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Raw Paleo Diet Forums => Health => Topic started by: Barefoot Instincto on July 19, 2013, 10:08:28 am

Title: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Barefoot Instincto on July 19, 2013, 10:08:28 am
About a decade ago now I developed Hyperhidrosis. It is a pretty severe sweating disorder which makes me live in a sweaty hell every second of my life (not always sweaty, but at a moments notice my hands can always just soak up in 5-10 seconds and be dripping). This is chronic. It happens to me every single day, sometimes 10 times an hour when I'm in a stressful situation, and mostly work and being around people brings it on. It happens uncontrollably in many, many situations. Often when I'm completely alone I'll break out into sweats that are mostly affecting my hands. A lot of times I'll be always slightly wet, and at a seconds notice all of a sudden I'm soaking wet.

This is a disorder of the mind, caused by a lack of life in the body. I've come to realize that my breathing is extremely shallow. When its not shallow, I'm holding it without realizing it. I have a lack of magnetic power. Water pours out of me like crazy, sometimes constantly for long stretches of time without end.

I thought awhile back it was magnesium that was the answer. It did seem to make a difference, although I was still having really bad breakouts. At this time I was doing some good solid breathing training. I think it got into my head and made it slightly less bad (I have bad days and good days) and I tried to latch on to it as a fix.

But its as bad as ever. I've been doing research on the power of breath, and every where I look it seems to be the answer. I'm an incredibly terrible breather, even as I try my "very best" to work at it and believe in it, suffering in this hell of a sweaty life all the while. Everyday I set out to make progress, and end up with little patchworks of sessions that last a few minutes and probably don't even add up to more than 30 minutes in my day. On days I have really gone hard with it, I've noticed a big reduction in anxious sweatyness and an increase in calm and relaxation. But breathing is life itself. Nothing can be more pure than life itself and the rhythm it imparts.

The task of learning to master my breath is daunting, and my brain keeps trying to throw me to the ground. I remember constantly through the day, but its hard for me to sustain it for lengths of time because it slips out of my mind. My mind is rebelling against being controlled. But control is the thing I need most.

This, however, is definitely the answer to curing my disease. I can't see any other alternative, especially considering my breathing and the pattern of my breath is extremely poor quality. If I want to feel normal, I have to purify my mind and body. True purification can only be done through what breathing properly imparts.

I believe that my sympathetic  nervous system is over-reactive (constantly triggered by the flicker of thoughts in my head), and my parasympathetic is under-reactive.

Can you guys give me any best references you have to the healing power of breathing? Overcoming diseases through breath? Any informative work that sheds light on the issue of improving yourself with breathing?

I gain inspiration, and then find it hard to do and suffer in my sweaty hell, and then lose the inspiration, feeling like everything is lost and life will always be hell. At sometimes it feels like I can actually overcome this thing, and then it beats me down into a pulp like it has for the last decade and thats how I almost always feel.

But everyday I'm realizing more and more that I need to throw myself into this as hard as I can. If not to get rid of this horrible disease, but to improve my health to the most it can be. I've been making next to no progress, despite thinking about it constantly (I find it very tiring to do). But I need to shape up and destroy this thing, or at least severely reduce it so the torture can end.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Dr. D on July 19, 2013, 10:44:27 am
As a music teacher, my first instinct leads me to say play a wind instrument. I've played sax since I was 10 years old (I'm going on 24 in a couple of months) and NEVER had a breathing issue in my life. Even when I was dead tired from running, I could still control my breath. My diaphragm and inner costals are strong. Plus, the overall peace of mind that comes from playing music is unparalleled by any other activity, IMH(non-biased  ;))O.

As a semi-naturalist, I would say meditation is great for breath control and peace of mind as well. Really, the work that is put into music, the focus, the exhaustion, the mental strain, is not far off from meditation. I would still point to a wind instrument, for the breath control, but honestly, a guitar/piano+singing works just as well. And think of how the babes will adore you by the end of it!

