Do I need to do this technique or am I better off doing progressive relaxation

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luffy28

Hi,
I'm reading a book called Navigating the OBE and I wanted to know if I should do this technique or just do progressive relaxation?

I'm on chapter 4 of the book and it this is a quote from it I typed up

Deep Breathing Technique
Good for: Everyone, but especially those new to relaxation techniques
Consistent full breathing has a tangible effect on the body, resulting in a
deep level of relaxation. It is the single most powerful way to relax and
relieve stress; therefore many of the processes I describe include some
degree of breath work. To begin to understand the relationship between your
level of relaxation and your breathing, here is a simple technique.

Step 1: Find a comfortable place and sit down. I recommend a posture
that you know you can sit in for an extended period without loss of
circulation or discomfort. While many people attempt to go straight into
the lotus posture or other yogic asanas (postures), this can be
counterproductive when learning, because if the posture becomes
painful, you will not be able to continue or benefit from what you are
doing.

Step 2: Now focus on your normal breathing rhythm. Dont try to adjust
or slow your breath at this point; just become aware of the natural speed
and depth at which you normally breathe. Continue until you feel
totally at ease and comfortable with this level of calm stillness.

Step 3: Now take a deeper breath and exhale naturally and comfortably.
Continue breathing in deeply and exhaling deeply until it becomes
second nature.

Step 4: Continue as in step 3, but now hold the breath for a few seconds
longer. Use this moment of stillness on the in-breath to imagine your
state of awareness growing and your tensions vanishing. Let the breath
out slowly. Continue like this, but begin to gradually slow your
breathing.


Step 5: Find a natural, deep, slow in-and-out tempo. You may want to
count the seconds so that it is easier to gauge how long the complete
cycle takes. By counting in this way, you may also find that you can
slow the breathing cycle even more, with practice. If you find counting
a distraction, simply trust your intuition with regard to the length of the
cycle and slowly build from there. The goal is simply to reach a state of
deep, slow breathing, which will result in a deeper level of relaxation
and calm.

I need to know in regular English what these five steps are because the language / writing confuses me.

Thanks.

Xanth

Heya Luffy!

It's seems pretty straightforward, but let me see if I can simplify the wording.

It seems to be all about focusing on your breath and slowly, over a short period of time, increasing how deep you breathe in and out.

Step 1: Find somewhere you won't be interrupted.  Sit comfortably.

Step 2: Breathe normally, focusing on the air coming into your mouth and into your lungs.  Do this for, probably 10 minutes or until you feel a sense of relaxation begin.

Step 3: Now, instead of breathing normally, you're going to begin breathing in a bit deeper.  For example if you breathe out 4 seconds and in 4 seconds... then you're going to, at least, double that to 8 seconds in and 8 seconds out.  Keep doing that until it becomes a relaxing experience.  (I usually find deep breathing to be VERY relaxing :) )

Step 4: Now, as you breathe in, you're going to add a 4 second (or however long you want) point where you're holding your breath.  So breathe in 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, then breathe out for 4 seconds.  This has an even further effect of further relaxation.

Step 5: Work on further deepening those breathes... focusing entirely upon the air coming into your lungs and then exiting your lungs. 

You're essentially using the air as a focus for your attention.  The more you can bring your entire awareness to your breath, the deeper you'll get.  :)

Does that help?

luffy28

Quote from: Xanth on October 09, 2020, 16:35:54
Heya Luffy!

It's seems pretty straightforward, but let me see if I can simplify the wording.

It seems to be all about focusing on your breath and slowly, over a short period of time, increasing how deep you breathe in and out.

Step 1: Find somewhere you won't be interrupted.  Sit comfortably.

Step 2: Breathe normally, focusing on the air coming into your mouth and into your lungs.  Do this for, probably 10 minutes or until you feel a sense of relaxation begin.

Step 3: Now, instead of breathing normally, you're going to begin breathing in a bit deeper.  For example if you breathe out 4 seconds and in 4 seconds... then you're going to, at least, double that to 8 seconds in and 8 seconds out.  Keep doing that until it becomes a relaxing experience.  (I usually find deep breathing to be VERY relaxing :) )

Step 4: Now, as you breathe in, you're going to add a 4 second (or however long you want) point where you're holding your breath.  So breathe in 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds, then breathe out for 4 seconds.  This has an even further effect of further relaxation.

Step 5: Work on further deepening those breathes... focusing entirely upon the air coming into your lungs and then exiting your lungs.  

You're essentially using the air as a focus for your attention.  The more you can bring your entire awareness to your breath, the deeper you'll get.  :)

Does that help?

Yeah.

Thanks.

I don't know but the wording of the book is confusing.