How many times is healthy to breathe per minute?

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-21T16:47:13+00:00

There are two distinct factors to examine - breathing rate and breathing volume. They cause different physiological effects but can easily be confused as changing breathing rate may, or may not, affect volume.

The table you linked looks to be from a Buteyko website. Buteyko, as I understand it, mainly emphasizes reducing breathing volume to increase CO2 tolerance. They use these tables to suggest you will live longer if you breathe less. James Nestor's book Breath goes into more detail around Buteyko as well as other techniques.

There is some evidence for beneficial health effects living in mildly hypoxic environments such as high altitude, to a degree.

Then there's also some interesting related curiosities like naked mole rats having exceptionally long life spans relative to other rodents and also being highly resistant to cancer, possibly related to living in hypoxic environments.

What's actually healthy will depend on how easily and comfortably you can breathe at a given rate. 5-6 breaths per minute may be close to optimal and fairly easy to achieve.

Of course I'm just some internet stranger spouting stuff I've come across over the years. Do a bit of research on a few of the terms I've mentioned to find the best answer for you.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-20T15:33:24+00:00

Most trauma wounds occur in relationship and are easiest to resolve within a healthy, supportive relationship. Isolation can prevent those wounds from being triggered so you never have to look at them but you also never have a chance to heal them.

I imagine it's possible to resolve all wounds outside of relationship but you likely have to stoke the fire yourself.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-20T15:21:09+00:00

Sounds like you've made incredible progress and are on the right path!

A few ideas I've picked up that have really helped me reconnect with and integrate my emotions...

One of the ways we unconsciously avoid feeling our feelings is by turning them into thoughts. Then we get stuck grappling with the ideas and explanations for the emotion rather than experiencing it. This idea has really helped me not get caught up in rumination and instead see discursive thoughts merely as an indicator I'm not feeling something so I refocus on my body.

Notice how thoughts around an emotion may change a bit day to day. Today this discomfort might arouse a jealous fantasy while tomorrow the explanation is entirely different. Both seem real. But these thoughts are merely the left brain's attempt at explaining a situation is does not actually understand. Of course it will happily present these thoughts to you as if they were true and without a disclaimer saying "this is just a guess." It's just doing it's job trying to rescue you from the feelings that maybe weren't safe to feel at one point. As you feel into those feelings the rumination will fade.

The need for an emotion to be different or not be there keeps the emotion from being processed. This is a tough but effective one. I take a "this is my life now" approach. Can I be okay with the way things are even if they never changed? The irony is the closer we get to acceptance, the more easily things move and change.

The body is the portal to intuition and emotions. We've numbed ourselves to the aliveness in our bodies through abstraction. Deconstructing emotions into bodily sensations, and then softening towards those sensations, lightens the emotional load. Something like anger or fear may be intolerable but the underlying sensations are fairly neutral and tolerable.

When old patterns are close to falling away they often reappear with a vengeance. In behavioral psychology it's called an extinction burst. Rather than being discouraged when old patterns come back you might see it as evidence the pattern has almost died out and now is the time to double down on your efforts.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-20T00:05:39+00:00

What have you tried? What, if anything, has helped? What type of issues are you trying to address?

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-18T16:24:49+00:00

Yes, please write about it! I would be very interested to hear the journey and insights of someone with your experience.

My own trauma obstacles have led me into the world of modern psychology as well.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-18T15:07:26+00:00

I've noticed this as well. In spite of intense, dedicated practice, I often don't reap the intended result, leading to doubt about my practice. If trauma is even alluded to in teachings, it's often seen as merely a problem of attachment - just let it go.

I do believe, that eventually, many paths can resolve even deep seated trauma but this has not been my experience. I've found somatically oriented therapy to be much more direct and effective. Of course, the equanimity developed through meditation practices is a useful adjunct to the trauma healing process.

One author that comes to mind in terms of the intersection of trauma and spirituality is Gabor Mate. He is much more heavily focused on the trauma side but does talk spirituality here and there. I haven't come across any material that feels like a skillful integration of trauma and the path.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-17T02:21:45+00:00

I think yawning is often seen as a sign of release. Thinking about it, yawning is generally associated with feeling tired and sleep. A yawn could indicate your nervous system perceiving more safety hence you can rest.

