Éiriú-Eolas - Breathing Program

[celtic]

Maybe it will help to think about it this way: this is your life, you are here, and every single day you either move in one direction or the other. You either move toward more knowledge, understanding and discernment (and creativity) or toward more laziness of thought, dreaming and confusion (and entropy). Some days, you'll make strides just large enough for you to notice, in one direction or another. Other days you will swear you are standing still, though you're not.

Even on those days that it feels you are standing still, you are still moving in one direction or the other because there is no stasis.

So, with that in mind, even those 'standing still' days count - they count because if you can, even then, keep thinking (moving) in the direction of increasing creativity and away from increasing entropy, then you'll turn around one day and see how far you've come without having realized most of that journey took place. I think the point is to never lose sight of where you intend to 'go' - even when you're lost a bit in yourself and everything is foggy.

Keep doing the EE as often as you can. Don't beat yourself up when you miss it, but also try to push through and do it on those days you really don't feel like it. You're getting there.

I do have those days where I would wonder in a direction of creativity and understanding or I might wonder in entropy or laziness of thought. And I can lose my focus and lose hope in myself because I am wondering and I feel like I am behind on everything when this happens. But as you say I guess I have to have hope for myself because it won't be easy.

 

[anart]

I do have those days where I would wonder in a direction of creativity and understanding or I might wonder in entropy or laziness of thought. And I can lose my focus and lose hope in myself because I am wondering and I feel like I am behind on everything when this happens. But as you say I guess I have to have hope for myself because it won't be easy.

If it helps at all - how can you be behind when you're who you are and doing the best you can? There is no 'behind' - there is only effort and learning. Celtic, read back through your posts since you've joined this forum and I have no doubt that you'll notice an increasing clarity of thought and expression. We can all be our own worst obstacles, so try to not be so hard on yourself. fwiw.

 

[Nienna]

I do have those days where I would wonder in a direction of creativity and understanding or I might wonder in entropy or laziness of thought. And I can lose my focus and lose hope in myself because I am wondering and I feel like I am behind on everything when this happens. But as you say I guess I have to have hope for myself because it won't be easy.

If it helps at all - how can you be behind when you're who you are and doing the best you can? There is no 'behind' - there is only effort and learning. Celtic, read back through your posts since you've joined this forum and I have no doubt that you'll notice an increasing clarity of thought and expression. We can all be our own worst obstacles, so try to not be so hard on yourself. fwiw.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with anart, here, celtic. Your progress is quite noticeable from when you first joined this forum. And the fact that after "losing hope" in yourself, you still came back and have restarted the EE says quite a lot about you. You are not a quitter. You really do want to stay the path of creativity.

And even when you feel you are standing still, or even moving backwards, do not take this to heart. Sometimes we hit a plateau and are digesting and integrating the things we have learned to that point. Be gentle with yourself and, as anart said, keep your intent/aim on moving on the path of creativity.

Also, remember that when you have the negative thoughts about not being good enough or that you are a failure, this is your predator speaking and it is afraid of the progress you are making, afraid that you will eventually be able to control it, instead of it controlling you. If this whispering in your ear of what a failure you are becomes really strong, then that is a sure sign that you are actually making headway and the predator is fearing, greatly, it's loss of control over you.

fwiw

 

[Gawan]

I do have those days where I would wonder in a direction of creativity and understanding or I might wonder in entropy or laziness of thought. And I can lose my focus and lose hope in myself because I am wondering and I feel like I am behind on everything when this happens. But as you say I guess I have to have hope for myself because it won't be easy.

And even when you feel you are standing still, or even moving backwards, do not take this to heart. Sometimes we hit a plateau and are digesting and integrating the things we have learned to that point. Be gentle with yourself and, as anart said, keep your intent/aim on moving on the path of creativity.

I agree with Nienna here, sometimes there is a kind of "standstill" because things have to be digested first.

