Shamanic Breathing Mega-Thread

[thehero]

7 minutes ago, Charlotte said:

@kieranperez I'd take an educated guess at probably doing it on a light type of meal, he did mention in the video at the part where he explains cramming it all into one day bit that between the break maybe a light meal so that's my guess.

should i wait for a couple hours and let it digest then 

[Greatnestwithin]

Does anyone experience dried throat, the need to swallow or any other things to be aware of 

[Charlotte]

@thehero This is only my personal opinion, I'm no expert but I'd probably wait until your not hungry but not full either. Only my opinion though! Please take that into consideration

[Timotheus]

Trip report:

Duration: 20 minutes

Music:

First I had difficulties supressing the urge to laugh, cause it seemed somehow absurd to me, later I had difficulties holding up the same breathing frequence.

But then my extremeties felt like they were falling asleep, which was not unpleasant, so I knew I was doing it right. I got hit with feelings of extreme loneliness, which also happens on regular psychedelic-trips, but this was way more easier to manage, with the knowledge in my mind of being able to stop anytime, of course. I had to kinda growl for some reason, even though I tried to supress it, cause it seemed kinda embarassing to me.

After I was done I felt slightly dizzy, but overall it felt refreshing and really great for another 10-20 minutes. My state of consciousness was definitely altered, I was made aware of issues with self worth for example, so this is really  great supplement for psychedelic trips, since I tend to struggle really every time in those, which often prevents me from going deeper.

I'm planning to do 2 x 30 minute sessions/week for a few months.

Thanks Leo!

[Samuel]

I got comfortable. Put on some tribal drumming music and started the 30min session.

I felt dizziness in my head very quickly and started to feel a sensation of spiraling around in my mind. At first, it was hard because I wasn’t used to a dry mouth, but after about 5min it got easier.

As the session went deeper, My chest area started to tingle quite intensely. I started to feel a bit cold too. I slowly started to disassociate from the bodily feelings and drifted off into a no-body state. I don’t think I got as deep as I could have but it was powerful nonetheless.

I then began having some mild hallucinations. Like my visual field zooming out to infinity. Eyes closed of course.

At some points, my breathing wasn’t as deep because I got too distracted by some new phenomenon happening in me.

At the end of the 30min session, I felt quite calm. And laid there for 10min in silence. Mind chatter was still present but I was at ease with it. No resistance.

edit: Later on today I have felt light and carefree. Emotions don't feel sticky either. They sorta just pass.

Overall this was an interesting experience and I'm keen to do it again next week or earlier.

Edited April 8, 2018 by Samuel

[Dimiel]

I did my first session and decided to start with 10 minutes. After that I was just observing the effects which were quite intense both physically and mentally and lasted for about 5 minutes. 

An interesting observation for me was that after I was done with the shamanic breathing my breath just naturally stopped. I don’t know exactly for how long but I would guess for two minutes. This of cource makes sense because the blood gets so highly oxygented from the breathing. But I found this breathless state was really blizzful and mildly psychedelic. I’m looking forward to do a longer session soon. 

Did others also experience this natural stopping of the breath? Or should I just force myself to continue breathing (with normal rythm) after I’m done with the shamanic breathing? 

[StephenK]

Managed to do it for about 12 minutes. Started with building pressure within the head (like something energetic was building up, ready to pop), then felt sudden urges for the body to spasm into weird shapes (like being physically possessed), then the body felt incredibly heavy (like metal). This is when I stopped. All in all, I feel pretty calm now. My body still feels heavy, even now (20 minutes after the session). Interesting. Will try it again tomorrow and see what happens.

Edited April 8, 2018 by StephenK

[egoless]

@Leo Gura Leo can you recommend which drum music do you use yourself? 

[SeanD]

I could only do 13 minutes. My chest started vibrating intensely. Part of it felt blissful, the other part felt nauseating. I experienced flash backs to childhood moments where I was bleeding a lot (I hadn’t thought about them in years).

That’s about all I can say. Will try for 20 minutes soon.

[Pernani]

bro my left eye was twitching like crazy I looked like some heroine junkie 

[PsiloPutty]

Wow, I just got done with 45 minutes. Anyone who hasn't done psychedelics, and wonders what they feel like, this is as close to a psychedelic experience as I've ever had without taking something. Blew my mind.

