I've only just started webbing up about this, maybe some of you can shed some light on the subject;
Sometimes when I'm by myself & perfectly still, in what I consider 'deep thought', I become aware that my breathing has slowed right down, to a point where it's almost incidental, and I feel deeply relaxed, yet acutely awake and aware of myself and my surroundings - it's a weird sensation. No drugs involved, just concentration, I guess. If I want to, I'll snap myself out of it by deliberately moving around, shaking my head or something. But it's an extremely positive sensation- it's happened enough to make me want to find out more.
Some of the Yoga sites I found on the web talk about a state called samadhi-
:"In the state of samadhi, initially the breathing becomes very slow. This is characteristic of sabija samadhi, where there is concentration of mind."
It weirds me out a little that I can be so relaxed that I don't feel the need to breathe, but only in hindsight- there in the moment there are no warning signs, nothing obvious signalling there's something wrong- no pain in my lungs like you would get if you were holding your breath too long. What's happening to the body during deep meditative states? Do your lungs/heart become more efficient?
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breath is a big deal in yoga and other ...
breath is a big deal in yoga and other meditative/contemplative things. also if you can feel your pulse during such a slow down, it's very cool - very slow, but you get the feeling that the pump volumes are more substantial. if that makes any sense.
i know a point of yoga and other meditation techniques are to teach you how best to breath, what muscles to use (efficiency, instead of just being an automated machine), but also when you're in that state apparently everything is open from the mouth to the bottom of the lungs (after some practise and getting in touch with deep down stomach/diaphram muscles) and it's no longer a huge emphasis on pushing air in and out - i'm so tempted to say 'you are one with the air', but basically you are still getting the oxygen you need, just not using the typical muscles to the typical degrees to get it. teams up with metabolism/heart rate ... but very cool how the brain can still keep racing, though the body is acting just like a happy high-drain long-term battery.
it's fantastic for stress - like changing the channel on a tele to something you WANT to watch, and fantastic for focus. i use it for those two things, but i can see how it feels like you are changing reality/slowing time/flipping dimension channels. it takes a bit of practise but it is so useful, so fast, so easy, and allows me to see obstacles in perspective instead of freaking out/fight/flight like a regular human-animal. i'm not into the cosmic side of it though - though perhaps i haven't got deep enough. i just do it cos it allows me to poke my brain with a cue stick, as Homer would say.
actually, i'm sure people get into ...
actually, i'm sure people get into such states during making music ... i know i get into stillness when i'm looking through my telescope - mostly cos i don't want to bump anything, but what i see up there is so still and immense, but also incredibly violent and dynamic, but frozen in time - i notice my breathing slows right down, i must be influenced by what i'm looking at. monkey see, monkey do.
/i'm sure people get into such states ...
/i'm sure people get into such states during making music ...
Obviously it depends on the music- lots of drones and delay tend to make me feel very contemplative, meditative, centered: as a listener, and especially as a musician- kinda like the notes are finding their way out of the air without your help, like you're back to being the listener... strange, but very cool.
Of course, Slayer's 'Angel Of Death' is great for other reasons... ;-)
Lying there are breathing and doing ...
Lying there are breathing and doing nothing is called yoga nidra. Its somtimes used after a one hour session of flexability, breathing and posture exercises.
Mmmm- interesting. Nidra is probably ...
Mmmm- interesting. Nidra is probably more like it, as Samadhi sounds like something you need to practise. I can't imagine anyone just quietly slipping into a Samdhi state by accident. Cheers for the info.
[ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/yoga_nidra ]
I was on the tube once and someone ...
I was on the tube once and someone thought I was dead ... When I'm tubeing it there's nothing to really look at and I don't like reading while traveling, so I tend to sit there with my eyes closed and rather still and breathing lightly, this day we pulled into a station and I heard people getting on and someone sit next to me, The tube pulls away and next thing I know is someone's pokeing at me, I ignored it the first time, but the second time I heard them say " are you okay ?" and poked me again alittle harder .. so I opened my eyes and looked at them and said "yes ta" and shut my eyes again .. very odd I was thinking, but as I sat there I remembered that a few weeks before on the news there was a report of a body being found on a train which had been there for a couple of days ... I guess they'd seen or read the same thing .. and I also guess they were happy with my responce ... :-)
Someone talked to you on the tube? See, ...
Someone talked to you on the tube? See, at that point I'd be more worried about them than you.
My boss's boss had a word with me off-the-record one afternoon (service manager for addiction services), just after an outpatient did something really violent that made the news locally...
"If anyone sits next to you on the tube or bus and tries to start up a conversation, tell me you'll hop off at the next stop and grab the next one instead."
yeah there's an element of truth in ...
yeah there's an element of truth in that ... but in this case, I think they were more concerned for themselves and making sure they weren't sitting next to a corpse ... I had a coat on so they couldn't see my chest rising and falling .. I think they needed to ask me .. :-)
Fair enough- you must've looked a bit ...
Fair enough- you must've looked a bit off or something, man! Seriously, it's nice to know that some of the people riding the tube aren't either complete nutters or selfish, pushy prima donnas... not sure which category I'd drop myself in. Actually, neither- I've been cycling to work lately.
//news there was a report of a body ...
//news there was a report of a body being found on a train which had been there for a couple of days
Really? I always thought that was just an urban legend...kinda like the kentucky fried mouse
whats going on phsyically? nothing more ...
whats going on phsyically? nothing more than what would be going on if you were slouching on the sofa, and let of a giant relaxing fart when noone was around.
How silly. Farting targets completely ...
How silly. Farting targets completely different muscle groups than Yoga.