Éiriú-Eolas - Breathing Program

[KC Kelly]

After spending a bit of time reading through some of the latest posts on this thread, I noticed so many comments from folks on here that are so similar to some of what I have been experiencing. So I hope that others here may be able to resonate and progress from a sampling and collation of some of them....fwiw.

Im starting to get somewhat melancholic, and doubtfull of myself, the program, why I am doing this, etc...
However, I have no doubt ( unintended pseudo-pun) that those are the buffers and programs talking.

Yes, this definitely resonates here also. Yet, it is becoming more recognizable as the predators mind.

I had a real difficult day yesterday, and when it came time to do the program, I could feel my entire body and mind was completely stressed, anxious etc. and I really didn't know if I was even going to be able to relax. It took me a while to settle down enough to do the breathing properly, but eventually I was able to.

This I also experienced just earlier today, and was able to work through it instead of just go and lie down like the predators mind was pushing for me to do.

some mornings...I'm completely drained, exhausted and miserable and cannot "function". Luckily my wife knows, sort of, what is going on with me and she knows that in the long run these "going through stuff" are actually good for me.

This resonates here also. Fortunately, my wife hasn't hassled me nearly at all about "giving up" doing something that makes me feel so tired and irritable sometimes, even though she has shown no interest in joining me to "give it a go" herself.

Everyone at works asks and asks, and worry about what's wrong with me, why am I so quiet and antisocial and withdrawn. I mostly just say that I'm tired today, but I can feel something stirring inside me.

Must be a lot of this going around, as I have experienced this also, Helle.

I remember once during Warrior's Breathe I cried and laughed at exactly the same time...

Although it was the round breathing portion instead of the warriors breath, I can relate to you here, Daniel.

It seems everyone's experiences will be somewhat different, depending on what 'needs to be done' to make progress.

Not any faces or figures, people or sarcophagi(!) yet in my case, but I'm being patient and hoping for progress in others through my efforts.

Be patient!

On a couple of occasions, its been a bit frustrating "being patient", but a constant reminder to self not to "anticipate" helps to refocus my efforts.

Since last week was so “easy”, I thought I was on some kind of roll. HA! Now I am back to feeling exhausted and sad. All the little “I’s” are piping up during the meditation – clearly uninterested in focusing – so while I think I am progressing, “they” apparently have other ideas. And then there are those increasing moments of seeing the dark parts of my personality that are so appalling. Makes me wonder if I am really up to this….or just an OP with ambitions. It’s soo demoralizing. After spending so many years searching for something REAL – I now find myself wondering if I really have the “right stuff”. I hope this is part of the process….arghhh!!!

This should give many of us extra impetus to "feel" that we are on the right track when so many experiences related here are so similar.

I choose to make myself strong, allthough I FEEL miserable.

Took the words right out of my mouth again, Helle. We're hangin' in there for ya'.

I wake up in the middle of the night and lie there with all sorts of thoughts going through mind for a while.

Definitely have been there, too. And frustrating not knowing really what to do to just "simply" fall back into a good sleep, other than just wait it out.

...the session dedicated to Pepperfritz was by far the most intense for me. I was really sobbing throughout the entire session.

Of all the sessions I have done over the past several weeks, the one on the Monday after reading of Pepperfritz' passing was the most intense for me also. Seems as though when I have "dedicated" the session consciously keeping another in mind while fighting off the predators mind to give up, or go take it easy, do something else, the results have been more "noticeable".

I was sitting at my computer reading posts on the forum after practicing the pipe breathing and this voice, the predator's voice, really started letting my have it. I was being cursed out in grand style. It seems that every hateful thing I've ever thought about myself ...nothing was spared...my physical appearance, my lack of intellect, every stupid or shameful thing I'd ever done in my entire life, how I was worthless. Who did I think I was trying this new stuff? I'm too stupid to do anything. I can't meditate. I can't advance. I'm just faking everything. I'm not learning. I'll fail. I'll get nowhere. It was like I was being threatened at some point.

And the predators mind almost got its way when something similar happened here. It was really a battle. I would get up from the computer, go have a third or half a smoke , process all these different thoughts, knowing full well where they were coming from. Then, smiling, I returned to my chair in front of the monitor, sat down and proceeded to start the program and not look back. And felt stronger afterward for having done so.

