A lot of tension and tingling in the face when trying to AP?

[rangestormer]

Hey guys, I am a newbie at AP and OBEs. I started trying about 2 months ago, and soon after I started, a problem occured. Once I get my body to relax, about 5-10 minutes into my session, I start getting a lot of tension and tingling in my face. It is a very strange feeling, it feels like the tension is moving around my face from the inside, trying to get out.  It is not that I am scared of this, but the feeling does interfere with my attempts to relax the body and focus my mind. I have tried to relieve this feeling in the same way I manage to relax my whole body, but the more I focus on this tingling, the more stronger it becomes. Has that hapenned to anyone?

[NoY]

its very common
its sometimes called cobwebs
I belive its when your energybodys start to seperate. it can drive you to distraction but its something your going to have to just put up with

you may find it gets easyer over time

:NoY:

[Xanth]

Hey guys, I am a newbie at AP and OBEs. I started trying about 2 months ago, and soon after I started, a problem occured. Once I get my body to relax, about 5-10 minutes into my session, I start getting a lot of tension and tingling in my face. It is a very strange feeling, it feels like the tension is moving around my face from the inside, trying to get out.  It is not that I am scared of this, but the feeling does interfere with my attempts to relax the body and focus my mind. I have tried to relieve this feeling in the same way I manage to relax my whole body, but the more I focus on this tingling, the more stronger it becomes. Has that hapenned to anyone?

Sometimes I'll get some tension in my face as I'm sitting/lying there... rarely happens though.
But if it does, just try to work through it... try stretching the various muscles in your face.

Apart from that, don't "focus" on it.  Focusing on it is the exact opposite of what you want to do.  Just work through it without giving it too much attention.

[rangestormer]

The thing is it seems it is not a normal reaction like with the other muscles, so stretching does not work. It feels just like energy on the inside, wanting to get out and it moves around a lot. That is why I wanted to clarify if anyone has felt it. I am getting used to it, so I hope it will not distract me anymore.

[Stookie]

Yeah, if you keep up at it, it will eventually go away. It takes a while to become accustom to all the small and new sensations that arise when learning to AP. Eyes fluttering and muscles twitching and itching and things like that are very common at first.

[horaciocs]

Does it affect only your face? Try and take it to your whole body, you might approach the vibrational state rather quickly. It might feel strange / unconfortable at first, but give it a try. Don't fight it, encourage that feeling to go through your body and try to calm your mind.

[rangestormer]

I just tried AP-ing, I was relaxed, no tension at first. I tried separating by the rope method, and the moment I started the tension came. The more I was "climbing the rope" the more I felt it to the point that it was something behind my whole face that was trying to pass.

[bardips]

how aware of your body are you at that stage?  it sounds like you need to get into a much deeper trance.  what does your trance feel like?

do more trance-work.  you'll eventually get a wake induced AP if you keep trying.

in the meantime, i recommend that you do exit techniques every night before you fall asleep.  it will increase your odds of getting out during sleep...

[bluremi]

Saw this topic and wanted to post that I had this same problem and had my own solution for it:

When I'm practicing I usually get the sensation of very focused tension or tingling near my nose or forehead, kind of like when you've been frowning and wrinkling your brow for too long and the muscles get sore or pulled.

If I was patient this sensation would sometimes randomly dissipate, and it would be like someone flicked a switch and the tension melted away like magic. This is a very distinct sensation, nothing subtle about it. Even if you're not aware of this tension when it disappears you notice it by its sudden absence. It would only happen sometimes, though, and randomly.

Then I found that I could relax parts of my brain, the parts right beneath the tension, and it created the same result. I would also almost immediately start to feel sleep paralysis symptoms. It seems removing this tension acts as a trigger for exit symptoms. Obviously I'm not releasing physical tension in my brain, since there are no muscles in the brain, but the mental effort and imagery are a good proxy for what you're actually doing.


