Re: MED: Probable Breathing cure to CFS

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much for this simple summary.I am trying it. I have a question

though...

In a message dated 99-11-29 21:05:21 EST, you write:

The basic technique is very simple....

1. Set in a relaxing chair with a clock visible..

2. RELAX, breather in and out gently with MOUTH CLOSED

3. After EXHALING, pinch your nose (keeping mouth shut) as long as you

can COMFORTABLY... [No discomfort]

4. record the time.... [it SHOULD be 50-60 seconds.... with CFS, expect

10-20 seconds ]

NOTE: you should not hold a breath IN.... this is done after you have

exhaled!

Easy? This time is called your 'Control Pause'... or 'CP'

the exercise is simple: do this and then shallow breath relaxing in the

chair for 10 minutes, and repeat CP (trying to hold for 5 seconds

longer.....) , do this 2 or 3 more times and THAT IS YOUR EXERCISE in all...

Ok, so after the CP test and 10 minute regular breathing, you try to hold for

five seconds longer than your CP after an exhale. Got that. And then do you

regular breath *again* for ten minutes before each of the next two times you

try to hold longer? or do you just do you only do the 10 minute regular

breathing the once after the original CP? If you don't mind explaining (I

understand if you do), why do you have to wait ten minutes to do the rest of

the exercise?

Also, do you have to be sitting up? Can you lay down? or recline at least?

Does it mention how important it is to sit up?

Thanks!

B.

Repeat 4 times a day (before each meal).... improvements should occur in 5

days or less.... >>

[Guest guest]

After doing a control pause, the idea is Relax your breathing (shallow

breath - not deep breaths) ... thus being in any comfortable chair is fine,

I use a Ekornes 'Stressless' (perfect name for the purpose).... it should

be 'upright' -- but I suspect this may be modified if needed...

A few variations that I have started to do, while walking I exhale and then

take a couple of steps before inhaling again (not continuously - just

occasionally) ....

actually just came back from a 6 km walk/jog ( alternating between .5 km

walk and then 1 km jog)... and was very surprised that I had no problems

keeping my mouth shut while jogging and shallow breathing.... [i was in

recovery already]

I find that I have to fight a psychological/conditioning urge to 'take a

deep breath' -- and yet shallow breaths are sufficient whil jogging....

Will try to get a couple of pages up on it (and links ) tonight and will

email when it is done...

----- Original Message ----- > From: WeebsterCA@...

>

> Thanks so much for this simple summary.I am trying it. I have a question

> though...

>

> In a message dated 99-11-29 21:05:21 EST, you write:

>

> The basic technique is very simple....

> 1. Set in a relaxing chair with a clock visible..

> 2. RELAX, breather in and out gently with MOUTH CLOSED

> 3. After EXHALING, pinch your nose (keeping mouth shut) as long as

you

> can COMFORTABLY... [No discomfort]

> 4. record the time.... [it SHOULD be 50-60 seconds.... with CFS,

expect

> 10-20 seconds ]

>

> NOTE: you should not hold a breath IN.... this is done after you have

> exhaled!

>

> Easy? This time is called your 'Control Pause'... or 'CP'

> the exercise is simple: do this and then shallow breath relaxing in

the

> chair for 10 minutes, and repeat CP (trying to hold for 5 seconds

> longer.....) , do this 2 or 3 more times and THAT IS YOUR EXERCISE in

all...

>

> Ok, so after the CP test and 10 minute regular breathing, you try to hold

for

> five seconds longer than your CP after an exhale. Got that. And then do

you

> regular breath *again* for ten minutes before each of the next two times

you

> try to hold longer? or do you just do you only do the 10 minute regular

> breathing the once after the original CP? If you don't mind explaining (I

> understand if you do), why do you have to wait ten minutes to do the rest

of

> the exercise?

>

> Also, do you have to be sitting up? Can you lay down? or recline at least?

> Does it mention how important it is to sit up?

>

> Thanks!

> B.

