Brain study shows how slow breathing induces tranquility

[Brian]

Brain study shows how slow breathing induces tranquility

[roger]

Thanks for sharing this.

 

I'll have to remember to breathe slowly and deeply when I need to be at peace, or connect with Source.

[Aeran]

Interesting article, thanks for linking it.

 

I remember when I was first working on improving my breathing and getting to the point where slow, belly-breathing became my default, I was watering the garden one day and noticed that, as I swapped from normal irregular/chest breathing to slow/belly breathing, I automatically went from swinging the hose from side to side in quick, random motions to slowly circling the hose over the garden bed in time with my breath. Interesting the flow-on effects these things can have  

[dust]

A Westerner who's obsessed with 'science' and cannot abide Eastern 'woo' will dismiss something like pranayama or qigong because there is 'no scientific basis' for it... even though the effects of certain techniques are immediately obvious (and for others, effects become apparent over time, but are no less obvious).

 

For me, direct experience is the preferable kind of evidence; why not try it and see for oneself? But good to see that 'science' is "catching up" a little in some areas.

Edited April 1, 2017 by dust

[Protector]

But good to see that 'science' is "catching up" a little in some areas.

 

Nothing could ever piss me off more than reading this right there

[dust]

Seems a little extreme. But you are free to believe that scientists are infallible, or that modern science knows everything, or that ancient cultures were all completely useless, or that no ancient traditions ever brought anything valuable to the table.

 

edit: https://www.samharris.org/blog/item/a-contemplative-science

"Research on the functional effects of meditation is still in its infancy, but there seems to be little question that the practice changes the brain."

 

If a prominent atheist neuroscientist can admit that scientists have something to learn from these ancient practices, surely you can too.

Edited April 1, 2017 by dust

[Mudfoot]

A westerner obsessed with science would object that there is a difference between "We know something is happening" (that dispute was settled long ago), and "what exactly is going on" (which is a growing field) combined with "does a randomized controlled study show a clinically relevant result?", which is quite another animal.

 

And speaking of animal, wasn't this study on mice?

Edited April 1, 2017 by Mudfoot

[dust]

And speaking of animal, wasn't this study on mice?

 

The tiny cluster of neurons linking respiration to relaxation, attention, excitement and anxiety is located deep in the brainstem. This cluster, located in an area Krasnow calls the pacemaker for breathing, was discovered in mice by study co-author Jack Feldman, PhD, a professor of neurobiology at UCLA, who published his findings in 1991. An equivalent structure has since been identified in humans.

 

 

A westerner obsessed with science would object that there is a difference between "We know something is happening" (that dispute was settled long ago), and "what exactly is going on" (which is a growing field) combined with "does a randomized controlled study show a clinically relevant result?", which is quite another animal.

 

You would think this were the case, but it's not. Not always. When I talk of Westerners obsessed with science, I'm not talking about scientists engaged in methodical scientific procedures, but anyone who believes that science is responsible for everything that is good; that scientific advances are the only way to 'save' us; the common idea that, because science hasn't explained how something happens, it must not really be happening.

 

I know people who are perfectly capable of denying something that other people know to be true simply because 'science' hasn't told them that it's real. This breathing stuff is one example. Baduanjin qigong obviously affects my mood and releases physical tension -- it brings about some kind of change, anyway. And it seems clear to me that this is down to a combination of breath, movement, and focus. Nothing magical. But mention qigong, or meditation, or certain other things to certain science-obsessed Westerners and they will ridicule, or look at me as if I just waved my dick in their face.

 

Last weekend I was hiking with some friends. I mentioned something about the beauty of the hike, how cool a certain plant was, or something. One friend responded with "Yeah -- fucking science!" No, I said, not science. Science helps us to understand it, but you elevate science to a whole new level when you claim that science is responsible for this trail, or this plant, or my ability to appreciate it.

Edited April 1, 2017 by dust