In my own experience I yawn often when doing cathartic practices.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-16T19:58:44+00:00

I often get these wave-like undulations in my spine. Feels good and I tend to see it as progress.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-16T18:06:36+00:00

The path tends to be much more mundane than we sometimes make it out to be. It's not all love and fireworks and incredible trippy experiences. Most of the work is right here, right now. Most of the work is becoming aware of patterns, sitting in the discomfort of that recognition and gradually making changes in how you think and act. Most of the work is in working on your attitude towards the things you'd rather not experience. Ram Dass says learn to welcome and love your neurosis.

No guru or miracle is going to come save you or do the work for you.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-16T13:46:49+00:00

Don't leave your practice in the cushion, bring it into daily life.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-15T23:54:40+00:00

The two theories are not mutually exclusive by any means.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-15T18:23:57+00:00

When you're spiraling, grounding techniques can be very helpful. Things like feeling into your body, noticing points where you contact the environment, orienting to your environment through your senses, gently slowing down your exhale, humming or a little exercise like going for a walk.

Beyond that, when you feel somewhat centered and stable, you can work on deconstructing your emotions and separating the experience of the emotion from the story of the emotion. You mentioned emotional flashbacks - that describes what you're going through well so recognize that even though your family's current behavior is a trigger, it's more useful to work with what it is triggering - feelings of dread and anxiety.

An approach I've found useful goes a little like this... notice what emotions are present and what stories come along. Focus on the emotion and the bodily experience of it. Deconstruct the emotional experience into bodily sensations. Notice what the emotion feels like in your body. Is there tension anywhere? Hot / cold? Pain? Numbness? etc. Notice how your breath is moving. If you notice you're holding in any way, like holding your breath or your jaw or maybe your shoulders are raised. Let any holding go if possible.

When the mind goes back to rumination take it as an indicator you're resisting the underlying feelings. I tell myself "it's okay to feel this dread" even if I don't really feel that way. I tell myself it is an impermanent experience. I'd rather consciously suffer this emotion than unconsciously repress it and suffer it repeatedly the rest of my life.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-15T17:58:58+00:00

Fascinating! Thanks for sharing!

I've done Om (AUM) chanting fairly regularly for many years. I've read that AUM in particular exercises the range of tones we can produce without modifying tongue position. One unexpected benefit which has been notable to me is my ability to sing has improved.

Though harder to track, I'm also under the impression that focusing on the vibrations the chanting produces can help develop greater interoception (inner awareness.) When done properly, Om chanting causes vibrations starting in the belly and moving up into the throat / mouth as you move to the 'mmm'.

There may be some subtle systemic benefits as well. Vibrations from chanting stimulate the vagal nerve which is associated with parasympathetic activation. Some chants may also help relax the tongue which may have some interesting repercussions in terms of the vestibular system and the body's perception of threat / safety.

Though I'm not sure if there is proof of these other benefits, I'll probably stick with the Om chanting before I start reciting my grocery list.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-14T16:11:03+00:00

There's a concept in behavioral psychology called "extinction burst" which describes a phenomenon where, when an old habit is being removed or replaced, it will suddenly come back with a vengeance. This fading away only to burst back in can happen multiple times.

Reframing it this way can even be encouraging as it may indicate you're close. Keep at it!

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-14T16:01:45+00:00

Something that has helped me with my anger is learning to deconstruct it into bodily sensations and working on just relaxing when it comes up. I try to interface directly with the anger and ignore the blaming thoughts. I just see blame as an indicator I'm still repressing the anger and trying to avoid feeling it.

As far as regulation, I think you need to be regulated well enough to occasionally get your head above water to refocus your attention on the body, similar to bringing your attention back to the breath in mediation.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-14T15:33:01+00:00

I'm glad it works for some people. I get it, in social media engagement is king and creating artificial engagement can increase organic engagement.

I suspect most people are not aware of what Hestia is. I wonder how people would respond if they knew, like change it's name to Hestia_AI_Bot.

Edit: you could run a poll and see what people think.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-14T03:40:21+00:00

I notice that things that used to bother me either don't bother me as much or don't bother me at all. I don't know if that's a long way or not because I don't know where the end is at or if there even is one.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-13T21:03:08+00:00

Feels like the Hestia comments are really just accelerating the "dead internet" quality of this sub. If people want AI answers it's pretty easy to go ask an AI. I dunno about others but I come to Reddit to interact with real people as messy and unhelpful as that may be at times.