>

> Repeat 4 times a day (before each meal).... improvements should occur in

5

> days or less.... >>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi , and all!

asked:

>>If you don't mind explaining (I

>> understand if you do), why do you have to wait ten minutes to do the rest of

>> the exercise?

, I am wondering the same thing. I tried the exercise today, but

got impatient because all those ten minute breaks add up! If you do the CP

and then five exhales with ten minutes between each one that puts you at 40

minutes...and then to do that four times a day is really much more than I

can handle, unfortunately. Does the book say if it is important to wait a

full ten minutes between each one, or can you just relax a bit until you

are comfortable with doing the next one? Also, do you add five minutes for

each successive exhale, or just stay at the " five minutes more than the

first time " time?

BTW, my ex-boyfriend is a yoga teacher and he does a lot of exercises where

you hold your breath " out " like that. He laughed when I said a " non-CFS "

person should be able to start at 50-60 secs, as that has not been his

experience. So none of us should feel bad if this exercise is hard for

us!! He says it is always challenging for his students and also for him.

One reason why i found this exercise so interesting (and heartening!!) is

that I had noticed my body had already been doing this automatically when I

meditate. I used to worry about it, but I guess perhaps when I focus on my

breathing it allows my body to " make its own decisions " and it does a

pretty good job sorting itself out. I didn't hold my nose, though, and

I've found it harder to do while holding my nose, so perhaps I was sneaking

tiny wafts of air before. ;-)

Since it is hard for me to do the exercise for so long, I am thinking of

just trying to get in the habit of relaxing and doing one CP and maybe

another exhale after that whenever I think of it throughout the day. Any

problems with that?

Take care!

Corina

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Like to read? Check out BookChat, my online reading group for PWCs and

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[Guest guest]

In a message dated 99-12-01 11:43:07 EST, you write:

<<

Has anyone heard of holotropic breathing or rebirthing? I achieved a

remission from this breathwork. Back in 1993 I was trying all sorts of

alternative healing modalities. I did breathwork for probably 3 months

and got well!

That is soooo great to hear! Very inspiring to hear " got well " stories!

I recently did some variation of this within a counseling situation - I

thought she had called it rebirthing breathing, but I found it to be quite

nasty and couldn't tolerate it. I had the constant sensation from my body

telling me to 'PLEASE STOP HYPERVENTILATING! YOU ARE EXHAUSTING US! " The

therapist described me to use the same breath you describe - no pauses,

circular breathing, fully expanding the lungs and exhaling them, but quickly!

I thought it might just be an emotional block that was coming up, but it

seemed that my body just couldn't tolerate this. The therapist said people

have emotional stuff come up, but generally their bodies don't feel

uncomfortable with the prodecure. We decided it must be a prob. with my cfs.

Breath seems so vital and I'd love to find something that works for me. I'm

a little unclear how this style you describe is different. It does sound

milder, as you say not to use any force or control to keep the unbroken

circle breathing going, yet I dont get it...It seems to inherntly take force

to overide the natural stimulus to shallow breath, and to pause, which would

be more natural breath. I tried what you described, best I could, but I

wans't sure how fully expansive are the lungs supposed to get? Complete?

Medium? Shallow? If I make myself do anything besides shallow breath, it

seems to involve force. Can you help me here? it also feels extremely

uncomfortable to not take a pause. Is that normal?

Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Has anyone heard of holotropic breathing or rebirthing? I achieved a

remission from this breathwork. Back in 1993 I was trying all sorts of

alternative healing modalities. I did breathwork for probably 3 months

and got well!

This breathing technique is as follows: Lie on back comfortable and

warm. Can put on very pleasant music, preferrably no lyrics. Begin where

you are with your breath cycle and work to achieve a full use of your

lungs by filling them fully up and letting the air all the way out

without forcing it. It's best to breath in and out by your nose only. If

you're too plugged up, breath in and out through your mouth.

