Éiriú-Eolas - Breathing Program

[SolarMother]

Thanks for that Aragorn. :)

I actually got a better understanding of what you were saying right after I wrote that. I shut down the laptop and did an EE session and during the BaHa breathing I felt what you were talking about. How the air fills the belly and then the lungs without any assistance from the hands at all, so I guess once you've trained your body to breathe properly I can understand how you do the 3 stage pipe breathing without hands.

Ditto Pete!
Aragorn--I too tried doing the breathing (pipe breathing) early this morning in bed without the hands, and observed and felt the air fill my belly and lungs in stage 2 and 3, the way you described.
FWIW, if you had not described this way you have of doing the pipe breathing, I may not have noticed and experienced as much as I did. That could have been the singing teacher in you giving me a chance to really observe my breathing and begin to get it right! If you have any pointers for doing more conscious belly breathing during the day, I sure could use that.

 

[Nienna]

Maybe you could still elaborate on what exactly you find difficult while lying down? I do EE mostly lying on my back, and I don't use the hand positions when doing it this way- it makes it harder to relax. In the pipe breathing I always start the inhaling from the belly and lower ribs, also at stages 2 and 3. It's like pouring water into a glass: it's starts to fill up from the bottom. Once you have the inhaling 'anchored' at the bottom you can safely build it higher and higher, finally employing the emergency breathing muscles (only pipe breathing section). I'm sure it can be done differently too, breathing 'straight' to e.g. the middle (2. Stage) and upper (3. Stage) part, without the anchor. I dont feel comfortable doing it this way, since the diaphragm is more passive - it feels forced somehow. IMO, the optimal case is when the air that you breathe in 'does the job for you', you just expand in every direction without any effort.

I have done the 3-stage breathing in both the sitting and lying down positions. I move my arms to the required positions in both. However, when lying down, since what we are doing is opening the chest area to get the breath further up into our lungs, I just make sure my upper arms are in the horizontal position for stage 2, and above my head for stage 3. The are resting comfortably on the surface of whatever I am lying on.

In either position, I do NOT have to engage the emergency breathing muscles. If you do use them, to my understanding, you are defeating the purpose of breathing with the diaphragm. I have no problem getting the air up to the upper most regions of the lungs using only my diaphragm because the raising of the arms is taking away any constriction of the ribs that would keep the air from flowing up into the upper lungs. At least that is how it feels to me.

 

[aragorn]

Maybe you could still elaborate on what exactly you find difficult while lying down? I do EE mostly lying on my back, and I don't use the hand positions when doing it this way- it makes it harder to relax. In the pipe breathing I always start the inhaling from the belly and lower ribs, also at stages 2 and 3. It's like pouring water into a glass: it's starts to fill up from the bottom. Once you have the inhaling 'anchored' at the bottom you can safely build it higher and higher, finally employing the emergency breathing muscles (only pipe breathing section). I'm sure it can be done differently too, breathing 'straight' to e.g. the middle (2. Stage) and upper (3. Stage) part, without the anchor. I dont feel comfortable doing it this way, since the diaphragm is more passive - it feels forced somehow. IMO, the optimal case is when the air that you breathe in 'does the job for you', you just expand in every direction without any effort.

I have done the 3-stage breathing in both the sitting and lying down positions. I move my arms to the required positions in both. However, when lying down, since what we are doing is opening the chest area to get the breath further up into our lungs, I just make sure my upper arms are in the horizontal position for stage 2, and above my head for stage 3. The are resting comfortably on the surface of whatever I am lying on.

In either position, I do NOT have to engage the emergency breathing muscles. If you do use them, to my understanding, you are defeating the purpose of breathing with the diaphragm. I have no problem getting the air up to the upper most regions of the lungs using only my diaphragm because the raising of the arms is taking away any constriction of the ribs that would keep the air from flowing up into the upper lungs. At least that is how it feels to me.

