I’ve had an interesting experience with EE that I would like to share.
I’ve been doing EE since its inception, sometimes diligently twice a week (with POTS interspersed), and sometimes less. I’ve had a few periods when I got off the program ’full-time’, but probably never for more than a few months at a time.
I’ve been following this thread from when it started in 2010 and read the testimonies of people on the program, always a bit envious of the results and experiences that these people shared - I for one was just doing the breathing and meditation out of a sense of duty. Sure, it felt relaxing, but there didn’t seem to be any major benefit. Mostly it felt like a chore - maybe like going for a run: it’s arduous, it takes discipline to get going, but once you’ve done it, you feel good, but more in line with a sense of achievment.
I’ve had back pain all of my life, sometimes excruciating for long periods of time, sometimes just humming along in the background. I’ve learned to deal with it and mostly just ignore it when it’s present, doing specific exercises - on the whole I manage it quite well, although at times it can be grating when it just doesn’t want to go away.
About two months ago, during the bioenergetic (round) breathing, I felt a POP - like a bubble burst, and something ’left’ or ‘got out’ of one of my most affected muscles in my back (quadratus lumborum on the left). And I immediately felt a releif in my back. It was still sore, as in sore like after some heavy exercise, but the quality was distinctly different. The next few days that soreness slowly dissipated, and I have been almost pain-free ever since.
I mentioned this vignette on our regular Aussie FOTCM chat, and one of the participants opined, that I may have dislodged an attachment. Maybe some of you remember when we all had Spirit Releasment Therapies - and I’ve had some very positive experience with that a few years ago, with the wife of one of the ‘founders’ of the technique by the name of William Baldwin. I thought this was an interesting thought, but hedged my bets, as it may well only be a temporary improvement.
And I would also like to bring your attention to Laura’s final assessment of the SRT, finding that to get rid of the ‘critters’ long term, you have to change the affinity ’they’ feel towards you to permanently dispel them. SRT works, but is only a quick fix, and in a sense it violates free will. So overall probably not a very good strategy.
Well, it’s now been more than two months, and my back hasn’t been as good as it is in a long time. So maybe by diligently doing EE, cleaning up some of the s+&t in my life and trying to be a better person, I might have slightly modified ‘the terrain’ so that my ‘back-stabbing critter’ found it unpleasant enough to stay and left.
Of course this is all speculation, but it might add to the varied testimonies of others. This post is for all of you who are plodding along doing the program more out of a sense of duty than of perceived benefit, as I did and wonder why - it just may take more time for you to experience the benefits that for others.
But it does work, that much is clear to me now - even if it may work on a more subtle level. So keep doing it - the ripe fruit to be picked may just be around the corner!
Then I started to breath more gently and it resulted to a milder form of hyperventilation (slight tingling and vibrating sensations), which is normal initially from what I read.
I noticed that my breathing is deeper and better when I do it lying down and I don't need to focus on my body posture and hand positions as much that way. For some reason, no matter how I try I can never make myself fully comfortable when sitting down. The whole process is much easier and much less of a chore when lying down so it's really good news that I can do it like that without jeopardising the quality.