Also what I'm doing sometimes is, when I feel this kind of standstill or emptiness I sit down and do some simple breathings and close my eyes to get in touch whatever it may be and after I took the time for this feeling, I felt much better, even released.

As Anart said don't push yourself when you don't find the time doing the program. When I'm lacking time, or also getting tired already I do everything in half the time, that means instead of 12 breathings at the first and second stage of pipebreathing I'm doing 6 breathings and in the last stage 3. Then follows the warrior breath with 1 or 2 rounds and after that about one round of beatha-breathing (slow-fast-faster) and last but not least the meditation.

I'm also sometimes still pushing myself and even blaming, when I'm already too tired and I cannot make it anymore for EE, but the question I'm asking then myself, who will and is blaming me? Where then only one answer is left, myself and the predators mind. ;)

 

[zim]

This evening I had an irresistible urge to drift off into dreamland during the ba-ha section. Dreamy thoughts were carrying me away. The round breathing is so relaxing! I'm not sure if such dreaminess actually qualifies as zoning or not. Whenever I came back the breathing was still happening though.

So when I breath in I must do like Im trying to take my nasal fluid to my throat? Although I dont have any nasal fluid but just the feeling??? So in that moment I feel my throat have to be contracted ?

What works for me is this: just before I'm about to breathe in I contract my throat as though I am about to swallow. Maintaining the constriction as I breathe in, the air feels cool in my throat. In comparison, I cannot feel the passage of air in my nostrils, almost as though I am not breathing in through my nose.

On breathing out, I do the same again: contracting my throat as though I am about to swallow, then I maintain the constriction while I exhale. This type of constriction does not produce the 'haaaa' sound, so, keeping the pre-swallowing constriction, I make the 'haaaa' sound. This alters the shape of the throat and shape of the constriction and for me at least produces a good stimulation of the vagus nerve.

How do I know if Im stimulating my Vagus Nerve do I have to feel dizzy?

 

[Gawan]

How do I know if Im stimulating my Vagus Nerve do I have to feel dizzy?

Actually no, as far as I'm aware of, did you breath with the counting (6 in, 2 hold, 9 out, 2 hold ...)? You will feel a certain clarity in your mind and it is easier to focus on something, also when you take your time for example for the 3-stage breathing, you will feel more and more relaxed.

So when I breath in I must do like Im trying to take my nasal fluid to my throat? Although I dont have any nasal fluid but just the feeling??? So in that moment I feel my throat have to be contracted ?

I don't know if this has been already suggested, but what helped me a lot learning to pipebreath was the suggestion to clean some glasses/spectacles (to put some moisture on them).

 

[seek10]

Not much good to update. After what seems to be 2 or 3 weeks of good progress, I seems to have lost a lot of what I gained with some serious coordinated psychic attack from inside predator, sleep attacks, attack in office which related to my self importance to be 'not to be unjustly criticised ' , lying that I am in control of my self before sleep ( which derails me from doing the POTS before sleep ). I hate this time loop. I never seems to be learning the lesson from these attacks. I

am getting back to the controlling thought loops of narcissistic revenge, doing POTS before the sleep. The Desire to do any real WORK related projects kicks endless negative introject emotions, which is augmented by the external influences and slowly destroying the mental defences, discerment of which negative emotion( is mine or external) and perpetuating the loop. I will get back in controlling the thought loops and feeling the while doing POTS again.

 

[Mountain Crown]

Hi zim,

A few notes:

The slower the count, the greater the stimulation.

Observe the feeling in the back of your mouth when exhaling. The more the force of breath is felt at the level of the tongue or higher, the less the stimulation, because the glottal opening is larger and letting more breath to pass into the mouth.

As much as possible, try to keep the feeling of the exhaled breath in the larynx itself. Using imagination greatly enhances work done in this area - something like picturing the breath as a ball surrounding the glottis, or whatever comes to mind.

