feels hard to breathe when trying to astral project - please help

[mizugori]

For people who don't want to read my whole explanation, the essential problem I am having is that I lie down in the dark, it is quiet and I am comfortable and the temperature is fine, I clear my mind and relax my whole body, then I start to feel my body less and less, which seems like progress to me? But then I start feeling like I have to make more of an effort to breathe in and out, and I start panicking that I can't breathe, very strange and unexpected. Now, I don't have any breathing problem that I am aware of, I am young and in good health overall, and I did not have any fears or concerns about breathing going into this.

I have tried a few more times since this first happened but every time I get to where I am totally relaxed and start to feel my body less, I have the same problem - seems like it requires more and more effort to breathe, and once I notice it I get scared, I have tried trying to calm down and just go with it but eventually I just kind of freak out and lose my cool. At that point I do a kind of full body twitch (picture if you threw water on someone sleeping what would happen) and then I am back totally connected, there, awake, etc. I can't really explain why I do this twitchy thing, it just SEEMS like the right way to re-establish a firm connection with my entire body when I get panicky.

Can anyone help me understand what is going on and how I can get past this sticking point?

MORE BACKGROUND:

I have been studying astral projection on and off for over a year now. I don't try to do it every single day. However, over time, I have gotten better and better at the initial phases of clearing the mind and relaxing, etc. Usually what happens is I get totally relaxed and calm and start to feel my body less, then I fall asleep before I really get to trying to actually astral project. One time I was trying the lift-out technique and I did feel like my perspective was changing and lifting away from my body, starting from my feet and working up, almost like peeling a sticker off of something, but I got "stuck" when I reached my head.

Then I read online that the lift-out technique is really hard and not great for beginners, and I read somewhere about envisioning an astral vehicle, charging it mentally with energy, etc. and I decided to try that method. I tried this several times (or I intended to, but I fell asleep every time before I got to the part where I should start envisioning the astral vehicle.)

About a week and a half ago, I was at the point where I was totally relaxed, still awake for once, and ready to start envisioning an astral vehicle. But before I could start, the breathing issue I described above occurred.

Please help! Thank you!!

[Szaxx]

Whwn you're asleep your body carries on looking after itself on autopilot. While you are in the process of an attempt you sense less and less of your physical vehicle. This is the handover to autopilot mode. You eventually may hear yourself snoring as the vehicle is sleeping. You're awareness is still active and not connected to the body. If you realise this two things can occur.
You accept it as the start of thoughts beginning to manifest and create a visualisation to enter or similar. Or do as you have done, panic and return to the controls. A large step backwards.
Ignore the physical as much as possible and when this effect is noticed, think on the purpose of projection.
Your body does this every time it sleeps. Allow it to occur and don't fight it..

[Astralzombie]

It sounds to me like you may be suffering from a mild form of sleep apnea. At it's severest sleep apnea does pose major health risks but rarely in healthy young adults.

Sleep apnea is generically described as a condition in which the inflicted can have "attacks" (usually while sleeping but not necessarily) or bouts of being unable  to breathe but it can also be brought about when someone becomes so engrossed in a subject that they forget to breathe. Not to worry though, healthy young people are generally very fine and healthy enough that it is almosst always a  non-issue with them.

Be safe and good luck.

[Xanth]

Trust in your body.  You're body has been auto-breathing for you while you sleep all your life.
What's generally going on is that you're becoming consciously aware of the falling asleep process.
You're usually unconscious by the time this occurs... the first step is the relaxation of the physical body, this when your body is beginning to completely relax.  This can consciously feel like a lead blanket being put on top of you and, if unexpected, can feel like something is weighing down on your chest. 

The only way around it is to realize what's going on and remain relaxed.  The more you experience it, the more you'll be able to recognize and remind yourself. 

[Lionheart]

 I have the same thing. I have read that many people meditate/phase by concentrating on their breathing. Concentrating on my breathing makes me hyper ventilate.

So, to rectify that, I do the exact opposite. I totally lose any sense/focus on anything my physical body is doing and turn my focus completely inward or outward.

It took awhile of practicing to be able to do this because you need to have 100 % belief that your physical body will be ok. Just knowing that I go to sleep every night and already do this unconsciously was proof that everything would be ok. 

[mizugori]

still struggling with this..