A program I've used in class is called the Breathing Gym. Wonderful system. Do it twice a day and if you don't see improvement in 2-3 weeks in your sweating symptoms, you can probably move on. However, this may be difficult because it is getting you to become conscious about your breathing and again, a wind instrument gets you thinking about music first, then breathing second. I see it potentially as a way to alleviate any stress that is coming from the "daunting task of mastering breath."

CK may impart some wisdom on paleo posture that may help. Don't mean to put him up for a job, I would just say ask.

If I come up with anything else, I'll share.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Barefoot Instincto on July 19, 2013, 11:05:53 am
An instrument definitely could be a good idea. Looking through the list of wind instruments it seems the Ocarina is the only one that really appeals to me. If anything, it looks like very simple melodies can easy be made.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Dr. D on July 19, 2013, 02:06:28 pm
I have no opposition to the Ocarina. It's such a novelty instrument anyways that it will always turn heads. Just make sure you sit tall and breathe with your stomach (diaphragm pulling air to breathe in with shoulders dropping, not rising. Exhaling while applying resistance in the throat, relaxed with a yawning feeling (open throat), the feeling of fogging up a window, not blowing out a candle, and applying forward pressure with your inner costals.

That's a $50 lesson right there. I'll waive the fee because you eat raw ;)
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: miles on July 19, 2013, 07:10:09 pm
Don't focus on your breath. Your subconscious knows how to breathe better than your conscious. Learn to meditate. When you meditate you do not have any thoughts. You are aware of things, but you do not think about them. You are aware of your breathing, but you do not think about it. Meditation is a very positive state to be in.

If you are ever feeling uncomfortable and don't know what to do about it, for example it's not something obvious like move out of the sun, drink some water, have a piss... Meditate... Don't worry. The body is very good at sorting itself out, but the brain takes a lot of energy, especially when it is stressed, and the hormones released from stress put the other functions of the body on hold. You will be amazed what discomforts will resolve themselves when you meditate. Your body will be at rest and it can carry out all its subconscious functions such as digestion, detoxification, breathing and regeneration, much more effectively.

So if you feel stressed, i.e. mentally worried/anxious; nauseous; digestive discomfort and you don't know what to do about it, meditate. Even if there is something you need to do in order to resolve your discomfort but you don't know what it is, the restful state that meditation puts you in will relax and rest your mind and enable you to think about what it is you need to do, afterwards, more effectively.

Even if you just don't know what to do some time, rather than going and finding a distraction such as TV, just meditate. You may find that something comes to you after you meditate for a bit, and if it doesn't, you need the meditation.

By the way... Meditation does not need to be in the cross-legged position with your hands in the ok symbol resting on your knees... Meditation is just: Not thinking about anything... That's it, not having any thoughts.. So just get into any comfortable position. It's good if you can do it sitting on the floor because then you can do it anywhere, but it can be more comfortable on a cushion etc... Even lying down you can do it. You will no longer be worried when you have insomnia, if you learn to meditate...
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: dogman333 on July 19, 2013, 09:54:30 pm
There's a book called, "One Small Step Can Change Your Life." Get it at the library. From what I'm reading here, that can help you doing something new. It helps you avoid the mental resistance.

I was inspired about breathing from Pam Grout book, "Jumpstart Your Metabolism." Breathing has a tremendous power in our health. I agree with you. Go for it, if that's where your instincts are leading.

and I really like the website normalbreathing.com -- lots of great information there. Especially on the buteyko technique.

