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One hour of slow breathing changed my life

theguardian.com

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Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#151
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. The purpose of science is to discover the truth, not make the truth. You don't science to confirm everything before you try it. With things like breathing where you know it's not going to cause harm, just try it for yourself.

The problem is that you're biased - confirmation bias, expectation bias, selection bias, optimism bias, observer expectancy effect, the list goes on - and you end up learning all things except the truth.

As long as it does something beneficial who cares after all what the bias is? Placebo may play a role in it but once again, what do we care about here, whether something is beneficial or whether it can be explained why it is beneficial? For some the former and for some the latter, ofc depending on perspective.

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#152

I started reading his book Breath , and he made the starting claim that, in essence, you could choose to be either energetic or restful by picking one nostril to breathe out of for awhile. (Naturally we breath out of one nostril at a time, and the body goes back and forth, but "it's a balance that can also be gamed"). I found this claim a bit... suspicious, and Googled, and didn't find much scientific evidence for th…

With a lot of these things I would highly recommend to just try it. If it works for you, good. If not, don't do it. It doesn't cost anything and you won't harm yourself. I started yoga before it became mainstream and with a lot of the practices I tried them for myself. For example I noticed that some pranayama practices work for me and others don't. Back then pretty much every "serious" scientist or doctor would have…

A truly practical approach that can be stretched/applied to other fields of life, including business, relationships, etc.

+1

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There’s an entire practice around this stemming from yogic philosophy called nadi shoodana —alternate nostril breathing—the theory essentially says doing this can regulate different male and female energies in the body, which are both responsible for different things, including energy levels (hyper vs relaxed). I can’t personally attest to any of the deeper claims of the theory, but I have used the alternate nostril…

Gender is a social construct.

Society is a social construct. Gender was here way before society. Gender is biological.

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#154

I started reading his book Breath , and he made the starting claim that, in essence, you could choose to be either energetic or restful by picking one nostril to breathe out of for awhile. (Naturally we breath out of one nostril at a time, and the body goes back and forth, but "it's a balance that can also be gamed"). I found this claim a bit... suspicious, and Googled, and didn't find much scientific evidence for th…

There’s an entire practice around this stemming from yogic philosophy called nadi shoodana —alternate nostril breathing—the theory essentially says doing this can regulate different male and female energies in the body, which are both responsible for different things, including energy levels (hyper vs relaxed). I can’t personally attest to any of the deeper claims of the theory, but I have used the alternate nostril…

If anyone else was confused (I was and had to google), the practice of alternate nostril breathing entails physically obstructing alternating nostrils with a finger as you take breaths.

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#155
post #100

I have found breathing exercises to strengthen my diaphragm hugely helpful for acid reflux. I lie down with weights on my abdomen and breathe from the diaphragm for about 10 minutes a day. I’ve been able to stop PPIs completely by doing this regularly.

Where do you put the weights? Do you have any additional information about this?

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#156
post #115
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

70-80% of adults have a alternating congested nostril https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_cycle https://www.rhinologyonline.org/Rhinology_online_issues/2018...

Congested doesn’t mean fully blocked right?

There are different degrees of congestion from light to fully blocked. When I was 14 I was 80% congested until i turned 20. I had to have some nose drops or I’d be lightheaded from poor breathing.

What solved it? A trick that an old doctor told me to do. With one hand hold with thumb on the soft palate and another finger (index or ring) on the forehead where the nose meets the forehead in a grip. Then jiggle the grip. The skull is made out of bones that are not fully connected so a jiggle does move the bones around and releases differential pressure in sinuses. That fixed me

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#157
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that you're biased - confirmation bias, expectation bias, selection bias, optimism bias, observer expectancy effect, the list goes on - and you end up learning all things except the truth.

As long as it does something beneficial who cares after all what the bias is? Placebo may play a role in it but once again, what do we care about here, whether something is beneficial or whether it can be explained why it is beneficial? For some the former and for some the latter, ofc depending on perspective.

As long as it does something beneficial who cares after all what the bias is?

I do. I hate being wrong about stuff.

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#159

This article is very relevant to what I've recently experienced. I haven't experienced the sweating but I've experienced the serenity that follows controlled breathing. I'm reading an English translation of Ramana Maharshi's Upadesa Sara with commentary and verses 11-14 talk about controlling the breath (pranayama). A few relevant points made in those verses: * Controlling your breath can help quieten the mind. * The…

I'm prone to anxiety, and find myself hyperventilating often. Is this what you mean by "harmful breathing patterns"? I've tried the "box breathing" with little luck, but have adapted a version where the exhale is 2-3x longer than the inhale. (inhale for 2 seconds, hold it a couple seconds, exhale slowly for 4-6 second, hold again). I've also found better luck at inhaling into my belly, instead of letting my rib cage…

I find that chest breathing increases my anxiety and whenever I am stressed I find myself breathing shallow breaths through the chest. As soon as I notice that I can slowly make it go away by breathing slower and deeper and just taking a short break from whatever I am doing.

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#160
post #100

I have found breathing exercises to strengthen my diaphragm hugely helpful for acid reflux. I lie down with weights on my abdomen and breathe from the diaphragm for about 10 minutes a day. I’ve been able to stop PPIs completely by doing this regularly.

Do you have more info on this? I’ve suffered from GERD for a long time now and have found ways to mitigate the effects but this seems like an interesting potential treatment.
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