 

Fingers and toes totally asleep, tried to make a fist but couldn't. Felt fear at the beginning, like there's no way I could do this. I found that it helped me mentally to Rock myself back and forth with each breath, and eventually that morphed into gyrating around with my whole body on every breath.

 

Had some childhood memories come up. Kind of like watching an old movie from an observer's point of view. My breaths turned into sobs for 5 minutes or so, but I was conscious to never lose the rhythm of the breathing or the depth. My sobs turned to anger, and I got on my hands and knees and bared my teeth like a lion, which felt awesome. I was talking, making sentences by saying one word on each out-breath. Saying things in this way, like I won't stop. I am not afraid. You can't take me! Just crazy stuff, and I was trying to treat it like an Ouija board, where you try not to make anything happen.

  

Open eye visuals, almost exactly like a 5-gram mushroom dose, with grid textured iridescent waves. And I'm left with a feeling of positivity, self appreciation and it's sort of like I just got done with a great workout, or did something else that demonstrated love for myself. Just have a feeling like I gave myself a hugeass hug.

That was the wildest all-natural 45 minutes that I've ever experienced.

Edited April 8, 2018 by PsiloPutty
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[PsiloPutty]

@SeanD  Yeah, I feel you. I really wanted to quit after 15 minutes, but it turned into something more manageable after that.

[Pernani]

5 minutes ago, PsiloPutty said:

Wow, I just got done with 45 minutes. Anyone who hasn't done psychedelics, and wonders what they feel like, this is as close to a psychedelic experience as I've ever had without taking something. Blew my mind. Fingers and toes totally asleep, tried to make a fist but couldn't. Felt fear at the beginning, like there's no way I could do this. I found that it helped me mentally to Rock myself back and forth with each breath, and eventually that morphed into gyrating around with my whole body on every breath. Had some childhood memories come up. Kind of like watching an old movie from an observer's point of view. My breaths turned into sobs for 5 minutes or so, but I was conscious to never lose the rhythm of the breathing or the depth. My sobs turned to anger, and I got on my hands and knees and bared my teeth like a lion, which felt awesome. I was talking, making sentences by saying one word on each out-breath. Saying things in this way, like I won't stop. I am not afraid. You can't take me! Just crazy stuff, and I was trying to treat it like an Ouija board, where you try not to make anything happen. Open eye visuals, almost exactly like a 5-gram mushroom dose, with grid textured iridescent waves. And I'm left with a feeling of positivity, self appreciation and it's sort of like I just got done with a great workout, or did something else that demonstrated love for myself. Just have a feeling like I gave myself a hugeass hug.

That was the wildest all-natural 45 minutes that I've ever experienced.

dang I should really crank up my 15 min hahaaha

[Egosum]

If anyone is curious about how this technique works, I recommend reading this paper by Bernardo Kastrup: http://jcn.cognethic.org/jcnv4i3_Kastrup.pdf

Here's the most relevant part (under "Cerebral Hypoxia"):

"Fainting or near-fainting caused by restrictions of oxygen supply to the brain is known to induce liberating feelings of self-transcendence. For instance, the potentially fatal ‘choking game’ played by teenagers worldwide (Macnab 2009) is an attempt to induce such feelings through partial strangulation (Neal 2008, 310–315). The psychotherapeutic technique of holotropic breathwork (Rhinewine & Williams 2007), as well as more traditional yogic breathing practices, use hyperventilation to achieve similar effects: by increasing blood alkalinity levels, they interfere with normal oxygen uptake in the brain and ultimately lead to what is described as an expansion of ordinary awareness (Taylor 1994). Even straightforward hyperventilation outside a therapeutic context can lead to self-transcending experiences, such as described in this anecdotal—though representative—report:

One of us stood against a tree and breathed deeply for a while and then took a very deep breath. Another pushed down hard on his ribcage ... This rendered the subject immediately unconscious ... When I tried it, I didn’t think it would work, but then suddenly I was in a meadow which glowed in yellow and red, everything was extremely beautiful and funny. This seemed to last for ages. I must say that I have never felt such bliss ever again. (Retz 2007)"

And this is from Kastrup's book "Dreamed Up Reality" (p. 37):

