Okay...a couple things. First: When I'm doing the sniffs, it feels like I'm trying to swallow the air and my neck muscles are helping so much they're starting to hurt. Also, sometimes I don't feel like I get enough air in, but I ALWAYS feel like I could exhale forever.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Ellie Mae,
Try doing your O lying flat on your back, and concentrate on keeping your neck muscles relaxed. Just do the breathing for awhile. Don't worry about positions until you have this mastered. Otherwise, you'll have problems with headaches and neck pain....this is the voice of experience! I never feel like I've gotten all of the air out either, but unless you start hyperventilating from too much air, I don't think you need to be too concerned. The important part of the exhale is to do it with force. Give yourself time to learn how to breathe right! I was Oxycising for several months, and had lost 30 pounds before I really learned how to do it right! Hope this helps!
Susanna

Hi Ellie Mae,
One of the benefits of the 3 extra sniffs is that is does make the muscles in the throat area -- the front of your neck -- work harder. So it helps tone this area. In the introductory video Jill demonstrates how doing the 3 sniffs causes the neck and throat muscles to tighten automatically. The 3 sniffs also helps tone your abs.

If your muscles are really in pain, ease up a little bit. You don't need to take in much air, because your lungs should already be full. So think in terms of just little tiny sniffs. Don't try so hard that you hurt yourself. It IS the most difficult step of the breathing, since you are trying to take IN air when your abs are tight, and that's hard to do. But that's what makes it more effective for muscle toning. Keep practicing and it will become easier!

Susanna is correct that your neck, shoulder and facial muscles in general should be relaxed. But the throat muscles do contract (similar to swallowing motions) during the 3 extra sniffs.

Julie G.

Thanks for setting me straight on this! I didn't realize that those sniffs would do so much.
Susanna

Something else I was thinking of, was that Jill mentions (in the intro video maybe?) that you can tell if you're not taking in enough air compared to what you're breathing out if you start yawning during Oing. That means your body isn't getting enough oxygen in. (On the flip side of that, if you're feeling dizzy that means you aren't breathing out enough CO2. Hope I got all that right.)

In other words, if you're yawning then you probably are breathing out too much or not breathing in enough and you need to adjust your breathing accordingly. Otherwise, you probably don't need to worry about the fact that your exhale seems so much longer than your inhale.

Clear as mud?

Okay...getting a clearer picture. However...I'm not encouraged. I yawn AND get lightheaded. Great. I'll have to pay closer attention and see if both is happening each time or if I rotate.

I'm still a little confused about the neck muscles, they are accessory breathing muscles and are usually pretty developed in people with breathing problems such as emphysema. They help to lift the rib cage to expand the lungs. But they usually don't kick in unless the other breathing muscles are very weak. So I wonder if I'm just weak. And if so, I wonder how to fix it. Would practicing wrong just strengthen the wrong muscles?

Keep the opinions/suggestions coming, if ya got 'em!

Thanks.

Ellie Mae,
I'm almost afraid to say more, but I keep envisioning the invisible thread pulling my head up. Jill mentioned that in her book, on page 88.
Susanna

I am so glad this subject was brought up. I have been on the program 2 days, today is the third. I find that after I inhale I can not do the 3 sniffs. There is no more room for that air. Am I inhaling too much? Also, has anyone noticed a change in the way food taste? It seems since I started the food I eat taste different, and that there is a sweetness in my mouth all the time.

Susanna,

Oh no!! Why are you afraid to say anything else? Now I'M afraid to say anything else!

Right now I'm just trying to pay closer attention to how I'm doing it. Maybe I can figure it out.

Sorry, Ellie Mae. I just felt that I had given you a wrong answer about the sniffs, and that's why I felt afraid to say more. I was really tired when I posted last night, and I really meant to tell you that I also have experienced the dizziness, lightheadedness, yawning....I think it's just part of learning how to breathe this way, and you'll get it as you keep practicing. I don't have any way to watch videos, so everything I've learned has been through Jill's book or on this board. I have found that if I Oxycise early in the morning, it really increases my appetite for the whole day. Also, I tend to get relaxed and sleepy while I'm breathing deep and stretching, so for all those reasons, I workout either late in the afternoon, or after supper. Please don't feel like you shouldn't ask questions!

Sherri, welcome to the board! Please don't be shy! For really great tips on the breathing, go to the Announcements section of the board, and find the breathing tips that Julie G. has posted there. If you have time to read on this board, there is a terrific amount of info here, on just about anything connected with O. I can't say I've experienced a difference in the way food tastes, but maybe others have. I wish you wonderful results! Feel free to join us on the D2L (determined to lose) thread for daily support and encouragement.

Susanna

Oh, Susanna! (don't you cry for me...) Sorry...couldn't resist the urge. And don't be afraid to say anything more. I don't know if what you said was the wrong answer or not, but there's no way to know if we don't speak up. I'm sure I've been wrong a time or two. Maybe. But it takes more than being wrong to shut me up!

Anyway, I also have experienced the increased hunger. I assume that's because of the increase in metabolism, so it's a good thing. It's even better if you can resist the temptation to eat unhealthy foods! When I used to run (before I was all fat and unhealthy), my hunger increased because of the increased activity/metabolism.

I'm still trying to decide when the best time for me to O! is. I am NOT a morning person, but that generally is the best time for me to exercise because if I don't do it then, it generally doesn't get done. But like you, I think it makes me a bit too relaxed. I have hard enough time waking up and being alert. It also makes me late for work! So I think I'm going to have to try hard to make it part of my night time routine.

Happy O'g!

You are sooooo funny! I like the other "Susannah" song too; the one that Lionel Cartwright sings. I don't know if he sings anything else that I would like, but I like that one.

I have a hard time making myself do any exercise at any time of the day! I'm such a lazy bones...but I have found that it really does help to have a calendar and give myself stars for a visual reminder of how faithful I am. The other thing that helps is all my O-buddies! I don't know if I would've hung in here this long without all the support here.
My family has really helped me, too, and I appreciate all the encouragement I've had.

Happy O'ing to you, too.

Susanna