The way I relaxed the tense parts was to imagine a pair of small hands massaging that part of my brain. At the same time I would imagine the section relaxing, and I would simultaneously let go of the tension. This last part is very difficult to describe, it's something you have to lie down for a couple of sessions and experiment with until you figure out what it feels like. You could compare to a wrestling move (stay with me here): if you're trying to pull someone towards you and they're resisting, if you suddenly switch direction and push them away they generally go flying. That's kind of what this feels like, you're releasing the tension and almost pushing it away.

Hope this helps someone...

[rangestormer]

Thanks for you input, bluremi! I still haven't been able to AP, and it seems that if I don't get the sensation, I am simply not focusing enough to project and I fall asleep. But whener I am focused, and I start feeling some paralysis in my hands and then rest of the body, the tension in my face appears and ruins everything. I will definetely take your advice and practice this.

[NickisDank]

Yes the past few times I've attempted I've had weird random Body itches, and also some muscle twitching. And sometimes i feel like my eyes are flattering, why?

[Naykid]

These sensations are normal.  It is damn hard to ignore but I believe it's your mind trying to see if your body is asleep. 

[bluremi]

But whener I am focused, and I start feeling some paralysis in my hands and then rest of the body, the tension in my face appears and ruins everything.

When you lose sensation of your body the last thing to go is usually your head, specifically the eye and forehead region. With so little sensory input that area tends to draw your attention and becomes very sensitive. Instead of thinking it as tension that appears and ruins everything, think of it as a sign that you are getting close to totally losing sensation of your body. This tension is always there, you are just becoming aware of it as you make progress.

When I feel this tension it's usually after I've been lying still a while and relaxing, and when it appears it means I'm at the next "stage." It's impossible to do the hands and "brain relaxation" trick until I get to this stage, it's very distinct and doesn't work unless you're suitably relaxed, physically and mentally.

Yes the past few times I've attempted I've had weird random Body itches, and also some muscle twitching. And sometimes i feel like my eyes are flattering, why?

When I get very close my eyelids sometimes start to flutter. I'm not sure why this happens yet, need more research. My working theory is that they capture your attention and create a feedback loop: you sense your eyelids, they twitch involuntarily, you feel the twitch and become even more aware of your eyes, they twitch even more, etc... I managed to pass through this roadblock today by staying very calm and not getting discouraged. I relaxed my mind first, and then calmly followed suit by relaxing my eyes. In a minute or two they settled down and I could move on.

I think this requires some considerable practice, and I can't be sure yet if the eye-fluttering is a necessary stage you must pass through or if it represents nothing more than an unfortunate hiccup you sometimes encounter during a practice session.

One thing that definitely seems to be working is to relax my mind first and foremost, before attempting to deal with any tricky twitches or tension. If you're bending your will towards achieving something it becomes impossible, but if you mentally shrug and try to capture that care-free mental state as you are falling asleep at the end of a long day, you can relax right out of these problems very easily.

[Stookie]

Good advice bluremi.

In my experience, it goes away with practice. Over time, you become much more accustom to being in a trance state and the feelings either diminish or they are so normal you don't notice them. It just takes practice getting used to a new state.

Also, don't think you have to lay 100% completely still for success. I frequently scratch or clear my throat if I have to. If you're comfortable in a relaxed trance state, it shouldn't effect it much, if at all. And if you're not there yet, it's good to get rid of what's making you uncomfortable rather than try to suffer through it.

[Naykid]

Also, don't think you have to lay 100% completely still for success. I frequently scratch or clear my throat if I have to. If you're comfortable in a relaxed trance state, it shouldn't effect it much, if at all. And if you're not there yet, it's good to get rid of what's making you uncomfortable rather than try to suffer through it.

That is very true, I move very slowly though.  Once I reached up to scratch and it was my astral arm that came up.  This morning I was having issues with coughing I guess because of the ragweed floating around and the little itches, so I gave up.