Let's all keep hangin' in there and keep doing this! Good luck all!

 

[Jeremy F Kreuz]

Thanks KC Kelly for this nice overview of different things going on. Many of them I recognize.

Yes, this definitely resonates here also. Yet, it is becoming more recognizable as the predators mind.

This is exactly how I feel these last two days: I recognize it as being something that is not me. I can here its voice setting up and I say to myself, ´there it goes again´ trying to convince me. It is ridicule how it sounds and sometimes I just laugh. I had this image of me being in a battle with an opponent that first didn't even take me serious, like it mocked and laughed at me, saying ' you are gonna fight me? You gotta be kidding.' It gives me some punches and turns its back to me, so reassured that I will remain on the floor. But I stand up, do the breathing, the prayer, again and again. IT comes back and starts all over, but no matter what, I do not give up. Now it also gets that I do not give up and will get up, no matter what it launches at me, it seems to get more angry, it seems to take me more serious and I have the feeling the real battle has only begun: it seems to have the intention to really get going on me. But more and more I see it coming, I see the punches and stop them by praying.

 

[Helle]

"The grand trick of those sorcerers of ancient times, was to burden the flyers' mind with discipline. They found out that if they taxed the flyers' mind with inner silence, the foreign installation would flee, giving to any one of the practitioners involved in this maneuver the total certainty of the mind's foreign origin. The foreign installation comes back, I assure you, but not as strong, and a process begins in which the fleeing of the flyers' mind becomes routine, until one day it flees permanently. A sad day indeed! That's the day when you have to rely on your own devices, which are nearly zero. There's no one to tell you what to do. There's no mind of foreign origin to dictate the imbecilities you're accustomed to. "My teacher, the nagual Julian, used to warn all his disciples," don Juan continued, "that this was the toughest day in a sorcerer's life, for the real mind that belongs to us, the sum total of our experience, after a lifetime of domination has been rendered shy, insecure, and shifty. Personally, I would say that the real battle of sorcerers begins at that moment. The rest is merely preparation."

So this is why I feel as I do? Shy, insecure, shifty and almost unable to keep it together? Because I have to LEARN it from scratch? Never thought about it that way.

Hi Helle,
Could you clarify something for me? From what you wrote above do you think you might have removed the predators mind, the foreign installation? Not that it's impossible, it just quite a bold statement to make. (If that's what your saying.)
edit grammar

Oh I didn't mean to say I have removed the predators mind by any means, I was referring to the fact, that the flyers mind might flee for short periods of time, when practising inner silence. In my own case we're talking splitseconds at a time really.. But it feels like enough 'time' for whatever it is inside me, to feels its absence, and making me feel insecure and unstable. (I'm horribly at explaining :/)

I understand that it most certainly is just an emotional reaction on my part , to the cleansing going on, I just thought there might be a connection from the flyers mind leaving, and emotional cleansing.

 

[moonwalker]

Thanks for explaining Helle (you're better at it than your predator thinks) :)

 

[rise]

I have now done the full program twice, I know I'm getting started very late with the EE . I've read through the thread pages 1-27 and 55-73. I'm still working on getting the middle section done but thought I would post my experience so far.

The first time was very easy and quite pleasant. I actually followed the video and then after the warriors breath I switch the the Ba Ha on the audio. During the meditation I did cry quite a bit, and it felt really good. The crying seemed to come forth when I focused on what the prayer words mean.

The second one was a lot rougher. It is probably my fault and I intend to not make this mistake again. I watched a movie prior to doing the EE and had two beers. In retrospect this was a bad idea and I clearly wasn't thinking. In all I had a very hard time concentrating and I wanted to give up, especially during the pipe breathing and the ba-ha portion. The meditation seemed to last forever, where the first time it was very quick.

Perhaps next week will go smoother assuming I don't mess up somehow again. I also want to say a warm thank you, as during the last few weeks of my internship this summer the pipe breathing was wonderful for dealing with the stress I had.

 

[gaman]

So I've been a little worried about the extended calm being some blind spot blocking cleansing, but I'm not discouraged. I just wanted to report this in case others are having the same calm spell.

Right, no need to get discouraged since I think your crying is an emotional release (in an overall process) and the calmness afterwards might be because of that. The calmness might also be an ‘active calm’ where your in a more 'able state' to allow something to happen within and your body is also in a more able state to receive something, perhaps a different kind of energy, a finer energy coming from something higher within you.

