Focus when a person sits in the air. The secret of levitation of street yogis

20.06.2020

Walking through the busy tourist streets in Rome, I very often came across levitating street yogis.

Judging by the reaction of some people, they really believe in the supernatural abilities of these stuntmen. For example, the man in the background tried to understand and explain to his wife that this is not magic.

Absolutely all the girlfriends with whom I saw these street performers did not know how everything worked, and I was surprised by this. Have you guessed it? If not, then go to the cat, I described everything there in detail and drew a visual illustration.

The three of them work in a team (or five of them, if two people are involved at once), since it is difficult for one to sit for a long time in an uncomfortable position without moving. Yes, and you need to protect it, otherwise you never know who will want to push it.

The photo shows the whole team: the first yogi, who has just replaced his partner, the looking guard and the sandals of the second yogi.

This is how a partner is changed, so that no one understands the essence of magic. It lasts about 10-15 minutes, since first one needs to get out of this structure, and then the other must replace him.

This is what a yogi looks like before reincarnation

But some people think that he is sitting right on a stick, right here

The secret of levitation is very simple. This is a solid structure, with a support platform under the mat, which should hold the person, then there is a staff leg that passes through the sleeve, connecting to the second seat stand on which the fake yogi sits. Loose clothes hide it all. I would like to suggest that sitting motionless on such a structure for a long time is very difficult. In the photo I drew a visual illustration.

Levitation is such an impressive, spectacular and mysterious phenomenon that it is one of the most popular acts in the field of illusionism. It is no coincidence that the levitation trick is often one of the highlights of the program of all kinds of illusionists. Meanwhile, in this case, the secret of levitation has long been revealed and does not represent a big secret. So, almost anyone can make small objects float in the air or even rise above the ground themselves, if they wish and have some skill.

Levitation of a cigarette and other objects - watch your hands

“Amazing” flights of certain things have recently become quite popular on the Internet. It is no coincidence that the number of articles and videos that reveal the secret of the trick is growing - the levitation of a card, a cork, a paper clip, a cigarette and much more that people can get their hands on. One of the most common examples is a weightless or flying cigarette, which is capable of independently jumping into a smoker’s mouth and performing other aerobatics.

The secret to levitating a cigarette is extremely simple: it requires nylon thread, adhesive tape and a certain amount of manual dexterity.

A nylon thread of the desired color (if the focus is on a dark background - black, if on a light background - flesh-colored) is removed from ordinary stockings. It is then attached to the cigarette using tape. The length of the thread is adjusted depending on the circumstances. The other end of the thread is tied to the magician's hand, and the thread itself is thrown over the neck. Thus, a “mechanism” is obtained that operates on the principle of tug of war - with the help of movements of the hand to which the thread is tied, a person can imitate the flight of a cigarette, which can fall and rise, move in different directions or freeze in place. The trick with a cigarette that flies straight into the illusionist's mouth requires training and dexterity, but there is nothing fantastic or mystical about it either.

Another levitation trick that is available at home and therefore quite common is the flying paperclip. This spectacle looks like this: a person, in front of the audience, ties a thread around a paperclip (or other small and not heavy metal object). Then he hangs it up, takes out matches or a lighter and lights the thread. The thread burns out, but meanwhile the paper clip continues to hang in the air. The magician can even make it move in different directions, rise or fall. The focus is really quite bright - and yet surprisingly simple. It's all about the thread, which has been pre-treated with a strong saline solution. The salt concentration must be very high - there must be so much of it that it no longer dissolves. Then the thread is placed in this solution for about a day, which should then dry completely and evenly. When the illusionist burns the thread during a trick, the paperclip remains suspended, but now on a chain of salt crystals that are not damaged by the fire, but are invisible to the viewer.

The secret of yogi levitation: leg dexterity and technique

Indian yogis are traditionally famous for their unique, in some ways even supernatural, abilities. Moreover, debates have not subsided for a long time as to what is more in the amazing skills of yogis - the jewelry art of illusionists, honed over centuries and millennia, or truly secret occult knowledge. Many of the abilities of yogis are recognized as phenomenal even by representatives of modern science. But some of the techniques with which yogis and people posing as yogis capture our imagination are clearly related to magic tricks.

