Johndoe

No it's not a family thing whatsoever. I just mentioned it. The fermented cabbage is a lot trickier in a whole lot of things. The videos I've seen on YouTube are just not worth the trouble. Plus it's not alive like the kefir ( actually I could be very well mistaken about that).

Hi everyone. I have had terrible sinus problems for years. Deviated septum, surgery gone bad, and multiple rounds of antibiotics every year. In the last years after cutting out all dairy completely I feel great, as if I never had a problem. Thing is, my family has started eating kefir which they make themselves from the alive organisms in the jar (not the bottled thing you buy in the store). They say they feel great and I'm tempted to try. I am afraid though because they use milk and it's really the only way to make it right. The easy answer would be just try it and see but I don't want to enter that ring again. Anyone has any experience with this or any opinion? Thanks.

Yes you are right, there really is no way around it. I am just horrified because a simple infection can lead very quickly to antibiotics for me and I am not in the mood for that right now.

Thanks I'll check it out. I have seen many places where they are against it and understand why. Although not warming the water with a boiler in your shower (letting it have it's natural temperature) is not the same as using ice cubes or swimming in frozen lakes or whatever.

Hi everyone. For some reason I feel quite embarrassed for this question, but it's too important for me to not ask. I am doing Wim Hof with good results. Thing is, it seems the breath retentions are causing a hemorrhoids flare up for some reason. If I practise sitting on a tennis ball between my coccyx and pubic bone things seem a lot better. Unfortunately I have a fear I may get a coccyx cyst by doing this. Which I have heard can be reoccurring from then on even after surgery. Truth be told, the piles already exist but the cyst is just a fear, I have not had one yet and I am 41. Any opinions? Should I ditch the breathing altogether, risk the hemorrhoids, or the cyst? Thanks.

I was talking about Mula Bandha which I think goes with breath retention. They seem similar don't they? But I really don't know anything about this stuff.

Sounds true and I've felt better since doing this. The question though concerns already existing hemorrhoids. I really doubt the method causes them to a healthy person since I found no reference to the issue in most relevant places.

Will do thanks

Yeah the flying phoenix is popular in here. I have a Frantzis teacher nearby and have taken lessons over the years. So it's not about choosing the right system. Rather than having money to attend lessons. My hemorrhoids where in check before wim hof so I don't worry too much if I quit. And I don't think it's a breaking a barrier thing. It's just a more advanced fire method not meant for a person with weak constitution practising alone. I was just carried away because wim hof is huge on YouTube. Snake I am overbreathing for sure although my holds are around a minute as you said. Another factor is that I feel depleted within a year of wim hof which didn't happen doing a water method like wuju standing for more years.

I don't have much experience at all but I feel resources of any kind are not really helpful. A teacher is what makes the difference.

Yes I tried this lock on the 15 second hold with the breath inside. Even if it worked what about the more extended hold with the breath outside. This too creates a lot of pressure. Also I have a really bad history with squeezing the pelvis muscles. I cant really piss freely amongst other problems. After all these posts I feel quite discouraged to continue.

Well I don't really know what I'm doing or what I want. I've been doing wuji standing and the Frantzis breathing lessons for a decade now consistently. I've always been fascinated by breath holding although all attempts have caused some kind of problem like headaches, palpitations and now hemorrhoids. It seems it's a more advanced practice that probably needs a live master. The cold showers were among else a financial solution as I am dead broke.

I can't hold it for long. Although I think that is irrelevant. You are supposed to hold it as long as you can. If somebody takes it to his limit and passes out at 45 seconds, its like passing out at 4 minutes. I guess you mean I should pace myself. It seems though that the hemorrhoids react even at the slightest pressure. This could be one of the reasons in yoga they do this pelvis bandha while holding the breath. It seems this is something more advanced for my level that I shouldn't be doing without instruction. It's just that I got benefits and it's so mainstream that I thought it couldn't cause any harm. I read many opinions against it in here and I may have to just stop.

Do you have the same opinion on the cold exposure part of the practice?

Thanks for the answer. Very interesting. Are you against retention generally? Or you concluded based on my situation? Do you have the time to elaborate?

Yes he is probably talking about mindfulness of breathing. That was my point. I'm not saying he IS referring to the pelvic floor. I am asking. He is using the words lower abdomen and diaphragm to refer to a place in the body. Is there a diaphragm in the lower abdomen? If you are saying that he means it sequentially as in "put your awareness in the diaphragm and THEN to the lower abdomen" the sensations he describes are still reverse aren't they? Thanks for your post.

Hi everyone. This is a quote from a guided meditation of Shinzen Young, called "Break through pain". "Bring your awareness to the diaphragm, the lower abdomen. As you breathe in, you may detect a kind of pulling in, or contraction in that area. Likewise as you breathe out, you may detect a sensation of expanding and releasing in the diaphragm." He does not mention this explicitly but I suppose he is referring to the normal breath which is breath in expand, breath out contract. I think reverse breathing is a relatively advanced technique for him to be referring to that. Also he talks about it in the sense of observing what is there, and so chances are he refers to normal breathing. Is this a mistake? Is he talking about the pelvic floor? Is the pelvic floor considered lower abdomen? If he's talking about the pelvic floor isn't it releasing on in breath and contracting on out breath? I've heard of gently pulling the perineum on in breath but in the context of some technique not as a casual function of the body. Anyone wishing to elaborate? Thanks.

Hi everyone. For some months now I have a strange irritation in the kwa area. It is internal, nothing I can touch. It is a ball like energy that may rich just above the knee in the front part of the leg. It is not exactly painful. It is the feeling I get when I've had too much coffee, but just in the kwa area. I don't get it every night but when I do it wakes me up even from the deepest sleep and I actually seem not to be able to do anything about it. A strange thing is that most of the time it doesn't wake me up like a horrendous pain would do. It just leaves me there tortured half awake half asleep. At first I thought hip tendinitis but I don't do activities that would suggest this, and generally it seems to me that it's not that kind of thing. Sometimes I get the feeling that a psoas stretch would help but it does not quite work in practice. Has anyone felt anything like that before? Is it something common I am missing out? Thanks

Thanks, any advises on the method?

Hello everyone. I've been a long time fan of the dao bums. I don't usually participate in forums but there were some topics I couldn't get access to so here I am. I have a question too. I think I've read all posts about standing meditation. Most say you shouldn't push yourself too much and make a distinction between muscle burn and joint pain. However I most of the times end my session due to pain at the bottom of the feet. It's not ankle pain nor pain at the bones of the feet. It's like my right heel is inflated between bone and floor which feels ok , and my left is a flat tire and the pressure on the bone is just too much. I don't feel this only during meditation but generally when i'm tired. Also I've read on this site something along the lines of "blue feet can cause a stroke". So my question is, if I decided to stand through the pain does it sound to you that something nasty would happen? Thanks, i'm happy to be part of the team.