health. These books, despite the fact that the academician has not been with us for a long time, are still very popular. Thousands of people around the world rely on the system he created from his own experience. One of his legacies is a set of exercises aimed at strengthening the spine and maintaining health into old age. Their effectiveness has been confirmed by many followers of the teachings of the great doctor and scientist. They are especially relevant these days.

Today, children have spinal health problems from a very early age. Physical inactivity due to a sedentary lifestyle leads to weakening of all muscles. But the main role in maintaining health is played by the muscles that maintain the correct position of the spine. This complex consists of 10 simple exercises, performed each 100 times and is known as “1000 movements”.

Taking care of his own health, Amosov developed this set of exercises for the spine and joints, starting with 100 exercises and gradually increasing the load. As he himself noted, upon achieving the goal, i.e. After performing each of the 10 exercises 100 times, his back stopped hurting, stomach cramps and cardiac dysfunction began to bother him less. They increase strength and endurance.

An untrained person can start the exercises with 10 repetitions, but be sure to add 10 repetitions every week. In addition, he recommended combining them with a daily run, either at a fast pace of 3 km in 10-12 minutes, or jogging, but with maximum acceleration for the last 100 meters. Acceleration is necessary to increase your heart rate to 130 beats per second, lower speed will not benefit the training.

For this purpose, it is also necessary to perform exercises at maximum speed. He himself spent 25 minutes completing the entire complex. He recommended that some of them be performed outdoors at any time of the year. Only 1, 8, 9 and 10 are done indoors.

A set of exercises by Academician Amosov


All these exercises are familiar to each of us from school, which we did in physical education lessons.

As the academician himself said, nature is favorable to us. We ourselves sometimes do not realize the power that it has given us. There is no need to be afraid of doing a lot of repetitions of each exercise. Start with the minimum and gradually increase the load until you reach 1000 movements.

Analyzing modern sets of physical exercises, Amosov saw their common drawback - too few movements that do not give the necessary training effect. A healthy person doing gymnastics, as Amosov believed, should adhere to a simple rule - the heart rate doubles compared to normal, but should not exceed 150 beats per minute. For those over 40 years old, the heart rate should not exceed 130 beats per minute.

Gymnastics, according to Amosov himself, is not aimed at developing strength, but it develops joints, strengthens muscles and ligaments. Therefore, it can be used by everyone. Movements are not able to completely prevent age-related changes in connective tissue fibers, but if they are constantly stretched, this saves them from the deposition of calcium salts.

Amosov identifies three levels of healthy joints. The first one is healthy. The second is up to 40 years of age, when there are salt deposits, recurring pain, limitation of movement (for example, radiculitis, discosis, sciatica), which disappear after treatment. Third, joint pain interferes with life and work (development of arthritis, arthrosis). In this case, treatment is necessary. The disease will not go away on its own.

The only way to prevent joint diseases, according to N.M. Amosov, is exercise. The intensity of joint movement is determined by their condition. For prevention, it is enough to make 20 movements, with the appearance of pain from 50 to 100, with obvious injuries, 200-300 for diseased joints and 100 for healthy ones. The movements must be performed quickly - they load the heart. Amosov did not see the point in frequently changing the set of exercises and inventing complex ones. The main thing is that they are easy to remember and performed without hesitation.

A look at the health of Academician Amosov

Academician Amosov has developed a special set of exercises that will help cope with physical inactivity. The scientist himself believed that health largely depends on the person himself.

Information! Exercises to strengthen the intestines and relieve constipation, see

Details about the system

Nikolai Amosov felt that his body was failing at the age of 40. Then he decided to create a new system that would help not only him, but also other people. To complete the complex you will need endurance and strength. It is advisable to start with 10 repetitions. Every day we add ten more to this figure.

Nikolai Amosov's complex is recommended to be combined with jogging. Moreover, there are two options for implementation. First, you can jog. Then in the last hundred meters go to maximum acceleration. In another case, you need to run two kilometers in 12 minutes.

Why is acceleration necessary? This increases the frequency of contraction of the heart muscle to 130 beats per minute. If this value is less, the training will be less effective. Therefore, you need to perform exercises according to Amosov at a fast pace.

The academician spent 25 to 30 minutes on 1000 movements. Nikolai Amosov performed exercises numbered 2 to 7 outside, regardless of the weather. Some argue that such a number of repetitions puts excessive stress on the body. However, in this case the efficiency of the complex will be much lower.