Think of your breath cycle as a perfect unbroken circle and direct your

breath to gently, without any force and control, to breath in and exhale

with the smoothness of a full circle. Easy effortless but connected. No

pauses. Breath this way for at least thirty minutes. Begin to notice

whether your belly rises and falls with each breath. Develop your

breathing apparatus to open and allow the breath to be moved by the

abdomen rather than constricted by a stop at the chest level.

I actually would practice this once or twice a week for at least an

hour, and no more than 75 minutes. However, that level of oxygenation

also moves emotional blockage and sometimes you may have feeling come

like tears or laughter. Don't be afraid. Your emotional body is also

being scrubbed clean. I did my sessions with a rebirther to work through

any emotional issues as they came up.

Anyway, be clear that you must not hyperventilate. Don't rush, push or

force anything. You are sending your body a constant stream of oxygen by

increasing your breathing to not hold any pauses.

Sheri

[Guest guest]

There is no specific CFS protocol in the book - I just grabbed the 'mild

asthma' one since asthma is often caused by a mycoplasma infection [which I

believe that most (but not all) CFS cases are]. Other protocols have 5

minutes between and as few as one cycles....

At this point (until I can digest/research more), I would (not medically

opinion) suggest you do 1 CP, 5 minutes of shallow breathing and 1 CP + 5

seconds... increase cycles as you are fit....

This is my #1 priority today (apart from listening to the live WTO

protest/arrest reports on the local channel)...

I've started a page at http://www.folkarts.com/idef/breathing.htm where I

will consolidate instructions AND links...

check it this evening....

..... I like your idea of doing CP throughout the day... Teressa book is

focused on working around people with a busy normal life (thus getting 10-30

minutes to work on this is a challenge) - for many of us, we can do it

throughout the day...

Oh, the '5 days to a cure' does not mean you are cure in 5 days -- it means

that you can learn to breath correctly in 5 days, and the healing may then

start.... although with CFS I would expect significant improvement to show

with 1-2 weeks...

Ken

Re: MED: Probable Breathing cure to CFS

> From: Corina <corina@...>

>

> Hi , and all!

>

> asked:

> >>If you don't mind explaining (I

> >> understand if you do), why do you have to wait ten minutes to do the

rest of

> >> the exercise?

>

> , I am wondering the same thing. I tried the exercise today, but

> got impatient because all those ten minute breaks add up! If you do the

CP

> and then five exhales with ten minutes between each one that puts you at

40

> minutes...and then to do that four times a day is really much more than I

> can handle, unfortunately. Does the book say if it is important to wait a

> full ten minutes between each one, or can you just relax a bit until you

> are comfortable with doing the next one? Also, do you add five minutes

for

> each successive exhale, or just stay at the " five minutes more than the

> first time " time?

>

> BTW, my ex-boyfriend is a yoga teacher and he does a lot of exercises

where

> you hold your breath " out " like that. He laughed when I said a " non-CFS "

> person should be able to start at 50-60 secs, as that has not been his

> experience. So none of us should feel bad if this exercise is hard for

> us!! He says it is always challenging for his students and also for him.

>

> One reason why i found this exercise so interesting (and heartening!!) is

> that I had noticed my body had already been doing this automatically when

I

> meditate. I used to worry about it, but I guess perhaps when I focus on

my

> breathing it allows my body to " make its own decisions " and it does a

> pretty good job sorting itself out. I didn't hold my nose, though, and

> I've found it harder to do while holding my nose, so perhaps I was

sneaking

> tiny wafts of air before. ;-)

>

> Since it is hard for me to do the exercise for so long, I am thinking of

> just trying to get in the habit of relaxing and doing one CP and maybe

> another exhale after that whenever I think of it throughout the day. Any

> problems with that?

>

> Take care!

> Corina

>

> --

> ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

> Like to read? Check out BookChat, my online reading group for PWCs and

> their friends! Http://www.angelfire.com/bc/bookchat

>

> > This list is intended for patients to share personal experiences with each

other, not to give medical advice. If you are interested in any treatment

discussed here, please consult your doctor.

