I tried breathing as slowly and deeply as I comfortably could, and got 2 minutes 20 seconds for four full breaths without much effort. And I’m not even very athletic. Maybe I should try to keep it up for 10 or 20 minutes to see if there’s any trouble.
ETA: 11 breath cycles in 6 minutes, then I got bored. It’s very deliberate breathing, filling my lungs as much as possible with each inhalation, but doesn’t feel uncomfortable in any way.
I tried breathing as slowly and deeply as I comfortably could, and got 2 minutes 20 seconds for four full breaths without much effort. And I’m not even very athletic. Maybe I should try to keep it up for 10 or 20 minutes to see if there’s any trouble.
You can do 2 minutes 20 seconds for ZERO full breaths reasonably comfortably. :P
Count to 10 and back, curl 1 finger. When all 10 are curled, I begin uncurling. A full curl-uncurl cycle takes about 25 minutes for me, and is a good substitute for an alarm, I think. Little less stressful & abrupt at the end.
2 actually is possible. I have even achieved it and that was without excessive training. At least, as I discovered later, without excessive training while I was awake. On a related note it is also possible to sustain 1 breath per 50 meters while running.
With both of the above it isn’t a matter of mere psychology. The changes may have to occur down to the physiological level, along similar lines to altitude training. The oxygen absorption of the blood itself is altered.
… two breaths per minute doesn’t seem sustainable.
I tried breathing as slowly and deeply as I comfortably could, and got 2 minutes 20 seconds for four full breaths without much effort. And I’m not even very athletic. Maybe I should try to keep it up for 10 or 20 minutes to see if there’s any trouble.
ETA: 11 breath cycles in 6 minutes, then I got bored. It’s very deliberate breathing, filling my lungs as much as possible with each inhalation, but doesn’t feel uncomfortable in any way.
You can do 2 minutes 20 seconds for ZERO full breaths reasonably comfortably. :P
It isn’t, but 4 is.
ETA: I have a string of meditation beads, 108 beads long. If I use it to count breaths, it takes more than half an hour.
Oh, that’s a good idea. I’ve been wanting an excuse to make something like that for a while. But it does seem to contradict the keeping-still-ness.
What I do is curl fingers.
Count to 10 and back, curl 1 finger. When all 10 are curled, I begin uncurling. A full curl-uncurl cycle takes about 25 minutes for me, and is a good substitute for an alarm, I think. Little less stressful & abrupt at the end.
I guess I have the same question—how does this interact with the priority of keeping still?
I’m not sure. I’m very much new to it. I don’t seem to notice any major difference between when I use an alarm and the finger curling.
2 actually is possible. I have even achieved it and that was without excessive training. At least, as I discovered later, without excessive training while I was awake. On a related note it is also possible to sustain 1 breath per 50 meters while running.
With both of the above it isn’t a matter of mere psychology. The changes may have to occur down to the physiological level, along similar lines to altitude training. The oxygen absorption of the blood itself is altered.