Exercises

Start 10 times. Add ten more every day until you reach hundreds of repetitions.

Amosov's 10 exercises are simple. The complex takes no more than half an hour to complete if the movements are dynamic. If desired, play rhythmic music. If possible, it is advisable to perform part of the complex outdoors. A person feels improvement after the first week of training.

Out of habit, muscle pain appears, but exercises cannot be interrupted because of this. After some time, the body will rebuild itself and the negative sensations will disappear. If it’s hard to add 10 repetitions at once, you can add five for several days. Then go to ten.

13.12.2018

When I was 25 years old, I began to feel my spine. The first thing I felt was my lower back, I felt it hard. That was the first time I heard the diagnosis - “radiculitis”. The condition was new, incomprehensible and very unpleasant.

A bath with a broom, a glass of vodka, a piece of dog skin on the lower back - the first pain remedies in my life did not help at all. I can call this condition “toothache in the lower back.” Several times this state caught me, then went away somewhere, then reminded me again. The lack of understanding of the nature of this condition was psychologically straining.

Then another diagnosis appeared, by the name - “intercostal neuralgia”, a condition when it is difficult and scary to take a deep breath. As experienced patients said, I can’t breathe. Since there was no effective and quick remedy, this also added sadness to my life.

Then pain and heaviness appeared in the shoulders, combined with pain in the neck, which also behaved as they wanted, coming and going at will, without asking me.

After all, you have to understand the time was such, the end of the seventies, doctors did not have a clear answer about the nature of these conditions.

Therefore, if a person gets sick with “radiculitis,” it is often difficult and long lasting. I myself remember these painful states forever.

But, as they say, when the student matures, the teacher appears. Nikolai Mikhailovich Amosov became such a teacher for me. Steve Borisovich Shenkman, a Soviet and Russian sports journalist, promoter of a healthy lifestyle, researcher of methods for improving the body, spoke about him in the magazine “Physical Culture and Sports”.

At that time, I subscribed to the magazine “Physical Education and Sports,” which began publishing “8 pages about health.” These pages offered information about natural methods of healing and maintaining health.

In this magazine, I first learned about Academician Amosov and his system for combating spinal pain. The name of Nikolai Amosov did not become known when he performed his first heart operations. Fame came to the surgeon when tens of thousands of people began to read his books about a healthy lifestyle.

I learned several of his important life principles that became my life rules.

  1. Don't rely on doctors to make you healthy. They can save a life, even cure a disease, but they will only get you started, and then - to live reliably - rely on yourself. I in no way underestimate the power of medicine, since I have served it all my life. But I also know a lot about health - theoretically and practically.
  2. Doctors treat diseases, but you need to achieve health yourself, because health is the “reserve capacity” of the organs, our entire physiology. They are necessary to maintain normal functional indicators at rest and under stress - physical and mental, and also to avoid getting sick, and if possible, not to die if you get sick. So, these “powers” ​​are not obtained through drugs. Only training, exercises, loads. And - work, patience with cold, heat, hunger, fatigue.
  3. Everyone feels what diseases are - an annoying disorder of various functions that prevents them from feeling happiness and even living. The reasons are also known: external “harm” (infection, poor ecology, social upheaval), one’s own unreasonable behavior. Sometimes - birth defects. I affirm: human nature is durable. At least for most people. True, minor illnesses are inevitable, but serious ones most often result from an unreasonable lifestyle: a decrease in reserves as a result of detraining. External conditions, poverty, stress - in second place.
  4. Training reserves must be reasonable.

Three main points:

First - food with a minimum of fat, 300 grams of vegetables and fruits daily,, and so that the weight does not rise above the figure (height minus 100) kilograms.,

Second - physical training. Here the matter is more complicated. Everyone needs it, and children and the elderly especially. Since now almost no one physically strains at work, then, in theory, for decent health everyone would need to exercise for an hour a day. But a normal person does not have the character for this. Therefore - at least 20 - 30 minutes of gymnastics, this is approximately 1000 movements, preferably with dumbbells of 2 - 5 kg. I advise you to practice in front of the TV when “News” is shown in order to save time. As an addition to physical education, it is advisable to allocate a walking area on the way to work and back, one kilometer at a time. It’s useful and saves your nerves, given the poor transport. I'm not even talking about jogging - it's unrealistic. But it’s useful.