But I think there’s another kind of calm that can be experienced where we can calm ourselves with a reality that's created and projected from wishful thinking, internal considering, and strong beliefs about ourselves so as to reinforce the wishful thinking. In this case I think it would be more like a dead or hypnotic calm. So, imo, this is where the higher value of discernment comes in, knowing the taste of our different psychological states and being able to identify them and knowing more about where they come from within ourselves, whether they come from our deeper parts where we are more conscious and where we can recognize our deep need to Work or in the more mechanical, fractional parts of ourselves that just wants to feel good.
<snip>

Thanks Kenlee. That is good information to know, especially the wishful thinking type of calm. My discernment isn't developed enough for me to feel certain one way or another, but the calm also coincided with being able to maintain an introspective state longer and not so many running uncontrollable thoughts so I'm inclined to view it as positive results of the breathing program.

 

[3DStudent]

I need to mention that most of my adult life i have had a constant ringing in my ears, but am pretty much oblivious to it unless something brings it to my attention. It is a fairly high pitch in both ears and i have gotten used to it long ago.

When the vibration starts, the ringing in my ears seems to lower in frequency until it melds with the vibrations. The vibration is not a physical tremble but quite noticeable and not unpleasant. Difficult for me to put into words.

I too have had ringing in my ears for as long as I can remember. I think it is probably tinnitus, I did have ear troubles as a child. I haven't experienced the corresponding vibrations though. Lately, I have been having some ear ringings that are separate and distinct from my normal tinnitus frequency. These are usually accompanied by some "muting" of the hearing of that ear.

The C's comment about ear ringings here: _http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=457.msg1917#msg1917. Ctrl + F and typing "ringing" will help find the area it is discussed. I've been spooked at these abnormal ringings because they can possibly be monitoring. But they can also just be physiological like a lack in supplements. The Diet and Health board might be a place to look too.

 

[mada85]

After venting in the Swamp recently, I decided to re-read Mouravieff’s comments on moral bankruptcy, which can be found in chapter XVI of Gnosis I. What he says is very relevant to our work with the breathing program, especially in the light of the emotional turmoil that many of us are experiencing. And having read through the recent posts on this thread, after I typed up this post, makes me think that Mouravieff’s comments could be very helpful.

One of the main points Mouravieff makes is that once the seeker has set foot on the path of access to the Way, there is no going back. Before I read this in Gnosis, I had noticed in myself an instinctive resolution not to go back, no matter how difficult things become. It seems to me that working with the breathing method and the Prayer help us in many ways: it brings to light lifetimes of repressed emotions to be released, and it helps to create the strength to work through these states and the resolution to keep moving forward.

I’d like to quote a few excerpts from Mouravieff, which I hope other members will find helpful. This is a fairly long post, but I hope the reader will find it worthwhile.

I’ve put into bold parts that seem to be most important.

Interior collapse leads to certain consequences. Man starts to see things in a different light. Two diametrically opposed effects can result. If man is sufficiently strong and impartial, he will not lower his eyes before implacable reality. He will have the courage to face things directly, and to accept the constatations that are imposed on him, no matter how disagreeable they are. This signifies that he has firmly started on the track which leads to the path of Access to the Way. On the other hand, if the man is weak, this experience will weaken him even more. The law is explicit: ’To whomsoever hath, to him shall be given. But whomsoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath.’ If man does not accept his situation and, in particular, his inner state as it appears to him, thanks to brief illuminations from the consciousness of the real ’I’ – if he is obstinate against all evidence, justifying his Personality by protecting himself behind logic, legitimacy and justice, he will then turn his back on the path of Access, and thrust himself further into the wilderness.

We repeat: unless he is one of the just or righteous, nobody can reach the path of Access to the Way, without first passing through an interior bankruptcy, a moral collapse. That alternative is rather rare.

Long before reaching the Way, he who has entered the track must know that it is a voyage with no return. We generally translate that by saying that the Way has a single direction. That is correct, for someone who throws himself into the adventure which is the seeking of the Way, cannot return to the state he was in before his departure. The Word of Truth is a living word, and works within anyone who has tasted it, even if he does not think of it at all. Knowing this, one must think well before taking the track which leads to the Way. But for him who has already started this journey, all hesitation must be banished. Firmness is then indispensable.[…]

We repeat, the Way is a one way road. For him who walks it, salvation is found ahead of him, never behind him.

