Oakville Zen Meditation
This breathing technique is used by the US Navy Seals **as an anti-stress relaxing technique during drills or even in covered missions. By stimulating our parasympathetic nervous system, this technique is a great anti-stress tool by slowing down the heart rate and consecutively blood pressure. It is a derivative of the so-called "Vasalva manoeuver", a maneuver taught to patients to slow down their heart rate. Navy Seals must practice this technique at least twice a day around 10 min. each.
Description:
Sit straight back
1 Take a normal Inhale (IN in red) followed by a normal Exhale (OUT in blue), then
2 Take a maximal inhale ( IN in red ) slowly without forcing, then
3 Hold as long as you can ( HOLD in green); the longer the better, then
4 Exhale slowly and silently, (OUT Bleue )
5 Relax/ Pause ( in green) for 3 to 4 sec, then
Repeat each cycle 1-2-3-4-5 as many as you can; usually 5 to 10 depending on your practice/ need You will notice that your holding period is increased with practice.
When to practice?
1) During meditation: This is a great breathing technique for meditation since it requires significant focusing skills.
2)During the day: Anytime you feel stressed, or while facing ongoing negativities such as anxiety, anger, fear, grief, regret, etc, this technique will help you greatly. Try to use it as often as possible to get used to it, and to enhance its efficiency.
** Personal communication.
Picture of the cycle below