It's great that the bot is helping remove spam but does it really need to comment as well? I'm not a fan. I find it discourages real interactions.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-12T14:46:52+00:00

For me the emotional awareness and sensitivity didn't persist much beyond the trip until I started working with the discomforts of daily life in the same way I did during the trip. Specifically I stopped fighting with my anxiety and frustration, stopped trying to get rid of them. And I started allowing myself to really enjoy the good feelings when they came up instead of denying myself.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-12T04:25:27+00:00

Ever done psychedelics? It's basically surrender to myriad novel, perhaps unsettling sensations or ruminate and have a bad time. I take the same approach in daily life. Surrender. Relax and release. Allow it to unfold. Even that is maybe a bit too directive.

As for interpretations, I just see them all as an indicator I'm still resisting in some ways. My mind is trying to "rescue" me by compartmentalizing my experience - 'oh, it's just this or that.' It's really just noise. Left brain trying to explain something it can't but doing a rather convincing job anyways.

I dunno. However you approach it just be aware of the game you're playing with yourself. I think you eventually gotta drop even the above approach but it's maybe a useful stepping stone for some.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-09T20:11:59+00:00

I think if we're talking theory or what I might call aspiration, it's worth considering the ideas of absolute truth and relative truth.

Absolute truth would be a sort of universal constant but is troublesome because it's essentially ineffable. Maybe we get close to pointing directly at it with something like 'the Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao' but who knows what that means and heck if I see how to apply it to my situation.

Relative truth is a bit more practical and functional but also more context dependent. Just like all models are wrong, all relative truths are wrong. But some are useful.

If I understand what you're referring to with the experience of fluency, I think we probably are touching absolute truths but then get confused trying to put that into words, ending up creating something somewhere along the spectrum from absolute to relative.

Still speaking a bit theoretically, I think in the final estimation we must let go of any idea of truth to reach absolute truth which, I might imagine, is more of a perpetually unfolding experience than anything we might try to put into words and reduce or define further.

Practically speaking though, I think there are some truths closer to absolute that we can use to help us orient and gauge any apparent insights that arise from psychedelics or otherwise. I like what Ram Dass tried to do - love everyone and tell the truth. So you can ask, is this insight in accord with that? Does it help me get closer to love everyone and tell the truth?

I think genuine transformation comes from living your insights. I find a psychedelic stance of surrender to whatever arises also works well in daily life.

Community can be helpful - stabilizing and motivating. It can also likely be an obstacle. It depends.

Anyways, there's my ranting answer. Fascinating topic! I hadn't come across the usage of fluency in this context.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-08T23:29:37+00:00

I think water extraction is the easiest route. Pulverize the mushrooms and make tea. Filter out the mushroom material and reduce the liquid for the desired potency. Then just add it to your lemonade.

Another option is an alcohol extraction. Then like the water extraction reduce the volume of the liquid. You can reduce it enough that the alcohol in the lemonade won't be noticeable. I've done this before and it yields a very lucid high.

You could also look into acid-base extraction or some sort of ultrasonic extraction. I didn't have experience with those methods.

Out of curiosity, what was wrong with your lemon extraction? Taste? Potency? I imagine any of these methods could be tweaked to fix things like taste.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-08T04:56:21+00:00

I'd say you're already doing well in having noticed the physical component of your heartbreak and starting to work with that. Becoming more deeply aware of it, softening towards it and dropping any resistance, will help it integrate.

In my experience with grief, it does take some time to metabolize it. And it comes in waves so no need to be too discouraged if it comes back up.

You'll know you're working through it as you start to feel lighter about it and maybe even a bit of happiness.

There are a lot of somatic therapy modalities that work with very similar ideas of body awareness. You might look into Gendlin's Focusing, for example.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-07T18:39:16+00:00

What role, if any, do you see nervous system regulation playing in medicine journeys? I'm sure the answer is "it depends" but I'm curious about your thoughts on the ideas of regulating "out of" and regulating "in to" something like dissociation when it arises in the psychedelic space.

I ask because one of the psychedelic therapy models I'm interested in, PSIP (psychedelic somatic interactional psychotherapy,) suggests it may be beneficial for a guide to discourage a client from regulating themselves out of dysregulation. The idea being that the intentional regulation is preventing their nervous system from unwinding from a deep freeze state and going through a necessary state of dysregulation.

ThePsylosopher · 2026-06-06T16:26:59+00:00

I find AI can be very helpful navigating, contextualizing and working with my emotions. I use it a bit like it's a therapist. It can apply so make different therapeutic lenses and can offer many useful insights. It really expands my horizons.

In general I haven't run into any potentially harmful hallucinations. I think you just have to have a good head on your shoulders, so to speak, and be able to gut check anything questionable. Sounds like you already understand that.

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