Passing Out

[SJones]

I am interested in this Yogic technique as I too have high blood pressure. Please elaborate!

[SmileySpirit14]

a yogic technique? i can make myself pass out in a lot of ways, but passing out kills A LOT of ur brain cells. what exactly is the tech?

u can probably obe while ur passed out. like do some breathing, and then an one technique then pass out. i gotta try that!

[Nay]

YIKES! I do not recommend anyone making themselves pass out!!

This does not sound like a very safe thing to do, please do not encourage others to try this.

Nay

[James S]

People,

Yoga is not something to dabble with, especially with regards to this kind of control over physical body functions. This kind of practice should not be done unless you've have a solid grounding in practice of yoga for some time. You should no more be trying to dramatically alter your blood pressure through yoga than trying to wrap both your legs behind your head with out spending the time needed to allow your body to become flexible enough to do it.

There are many meditation techniques that have their basis in yoga that will allow you to lower your stress levels, pulse rate, etc, in natural harmless ways, all of which will allow the natural lowering of blood pressure over time to what is considered a normal and healthy level.

To do so in a more deliberate way as is being suggested here, without the proper training, experience and knowledge of exactly what you are doing and why is dangerous and foolish. It could cause significant problems for your health such as tiredness, sleep disorders, and blackouts. Low blood pressure is NOT a healthy or desirable state of being, even for short periods.

Cameron,
In answer to your most pertinent question, what usefulness does this state have -  the answer is basically none whatsoever, in fact it would be completely counterproductive.
You do not want your brain to be shutting down at all to experience OBEs, in fact you need to be very much awake and alert, for this or any other practice that is for the purpose of achieving spiritual balance. The idea is to relax the body, not the brain.

The best state to attain is one of good health and good stable normal blood preassure so that you are able to lower your respiration and heart rate down to the rate you usually achieve while asleep. This allows your body to relax to the point where you become more or less unaware of it,which then helps you to detach your consciousness from your body.

Regards,
James.

[Cameron_]

The experience:
In my search for natural ways to lower my blood pressure, I discovered a yogic technique that works. It works so well in fact that I can bring my blood pressure down to the point of passing out fairly easily. When I am almost at the point of passing out, I have some interesting experiences. Any background sounds begin to fade and everything sounds very far off. I begin to see (with my eyes closed) various shapes and colors. The most common thing I have seen is a vibrant yellow donut shape. Sometimes I see poorly formed ghoulish faces and other stuff. My consciousness becomes fuzzy and when I recover, it sometimes takes me a while to remember what I have been doing. I have tried to count my heartbeats while in this state, but can't maintain my focus after my blood pressure drops below about 70/50.

My thoughts:
Even though I initially discovered this technique as a way to lower my blood pressure, I am wondering if there might be some way to use the state to enter into trance or maybe even have an OBE. I am obviously getting to a betwixt and between state of consciousness, so there is a similarity to trance and hypnogogic states. Also, I am experiencing some sensory withdrawal, potentially a useful thing.

My Question:
Well, I guess I already stated my question. I am wondering if there is any usefulness in this state. Is there some way that I can go from this state to an OBE or some kind of spiritual experience? Any ideas on how I can maintain my consciousness while my brain is on the edge of shutting down? Any ideas will be appreciated – thanks!