Yes, I think it depends on how high up you want to go with the breath. What I had in mind when I wrote that was the situation where the diaphragm has fully descended and the lungs are completely filled from bottom to top. Then you would take an extra 'sip' of air, taking air even higher. To do this you would have to engage some of the emergency muscles. However, I don't know if filling the 'glass' super high like this is even necessary, but I feel it is to some extent relaxing to the emergency muscles to shortly be activated and then released with the long exhale.

I can only speak from my own experience, with pupils and myself, that when using the hand positions one have to be careful that they don't forget breathing into the belly. Just to clarify, I'm not teaching EE, just trying to get the pupils find the correct use of the diaphragm. So, usually what happens when they place their hands on their side (pos 2), the try too hard to expand to the sides, they get tense, and the belly doesn't expand. But with a good instructor, EE or otherwise, this can be corrected and the hand positions are a big help.

 

[loreta]

Yesterday I was unable to relax doing my meditation with Laura. It was for me impossible to relax because one side of my body was very nervous, like all the nerves of this side (left) were working, without my permission. A kind of spasm but not totally. I did all the meditation but even after that was unable to sleep because of this nerves. What can I do when the body is so altered? Is this something that have no importance and can happend once in a while doing meditation?

Loreta

 

[SolarMother]

It helped me to reread that section because it reminded me of how neurotransmitters work, what happens when they our out of balance, and how supplementation might help.
If you are forgetting to take GABA it might be worth refreshing your memory as well. The most relevant part of the UltraMind Solution is section 1.2 of chapter 6 on page 95. There are supplementation guidelines on page 353.

The following threads might be helpful as well:

UltraMind Solution Quizzes
GABA

Wow. Thank you Seamas! I've never noticed the UltraMind Solution book. I am here at our library and presto, I don't have to ILL it because it is here NOW! ;)
One evening I did take GABA (2 of them) before bed and they kept me up. I remember thinking to myself that I should not take them in the evening, but perhaps just one, as you suggested, is going to be fine.

The book has been very helpful and is very understandable for the lay person. I am taking GABA as is prescribed, and will be getting some L-theanine tomorrow to boost the GABA. I wanted to let you know that the GABA is already doing it's work in my brain and the anxiety at night is lessening. I still wake up in the middle of the night, but with a lot less anxiety, and some nights I don't feel it at all (in the chest.)

Loreta

Yesterday I was unable to relax doing my meditation with Laura. It was for me impossible to relax because one side of my body was very nervous, like all the nerves of this side (left) were working, without my permission. A kind of spasm but not totally. I did all the meditation but even after that was unable to sleep because of this nerves. What can I do when the body is so altered? Is this something that have no importance and can happend once in a while doing meditation?

Loreta

Loreta, I could be wrong, but I am wondering if you should try GABA as well since you mention nerves and nervousness and being unable to relax. Perhaps it was an anxiety attack. Has this happened before in other situations?
It has been very helpful for me with a long standing anxiety problem.

 

[Seamus]

It helped me to reread that section because it reminded me of how neurotransmitters work, what happens when they our out of balance, and how supplementation might help.
If you are forgetting to take GABA it might be worth refreshing your memory as well. The most relevant part of the UltraMind Solution is section 1.2 of chapter 6 on page 95. There are supplementation guidelines on page 353.

The following threads might be helpful as well:

UltraMind Solution Quizzes
GABA

Wow. Thank you Seamas! I've never noticed the UltraMind Solution book. I am here at our library and presto, I don't have to ILL it because it is here NOW! ;)
One evening I did take GABA (2 of them) before bed and they kept me up. I remember thinking to myself that I should not take them in the evening, but perhaps just one, as you suggested, is going to be fine.

The book has been very helpful and is very understandable for the lay person. I am taking GABA as is prescribed, and will be getting some L-theanine tomorrow to boost the GABA. I wanted to let you know that the GABA is already doing it's work in my brain and the anxiety at night is lessening. I still wake up in the middle of the night, but with a lot less anxiety, and some nights I don't feel it at all (in the chest.)

Thats great news SolarMother! The rest of the UltraMind Solution is really worth reading, as you say it is easy to read and packed with useful information. I'm glad that its helping you. :)

 

[Wisteria]

Greetings all!

