Somatic Vision

Thu 3 Nov 2011, 3:46 pm

Hi Ryan,

This question goes back a few months to when I first started using Alive! I used the Optimal Breathing Thingy three times and got three different results for optimal breathing rate. I didn't really understand the concept at the time--and as the Optimal Breathing Thingy is a bit tedious to go through--after that I just used whatever breathing rate(s) felt natural to me during practice.

However, I am taking the Stens online HRV course right now, and understand the concept of optimal breathing a little better. It looks like the Alive! optimal breathing is just determined by the highest smoothness during each two minutes of breathing at a certain rate, rather than the highest amplitude of the at LF the LF spectrum. Do I have that right or nearly right? If I do, I am really doing good!!!

Two questions:

1. How to deal with the inconsistent results of Optimal Breathing Thingy, and how to establish an accurate or "real" optimal breathing rate?

2. Is this concept of an optimal breathing rate at all controversial? Either in the sense that it is valid, and/or that it is advantageous to deliberately practice at that rate? If it feels like a "hassle" to breath at a certain rate, is it advisable, advantageous to simply persist until you adjust? Or would that be an example of trying too hard, and therefore counter-productive?

Thanks v. much for your help and insight.

Aloha,

Rex
Khon Kaen, Thailand
[email protected]

Hi Rex,

Are you using the standard or the clinical version of Alive?

The standard version of Alive uses smoothness. Although it may come up with different results, you can always manually adjust your breathing rate if you are more comfortable with a faster or slow rate. In any case, if you are breathing with the pacer at the speed determined by Alive, and are succeeding in smoothing your heart rate, you should feel confident that you are training properly.

The clinical version of Alive contains a much more extensive optimal breathing determination, based on current standard practices, and based on the recommendations of Tony Hughes, who teaches the biofeedback courses at Stens, as well as the research of top researchers such as Paul Lehrer. This clinical version of the optimal breathing determination will be much more accurate, and is based on multiple indexes of LF/RF and other important indicators. The clinical version, when set to breaths per minute, follows the standard optimal breathing determination used by Tony Hughes (and it was written to meet his requirements).

Some researchers discount the idea of a customized optimal breathing rate, and simply state everyone should breathe at about 10 seconds per breath (6 breaths per minute).

As long as you are breathing between 4.5 and 6.5 breaths per minute, you can simply choose the most comfortable breathing speed.

If following the pacer is annoying to you, and you are able to smooth your heart rate in other ways, you can definitely forget about the pacer. Breathing is a mix of conscious and unconscious activities, and most likely if you are achieving high smoothness, your breathing is at a good rate, as otherwise the breathing, which drives heart rate changes, would not create a smooth heart rate wave.

Let me know if this answers your questions, and if you don't yet have the Clinical version of Alive, but are taking a professional biofeedback course, I would suggest upgrading to the clinical version, as you will want to use the features present in this version now that you know more about biofeedback and HRV.

Best,

Ryan Deluz
Somatic Vision Inc.

Sat 5 Nov 2011, 2:42 pm

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for the thorough reply. Very helpful, and much appreciated. It clarifies up a lot.

I have the clinical version of Alive! now, but the experience I related about inconsistent results determine ideal berating rate goes back months to when I first got Alive, the standard version, and the whole thing was pretty opaque to me. Now, I am finding an internal logic and balance to this process very appealing, such as:

if you are achieving high smoothness, your breathing is at a good rate, as otherwise the breathing, which drives heart rate changes, would not create a smooth heart rate wave

Tony is presenting the Stens online HRV training I am taking now. He is very good at making elusive concepts seem simply.

Thanks, Ryan!

Aloha,

Rex
Khon Kaen, Thailand
[email protected]