Somatic Vision

Sun 14 Dec 2014, 5:49 pm

Hello Ryan, All,

Long time no see!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I have been focusing on other techniques for quite a while, but just recently dusted off my Alive Clinical version and continue to be impressed at what a lovely piece of work it is, indeed!

Two questions about "optimal breathing rates.

How should this be adapted for Children, specifically a 9 year old (ADHD) little boy? Say the "idiot average" optimal
breathing rate for adults is approximately 10 seconds per breath or 6 breaths per minute. Is there the equivalent of this for various ages? Clearly the normal respiration rate for kids is faster than it is for adults. Does the breathing optimizer utility know or care how old you are? Do we work on the premise that smoothness is smoothness is smoothness, and at whatever breathing rate you achieve smoothness, that is your rate? Or am I missing something?

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This one is more personal, and goes back a couple of years to my first experiences with HRV training. My new results using the breathing optimizer is between 12-13 seconds per breath. When I breath that slowly, I get high smoothness. However, subjectively, the felling of breathing that slowly is uncomfortable, labored, sort of like stepping on the gas and the break at the same time. I get it that "allowing" rather than "doing" is the operating principle. But what is the strategy? How do I get from "doing" to "allowing."

Thanks for what I hope will be an interesting discussion.

Aloha,

Rex
Khon Kaen, Thailand
[email protected]

http://www.MindBodyThailand.com
http://REBTinfo.info
http://www.SecularRecovery.com

Hi Rex,

For young kids ignore the pacer or set it at its fastest (7.5 breaths per second). They should focus more on the feedback (making the shape appear, the house to build, the car to go). Also they can close their eyes for a moment, you can help pace their breathing by breathing with them, or any simple kids technique to relax. Breathing out slowly can help.

For yourself, if you are uncomfortable breathing so slowly first of all its fine to change the pacer. You should get very good benefits at 10. Don't train 13 if it is uncomfortable, the point of training is not to maximize smoothness as much as it is to learn to manage stress, etc. It may be, though, that you are breathing too deeply. You can try breathing at 13 a little more shallowly. Breathe into your belly, but don't take too deep a breath. Also you could start breathing at 10 and slow down a bit after a few minutes of training. There are no hard rules here, and the optimal breathing speed is an estimate / range and should not be taken too seriously, especially in comparison with your personal feelings like this uncomfortably slow. If you told me 7 seconds per breath was uncomfortably slow, I would try to find ways to make that more comfortable, as you probably need to slow down your breathing. Anything longer than 10 seconds per breath is very optional.

Best,

Ryan