The breath is normally resisted by a downward movement of the larynx when singing or speaking. The laryngeal-depressor muscles function simultaneously with the muscles which raise the soft palate. If one imagines smiling in the back of the mouth, the larynx will lower with ease and may assist for greater vagal stimulation.

 

[Tina]

So when I breath in I must do like Im trying to take my nasal fluid to my throat? Although I dont have any nasal fluid but just the feeling??? So in that moment I feel my throat have to be contracted ?

Yes, that's the idea. Or, the way it feels just before you snore through the throat, not the nose.

[quote author=Gawan]
I don't know if this has been already suggested, but what helped me a lot learning to pipebreath was the suggestion to clean some glasses/spectacles (to put some moisture on them).
[/quote]

The moisture on glasses is for the out breath, Zim is asking about the in breath I think. :)

 

[Rhys]

Hi Zim

I don't know if this is helpful to you, but worrying too much about the process may be hindering you - making you think that your method "doesn't feel right". Part of this exercise involves finding the constriction 'sweet spot' through trial and error and taking note of the psychological and physiological effects - the changes are very noticeable and you don't have to breathe in a particular way for very long to tell if it is working or not. Relaxing into the process and having some faith in yourself will go a long way towards helping you find your method IMO. We are all built slightly differently! You may even find that you have already found it and never realised - maybe its a case of "not seeing the wood for the trees" :)

Good luck!

 

[aragorn]

The breath is normally resisted by a downward movement of the larynx when singing or speaking. The laryngeal-depressor muscles function simultaneously with the muscles which raise the soft palate. If one imagines smiling in the back of the mouth, the larynx will lower with ease and may assist for greater vagal stimulation.

I'm not quite sure what you're saying above. Are you suggesting that one should elevate the soft palate and thus depress the larynx? I really can't say how such a procedure would effect the vagal stimulation, but I can say that from my experience as a singer (who has tried many techniques, including the 'high soft palate'/depressed larynx technique - which nearly ruined my voice) that this kind of manipulation of the throat area WILL cause a lot of unnecessary tension in different muscles - including tongue, jaw and larynx. This is of course my subjective take on the subject, but I do feel that when I do the EE, as when I sing, I don't want any additional tensions anywhere if I can help it. I find that with minimum tension everything always works more smoothly and efficiently. IMO, just concentrating on the very subtle pinch in the larynx and imagining the nasal passage wide and extending all the way down to the throat will 'do the trick'.

Fwiw, some time ago I wrote this post, maybe some of you will find it helpful. :)

 

[Seamus]

I was wondering, is it Ok to skip the warriors breath section and go straight to the baha portion?

I tried the warriors breath but it's too loud so I went to the baha section... so 3 stage breathing, baha and then finally meditation/POTS.

I was also wondering, what is meant to happen whilst you are doing the whole thing? I noticed whilst I was doing the 3 stage breathing, I was just kinda relaxed and calm. My mind was surprisingly still - just blank, very very few thoughts as I was just focusing on the breathing.

When I started to do the baha, eventhough there was a break between the 3 stage and baha section because I realized I couldnt do the warriors breath as it just causes to much noise, I realised that certain part of my body started to tingle or buzz for a lack of a better word - towards the end of the baha this buzzing actually felt quite overwhelming. It was certain areas of my face, my hands and legs. I also felt like I was sucked into my head and my body kind of felt like 1, like I couldnt really feel the different parts. Then I went onto the meditation/POTS part, where I lied down and again, I was fully conscious listening to the music and the prayer of the soul, but during the music part my mind was kind of blank but not as blank as the 3 stage breathing, I kept thinking about stuff, however it was different from just lying there normally as at the end I realised I couldnt feel where my hands were lying, like the became very very light. Anyways, that is how it went.

Uhmm, I am also wondering, how regularly should one do the EE? I want to start a regular schedule! How many times a week?

Hi luke wilson,

Congratulations for trying EE! I'm glad you had such a positive experience.