>

[Guest guest]

Sheri -- you are hitting the same nail as Hale... she is directly

attacking hyperventilation aka overbreathing - the item that you emphasised

at the end ... is on the shallow breathing approach since 'filling

the lungs' properly is difficult for most individuals to learn!

The mental and emmotional impairments of CFS are identical to that seen

with acute mountain sickness ... so your reported improvement there is what

you should expect....

Cool,

Ken

----- Original Message -----

From: Jerry <sheri.clark@...>

> Anyway, be clear that you must not hyperventilate. Don't rush, push or

> force anything. You are sending your body a constant stream of oxygen by

> increasing your breathing to not hold any pauses.

>

> Sheri

>

[Guest guest]

The type of breathwork you were practicing in the counseling office is

the better known version of rebirthing. This work is done to move

emotional and mental stoppage. Sometimes the therapist asked you to

breath more quickly, to pant or breathe faster, etc. I do not recommend

that at all for us. The whole body/mind/spirit gets opened out anyway.

Healing breathwork should not be laborious. The circular breathing does

feel unnatural, but is key to the practice. We're mostly used to holding

our breath momentarily at the end of the endbreath. There the goal is to

roll smoothly into the exhale. You want to develop a breathing habit

that fully opens the breath capacity, but not by pushing it to the very

end of the inbreath or outbreath. So do what is comfortable and causes

no strain. The longer you relax with this gentle process, allowing your

breath circles to be as big or small as they are, your breathing will

expand gradually. You can't hurt yourself by not doing it perfectly,

only by forcing and working too hard can you get dizzy.

The natural stimulus to shallow breath is actually learned. Watch

babies. They belly breath. The breath can be changed. I used to breathe

into my chest and coudn't understand how to let the breath come all the

way into the belly. It's only an artificial holding pattern which can be

retrained. Force will not retrain breathe patterns. It's not something

you can understand your way to success with. The key is allowing the

body to relax and open. It is really easy once you feel it. No mystery

at all.

Lie on your back and rest for 2-5 minutes just allowing your breath to

work as normal. Pay no attention to your breath at all. Begin to relax

all over. Notice your neck and relax it. Allow your shoulders to come

down if they're scrunched up. Notice what small muscles you may be

straining, perhaps around the mouth or eyes. Really go lose and limp all

over like a rag doll. You're giving yourself completely over to the

surface that supports you. Don't make a big exercise out of this. Just

take a few minutes to really let go and relax.

Now begin breathing, at the same pace you've been breathing without

conscious awareness. You turn your attention to your breath, but not to

change it. At the regular pace finish your first in or outbreath with no

effort, giving yourself plenty of air to make the top of your breath

stay connected as you visual the gentle arc created by your breath

pathway going from in to the outbound arc. Don't try to use the full

lung capacity before you make the circle. Have plenty of air to

transition from out to in or in to out.

You may want to make an air sound as you breath in and sigh out, gently

breathing through at the same speed. Just get comfortable with gentle

circular breathing and stay present to observe the process in a calm,

detached way.

After awhile, if you're at all lightheaded, stop. Begin when better and

see where you are pushing it. Let it go some more as you smooth any

rough spots from your circle. This is more a feeling of surrender rather

than a concerted effort. Begin to observe where the body is rising and

falling with your breath. Is your chest going up and down, but not the

belly? Or vice versa? There are two ways to breathe. Singers know about

the diaphragm and belly breathing as do yogis and meditators, and many

atheletes. Chest breathing is common, but some body types do breath in

the belly naturally (that's another story). Of course the fuller, belly

breathing is more healthy, invigorating and calming.

Have you ever seen one of those visuals where you have to relax your

eyes to see the three dimensional image in the many lines? Learning to

belly breath is like that. You relax the body and mind opening the

possibility of moving the air deeper into your body. This type of

breathing is not only healing, but also very good for the nerves and

state of mind. It's really not at all difficult.

Hope this helps,

Sheri