I have been practicing EE regularly for approximately one year now and have experienced many wonderful benefits. However the last couple of months I have found myself struggling with it - almost as if I have been transported back to the beginning and have to go through the learning process all over again.

I have been met with what seems like continual problems and challenges this year, so my stress levels have risen, and I can feel my previous constant companion (depression) attempting to take hold once more. I refuse to fall back into that dark hole yet again, so I deliberately have increased my practice of the full EE program to as often as I possibly can (i.e. I try to practice every day). But instead of feeling any kind of relief, I am finding with each consecutive session more difficulties and frustrations arising. At first it was just with the 3 stage breathing, but it has gradually spread to every aspect of EE until I finally reached a crescendo of experiencing the complete opposite of relaxation when I practice the POTS. Last night - despite having less than two hours sleep each night for the past week - the POTS actually worked me up so much that I totally flipped out. I felt like I was losing my mind. I have always suffered from insomnia to some extent, but this past week has been unusual even for me. EE actually gave me more relief from insomnia than any of the many other remedies I have tried throughout the years. So why is it seeming to have the opposite effect now? Through the combination of severe lack of sleep and continual stress, I have unsurprisingly now fallen ill - so unfortunately I am physically incapable of practicing EE right at the moment. I am certainly not going to give up however because I know how much it has already done for me. But I would love to hear from anyone who has had a similar experience and could maybe share some words of wisdom?

If I am not explaining myself very well, I apologise. I feel very much like I am a sleep walker at the moment. It is exceedingly difficult to concentrate on anything...

 

[Ollie]

Ease up on yourself Wisteria, take a break from doing the full programme. Take a break from it all for a few days.

You may find it helps to just concentrate on the pipe breathing when you feel your stress levels rising. It works for me. Take a break from doing the BaHa portion of the programme too. I took a long break, well over a year, from doing BaHa as the effects were too powerful for me. On Mondays and Thursdays, I'd just do three stage breathing and PotS, I left out Warrior's breath too - this will keep the energy levels down to relax you.

A short session of pipe breathing before you recite PotS at bedtime helps too with insomnia. Lying in bed, after reviewing the day, doing a round of pipe breathing, I'm often asleep before I've recited three rounds of PotS. :)

This may help, or not.

 

[Ollie]

My experiences of EE this week are as follows. On Monday, yawning during three stage breathing, wet eyes and lightheadedness during BaHa; whilst Thursday was much more straight forward with nothing particular to report.

Outside of the sessions, recently I’ve experienced mild dizziness on getting out of bed in the middle of the night in a darkened room – disorientated and a lack of balance - and in the morning too, in a even milder manner, as well as when getting up from my mat at the end of PotS during the full sessions. Plus, the lightheadedness previously reported above during BaHa.

What is my body telling me? Is it a case of too much detoxing going on, of eating too much carbohydrate, or of a return of Candida? And, dizziness is also a form of postural hypotension – low blood pressure.

I certainly feel as if I’m continually detoxing.

Or, from a metaphysical perspective, it may be:

DIZZINESS
PHYSICAL BLOCK
Dizziness is characterized by a short-lived sensation of … unsteadiness with lightheadedness.

EMOTIONAL BLOCK
Dizziness may be experienced when you want to escape a situation that is causing you to re-live some old unhealed wound. …

MENTAL BLOCK
When you have a dizzy spell, examine what was said or what happened in the moments just prior to each spell or what may happen right after. Know that these dizzy spells are the result of surreal interpretations of events, of a fertile imagination and altered perception. You have unrealistic expectations of yourself. You have a tendency toward exaggerating events either due to tremendous fear or due to unresolved issues suffered as a child that have distorted your perception. The Universe has a way of giving you a second chance to look at past experiences so that you can come to terms with them once and for all through forgiveness.

Want to escape a situation that is causing you to re-live some old unhealed wound? Hmm, food for thought there re neonatal trauma, and resuming BaHa.

