Is it possible to develop premature heart beats from practicing deep diaphragmatic breathing pranayamas? … or for that matter can you develop anxiety attacks by doing pranayamas the wrong way? If so, how can you correct it?
Thanks,
Atmo Deepak
it’s certainly possible. This is why i recently started the thread “yoga without pranayama” because i have similar concerns. The breath is intimately connected to the body/mind so anytime you force it or speed it up you’re going to be effecting your mind in an unnatural way, which could lead to worse things than even anxiety/panic
read the pranayama section of this http://www.breathing.com/articles/yoga.htm
it talks about this in more detail
Happyyoga,
Please read your PM (Private Messages)
Chris
pranayama is to be done with extreme caution and preferably under the guidance of a guru. the effects of pranayama are quite profound and disaster is a distinct possibility. the guiding principle is dont force it. keep it relaxed and simple. increase the intensity over a considerable period of time.
Two years ago i started practicing chi kung (breathing tecniques in exercises to “cultivate” “chi” in your body)
Unfortunately i did not have a good teacher at all.
During the exercises (which i used to do on my own) i was very worried about whether i was doing the exercises in the right way. Furthermore, my breathing wasn’t natural (i was trying to control it)
About two months later i started waking up very early in the morning with excessive nervousness, having lots of negative thoughts…
To cut the long story short, i had intense anxiety symptoms.(including “missed heart beats”)
Does it have to do with the breathing exercises i did (maybe in the wrong way)?? I have no idea.
qi, probably. Furtunately if you go back to not controlling your breath (assumign bad habbits havent set in) you should be fine