«The main causal element in the efficacy of Holotropic Breathwork seems to be the intensified breathing, or voluntary hyperventilation. Hyperventilation is known to raise the alkalinity level of the blood and cause constriction of blood vessels in the brain. This, naturally, perturbs ordinary brain function and is a reason why lightheadedness and fainting are sometimes observed in association with hyperventilation. Interestingly, in an article published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, it has been suggested that, through a process related to psychological dissociation, Holotropic Breathwork may reduce the efficacy of certain brain filters, «resulting in disinhibition of previously avoided or suppressed internal stimuli.[27]»

[cetus]

I started off improvising on the bongo's/ congas and getting into a breathing rhythm. After 30 mins. I switched to full shamanic breathing while listening to this with headphones. It' got trippy real quick at that point. Like a wakeful dream state. Lots of nooks and crannies yet to explore. Some visuals like morphing lights. Afterwards had a slight headache and also I noticed a bit of agitation which subsided. That will need further exploration. Reality was a bit wonky too afterwards.

 

[cetus]

7 minutes ago, Spacious said:

None of existence felt real, it was as if the structure of being had been blown away, only to show the empty space of reality.

@Spacious Same here.

[Theodor95]

Hello. I wanted to do 30 minutes of it but after the mark i saw that i could keep going and i did. Laying on the floor with just a small towel beneath my head. 90% of my emotions were motivation and focus to do this. I periodically checked my hands after 20minutes or so to see how i can move them. Let me tell you only after 50mins i had to actually use more of my mental strenght to the point where i don't usually use it (except maybe the gym but i've been slacking there recently) but now i feel much more in control i think? I did something like 55 minutes and i saw the video telling me to wait on the floor and such but i usually like to do it my own way and just got up (not too fast) . I was a bit dizzy , one step was a bit bad then it was better, my vision was a bit trippy for a while tho. I also listened to my own music , the chants and other stuff are just a guide but i have my own one . For sure i'll do this technique more. I just felt more in control with myself , that's mostly the emotion for me. No crying  , just a bit of pleasure from the whole activity being actually challenging after like 45mins . My inner voice said to stop and i did , i don't wanna push it too much . Still , it felt like dying , my pupils were getting a bit numb even if i was in full control of my hands (even if they move a bit in slow mo  ) I didn't see anything weird tho  , maybe a little light for a second or a feint image of someone looking over me? Nothing too serious . By the way , focusing felt like when entities "enter" my "dreams" and i need to mentally focus my invisible energy to control the invader and make it go away , sometimes i couldn't move so i could only use my mind. Sometimes i wonder what is the point of all of these

[kieranperez]

I did this for 5 min with the goal being 30 min and less than 5 min in I just could not stop laughing. I just couldn't take the drum thing seriously after a certain point. I was fighting my giggling so much I couldn't continue the breathing pattern. I was in utter shock of what I was starting to feel because I haven't felt anything like that since I did ecstasy last (assuming that's what I took). 

[Spinoza]

I remember i did this technique without knowing its name. Two year ago

After seeing Leo video, i wanted to try it, i did it for 30 min and here is my review.

• You won't feel your body, your feet get cold
• After 10 min i felt tired, i did not stop then i concentrated again and it become automatic without effort
• You feel that all body tension are released 
• i felt tiny pleasant electricity in my face (under my eyes, mouth, on my nose)
• When i finished, i could not open my hands, it close by itself
• I felt happier and you feel that you love everybody, you feel that hate is useless and very unconscious act.
• When you touch your body, you feel like it don't belong to you

When you finish you feel so light, and it's easy to talk, your voice sound relaxe

I stopped at 30 min, i felt like if i continue i could get dizzy (because i never experienced doing it for 30 min).

After doing it, you still have this feeling for like 10 or 15 min, then this feeling decrease.

I will do more research to see if there is no danger if i do it for hours. 

 

[Sage_Elias]

My five (5) year old nephew has sickle cell and I was wondering if Shamanic Breathing could heal him.

The disease is as a result of a lack of oxygen circulating in the body. This happens because the red blood cells which carry oxygen easily clog up the arteries since they are shaped like a banana instead of circular in shape.

Leo mentioned that Shamanic breathing skyrockets the levels of oxygen circulation in the body.

any experts here?

Edited April 9, 2018 by Sage_Elias