Éiriú-Eolas - Breathing Program

[sToRmR1dR]

Thanks Aya.
You just answered my question.Entire program I'll try lying down :D

 

[Argo]

Thank you Aya. :)

After so many years doing only the pipe breathing and POTS, now I'm determined to do the whole program regularly. This time it was little bit difficult for me to doing pipe breathing in sitting position with my back upright, because usually I'm sitting in a chair with my back relaxed. This is something I didn't expected at all. I guess it will be easier next time. :)

Hi Argo, just so you know, you do not need to do the pipe breathing in a sitting position with back straight.
The most important thing while you are doing EE is to be in the position that you are totally relaxed and you can do the whole program in that way. I sometime do the entire program lying down. I know some people sit in a comfortable chair while they do it. So please use your comfy chair whenever you feel like and not to hurt yourself.

Thanks Aya, next time I will do it in my chair.
I watched the video online several times and I thought that this is 'proper' position. I think it's time for me to read this thread as much as I can. It's really huge. :)

 

[Dirgni]

I think it's time for me to read this thread as much as I can. It's really huge. :)

You could start with the Eíriú-Eolas - Guide/FAQ, which contains the most a guide and FAQ of this thread in a condensed form.

 

[Argo]

Thanks Dirgni. :)

 

[aragorn]

This is not an official EE recommendation in any way, but I've found it very useful.

Lately, I've been having a lot of pain and tension in my neck and upper back, and I've experimented with a lot of different things. Doing the EE program has helped a lot, and in the process I've discovered, that a huge part of my tensions (and pain) come from excessive tension in the jaw joint, the TMJ. I've also started to notice how common this problem is – almost every student I have, have enormous amounts of tensions in the TMJ/jaw. There is a clear psychological aspect to the TMJ problems, and also physical causes, like different dental procedures (like having braces, pulling out too many teeth too early), tongue tie, tongue thrust etc. But that's another story...

Anyway, as I discovered, a very effective way of relieving tension in the TMJ is to do EE (whole program or just parts of it) with your jaw hanging open, and when you breathe in through the nose, you keep the tip of your tongue touching the gum ridge just behind your upper teeth. In order to get the air coming in smoothly through the nose, without having to "vacuum" it, you also need to broaden the tongue a bit, and align it against the hard palate (you kind of suck it agains the palate). Then, as you breathe out through the mouth, you either lower the tongue slightly or just narrow it, but you keep your mandible loose and hanging.

Many experts say that the natural resting position for the tongue (also with your mouth closed) is as mentioned above: the tip of your tongue touching the gum ridge behind your upper teeth, and the "body" of the tongue aligned with your hard palate. This also exercises the tongue muscle called styloglossus (moving the tongue up and back), which seems to be important for relieving tension in the neck, and also the voice! :)

 

[Gaby]

Doing the EE program has helped a lot, and in the process I've discovered, that a huge part of my tensions (and pain) come from excessive tension in the jaw joint, the TMJ.

I never had TMJ pain, although I did managed to affect that joint from too much tension. When I was in med school in the 90s, I had an anatomy teacher who was a specialist in maxilofacial surgery. He taught us with great detail all the intricacies of the TMJ joint. I was happy to realize that mine was not dislocated and functioning perfectly. Fast-forward to a couple of years ago when I had my Rolfing sessions... My therapist was teaching me some exercises to relax the face and it was then that I noticed something off with my right TMJ. When I open my mouth widely, it is done in two times.

For the 8th Rolfing session, the therapist took out some gloves and said, "if you don't mind, we're going to do some Rolfing in your mouth". That was the most painful Rolfing session ever He did managed to release all the tension from the TMJ. I felt like I had a new face! I felt so relaxed after that session!

The after effects were so great that even walking felt different.

FWIW, if you happen to know a good Rolfing therapist, I would give TMJ joint rolfing a go. :)

 

[aragorn]

Doing the EE program has helped a lot, and in the process I've discovered, that a huge part of my tensions (and pain) come from excessive tension in the jaw joint, the TMJ.

I never had TMJ pain, although I did managed to affect that joint from too much tension. When I was in med school in the 90s, I had an anatomy teacher who was a specialist in maxilofacial surgery. He taught us with great detail all the intricacies of the TMJ joint. I was happy to realize that mine was not dislocated and functioning perfectly. Fast-forward to a couple of years ago when I had my Rolfing sessions... My therapist was teaching me some exercises to relax the face and it was then that I noticed something off with my right TMJ. When I open my mouth widely, it is done in two times.

For the 8th Rolfing session, the therapist took out some gloves and said, "if you don't mind, we're going to do some Rolfing in your mouth". That was the most painful Rolfing session ever He did managed to release all the tension from the TMJ. I felt like I had a new face! I felt so relaxed after that session!

The after effects were so great that even walking felt different.

FWIW, if you happen to know a good Rolfing therapist, I would give TMJ joint rolfing a go. :)

Yeah, that would certainly be a good option. I have a great illustration about the relationship between the head, neck, shoulder, spine, and TMJ. It's from a book called "The Dental Distress Syndrome" by A. Fonder (1990). I don't have the book (it seems to be hard to find), but I copied the image from Angela Caine's book "Voice Gym-Get to know your Voice". I'll attach the image in this post. I did find a paper by fonder with the same name, though. It doesn't contain the same illustration, but has valuable information for those of you who want to learn more.