Well, I’ve certainly got an active imagination! And, I can identify with ‘unrealistic expectations of myself’.

‘The Universe has a way of giving you a second chance to look at past experiences so that you can come to terms with them once and for all through forgiveness. ‘ Could this be what my I Ching reading for 2011 was alluding to – The Arousing (Shock; the beginning of things in the Spring; opportunity to change direction, a forced change if you’re resisting change; set your life in order and search your heart for any secret opposition to the will of God)?

This, when coupled with ‘wanting to escape a situation that is causing me to relive …‘ seems favourite to me, along with manifesting as the physical effect of detoxing. In fact, it could be considered a required ‘detoxing of the mind’. Recently I’ve come to think that maybe I’m resistant to change - whereas previously I would have said the exact opposite - re posts on other threads about procrastination, internal consideration, impatience and letting go. Perhaps this is what it’s all about: coming to terms with past experiences through forgiveness; finally letting go.

To quote Yoda:

‘Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.’

And, as posted in another thread, what I fear to lose most is: ‘the loss of ‘fear’ itself and letting go of ‘life’’ – translated as ‘fear of the death of the Predator’s Mind’.

And, then there is this quote, which was part of a headline (re, uprising in Egypt) in a recent Sunday newspaper,

‘… we lost our fears and found ourselves.’

A very appropriate comment when it’s considered with the previous paragraph. Perhaps it’s time to do this now, or is that an ‘unrealistic expectation of myself’?

 

[Mountain Crown]

[quote author=Wisteria]It is exceedingly difficult to concentrate on anything... [/quote]

Many of us understand that there's an important link with diet and EE.

Some of the things you mention in your post could find solutions in detox.

 

[SolarMother]

Ease up on yourself Wisteria, take a break from doing the full programme. Take a break from it all for a few days.

You may find it helps to just concentrate on the pipe breathing when you feel your stress levels rising. It works for me. Take a break from doing the BaHa portion of the programme too. I took a long break, well over a year, from doing BaHa as the effects were too powerful for me. On Mondays and Thursdays, I'd just do three stage breathing and PotS, I left out Warrior's breath too - this will keep the energy levels down to relax you.

A short session of pipe breathing before you recite PotS at bedtime helps too with insomnia. Lying in bed, after reviewing the day, doing a round of pipe breathing, I'm often asleep before I've recited three rounds of PotS. :)

This may help, or not.

Wisteria--I agree with Trevrizent's post. It is what I have had to do as well--cut out BaHa for as long as you need to, then perhaps try once a month or once a week later.
I want to add that if you wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety, etc. try in bed, doing pipe breath and POTS and meditation. No warrior's breath. It helps me fall back asleep, it might do the same for you. It sounds like the reason everything snowballed on you is that you were doing the entire program each day. I hope you are better soon.

 

[loreta]

Solar Mother, maybe it was an attack of anxiety, I really don't know. I used to have panic attacks, all my life, and alot of anxiety. But not lately. The strange think it is that I was feeling this nervousness just in one side of my body, in my left side. What is GAbA? A plant? I will try to read about it. Thanks!

Loreta

 

[Wisteria]

Ease up on yourself Wisteria, take a break from doing the full programme. Take a break from it all for a few days.

Yes, I do have a tendency to be far too hard on myself at times. Shortly after posting my recent experiences, the fogginess seem to clear just long enough for me to realise that I do indeed need to ease up on myself. I think the mere act of sharing with you all has helped me, and I thank you so much for that.

You may find it helps to just concentrate on the pipe breathing when you feel your stress levels rising. It works for me. Take a break from doing the BaHa portion of the programme too. I took a long break, well over a year, from doing BaHa as the effects were too powerful for me. On Mondays and Thursdays, I'd just do three stage breathing and PotS, I left out Warrior's breath too - this will keep the energy levels down to relax you.

