Breathing

[Phelan]

One of the things I do to calm down during a game of go is to breathe slowly and consciously, and focus on my breathing. If you make it a habit, it might might supersede the breath holding instinct you have?

I'm not sure, as I haven't gotten that effect to that point, just shallow breathing. The above helps with shallow breathing, I think.

[EdLee]

What else can I do to bring my mind and body "in one?"

Very good question.
One short and funny (but zen) answer: if you stand up, and just jump in place -- doesn't have to be high,
even just an inch off the floor is OK -- during the very brief moment you land,
your mind and body are in one.

Another example of breathing -- US Open 2013 tennis -- R. Nadal vs. R. Harrison --
every time they hit the ball, they're exhaling.

[EdLee]

breathe slowly and consciously, and focus on my breathing.

That's quite good, Phelan. And not just for Go, either.

[Phelan]

I have a dilemma somewhat related to Robert's "Oxygen" thread.

Oddly enough, I often stop breathing while reading in live games. I have no idea why, but suspect I am just over-focused, to the point of shutting down this "involuntary" reflex. This causes me intense headaches at tournaments. These headaches have gotten worse as I've gotten stronger and try to read deeper. My solution is to record the game, as this non-reading activity allows me to breathe every move. Obviously this is insufficient because I still get headaches.

This doesn't happen to me online.

Like Robert, I'd appreciate suggestions.

Hold a wine cork between your teeth.

(A tip I picked up from violin players. )

So, I find it amusing that if someone is talking too much, people tell him to put a cork in it.
And in this particular case, he's being too silent, by not even breathing, and people still tell him to put a cork in it.

[EdLee]

One of the strongest reasons I want to stop smoking.

City birds and cigarette butts

b.jpg (111.64 KiB) Viewed 11788 times

[daal]

I have a dilemma somewhat related to Robert's "Oxygen" thread.

Oddly enough, I often stop breathing while reading in live games. I have no idea why, but suspect I am just over-focused, to the point of shutting down this "involuntary" reflex. This causes me intense headaches at tournaments. These headaches have gotten worse as I've gotten stronger and try to read deeper. My solution is to record the game, as this non-reading activity allows me to breathe every move. Obviously this is insufficient because I still get headaches.

This doesn't happen to me online.

Like Robert, I'd appreciate suggestions.

Hold a wine cork between your teeth.

(A tip I picked up from violin players. )

Don't know if this looks sillier from the good seats in a concert hall or from across a go board.

[Phelan]

breathe slowly and consciously, and focus on my breathing.

That's quite good, Phelan. And not just for Go, either.

I think it's used a lot in meditation, and probably came from there at some point. I don't really remember where I saw that, if it was in Senseis, or some meditation article.

[wineandgolover]

wine&go, would you say that the muscles on your face and neck are tensed when intense concentration leads to these headaches?

Depending on how severe and frequent the headaches are, you might want to talk to your doctor. The worst-case scenario is that you have an unruptured aneurysm that comes under stress when your blood pressure rises. The best-case scenario is that these headaches are completely harmless and your doctor can prescribe a pill to prevent them. (Sorry if this isn't quite as satisfying as becoming one with your go!)

(Jts accidentally posted this to the professional advice thread. Funnily he prescribes a different sort of professional advice.)

I am not aware of tensing up while playing. Just occasionally catching my breath after reading, which is why I assumed I wasn't breathing.

jts, are you a doctor? Aneurism-talk makes me nervous.

These symptoms only occur at live go tourneys, btw. And I think they always have.

[jts]

wine&go, would you say that the muscles on your face and neck are tensed when intense concentration leads to these headaches?

Depending on how severe and frequent the headaches are, you might want to talk to your doctor. The worst-case scenario is that you have an unruptured aneurysm that comes under stress when your blood pressure rises. The best-case scenario is that these headaches are completely harmless and your doctor can prescribe a pill to prevent them. (Sorry if this isn't quite as satisfying as becoming one with your go!)

(Jts accidentally posted this to the professional advice thread. Funnily he prescribes a different sort of professional advice.)

I am not aware of tensing up while playing. Just occasionally catching my breath after reading, which is why I assumed I wasn't breathing.

jts, are you a doctor? Aneurism-talk makes me nervous.

These symptoms only occur at live go tourneys, btw. And I think they always have.

I am not a doctor and nothing I say should ever be construed as professional advice, even if posted in the professional advice thread (least of all my fuseki suggestions). I had a similar problem once and talked to a doctor about it. In my case, I was both forgetting to breathe and tensing up. Apparently the pressure in the neck can put pressure on tangled veins... or something like that.