The third point is perhaps the most difficult: mental control. "Learn to control yourself." But oh how difficult it is! There are many recipes, including meditation, which I won’t describe. I myself use a simple technique: when the intensity is high and a lot of adrenaline is released, I focus on rhythmic, slow breathing and try to relax the muscles.

The best thing to do at such moments is to do energetic gymnastics, but the situation usually doesn’t allow it. But anyway, as soon as it allows, work. Excess adrenaline is burned during physical exercise, and in this way blood vessels and organs are saved from spasms. In animals, stress is resolved by flight or fight, but this is not allowed for humans.

I adopted three principles, three “pillars” of health - nutrition, mainly vegetarian, movement and emotional balance from Amosov and use them all my life

  1. An interesting question: why do people get sick so often? I think that 90% of people, if they followed the right lifestyle, would be healthy. But unfortunately, the regime requires willpower. And a person has little willpower... Modern official treatment is carried out by the method of “selection and selection” of antihypertensive drugs, of which there are dozens, and which then must be taken for the rest of one’s life (!).
  2. And one more thing: there are many, many bad doctors in the world. I cannot declare indiscriminately: “all doctors are bad.” There are many good ones, but also bad ones. Proof? Ask what they read and what they can do. Only a few practitioners read it. Surgical doctors are more or less capable. Because they simply cannot heal without handicraft. Therapists sincerely believe that they don’t need to be able to do anything - neither do an analysis, nor look at an X-ray, nor puncture the pleura. There are, they say, specialized specialists for this. And we, they say, are general doctors. Like this.

There are many misconceptions in medical science, the main one is the following - doctors are blinded by faith in the power of pills. Advice to move less, stay still, and eat better during illness is contrary to human nature. Movement, muscle activity and partial hunger will help a person recover and not get sick.

The body has powerful protective forces - the immune system, compensation mechanisms. They will work, just give them a little time. Keep in mind that most minor illnesses go away on their own; doctor’s medicines only accompany natural recovery. They tell you: “Cure!”, and you believe: “Good doctor!”

  1. If you are lucky enough to get to a good doctor, take care of him and don’t bother him in vain. Remember that a doctor is more than just a specialist. This is not a plumber. Follow the doctor's instructions... to the best of your ability. And don’t ask him for extra medications that you learned about from your neighbors.

If you are young - up to 60! - and there are no symptoms from the organs, then you should not run to the clinic at the slightest discomfort. As I already said, our doctors do not trust nature, they focus on medicine and rest. Be careful not to be captured by them! They will find illnesses and convince you: “Rest and heal!”

  1. To be healthy, you need strength of character. How can a person find the optimum in the triangle between illnesses, doctors and exercises? My advice: choose the latter. At least try. Believe me - it will pay off!

N.M. Amosov left behind not only many students, but also his works promoting a healthy lifestyle, substantiating his own system and view of health. These books, despite the fact that the academician has not been with us for a long time, are still very popular. Thousands of people around the world rely on the system he created from his own experience. One of his legacies is a set of exercises aimed at strengthening the spine and maintaining health into old age. Their effectiveness has been confirmed by many followers of the teachings of the great doctor and scientist. They are especially relevant these days.

Today, children have spinal health problems from a very early age. Physical inactivity due to a sedentary lifestyle leads to weakening of all muscles. But the main role in maintaining health is played by the muscles that maintain the correct position of the spine. This complex consists of 10 simple exercises, performed each 100 times and is known as “1000 movements”.

Taking care of his own health, Amosov developed this set of exercises for the spine and joints, starting with 100 exercises and gradually increasing the load. As he himself noted, upon achieving the goal, i.e. After performing each of the 10 exercises 100 times, his back stopped hurting, stomach cramps and cardiac dysfunction began to bother him less. They increase strength and endurance.

An untrained person can start the exercises with 10 repetitions, but be sure to add 10 repetitions every week. In addition, he recommended combining them with a daily run, either at a fast pace of 3 km in 10-12 minutes, or jogging, but with maximum acceleration for the last 100 meters. Acceleration is necessary to increase your heart rate to 130 beats per second, lower speed will not benefit the training.

For this purpose, it is also necessary to perform exercises at maximum speed. He himself spent 25 minutes completing the entire complex. He recommended that some of them be performed outdoors at any time of the year. Only 1, 8, 9 and 10 are done indoors.

When I started doing Amosov’s exercises, the joy of recovery came very quickly. Then I started adding my favorite moves. Physical education helps me in my life and in my profession.