Usually it is with yogis that the secret of the trick with human levitation is associated. The most common yogic option for a person to remain in weightless flight above the earth looks like this. The yogi sits on the ground in the lotus position, holding a cane in his hand. Then he places the cane on the ground, and he begins to slowly rise above this very ground until he reaches a height equal to the length of the cane. The yogi can remain in this position, slightly swaying, for quite a long time, although usually only a couple of minutes are enough to make an indelible impression on those around him. In fact, this trick requires certain technical equipment. Hidden in the wide folds of oriental robes that yogis always wear is a wooden or metal seat. In a way invisible to the viewer, it is attached to a cane, which, in turn, is dug into the ground. Thus, the yogi does not float above the ground, he actually sits above the ground, balancing on a secret seat.

The secret of the trick: human levitation depends on the point of view

Performances by professional illusionists, in which tricks involving levitation of a person are performed on a specially equipped stage, are almost always associated with strong invisible cables. With these cables a person is attached to supports on the ceiling; they are mobile and movable enough so that a person can be moved and rotated in space. But if levitation a person is demonstrated by an amateur magician for his friends and acquaintances, a much simpler method is used.

It is associated with the ability to use the optical features of human vision, the dexterity of a magician and the specifics of spectator perception.

This trick will require wide pants that hide the outline of the legs, and a certain amount of time required for training. The training should allow a person to rise up on the toes of one foot and maintain balance while the second leg is raised completely off the surface and obscures the first leg. The trick itself must be shown in a certain environment: the stage must be located on an elevation so that the audience watches the trick at an angle of 45 degrees. It is in this case that it will seem to them that the person has really taken off from the ground and they will not notice the second leg standing still. At the same time, especially attentive observers will still notice the trick. Therefore, the duration of “levitation” should not exceed a few seconds, there should not be many spectators, they should be located a few meters from the stage and under no circumstances should you warn them about what kind of trick they are about to see.

Alexander Babitsky

Guys, we put our soul into the site. Thank you for that
that you are discovering this beauty. Thanks for the inspiration and goosebumps.
Join us on Facebook And VKontakte

It's hard to believe, but in the most spectacular and inexplicable tricks, the answer lies on the surface.

We are in website We took a close look at the well-known tricks and are ready to expose them.

10. The Disappearance of the Statue of Liberty

In 1983, David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear. The secret of the trick is explained simply. The monument was covered with cloth and turned off its backlight, leaving the spotlights on, which created the illusion of emptiness and blinded the audience. After the blanket fell, people were unable to see the outline of the statue in the dark, since their vision did not have time to adapt.

9. The disappearance of the truck

How can you make a cloth-covered truck (wagon or plane) disappear if it is surrounded by spectators? Easily! You just need attach the bedspread to a special structure so that it stays in place, invite dummy observers and take the truck to the utility room. Therefore, we can only see this trick on TV and never live.

8. Levitation

A person frozen in the air is not a magician or a yogi. Under the magician's layers of clothing hidden support, thanks to which you can hang out for several hours in a row without getting tired.

7. Walking through the mirror

To pass through the mirror, the magician needs special screens with slits in the middle. The one that attaches to the back of the mirror contains two mirror panels. The design allows move the real mirror and put two fake ones in its place, and crawl through the hole. At the end of the trick, the assistants put the real mirror in place.

6. Transformation of a bill

To turn $1 into $100, a magician rolls up a bill of lower denomination in a special way and hides it behind his fingers. Then, in the process of magic, he replaces one bill with another, demonstrating a miraculous transformation.

5. Walking on water

The trick is performed in a pond with muddy water or in a pool where people swim and create waves. The main goal is to distract attention and hide from cameras a transparent platform along which the illusionist walks.

4. Freeing yourself from chains underwater

The secret of the trick lies in the physical preparation of the magician and in the locks. The task of the assistants is unnoticeable pull the rods out of the loops holding the locks, and the illusionist - to tense up, wriggle out of the bonds and climb out of the water tank.