SeekinTruth said:Immersion said:When I move onto round breathing I get the feeling that my heart is going to jump out of my chest, for lack of a better description, and the only way to counter it is to place my hand over the heart area. This has been ongoing for a few months and I'm not sure why, maybe some sort of detox reaction or I might just be sensitive to the increased heart rate from the round breathing.
Are you breathing too forcefully by any chance? You might try to make your breathing less forceful, and/or don't try to fully fill your lungs and fully empty them, but concentrate on no interruption between inhale and exhale. In other words, relax and take it more gently. Otherwise, you might want to skip round breathing for a while, particularly the faster cycles, if you don't figure out what's behind the "heart jumping out of your chest" feeling. FWIW.
Me too. I find it difficult to sit up as it tends to hurt my legs/back and draw my focus away from the breath.SeekinTruth said:I also do the entire EE program laying down, except for Warrior's Breath. It's so much more relaxing for me that way.
SeekinTruth said:Immersion said:When I move onto round breathing I get the feeling that my heart is going to jump out of my chest, for lack of a better description, and the only way to counter it is to place my hand over the heart area. This has been ongoing for a few months and I'm not sure why, maybe some sort of detox reaction or I might just be sensitive to the increased heart rate from the round breathing.
Are you breathing too forcefully by any chance? You might try to make your breathing less forceful, and/or don't try to fully fill your lungs and fully empty them, but concentrate on no interruption between inhale and exhale. In other words, relax and take it more gently. Otherwise, you might want to skip round breathing for a while, particularly the faster cycles, if you don't figure out what's behind the "heart jumping out of your chest" feeling. FWIW.
Immersion said:Added: Just seen your post Keyhole, I'll definitely take it easier tomorrow.
lainey said:I did the full EE programme yesterday, I fell asleep during prayer of the soul and had the most awful nightmare. I was in my childhood garden and saw a comet streak across the sky. It's like I was a child again and proclaimed "woooow, this is so cool!" I started to go indoors to tell my parents and saw lights in the sky, I was terrified and started to run. All of a sudden I was paralyzed and felt myself being ripped away from reality. It's like the dream skipped and whatever happened was so horrific I blocked it out.
I then woke up in the dream, still terrified. I thought I was awake and tried to tell someone what had happened. A group of doctors came to take me away and were brutally rough with me like I was a dangerous crazy person. I woke up again in the dream and tried calling for help, saying to myself over and over "how do I know if I'm awake? How do I know if I'm awake?"
Finally I woke up for real, my heart beating so fast and still feeling utterly crippled with fear. I thought what a horrible experience to have 2 nights in a row, even though I have no recollection of having had the same dream the night before. I felt like I had been drugged and had slight psychadellic shapes moving in the darkness of my sight, like if you had taken too much melatonin and felt groggy the next day.
I'm accustomed to nightmares and can usually shake them off easily knowing they were just a dream but this one felt so WRONG like it had been a real experience. I stayed up for an hour reading just to settle myself till I felt ok to go back to sleep. I remember thinking that if I ever had a dream so scary again I would rather never dream again. It seems so silly now in the light of day but it was truly awful. I felt so alone and scared when I woke up.
I remember reading that nightmares are a way of releasing negative emotions so I'm guessing it was just that on an epic scale.
Yes, they really have the ability to drag the deepest emotions out of your subconscious. I've woken up crying a few times in dreams. On the other hand I have had dreams where I have felt so elated and safe and happy, so it's not all bad. I remember one dream where I was in a pub in this big sky castle where all lucid dreamers went to meet up. I was literally like a child, running around and talking to everyone saying "Isn't this cool!! We are all dreaming!!" and everyone felt like family. A couple of us went swimming together and we knew we could breathe underwater. It was awesome.Lilyalic said:lainey said:I did the full EE programme yesterday, I fell asleep during prayer of the soul and had the most awful nightmare. I was in my childhood garden and saw a comet streak across the sky. It's like I was a child again and proclaimed "woooow, this is so cool!" I started to go indoors to tell my parents and saw lights in the sky, I was terrified and started to run. All of a sudden I was paralyzed and felt myself being ripped away from reality. It's like the dream skipped and whatever happened was so horrific I blocked it out.
I then woke up in the dream, still terrified. I thought I was awake and tried to tell someone what had happened. A group of doctors came to take me away and were brutally rough with me like I was a dangerous crazy person. I woke up again in the dream and tried calling for help, saying to myself over and over "how do I know if I'm awake? How do I know if I'm awake?"
Finally I woke up for real, my heart beating so fast and still feeling utterly crippled with fear. I thought what a horrible experience to have 2 nights in a row, even though I have no recollection of having had the same dream the night before. I felt like I had been drugged and had slight psychadellic shapes moving in the darkness of my sight, like if you had taken too much melatonin and felt groggy the next day.