Link: http://www.holisticdentist.com/pdf/ddsquantified-fonder.pdf

 

[nicklebleu]

Thanks, Aragorn, for the paper.
Fascinating topic - reminds me of how in the body EVERYTHING is connected.

 

[Keyhole]

This is not an official EE recommendation in any way, but I've found it very useful.

Lately, I've been having a lot of pain and tension in my neck and upper back, and I've experimented with a lot of different things. Doing the EE program has helped a lot, and in the process I've discovered, that a huge part of my tensions (and pain) come from excessive tension in the jaw joint, the TMJ. I've also started to notice how common this problem is – almost every student I have, have enormous amounts of tensions in the TMJ/jaw. There is a clear psychological aspect to the TMJ problems, and also physical causes, like different dental procedures (like having braces, pulling out too many teeth too early), tongue tie, tongue thrust etc. But that's another story...

Anyway, as I discovered, a very effective way of relieving tension in the TMJ is to do EE (whole program or just parts of it) with your jaw hanging open, and when you breathe in through the nose, you keep the tip of your tongue touching the gum ridge just behind your upper teeth. In order to get the air coming in smoothly through the nose, without having to "vacuum" it, you also need to broaden the tongue a bit, and align it against the hard palate (you kind of suck it agains the palate). Then, as you breathe out through the mouth, you either lower the tongue slightly or just narrow it, but you keep your mandible loose and hanging.

Many experts say that the natural resting position for the tongue (also with your mouth closed) is as mentioned above: the tip of your tongue touching the gum ridge behind your upper teeth, and the "body" of the tongue aligned with your hard palate. This also exercises the tongue muscle called styloglossus (moving the tongue up and back), which seems to be important for relieving tension in the neck, and also the voice! :)

Thanks for posting this Aragorn. I will try this next time I do EE! I have terrible TMJ problems and wake up almost every morning clenching my teeth and end up with jaw pain. The problem for me is... The left side of my jaw has actually grown to be misaligned and is much smaller then the right side. I think this is down to a vegetarian diet is my childhood while I was growing :/ So at the actually TMJ joint if I hold my fingers on it I can feel is click out of place and then back into place and sometime it hurts a lot. I was thinking about trying to get surgery but decided it was not the best option, however I am trying to get some braces in hopes that it might be able to help a little bit with the alignment of my bottom jaw.

 

[davey72]

I have been pipe breathing every morning non stop on my drive to work which equates to about twenty minutes of straight pipe breathing. Is it ok to do this? Can there be such a thing as too much?

 

[pete02]

I have been pipe breathing every morning non stop on my drive to work which equates to about twenty minutes of straight pipe breathing. Is it ok to do this? Can there be such a thing as too much?

I'm pretty sure that is too much especially while your driving. I believe Laura does say in the recording that your not suppose to do that while operating machinery and if I'm not mistaken twenty minutes in a row is also too much. If your going to do pipe breathing while driving I would say to at least take breaks every few minutes so you can stay sufficiently alert while driving but even that might not be recommended.

 

[marek760]

Today During Baha portion I started to laugh then felt tingling radiating from the solar plexus to the upper body and head, tingling turned into vibrations and the muscles had begun to shrink like, its hard to explain, i was little scared and went into meditation part, after a while the feeling subsided.

For almost one year i was doing full EE program, than i have 8 month break, and two months ago i start again every second day full EE program.

 

[herondancer]

For almost one year i was doing full EE program, than i have 8 month break, and two months ago i start again every second day full EE program.

I'm glad to see you are getting results mared760. Still, that's really too many times per week for the whole thing. The best schedule for doing the full program is twice a week. It will give you time to process what comes up, especially from the baha portion. You can do the full program Mondays and Thursdays if you like, to sync up with other FOTCM members. Pipe breathing, Warriors and the meditation are fine everyday.

 

[davey72]

I have been pipe breathing every morning non stop on my drive to work which equates to about twenty minutes of straight pipe breathing. Is it ok to do this? Can there be such a thing as too much?

I'm pretty sure that is too much especially while your driving. I believe Laura does say in the recording that your not suppose to do that while operating machinery and if I'm not mistaken twenty minutes in a row is also too much. If your going to do pipe breathing while driving I would say to at least take breaks every few minutes so you can stay sufficiently alert while driving but even that might not be recommended.

I thought that was more for the baha and pots?

 

[pete02]

I have been pipe breathing every morning non stop on my drive to work which equates to about twenty minutes of straight pipe breathing. Is it ok to do this? Can there be such a thing as too much?

I'm pretty sure that is too much especially while your driving. I believe Laura does say in the recording that your not suppose to do that while operating machinery and if I'm not mistaken twenty minutes in a row is also too much. If your going to do pipe breathing while driving I would say to at least take breaks every few minutes so you can stay sufficiently alert while driving but even that might not be recommended.

I thought that was more for the baha and pots?

Well I do remember when pipe breathing was introduced that we were told doing it for too long could lower your blood pressure to an unsafe margin however I did just listen to the EE intro and all Laura says is not to listen to the program while operating machinery so since your just doing by yourself I suppose that's fine but I would still take breaks instead of doing it straight for twenty or so minutes. Maybe an instructor or Mod will step in to clarify.