Just wanted to join in the conversation and share my experiences with the breathing program. It took a while to get the energy and the guts to actually do it. A month ago, that was an insurmountable difficulty - now it seems a lot easier.
I was in the proper exercise mode by mid-August but took it slowly at first and then built up to that point. First, I made sure that I understood the basic diaphragm breathing which was the easy part - we were introduced to it in high school as a means of stress management. I used to do little breaths before bedtime and meditate by imagining a candle flame due to trouble with falling asleep.
The introduction of pipe breath really shocked me. The thing is I'd somehow stumbled upon it during a very stressful moment - I stood up, spread my feet apart and let out this "cat hiss". If you've ever heard a cat get annoyed and spikey - with that hissy sound - that's what it sounded like. It kinda felt good and relieved the stress so I kept doing it occasionally. The pipe breath is very similar although a bit lower and maybe less intense (plus, the teeth don't show, lol).
To start I needed to work around my laziness and habits. First, I watched the video a few times and it seemed OK - so I repeated the stretches and the little warm-up exercises. Well, that encouraged me to go further and little bits of breathing followed. "Not so bad," I thought - soon enough I did my first session. The headphones really are a great idea - external consideration is important but I also think it is for protection and privacy (having had some problems with neighbours).
So once, I started doing the program what happened?
It's work in progress, of course, but there are already some tangible results. The inner calm is starting to come back. I've noticed that events that would upset me greatly in the past seem less jarring nowadays - mainly in interpersonal relationships and at work. I'm able to take a few steps back and think before saying or doing things. Also, I'm taking control of my life but find that I can also be very pushy and need to work on that a bit more. Physical activity does help here. Also, the mind seems clearer and the thoughts are sharper.
There were some dramatic changes, too. For example, I've just moved to a new apartment. The previous place was rather dreary and I was stuck there for 6 years. Cassies mentioned the need to detox the body, the mind and the environment - I didn't realise how much that applied to me until I took 400kgs of rubbish to the tip yard while moving (mostly paper notes and electronics). That alone was amazingly cleansing.
I've also started to re-evaluate my friendships. The further I go, the more I realise that I actually have very few friends. Yes, I may know a lot of people but they're not real friends. Even those I associated myself with for something like 5 years started to fade out of my life. Their lifestyle choices were too incompatible to mine and even though it sounds selfish, it's like more harm came to me from those relationships than anywhere else. This is another area of my life that needs more work and insight.
With other people in my life, the opposite is true. I find more patience to understand and see their issues and how I can help them in achieving their potential. To what extent that is a mere self-centred projection remains to be seen.
After the first couple of weeks, me throat became very sore and I had to use an antiseptic gargle to get rid of a nasty bacterial infection. It was painful to do pipe breathing because it was located at just the right spot, right over the "tongue hump" - but I kept at it and eventually it went away.
I have no major problems staying awake during the breathing or the meditation, except a few times where I did it tired and my body just wanted to rest. For that reason, I rarely do it before bedtime and try to do some Work before sleeping (e.g., right now). Having a proper meal during the day is important too, otherwise I run out of blood sugar and feel weak and clammy. I salivate lots too, although recently it is getting better. Having a warm blanket nearby is a good idea as by the meditation part, I tend to feel cold.
Any weirdness?
Well, yes - kind of - I cannot be sure about anything. A few times (twice maybe), I had some random visions during round breathing, some flat looking people (2D) against a 3D landscape. I also went into a very "zoned out" state a couple of times which is hard to describe but it was not loss of consciousness - I sort of separated from the body and felt very relaxed.
The most dramatic one was shortly before my move. I did the full program one evening and woke up the next morning with an open wound on my forehead. I looked in the mirror and there it was - a 1.5cm diagonal scratch, directly at the extension of my nose line, right below the hair line. It was pretty deep and the meat was exposed but there was no blood at all. I now have a "Harry Potter" scar and still can't figure out what happened. The explanation can be very mundane - although I have no idea what it might be.
This is getting rather long so I'll stop here. There's more, of course (e.g., auditory sensations) but I might leave it for later. Just wanted to share and start participating more with others. I'm still work in progress but so far the results are very encouraging. The changes that began to happen after starting the program - and the diet - are very tangible and exciting. In time, I feel it will only get more interesting.
At the moment, I do the full program twice a week and that's it. I intend to up the ante by adding daily prayer and pipe breaths as opposing blocks lift further.
A big Thank You to Laura and the team for putting the program together. Thanks to the participants of the forum for being open - that sets a very good example to follow.
My motivation to keep going is - what will happen next? What else am I not seeing?
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but good thing I got it saved in words, only thing is that 30 min of colourfull editing has gone wasted, ah well no rush!