I had this image of me being in a battle with an opponent that first didn't even take me serious, like it mocked and laughed at me, saying ' you are gonna fight me? You gotta be kidding.' It gives me some punches and turns its back to me, so reassured that I will remain on the floor. But I stand up, do the breathing, the prayer, again and again. IT comes back and starts all over, but no matter what, I do not give up. Now it also gets that I do not give up and will get up, no matter what it launches at me, it seems to get more angry, it seems to take me more serious and I have the feeling the real battle has only begun: it seems to have the intention to really get going on me. But more and more I see it coming, I see the punches and stop them by praying.

One must not think, however, that if man has resolutely started one the track, that everything will immediately change for him, and that his life will marvellously begin anew. It is true that his esoteric researches are a new element in his life, but that does not mean that the old elements, which only yesterday filed his existence, have disappeared. They are still there. Most often, they form an impediment to esoteric work. In taking to the track, man places himself under the aegis of the Law of Exception; for this, it is evident that he must escape the hold of the General Law. This escape always takes on the character of a fight – sometimes a fight to the death: a fight as we have already said, against the ‘World’; against the ensemble of influences of those around him, which, in principle, will be negative and hostile. […]

Once the problem is recognized, it acts to define the means which will permit us to solve it. To attack the ‘A’ influences frontally would be to repeat the experience of Don Quixote – charging the windmills. […]

Anyone who wants to benefit from the Law of Exception must first achieve a victory over himself, over his own interior world, before he will be able to overcome the ‘World’ and – by doing so – escape from the General Law.

The principle of this method is simple. One must remember Plato’s proposition by which like can only be perceived and understood by like. Extending this, we say that exterior influences cannot act on the individual, except by mediation of similar elements which form part of his interior world: the interior world of the individual is also subject to ‘A’ and ‘B’ influences. The accumulation of the latter within him forms the magnetic centre, which in some way forms a new centre of consciousness.

As gradually the centre of gravity of the interest we take in life is displaced towards the magnetic centre, finally installing itself inside it in a permanent manner, the pressure of the General Law is increasingly intensified.

Also, the spirit of the ensemble of ‘A’ influences, who watches over the application of this law from the outside, seeks to act on man by its agents: by the ‘A’ influences of his interior world. We can easily understand that mastering the latter closes the door to exterior ‘A’ influences, and this ends their power.

In the picturesque language of the tradition, it is said that the beast must be tamed, and the wolf transformed into a trustworthy guard dog. […]

[…] The infinite variation between individual cases leads to the difficulty that these problems cannot be classified or gathered into one general category; equally, it is not possible at this point to classify them in groups which would allow us to describe standardized methods to resolve them. That is why the method to be followed can only be individual.

Some indications can however be given which, if they will not always resolve the problem or problems that arise in each separate case, can at least allow us to view them correctly. That is important, for problems incorrectly viewed lead ipso facto to erroneous solutions, distorted by illusions. These, instead of simplifying the situation, distort it even more.

This observation contains the first indication of a general nature: ’A correct, that is objective, statement of a problem results, at least in part, in a simplification and clarification of the situation.’ Conversely, if as a result of measures taken to resolve one or more problems the situation becomes even more complicated, this provides an objective indication that there is an error of conception at the start.

There is, of course, much more in Gnosis I on this topic than I have quoted here, but I hope what you have read here proves to be helpful.

 

[Bluestar]

All of the posts of late have helped me immensely, Thank you all for sharing.

Doing the EE exercises and meditation of Thursday I was also plagued with wandering thoughts. The first time this has happened since I started doing the program. Two separate male faces popped into my mind while doing the Ba Ha section. Never recall seeing these faces before. They sort of floated in and then out again. Also, the wandering thoughts were strong and as soon as I realized my mind was wandering I brought my attention back. Then there was kind of a mimicking of the words of the prayer happening that I found disruptive. Another voice saying them again in y head. I did my best to ignore it. Completing the exercise feeling just kinda drained. As I moved around to get ready for work it dissipated and I felt better.