A set of exercises by Academician Amosov

1Lean forward and touch the floor with your fingers, if possible, with your hands. The head moves in time with the body.

2. Leaning to the left, lower your hand as low as possible while simultaneously pulling your right hand to your shoulder. Repeat.

tilt to the right.

3. Raise your left hand and bring it to the opposite shoulder, turning your head in this direction. Repeat with the other hand.

4. Clasp your hands, making turns left and right, turning your head to the beat. Gradually you need to increase the amplitude of movements.

5.Raise your left leg and pull it towards your body, clasping your leg below the knee. Pull it as close as possible, repeat with the other leg.

6.Lie down on a stool or bench with your face to the floor. Close your hands behind your head. The body is parallel to the floor. Raise your upper body as high as possible and return to the starting position. If at first it is difficult to perform this exercise, you can rest your feet on the sofa

7.Grip the back of a chair with your hands and do squats.

8. Push-ups from the floor. While it will be difficult to perform this exercise, push-ups can be done while leaning on the edge of the sofa.

9.Jump alternately from each leg. Perform as high as possible.

10. Birch. Raise your legs up and then place them behind your head.

All these exercises are familiar to each of us from school, which we did in physical education lessons.

As the academician himself said, nature is favorable to us. We ourselves sometimes do not realize the power that it has given us. There is no need to be afraid of doing a lot of repetitions of each exercise. Start with the minimum and gradually increase the load until you reach 1000 movements.

Analyzing modern sets of physical exercises, Amosov saw their common drawback - too few movements that do not give the necessary training effect. A healthy person doing gymnastics, as Amosov believed, should adhere to a simple rule - the heart rate doubles compared to normal, but should not exceed 150 beats per minute. For those over 40 years old, the heart rate should not exceed 130 beats per minute.

Gymnastics, according to Amosov himself, is not aimed at developing strength, but it develops joints, strengthens muscles and ligaments. Therefore, it can be used by everyone. Movements are not able to completely prevent age-related changes in connective tissue fibers, but if they are constantly stretched, this saves them from the deposition of calcium salts.

Amosov identifies three levels of healthy joints. The first one is healthy. The second is up to 40 years of age, when there are salt deposits, recurring pain, limitation of movement (for example, radiculitis, discosis, sciatica), which disappear after treatment. Third, joint pain interferes with life and work (development of arthritis, arthrosis). In this case, treatment is necessary. The disease will not go away on its own.

The only way to prevent joint diseases, according to N.M. Amosov, is exercise. The intensity of joint movement is determined by their condition. For prevention, it is enough to make 20 movements, with the appearance of pain from 50 to 100, with obvious injuries, 200-300 for diseased joints and 100 for healthy ones. The movements must be performed quickly - they load the heart. Amosov did not see the point in frequently changing the set of exercises and inventing complex ones. The main thing is that they are easy to remember and performed without hesitation.

After I became acquainted with Amosov’s exercises more than 30 years ago, my problems with spinal and joint pain went away forever. Then I added my exercises and, as they say, I don’t know grief.

In modern medicine, there are two points of view regarding spinal and joint pain.

The first states that exercise should not be done if there is pain. Patients who trust this point of view experience pain in the spine and joints for weeks, months, years.

The second point of view states that the sooner we begin to perform movements, the faster recovery occurs.

Now patients come to me who have had spinal and joint pain for 8, 10 and even 14 months. During this difficult time for them, they change 12-15 doctors, and none of them prescribe physical exercises to patients, but persistently prescribe painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs.

I have a stand in the hall" Movement is the path to health", patients get acquainted with the information at this stand and think about it.

I tell them - if you are with me and Amosov, then things will quickly improve, but at first it will be difficult. Most exercises are performed on machines. They agree and after a week or a week and a half, or even sooner, it becomes easier for them. After recovery, patients come to the gym to exercise periodically to maintain a healthy state.

When I first came to Kyiv for a day and a half, then I set myself the task of seeing Nikolai Mikhailovich. And I completed this task - I found his institute, his office. He was a small, dry old man. I shook his hand with joy and gratitude and told him that thousands of my patients received good help when, despite all the doctors’ horror stories, they began to perform feasible movements and recovered. Reading his books gave me confidence in making difficult decisions in difficult situations when I needed to help the sick. He wished me success with my work. I will always remember this meeting with the doctor, academician, Hero of Labor, and physical educator.