Comment by konaraddi | Hacker News Reader

Comment by konaraddi | Hacker News Reader

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.

* There are such things as harmful breathing patterns so it's important to seek the guidance of experts to avoid them.

* The simplest breathing exercise that's easy to do right without an instructor is to observe the breath as it is.

I've made a conscious effort to observe the breath randomly throughout the day and it has a calming effect. These past few days have felt good. Observing the breath before sleep has made it easier to fall asleep.

FWIW, the verses also mention that, as far as being serene is concerned, pranayama is a short term solution to a long term problem (and the gist of Upadesa Sara is on the long term solution but I digress).

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 expand. It seems to release the tension/anxiety that I'm holding in my chest better.

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

thank you for the recommendation, looking at it now

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.

> I'm prone to anxiety, and find myself hyperventilating often. Is this what you mean by "harmful breathing patterns"?

I meant "practicing breathing exercises incorrectly" (and I see now that's what I should've written in the first place, thanks for pointing that out). Upadesa Sara doesn't expand upon what it means to practice breathing exercises incorrectly or mention what the side effects are. Much of Upadesa Sara is concise so much is left up to the reader to reason or learn about.

After I read your comment, I spent too much time thinking about how I breath (whether thru the belly or chest) and started breathing weird haha. After a few hours, I figured out that I mostly breathe through the belly. I think. Anyways, genuinely happy to hear you found something that works for you.

I once ended up intensely enjoying my breath through the night (Did not sleep). I don’t recommend it. I wonder if that’s a type of discouraged breathing.

I’ve found box breathing to be useless at best. There are better alternatives in Nestor’s book

> I've made a conscious effort to observe the breath randomly throughout the day and it has a calming effect.

If and when you’re able to, do attend a free 10-day introductory Vipassana meditation course (see dhamma.org for locations and schedules). The practice starts with observing the breath, and then moves on from that.

This course requires the participants to be silent for the 10 days, and has some other restrictions too. Some people find that impossible to deal with. So do consider that and also any emotional or mental health issues/barriers that may be a deterrent to participation.

> Observing the breath before sleep has made it easier to fall asleep.

Every night when I go to bed, I deliberately slow my breathing.... I find that it immediately gets me into a meditative state and more likely fall into a hypnagogic state

Conscious breathing and conscious hearing are both techniques for practicing mindfulness (some kind of meditation). It's really overwhelming how it can calm your mind, when practiced regularly.

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