Wondering if the heat is being turned on here cause we are all working on this exercise and the predators fear factor is rising??? Just a thought.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[Tigersoap]

I just wanted to report my state of being, to keep track of it.
Since last Wednesday I started to feel less energized and after the last EE full program (I was feeling quite nervous for no reason, I zoned out a lot during the baha and the whole meditation) on Thursday I really started to feel...well,like crap.
I wake up quite a lot during the night as if in a fever with many vivid dreams that I almost forget upon waking up.
I am very tired and sluggish in my thought process, everything seems to take ages to do.
I physically feel very weird, like a stranger in my own body.
It feels like a heavy depression but I don't especially have negative thoughts.
I am irritable then I am too tired to care, it's cotton wool town, thankfully I am not careless with daily life activities but it's hard.
I feel like there is something underneath the surface but it does not come up.
All in all the program is doing great :D

 

[Galaxia2002]

Last night while I was doing the meditation I heard things around me, first many noises come from the inside of the wall and roof next to my bed, It is a brick wall not wood. I did a pause because I felt nervous. Then i decided to continue and then other noises started above my head as other person was breathing near to me and by last I finished quickly because a more strong sound scared me. I don´t know if this was an hypersensitivity of my ears or a "real" thing was happening.

This also makes me wonder if there was something that wanted to scared me and to sabotage the meditation.

 

[Jeremy F Kreuz]

I am not sure if this fits into the the thread, but as I know that this has come to me thanks to the EE, it might be relevant. If not, please mods, tell me where to place it (or not). A few days ago my wife asked my son (5 year old) to close a bottle at the dinnertable and before he could do this, I did it for him. In a flash I realized that is the way I am: I am not a man in relation with a woman, but a little boy that tries hard to be good and please his mother. I was shocked, as I suddenly saw many situations in our relationship that have a similar feel to it. Often in the past I reproached my wife that she acted just the way my mother would have acted and I detested that. I did not realize that I provoked this kind of behavior through acting like a small child trying to earn the love of his mother. Later that day I shared this insight with my wife and she agreed with it that it is indeed like that, but she did so in a rather reluctant way. Since I am aware of this I try to be on the watch and not act in such a way. This seems to be upsetting my wife (her programs).

Then today we attended a spectacle at the school of my son, in which we were blindfolded and guided by another person into a maze where the five senses were exposed to different sensations. The idea behind this was to make the participant feel like a small child and realize how the behavior of the parents is experienced. I first guided a woman and what was most pertinent in the experience was how I felt her fears. When I was blindfolded I was guided by a man who did not take my hand but pulled me by the upper arm, rather strongly, through the maze. I felt oppressed and manipulated and wanted to get away from him. As we were not allowed to talk, I could not express that though and the only solution I found was to try to perform as good as I could what he wanted me to do, to get it over with. Was this a reflection of my own childhood? Trying to do good to get away as quickly as possible? It seems now that I reflect on it, this is how I live my life: try to please others in the hope to end the experience as quickly as possible.

 

[Human]

Hello everybody!

I'm new here but I would like to post my experience and ask something about EE practice.

First of all I want to apologize because I haven't read all posts in this thread (they've been appearing to fast for me to follow all of them), so there is a chance that things that I'm asking may have already been answered. If that’s the case, I would be very grateful if somebody could direct me to those posts (or threads).

Anyway, I’ve been practicing EE program using Laura’s meditation audio every evening for more than a month now (with 3 exceptions) and I’ve sensed most of the things that have been described here (toothache, pain in legs and neck, problem with excessiveness of saliva, tingles in extremities,…) Unfortunately (or not, it remains to be seen :)), I haven’t seen/felt any of “big” emotional blockages been broken (am I doing something wrong or I’m just not “there” yet, I don’t know; I have some working hypothesis of mine but I’m leaving it for The Swamp, if I ever get there :)). Only thing that could be related with that, happened on Friday night during POTS meditation part of the exercise, when my eyes, just by themselves, were pouring tears. I was a little bit surprised and pleased by this at the same time.

Well, the thing that I want to ask is this:
Has anybody tried EE program together with posture of the sage?

The position of the body has given me most of the problems that I’ve encountered during practicing EE. I’ve realized that, when “switching” from beatha part to POTS meditation, my legs/thighs/ankles hurt like hell and are totally numb after cca 40 min spent in yoga cross-legged position (especially the lower one). So I’ve tried putting them flatly in front of me, but because I avoid using chair during practice (I prefer leaving my back free and trying to keep it as straight as possible) there appears a trouble with tension in them and with balance too, so I lose focus from breathing correctly to finding right body position.