But definitely read the book "Small Steps" -- I can tell you the method, but without the rationale provided by the book it certainly sounds too simple. Basically, just start with one minute of practice a day. Sure, that won't change your health overnight. And if one minute is too daunting, start with 30 seconds. You don't even need to believe this works. But this reduces the resistance in your mind that sabotages your efforts. In 3 weeks, add another minute. Then soon, you'll see that your mind no longer has resistance to the new habit you're creating. And then you can safely add 5 minutes and much more. Strangely, this technique works for people who have no time to do something. So they start with 30 seconds a day. In about a month, they are finding time to do more. In several months, they are practicing an hour a day. Fascinating. Got to work with your mind as well. Otherwise, it can be hard to change our habits.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: cherimoya_kid on July 20, 2013, 09:59:56 am
I used to get the sweats easily when I was eating a large amount of goat dairy. Changing my diet away from so much dairy got rid of the problem.

As far as posture goes, Esther Gokhale's work is an excellent place to start. She has a few youtube videos to get you started, plus of course her book and her DVD.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: bookittyrun on July 20, 2013, 12:13:26 pm
a few random thoughts from me:
exercises that focus on improving lung capacity helped me not only with music, but with athleticism, too.  breathing as deep as you can, holding as long as you can, and releasing as slowly as you can, as completely as you can.  i can still remember, as a lad, feeling my lungs pop and stretch from "excessive" inhalation exercises. music posture is hugely beneficial (as dr d pointed out).  heart rate control can help you hold your breath longer. conscious diaphragm utilization during breathing improves lung efficiency.  yes, your body likes to breath, it brings oxygen to areas that need it, and the more oxygen you can inhale, the more your body will want to breathe that way.  during running and cycling, i learned a trick to help control and pace breathing during times when my body was starving for oxygen, breath in through your mouth, and exhale controlably through your nose (this forces you to exhale more slowly, instead of breathing out quickly to gasp for more air, you're allowing your body to fully utilize the breath you already took).  pacing your breathing during physical duress also helps control your heart rate.  vocal exercises (used by singers) are usually focused around the same type of concept, breathing in as deep as possible and humming out as slowly and controlably as possible until your lungs are completely exhausted to help improve capacity and breath duration.  try holding your breath at a pool, or in the tub, and time yourself.  work on controlling heart rate and inhalation to improve your times...  don't just breath in and hold it, exhale completely and hold it as long as possible, too.   i guess i'm also suggesting that healthy heart rate is something that goes together with breathing efficiently, maybe you should have your heart function evaluated, and your resting pulse rate checked (as a baseline), and perform activities that will allow you improve your cardio health, to pump blood slowly and efficiently, too...  working towards improved lung health is definitely a conscious effort, but it can become an unconscious act once improvements are made...  the mentions of body posture and meditation are all very valid, these are steps that can help your body operate in an efficient manner...  not sure exactly what you've been doing thus far, but sticking with a program for the long term will definitely have beneficial outcomes, the improvement has to be something you can identify, and want to attain.  check into the methods c_k mentioned, it may be a good start for you.  try to follow miles' suggestion of meditation, and pick up an ocarina with some breathing pointers from either wind instrument exercises, or vocal exercises...  try it regularly for several months...  keep us posted.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Spirit Bear on July 20, 2013, 12:44:34 pm
The Alexander Technique is straight-forward and helps naturalize posture and movement. It will help reduce the energy you use to move and relieve tension throughout your body.

Holographic Breathing is good for migraines, facial pain, TMJD, and promoting calmness and awareness.

I know what you mean in regards to your mind rebelling and losing concentration. I think visualizations can be helpful here.

http://www.holographic-breathing.com/3/index.php/pictures (http://www.holographic-breathing.com/3/index.php/pictures)