You might want to read the Eíriú-Eolas - Guide/FAQ. This may answer many of your questions about the technique. If you still have questions after reading the FAQ, you should direct your EE related questions to the Éiriú-Eolas - Breathing Program thread. There is a great deal more material on that thread.

Uhmm, I am also wondering, how regularly should one do the EE? I want to start a regular schedule! How many times a week?

My understanding of the current recommendation is that it is most important to practice POTS each night before you go to sleep, and you should do some pipe breathing whenever you are feeling stressed during the day (doesn't have to be 3 stage). Stretching, three stage breathing and warriors breath are recommended for first thing in the morning any day, as it is energizing and a nice way to start the day. It is recommended that we practice EE in its entirety twice per week to start, as the Beatha portion is quite powerful. Some people try for Mondays and Thursdays.

It is also my understanding that it is ok to break the program up, you don't have to do it all at once. So you might do the stretching, three stage breathing and warriors breath in the morning, the Beatha portion of the program in the afternoon and the POTS/meditation part just before bed time.

Hope this helps! Mods please step in and correct me if I am off base.

Hi Seamus,

Ok, what do you mean by practise POTS.. Prayer of the soul.. How do I practise this?

Excuse my ignorance.

Hi luke,

I am moving this discussion to this thread so that others can provide input and benefit from any discussion that follows. By practice POTS I mean that you should recite the prayer to yourself a number of times as a form of seeded meditation. I believe Laura gives directions in the audio (to paraphrase) to listen to her reciting the prayer of the soul and to say the words in your head as she says them to help you memorize the prayer and to synchronize the recitation of the prayer with your breathing. The next time you practice the full EE program, pay attention to the directions Laura gives in between the Beatha portion and the Prayer of the Soul portion and she will answer your question better than I can.

Hope this helps

edited for redundancy and to add:

If you have questions about meditation you should review these threads:
The Role of Meditation in the Work
WHAT IS MEDITATION??

 

[zim]

How do I know if Im stimulating my Vagus Nerve do I have to feel dizzy?

Actually no, as far as I'm aware of, did you breath with the counting (6 in, 2 hold, 9 out, 2 hold ...)? You will feel a certain clarity in your mind and it is easier to focus on something, also when you take your time for example for the 3-stage breathing, you will feel more and more relaxed.

So when I breath in I must do like Im trying to take my nasal fluid to my throat? Although I dont have any nasal fluid but just the feeling??? So in that moment I feel my throat have to be contracted ?

I don't know if this has been already suggested, but what helped me a lot learning to pipebreath was the suggestion to clean some glasses/spectacles (to put some moisture on them).

Hi Gawan

I have felt dizzy after the pipe breath so I think Im doing wrong.....but Im working on it, thanks for your comments ;)

 

[zim]

Hi zim,

A few notes:

The slower the count, the greater the stimulation.

Observe the feeling in the back of your mouth when exhaling. The more the force of breath is felt at the level of the tongue or higher, the less the stimulation, because the glottal opening is larger and letting more breath to pass into the mouth.

As much as possible, try to keep the feeling of the exhaled breath in the larynx itself. Using imagination greatly enhances work done in this area - something like picturing the breath as a ball surrounding the glottis, or whatever comes to mind.

The breath is normally resisted by a downward movement of the larynx when singing or speaking. The laryngeal-depressor muscles function simultaneously with the muscles which raise the soft palate. If one imagines smiling in the back of the mouth, the larynx will lower with ease and may assist for greater vagal stimulation.

Hi Jerry

To picture in my mind I attached a picture showing the part I think I must move in my mouth when I do pipe B, are this correct ?

 

[luke wilson]

Hi, there are 220 pages here and maybe the answer to my question is somewhere in here but 220 pages is to much to go through.

Is it ok to do the 3 stage breathing then baha then meditation/pots having skipped the Warriors breath section...?

Also when doing 3 stage breathing and Baha, I was in a sitting position, then when it came to the meditation and POTS section I stood up and went to lie down. So there was this break inbetween. Is this ok?