Last night I tried doing EE while in posture of the sage. Well a sort of a posture of the sage, because I modified it by putting a cushion beneath me on the 25 cm high stool (I’m a little bit skinny and bony type, so my coccyx and other nearby bones just wouldn’t feel happy spending so much time on flat-hard surface :)).
And again I had difficulties with my legs. To be honest, I haven’t really figured out, from Mouravieff’s description, how exactly should they be placed while in this posture. I’ve searched the forum and found that others had encountered same problem. http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=8180.msg58483#msg58483

Mouravieff, Gnosis I, p.20
The intimate dependence of the Personality on the physical body, in
which it resides and functions, leads logically to the conclusion that one
must act through the latter to discover it, study it, and finally act on it. That is
why all mental exercises require physical training. The principle is
general; its application nevertheless varies and depends on the method of
the esoteric teaching. In the present essentially psychological method,
physical training is reduced to the absolute minimum, but we cannot
altogether do without it. We shall limit ourselves now to giving sufficient
information — if followed — to enable us to resolve the first problem of
physical training: to find the most suitable body posture for these mental
exercises. Millennia of experience show that only a single posture meets this
need. Leaving details aside, the posture must place the head, the neck and the
spinal column in one single straight line—and this line must be vertical. Except in
certain special cases which will each require other precise instructions, this
rule must be strictly observed whether we are standing or sitting. Before we
begin the mental or psychological exercises, we must discover this posture
and familiarize ourselves with it. For Westerners who exercise at home,
the most practical way is to sit on a hard seat 25 to 35 centimetres high,
legs crossed, preferably right over left, palms flat and facing downward on
the knees. This is one of many variants of that posture traditionally called
the posture of the sage.
Here are some complementary indications: the muscles must be completely
relaxed, the head high and the shoulders naturally pushed back, the
waist curved in such a way that, viewed in profile, the spinal column would
present a slight convexity directed forwards.

So, could somebody give me an advice about this posture? Should my legs be in something like yoga cross-legged position, stretched out in front of me or something in between? I’m concerned about this because fulfilling properly the shoulders and palms/knees conditions depends on it (at least for me).

I’m aware that during pipe breathing and Warrior’s breath I can’t maintain posture properly, but during beatha part it’s possible. And my experience is that doing it together with beatha breathing, it just moves you totally out of your comfort zone and in new dimension of exercise. I also coughed a lot more than usually while doing EE program.
As I entered in some sort of routine with practicing EE, I’ve found that my thoughts/mind have been going/wandering “everywhere” (especially during beatha and POTS meditation part). Last night, after doing it in posture of the sage, during which my mind was focused on proper breathing and body position, I noticed that I was much more awake and focused while meditating. Also, I’ve sensed something new since starting with EE program. Immediately after pipe-breath preparation for meditation and during POTS part, my whole left side of the body felt like an empty cocoon/shell.

Is it altogether necessary to be concerned with body position or am I just complicating things?

Sasa

PS I’ve made one short comment/post in my introducing thread and I think that it just wouldn’t be fair to increase my post number (at this point) by making another one, so although this isn’t the proper place/thread and it’s one day overdue, I’ll write it here:
Happy anniversary Laura and Ark! Let your hearts resonate in Love/Knowledge/Light all the Time!

 

[Richs]

Is it altogether necessary to be concerned with body position or am I just complicating things?

I think you are complicating things more than necessary. Laura advises in the program that one should be comfortable and not attempt to stress oneself unduly.
I think most of us just do it in a way that is comfortable for us and consider position not so very important.

 

[henry]

Many traditions speak of the importance of the sage position. But for the EE breathing/meditation the advice has been to just be comfortable. Some people doing it standing, others lying on their backs, some in chairs, some in the lotus, half-lotus, or just cross-legged.

I have the same problem you do when I stay cross-legged for any length of time -- the numb feet and aching ankles. I started doing the breathing exercises that way, but after a few weeks, I tried it on a chair. Not sitting back against the chair, but sitting on the front edge, maintaining my back as erect as possible.

I would say it is more important to do it than to do it in a particular posture. If you are uncomfortable, then that is an extra reason not to do it. So be comfortable and see how it evolves over time.