Hyperhidrosis is a detox symptom but it can also be caused by chronic stress. Supplementing with calming nutrients like magnesium, B vitamins (esp B3), vitamin C and D3, and water will help. Regulating the sleep is important. If you have any worries or subconscious stresses like uncertainty with regards to the future, regret, grief etc it can be helpful to set aside a certain amount of time each day to think about these things and then stop yourself from dwelling on them at other times of day. There is probably a multitude of factors contributing to your sweating but I think lifestyle changes and calming your thoughts throughout the day will have the most effect. These conditions can appear or disappear overnight because they can be purely the by-product of building psychological tension. The mind and the body are not separate.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: jessica on July 21, 2013, 03:58:08 am
this webpage, you'll have to search it, but it talks a LOT about the power of respiration, not just through the lungs but through the skin, and it has a lot of ideas about how to enhance those processes..  it has been very helpful to me in the past.  don't be scared off that its about iridology, what they say about ways to heal and enhance the body are o n point, they just use iridology as a part of diagnostics.

http://www.irisandyou.com/Iridiagnosis-And-Other-Diagnostic-Methods.htm (http://www.irisandyou.com/Iridiagnosis-And-Other-Diagnostic-Methods.htm)
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Barefoot Instincto on August 16, 2013, 09:11:58 am
Thanks for the replies everyone. Its helpful to have a forum like this available.

So, it turns out iontophoresis is my cure (and the cure for most others that have what I have).

It involves immersing your hands into water that's hooked up to a battery, causing ions to flow through you when you connect the circuit (two pots, one for each hand).

Basically, its made it about 10 percent what it was before. In just a week and a half it brought it to a level that is extremely manageable. Now in situations where I would have broken out into hardcore sweats, they just don't happen now. It's like there is a blocker that doesn't let it get past a certain level of perspiration. It seems to have made a big difference on my armpits and feet as well, even though I've just been using it for my hands.

For weeks now I haven't had a single bad outbreak! A couple have been a bit moderate, but it stops fairly soon. I can't express how amazing this feels. I used to sweat in 90 percent of situations, and a lot of times when I was completely alone. A large percentage of all my sweats were severe, causing a beading up of water over my entire hand that could last for awhile. And now, I haven't had even a single severe outbreak! I was getting them dozens of times on some days before.

Feels like I can finally have a life now. I'm not constantly racked by stress and depleted by the exhaustion of near constant sweating for hours at a time. Now my hands are way more dry than they are damp (and when they are damp, its very slight!)

Feels like I can finally relax. Its an amazing feeling.

Few weeks ago I dropped my usage of the ion machine to once every few days, and for less than a half hour (sometimes less than 10) and it is still holding! Reports are that it comes back after a time if stopped however. Some people need only do it once every few weeks after the initial period. I plan to do it a bit more often now, to really eradicate it fully, then scale it back and see what happens.

People buy these machines for hundreds, even thousands of dollars. I got three nine volt batteries, connected them together with wires, then connect that battery to two pots I put my hands in with another, longer wire, and presto. It cost me less than 5 dollars.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: bookittyrun on August 16, 2013, 09:38:11 am
hooray!

and thanks for the follow-up...  keep us posted, maybe add a pic of your contraption...
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: jessica on August 16, 2013, 10:48:57 am
yes I would really like to see a picture and some sort of instructions on how to build one!
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Barefoot Instincto on November 02, 2013, 04:11:08 am
Turns out I was wrong again...

The true cure is connecting body to Earth in nature. Amazing.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Dr. D on November 02, 2013, 05:15:35 am
Turns out I was wrong again...

The true cure is connecting body to Earth in nature. Amazing.

Grounding?
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Barefoot Instincto on November 02, 2013, 05:16:17 am
Yup, seems like it.
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Inger on November 02, 2013, 04:05:05 pm
LOL.... that is what I knew Barefoot Instincto! The easiest thing in world, zero costs. Just connect with the earth <3

People are weird..... they rather run away from natures wisdom and healing powers... even if it is all for free  ;)
Title: Re: Looking for answers in the power of breathing
Post by: Dr. D on November 05, 2013, 11:22:25 pm
I've noticed the difference since its gotten colder and I haven't been barefoot as often. Glad its working for you.

You're very right inger, people are told all these lies that they need a CURE instead of being told they can HEAL. Nature has all sorts of healing available. Just gotta go there.