[Astralsuzy]

I have not read what the others said so I could be saying the same thing.   I only read your thread heading.
I always meditate and I have never had a problem with breathing.    I keep breathing and then when a vibration happens I forget about breathing.  I just stay relaxed.   I have never thought about breathing so I had to think about why it is not a problem for me.

[Lionheart]

still struggling with this..

Keep going. It takes longer than 4 days to overcome this.

It took me weeks and still today when I am at the brink of a shift, my physical body will take a very deep breath. I just passively observe this and stay the course.

Many times after I encounter that last deep breath, I sense a new level of relaxation flowing through me.  

[Bedeekin]

I spent months worrying about my breathing. Like I would separate and be overly concerned about what my lungs were doing.. because they sure as hell weren't doing it right when I was perceiving myself floating 5 feet the the left while embedded in my bedroom wall. I mean.. I don't feel myself breathing.. but I do... but when I try to inhale I am fighting it and I can't move. I got over it completely when I found out what SP is doing to the body.

When you enter this state all your bone connected muscles (striated muscles) are essentially paralysed... not so they are numb... just so you can't voluntarily move them. All your vital functions that luckily don't require your conscious participation such as your blood vessel valves, digestive system, heart and BREATHING are - like Szaxx said - taken care of and aren't striated muscles so therefore aren't effected by the paralysis.

We use two systems to breath. Our rib cage and our diaphragm. The rib cage uses muscles called the intercostal muscles.. basically your 'spare rib' meat. These are there so we can extend our lung capacity to take deeper breaths when exert ourselves. These are bone connected and paralysed during SP. This is what gives the sense of constriction and sometimes a dragging a sinking feeling or one of being pushed down... or sat upon - giving cause for tales of demons sitting on the chest.

Your diaphragm isn't bone connected and during REM (SP) is on automatic pilot. Its doing its own thing.. keeping you alive while your outer chest cavity is paralysed.

If you watch anyone while asleep... notice how they breath from the diaphragm.. and also notice that when they wake and their striated muscles kick in they normally take a deep breath or sigh. (Coincidentally you can trick yourself into thinking you are ready for SP by breathing from your diaphragm and copying your sleep based breathing rhythm; record yourself sleeping so you can find out your breathing rhythm, then simply imitate this while you practice. Works a treat.)

Once you start fighting your breathing you will stay grounded physically... just let go.

[Astral-Trea]

I have the same thing. I have read that many people meditate/phase by concentrating on their breathing. Concentrating on my breathing makes me hyper ventilate.

So, to rectify that, I do the exact opposite. I totally lose any sense/focus on anything my physical body is doing and turn my focus completely inward or outward.

It took awhile of practicing to be able to do this because you need to have 100 % belief that your physical body will be ok. Just knowing that I go to sleep every night and already do this unconsciously was proof that everything would be ok. 

Maybe this is something different but..

I have gone through phases of this where i almost cant sleep because everytime I start to drift off i swear it feels like all breathing stops. Not trying to project but just relaxing getting into that threshhold between sleep and awake, I feel that suffucation feeling but when i come back and breath again, I am not out of breath. I mean I feel almost positive that I am not breathing but eventually i end up falling asleep and wake up the next day still alive lol. It does feel like a heaviness on my chest preventing the automatic breathing from working.

Maybe next time I will try to ignore it and see what happens. Its very scary though cause it really feels sorta like you are dying. I thought also it was some sort of sleep apnea but like I say, it comes and goes i phases and only lasts about two weeks.

[Lionheart]

 I agree, it is scary.

But this is what happens when you are shifting your focus to the NPR, while still trying to hold on to it at the same time.

Your breathing is just becoming "automatic". But because you don't sense it, because of your shifting, you get scared that it's not even there. Once again showing that link to your body.

You have to get into your NPR focus so deeply that you don't think of your physical body at all. This takes a lot of practice to do. But, you will overcome this. 

[Astralsuzy]

Maybe next time I will try to ignore it and see what happens. Its very scary though cause it really feels sorta like you are dying. I thought also it was some sort of sleep apnea but like I say, it comes and goes i phases and only lasts about two weeks.

You said it, ignore it.   That is the thing to do.   Do not pay any attention to it or worry about it.   Just forget about it and you will be fine.