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Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

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Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#91

It's remarkable that I so often lapse in my meditation practice when it's such a short time commitment and so consistently improves my mood. I tell myself that morning yoga is enough or a walking meditation while taking the dog out is enough - I do those every day without fail. But they're not the same as seated breath work. Why do other mood improvement habits seem more approachable, like making a cup of tea or exer…

http://files.howtolivewiki.com/.meditation_2015/transcripts/... This came out of an attempt to strip the core meditation techniques down to completely remove the mysticism, and adjust the practice cycle for long-term solo practitioners who are agnostic or atheist and can't lean on concepts like "The Buddha" or "Lord Shiva" (although I myself am Hindu.) The critical innovation is doing ten minute rounds of different p…

> who are agnostic or atheist and can't lean on concepts like "The Buddha" or "Lord Shiva" (although I myself am Hindu.)

Whoever can accept the Gödel's incompleteness theorems and still use math, doesn't mind games, simulations and usage of different dimensionalities and topologies, also can practice both visual and sensory imagination - is perfectly capable of believing in Buddha, Shiva, whoever and whatever for the duration of the exercise if they chose to. Blieving in a diety with certain characteristics, an embodiment of certain archetypes/feelings/intentions during the practice can do night-and-day difference in efficiency and precision of intentional nervous system regulation.

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#92
post #88

The swimming pools in my area of the world all have a 'cold tub' with water ranging in temperature from 6-10°C. On average I visit the pools roughly 2-3x per week and always spend around ~12 minutes (in 4 minute chunks) in the 'cold tub' doing controlled breathing. That, and plunging and holding my face in the cold water to try to trigger the mammalian diving response, has really had a positive effect on me (ofcourse…

Could you expand on the mammalian response, what exactly triggers it, and its benefits?

As it was explained to me (and from reading I have done), the mammalian diving response (which all mammals have but to varying degrees) works to preserve oxygen and energy expenditure when underwater.

For seals and other water dwelling mammals this is a controlled sophisticated mechanism that is deliberately used when underwater.

In humans it is a survival mechanism, triggered when the trigeminal nerve on our face gets submerged in water. And the colder it is the stronger the response seems to be.

Submerging one self in cold water up to your head seems to affect many parts of the human body, and in my case I am not sure which part it is that I am feeling the effects of. But it leaves me feeling more alert, awake and with less mindfog after doing an extended cold water dip (going to the pool without one in comparison leaves me sluggish).

Wikipedia has a good section on the response: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diving_reflex

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#93
post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it hard to believe that you have any interest in science with this comment. I like seeing studies like this that try to scientifically prove/show the benefits of techniques like cyclical breathing. It may be obvious to some, but I don't think it's obvious to everybody. The Indians might have discovered it and done it for thousands of years, but we don't do it. I'm not going to do something just because Native…

Oh I meant Indians from India, not native Americans. I wouldn’t call them Indians. Right? I like seeing studies like this that try to scientifically prove/show the benefit… I’m not attacking you or saying don’t read studies or that’s somehow not good for you. Tho I get how it could seem that way. The world can contain both things: your like of this and my criticism of the scientific establishment and public attitudes…

I don’t think many people consider science as a sole arbiter.

It is more a high bar arbiter. And that high bar is especially useful for human concerns when we (each of us individually) wade into unfamiliar territories that mix fact based things (health) with cultural beliefs or practices.

That feeling of “this is so obvious”? It is just a feeling. No smarter than any of our other fallible feelings.

Lots of obvious things, even obvious to billions of people, turn out to be false on closer inspection.

It is worth giving anything valuable the scientific treatment

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#94

I tried this humming thing some people are recommending, and I think it actually works. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH40wdhzUuM Its based on solid research - test groups that hum in the specific frequency were found to have increased their nitric oxide production a dozen or more times. Whereas control groups and groups that did the meditation in another frequency either did not produce any different amount or com…

Do you have any sources on that research? Sounds very interesting

The youtube video has links to various ones in the description. But you have to follow the posts to get to the actual research. Here are some:

https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.200202-138...

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2362....

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343237144_Role_of_N...

https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.200202-138...

...

When you try doing it, you start noticing a strong smell that smells like early spring or the smell certain air purifiers make. This smell lasts as long as you keep humming.

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#95
post #76
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For what it's worth, the "faith in lineage" stuff doesn't require magical thinking and is pretty helpful. The downside of it from my perspective is it's just a lot of stuff to learn and a bit complicated to maintain in a Western cultural context. Plenty of people are making progress with more stripped-down approaches that rhyme better with the scientific worldview.

The main problem with « faith in lineage » is that it’s institutionalized argument by authority. It’s a giant bias.

It's more like "adopting the view that this will work," because doing that works. It's a pragmatic argument, in practice. Dogma certainly creeps in when you get away from practice into politics, but "bias" isn't a concern in awakening. It's all about what works.

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#96
post #36
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've heard meditation described as "motionless ju-jitsu with yourself". In the absence of any obstacle, the only opponent is you, but by definition you are equal in strength to yourself. So meditation can devolve into a heated evenly-matched contest of wills, which is extremely draining.

Very well said! Your comment reminded me of this video I saw a few years ago, "Understanding the Monkey Mind" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-JiQubfMPg When you stop fighting your monkey mind, your monkey mind becomes your friend and ally instead of your opponent or enemy.

That sound well and nice but there are usually laws to prevent you doing that.

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#97
post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you expand on the mammalian response, what exactly triggers it, and its benefits?

As it was explained to me (and from reading I have done), the mammalian diving response (which all mammals have but to varying degrees) works to preserve oxygen and energy expenditure when underwater. For seals and other water dwelling mammals this is a controlled sophisticated mechanism that is deliberately used when underwater. In humans it is a survival mechanism, triggered when the trigeminal nerve on our face ge…

I don't know if this related to this effect or not but I've noticed that it's much much easier holding your breath for a longer period of time when you're in a swimming pool than outside.

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#98
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As it was explained to me (and from reading I have done), the mammalian diving response (which all mammals have but to varying degrees) works to preserve oxygen and energy expenditure when underwater. For seals and other water dwelling mammals this is a controlled sophisticated mechanism that is deliberately used when underwater. In humans it is a survival mechanism, triggered when the trigeminal nerve on our face ge…

I don't know if this related to this effect or not but I've noticed that it's much much easier holding your breath for a longer period of time when you're in a swimming pool than outside.

Be careful to not push yourself and to never do breathing exercises with retention in water, the risk of fainting and drowning is real.

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#99
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know if this related to this effect or not but I've noticed that it's much much easier holding your breath for a longer period of time when you're in a swimming pool than outside.

Be careful to not push yourself and to never do breathing exercises with retention in water, the risk of fainting and drowning is real.

True, and we did it in 'pair': one is watching the other doing the static apnea, and then we swap roles.

Re: Brief structured respiration enhances mood and reduces physiological arousal

#100
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://files.howtolivewiki.com/.meditation_2015/transcripts/... This came out of an attempt to strip the core meditation techniques down to completely remove the mysticism, and adjust the practice cycle for long-term solo practitioners who are agnostic or atheist and can't lean on concepts like "The Buddha" or "Lord Shiva" (although I myself am Hindu.) The critical innovation is doing ten minute rounds of different p…

> Welcome to that there meditation class. I’m Vinay. This is intended as a private recording (and transcript) so please don’t stick it on YouTube. I will pass it around to people who should have a copy. I guess this technically wasn't stuck on YouTube...

And I am Vinay.
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