I'm accustomed to nightmares and can usually shake them off easily knowing they were just a dream but this one felt so WRONG like it had been a real experience. I stayed up for an hour reading just to settle myself till I felt ok to go back to sleep. I remember thinking that if I ever had a dream so scary again I would rather never dream again. It seems so silly now in the light of day but it was truly awful. I felt so alone and scared when I woke up.
I remember reading that nightmares are a way of releasing negative emotions so I'm guessing it was just that on an epic scale.
This sounds like a nasty experience! but as you said, it does sound like a processing of negative emotions. It's even worse when you go through "dreams" as in you're questioning whether you're awake or not.
I tend to find that I have nightmares when I fall asleep during EE. I had one the other night where I was in the back of a car with an old work friend and a guy was driving, I was really scared for some reason thinking there was someone trying to get us on the roads. We ended up driving really fast in a somewhat dark and gloomy atmosphere. Then, I blacked out (in the dream) and woke up in pitch black (I didn't even know you could have a "pitch black" part of a dream) and I was trapped inside a box, shouting for the friend that was in the car with me. I tried to move around in this box but it was so tightly packed. I then felt around and found a body next to me, what felt like flesh anyway. I woke myself up because I was so afraid, and was nearly crying when I awoke.
Nightmares are really powerful, especially with the whole aspect of fear and anxiety..
I'm not sure if this is the reason but it might have something to do with posture? I was reading this article about how it puts your hips out of alignment (this is for sitting up leg crossing but I guess it falls under the same principles)davey72 said:I have a question that i am sure must have been asked before so i apologize for the repeat but why during the pots should you not cross your legs or ankles?
A Cautionary Tale Told by a Reformed Chronic Leg-Crosser
Low Back Pain can reduce even the toughest of tough guys to tears.
For years I suffered (and, yes, I even cried) due to recurring bouts of debilitating low back pain that I could not figure out the cause or cure for. I now know that a major contributing factor was an unconscious habit of sitting with one leg crossed over the other … every day … several hours a day … year after year. Happily, I also found my cure.
If you are a leg-crosser, sit up, uncross your legs and pay attention. The following information might provide you with the keys to liberation from chronic pain.
First, get to know your Quadratus Lumborum (or ‘QL’). Your QL inhabit the space between the bottom rib, the pelvis and the transverse processes of the first four lumbar vertebrae. Best known as the ‘hip hiker’ muscle, its primary function is to bring the hip and rib cage closer together (as in sidebending). It should also be known as a chief culprit in cases of low back pain – and definitely held under suspicion when low back pain is one-sided.
Try this experiment:
Sit in a chair.
Cross your left leg over your right.
Notice: the left hip ‘hikes’ up, making your left side waist (and QL) shorter than the right.
If you sit for a large portion of your day – and you habitually cross your legs one way, BEWARE! You are creating a QL imbalance for which you may suffer (or already be suffering) mightily. Fortunately, you can help yourself.
First: Stop crossing your legs. Be vigilant about it. In fact, put a post-it note on your computer screen that says ‘Uncross your legs’ as a reminder.
Second: do the following Yoga Tune Up poses to restore balance to your QL: Sidewinder Pose, Boomerang at the wall and Triangle in Parallel. Whether you are a chronic leg-crosser or not, if your QL is responsible for the pain in your back, these exercises are your therapy. Practice and enjoy freedom from pain. I am!
davey72 said:I have a question that i am sure must have been asked before so i apologize for the repeat but why during the pots should you not cross your legs or ankles?
Nienna said:davey72 said:I have a question that i am sure must have been asked before so i apologize for the repeat but why during the pots should you not cross your legs or ankles?
From an energy point of view, I have read that crossing you legs or arms blocks the flow of energy throughout your body. Whether this is why it is said to not cross you ankles, I don't know, but this has been why I don't do it.
I actually took part in a guided meditation once and when we were being "brought back" we were told to cross out ankles. Maybe it helps to wake you up or like Nienna said block an energy flow. Perhaps there are acupressure points where the legs would cross that would be activated? Worth some further research, I'll see if I can find anything.Yas said:Nienna said:davey72 said:I have a question that i am sure must have been asked before so i apologize for the repeat but why during the pots should you not cross your legs or ankles?
From an energy point of view, I have read that crossing you legs or arms blocks the flow of energy throughout your body. Whether this is why it is said to not cross you ankles, I don't know, but this has been why I don't do it.
This could be a reason, yes. I always thought that it was to make the point that you should be as comfortable as possible instead of trying to make any position associated with meditation, such as crossing the legs. I think the most important thing is to be comfortable, whether it is sitting, laying down on the bed, on the floor, etc... whatever works best for you. OSIT.