Wildest thing I read lately in Michael Pollen’s How to Change Your Mind was that breathing in a certain way can induce a trip similar to consuming lsd.
Curious--is this hyperventilation, a la Wim Hof?
Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
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Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#62Wildest thing I read lately in Michael Pollen’s How to Change Your Mind was that breathing in a certain way can induce a trip similar to consuming lsd.
Welcome to yoga :-)
Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#63From a book I read years ago:
"a 1987 survey of cardiac arrests at the Menninger Clinic (quoted with great regularity in Rodale Press's various publications) reported that all heart attack victims represented in that survey sample were high chest breathers"
As opposed to belly/abodminal breathers. I can't find the actual survey though.
Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#64I feel like the Wim Hof method ought to be mentioned here. It is imo the fastest and most direct route to understanding what this article is talking about.
I tried Pranayama for some time, but found it to be very complicated to follow for 20 minutes at a stretch. In contrast, the Wim Hof method was very easy to follow. The feeling of increased energy, and the absence of nasal congestion for a certain period afterwards, was instant. Wim Hof also claims long-term benefits. The only drawback I felt was a kind of nervous energy which made it slightly harder to focus on a lo…
> The only drawback I felt was a kind of nervous energy which made it slightly harder to focus on a long piece of text etc., similar to having too much coffee in one go.
Circulate it through the Microcosmic Orbit to balance it. You're driving too much energy up to your head. You need to bring it back down.
Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#65I had a nasal problem that I didn’t know about until I tried breath right strips. Wearing those things was life changing for me. I felt like a different person and honestly can’t believe I spent my entire life not realizing I had a problem. Eventually got it fixed permanently, but yea...breathing is huge. EDIT: The problem I had was called Nasal Valve Collapse. It’s something that happens in much older people, but es…
Thanks for posting this. I've experienced something similar. My nasal passages have almost always been swollen since I was 11-12. Most ENTs I'd seen over the last 15-20 years have completely failed to provide me with relief. Earlier in 2018 I visited an ENT who noted that my turbinates were "absolutely massive" and the rest of the nasal passage was swollen.
Sometimes the swelling would affect the rest of my airway and I'd feel like I couldn't take even a moderately deep breath. I'd be rushed to the ER but the doctors couldn't find anything other than an elevated heart rate (and some immediately went to their go-to diagnosis of it being stress or a panic attack). After going through that about 10 times, I got a good doctor who told me: "oh dear, you're actually choking." But then, things like hereditary angioedema were ruled out, and the cause remained elusive. I later discovered I could control my symptoms with diet.
I'm now looking into having somnoplasty to reduce the size of my turbinates, but it's unclear whether doing so will simply shift the problem to another narrow point of my swollen nasal passage.
I appear to have lost some kind of cosmic lottery because I also have severe digestive issues and must follow a very strict diet (which also reduces the airway swelling). As you touched upon, it is very hard to accept that you spent most of your life not being able to be yourself. I know I spent most of mine in a subdued fight or flight mode due to the chronic strain on my basic bodily functions. It's been a cruel existence thus far and I can't wait for the day I can rid myself of this torture definitively (my plan for fixing my problems is getting closer to fruition and I've had some success with some of the measures I've tried).
Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#66Earlier quoted context omitted.
It makes perfect sense, but it's worth noting that there are plenty of safer exercises for beginners that will improve core and posterior chain. Think glutes bridges, dead bugs, planks, Pallof press, etc. Some people jump straight to the big compounding lifts (because they are amazing for building strength) with no guidance from a trainer or much care for their form. You deadlift or squat heavy wrong and it's extreme…
This is FUD, basically. Yes, don’t start squatting and deadlifting without learning how to do it properly. Yes, start light, you only have one spine and two knees. No, it is not “extremely easy” to injure yourself if you show a modicum of good sense and avoid max lifting. I agree with GP that squats and deadlifts will improve posture in a relatively short period of time. They are among the best exercises, period, for…
There is a trend among pro trainers to do single leg work under less weight rather than massive squats and deadlifts. See for example Mike Boyle's great book where he describes his methods for training athletes: https://www.amazon.com/Functional-Training-Sports-Michael-Bo...
Edit: grammar
Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#67From a book I read years ago: "a 1987 survey of cardiac arrests at the Menninger Clinic (quoted with great regularity in Rodale Press's various publications) reported that all heart attack victims represented in that survey sample were high chest breathers" As opposed to belly/abodminal breathers. I can't find the actual survey though.
But why not mention the book's title. Oh look it's 'Path Notes of an American Ninja Master' - https://books.google.be/books?id=sTTzcNwWqPUC&lpg=PA62&ots=I...
Plenty more great quotes to be had in that book, for sure...
Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#68I had a nasal problem that I didn’t know about until I tried breath right strips. Wearing those things was life changing for me. I felt like a different person and honestly can’t believe I spent my entire life not realizing I had a problem. Eventually got it fixed permanently, but yea...breathing is huge. EDIT: The problem I had was called Nasal Valve Collapse. It’s something that happens in much older people, but es…
On a similar note, my mother was recently diagnosed with Silent Sinus Syndrome [0]. She had been having vision issues for a while, and it surprised her whenever they figured out it was due to the collapse of her sinus cavity. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_sinus_syndrome
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Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#69I had a nasal problem that I didn’t know about until I tried breath right strips. Wearing those things was life changing for me. I felt like a different person and honestly can’t believe I spent my entire life not realizing I had a problem. Eventually got it fixed permanently, but yea...breathing is huge. EDIT: The problem I had was called Nasal Valve Collapse. It’s something that happens in much older people, but es…
I am curious why it is so important to breath through nose during aerobic exercises? I succeeded very well in different high intensive kinds of sport like boxing and sprint running, and always breathed using mouth..
Re: Proper Breathing Brings Better Health
#70From a book I read years ago: "a 1987 survey of cardiac arrests at the Menninger Clinic (quoted with great regularity in Rodale Press's various publications) reported that all heart attack victims represented in that survey sample were high chest breathers" As opposed to belly/abodminal breathers. I can't find the actual survey though.
But why not mention the book's title. Oh look it's 'Path Notes of an American Ninja Master' - https://books.google.be/books?id=sTTzcNwWqPUC&lpg=PA62&ots=I... Plenty more great quotes to be had in that book, for sure...
Like the part where he recounts his Kundalini awakening experience? Yeah, that blew me away. Even more when I realised it was real... Oh, and look, he triggered it - like many yogis - with breathing techniques...