Wisteria--I agree with Trevrizent's post. It is what I have had to do as well--cut out BaHa for as long as you need to, then perhaps try once a month or once a week later.
I want to add that if you wake up in the middle of the night with anxiety, etc. try in bed, doing pipe breath and POTS and meditation. No warrior's breath. It helps me fall back asleep, it might do the same for you. It sounds like the reason everything snowballed on you is that you were doing the entire program each day. I hope you are better soon.

I only began attempting to practice the whole program daily after things started snowballing on me. I thought that it would help me cope with everything and help prevent me falling back into negative patterns. Instead, in this rare instance, I think it only served to exacerbate everything.

It's going to be difficult to remove BaHa from my practice because, prior to the snowball, it was most definitely my favourite part. When I first began to practice EE, I hated it. I experienced so many powerful negative emotions, in addition to (at times) rather violent physical reactions. But after I had persisted through these issues, my experiences began to transform into something very wonderful. Although I guess this is a little irrelevant at the present moment anyway, because my sickness prevails over all breathing exercises.

In future however, I am certainly going to make a concerted effort to step back a little, so I can hopefully prevent another recurrence. Thanks Trevrizent and SolarMother.

[quote author=Wisteria]It is exceedingly difficult to concentrate on anything...

Many of us understand that there's an important link with diet and EE.

Some of the things you mention in your post could find solutions in detox.
[/quote]

I believe my concentration levels are due to severe lack of sleep more than anything. Although.....even though I am cautious in regards to what I eat, I have yet to try the Ultra Simple Diet. I am sure you are correct Jerry, and I would benefit from detox. I am not sure whether starting it right at this very moment would be wise with all things considered, but it is definitely on the cards for the very near future.

Thank you everyone. I am always rather nervous about posting on the forum, but I am very glad that I did. I don't feel quite so alone now.

 

[herondancer]

I believe my concentration levels are due to severe lack of sleep more than anything. Although.....even though I am cautious in regards to what I eat, I have yet to try the Ultra Simple Diet. I am sure you are correct Jerry, and I would benefit from detox. I am not sure whether starting it right at this very moment would be wise with all things considered, but it is definitely on the cards for the very near future.

Thank you everyone. I am always rather nervous about posting on the forum, but I am very glad that I did. I don't feel quite so alone now.

We're glad you took the time and energy to share what's going on . It may not be the best time for starting the detox diet yet, but it might help to read the different threads/recommended books, and get a feel for it. It could sort of "prep" your body and mind. I found that when I wanted to start something I was a little apprehensive about, this kind of mental rehearsal made the doing much easier.

 

[SolarMother]

I believe my concentration levels are due to severe lack of sleep more than anything. Although.....even though I am cautious in regards to what I eat, I have yet to try the Ultra Simple Diet. I am sure you are correct Jerry, and I would benefit from detox. I am not sure whether starting it right at this very moment would be wise with all things considered, but it is definitely on the cards for the very near future.

Thank you everyone. I am always rather nervous about posting on the forum, but I am very glad that I did. I don't feel quite so alone now.

We're glad you took the time and energy to share what's going on . It may not be the best time for starting the detox diet yet, but it might help to read the different threads/recommended books, and get a feel for it. It could sort of "prep" your body and mind. I found that when I wanted to start something I was a little apprehensive about, this kind of mental rehearsal made the doing much easier.

I am also glad you shared Wisteria. I had the same issues about posting in the beginning, but I just bit the bullet, like you did and it got a bit easier as time went on.
FWIW, all kinds of life situations can interfere with starting the UltraSimpleDetox plan. Besides what Herondancer said--getting a feel for the diet from reading for awhile, when you feel ready, you can start at your own pace eliminating, let's say gluten/wheat--then all grains except buckwheat, quinoa (which are pseudo-grains.)
This is what Mr.Anderson and I have been doing over the weeks because we cannot do the detox diet yet. Then when we are settled, we plan to do the detox diet followed by the testing of specific foods (like eggs or nuts, etc.) Meanwhile we are feeling much better without the wheat/gluten/grains, dairy, hot spices, tomatoes and a few other things. We are learning to recognize the inflammation signs in the body as well!

Hope this helps.