One hour of slow breathing changed my life • Hacker News Board

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#71

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 8:55 PM UTC

dcuthbertson wrote: post #46

impendia wrote: post #32

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…

> Naturally we breath out of one nostril at a time I don't understand how anyone can make that statement with a straight face. Unless one nostril is blocked, we use both simultaneously. There's no balance to be gamed.

[deleted]

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#72

Post by getpost » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 8:56 PM UTC

impendia wrote: post #32

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…

I haven't tried the one nostril approach except briefly in yoga class, but you can control your energetic/restful activation level by controlling the length of inhalation and exhalation.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201...

"Box breathing" https://quietkit.com/box-breathing/

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#73

Post by isbjorn16 » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 8:57 PM UTC

ivank wrote: post #49

dcuthbertson wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Naturally we breath out of one nostril at a time I don't understand how anyone can make that statement with a straight face. Unless one nostril is blocked, we use both simultaneously. There's no balance to be gamed.

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

It's weird how much we take for granted without ever expecting it to be different for others. I thought you guys were just screwing with me re: having an alternating congested nostril. Like, I only experience that during severe nasal congestion, and it seems mostly to stick with one side or the other depending on which side I'm laying on.

It never even occurred to me that people would experience something like that _all the time_!

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#74

Post by saghm » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 9:00 PM UTC

ivank wrote: post #49

dcuthbertson wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Naturally we breath out of one nostril at a time I don't understand how anyone can make that statement with a straight face. Unless one nostril is blocked, we use both simultaneously. There's no balance to be gamed.

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

Yep, I've always had this. I knew it wasn't super uncommon, but I had no idea that I was in the majority!

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#75

Post by twox2 » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 9:00 PM UTC

givan wrote: post #51

All Europe has gone mad about breathing exercises. For four or five years I have made money by treating people who had ruined their breathing by such methods! Many books are written about it, everyone tries to teach others. They say: "The more you breathe, the greater the inflow of oxygen," etc., and, as a result, they come to me. I am very grateful to the authors of such books, founders of schools, and so on. If, fo…

So how do you recommend a layman improve their breathing without fucking themselves up? Is it so complicated that we can't do it on our own without professional help?

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#76

Post by PascLeRasc » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 9:00 PM UTC

betenoire wrote: post #54

konaraddi wrote: post #15

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…

Try Headspace guided meditations if you haven't already. Many of them focus specifically on controlled breathing using your stomach.

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#77

Post by dcuthbertson » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 9:01 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #52

dcuthbertson wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Naturally we breath out of one nostril at a time I don't understand how anyone can make that statement with a straight face. Unless one nostril is blocked, we use both simultaneously. There's no balance to be gamed.

That's not actually true. If you research it, you'll find that most people's nostrils alternately dilate and contract (the tissues reduce/swell). Most of us breathe primarily through only one nostril at a time, and it switches approximately every half hour. This is entirely unconscious and we're generally not aware of it. There is a little bit of airflow in the constricted nostril, but nowhere near comparable to the…

Thank you and the others who replied. I learned something new today.

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#78

Post by twox2 » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 9:03 PM UTC

controversy wrote: post #45

vl wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the article he says he inhales for 5.5 seconds, then exhales for 5.5 seconds.

Have to watch when applying this. I was dehydrated and in the ER. Very stressed. I hate needles and giving blood. Had to do that. Then had a sit up, stand up test. Stated to panic. Counted. Then started to pass out.

Are you saying you got dehydrated and had to go to the ER as a result of this breathing exercise?

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#79

Post by e40 » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 9:07 PM UTC

dcuthbertson wrote: post #46

impendia wrote: post #32

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…

> Naturally we breath out of one nostril at a time I don't understand how anyone can make that statement with a straight face. Unless one nostril is blocked, we use both simultaneously. There's no balance to be gamed.

That is totally not correct. I thought I was an anomaly until I heard a podcast by the Breathe author. I've noticed it for years, but I always attributed it to allergies (I attribute everything anomalous to them, because they are such a huge influence in my life).

What is totally confusing is what causes the flip from one nostril to another. I have no idea what the mechanism is.

Re: One hour of slow breathing changed my life

#80

Post by frereubu » Tue, Jul 28, 2020, 9:09 PM UTC

jniedrauer wrote: post #34

I wonder every time I see things like this whether more conventional exercise will also do the same thing. I'm a recreational runner, and as I become more fit, I notice that my body is capable of entering deeper and deeper states of relaxation. When I go to sleep at night, my breathing and heart rate slow to rates that I never could have sustained before getting in shape. Being conscious and in control of my breath i…

There's a great book called Bird Therapy - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43804073-bird-therapy - where the author talks about how birdwatching helped enormously with his mental health. He talks briefly at one point about two runners who "birdwatch" while running, and who find the same kind of meditative peace that he does from a long walk with birdwatching points along the way. I've only just started trail running, but I find the mix of nature and running definitely multiplies the benefits of exercise and meditation rather than just adding together. (That is, if there aren't too many people around - I live in a relatively crowded part of the country unfortunately, so despite being surrounded by lovely countryside there are often quite a few people about!)