Feeling of suffocation when trying to exit body?

astralwanderer · #1 23-10-2016, 03:48 PM

Last night I was in the vibration phase and I made several attempts at exit but each time it felt like my body was suffocating. Maybe I was holding my breath or imagining it? Has anyone experienced this before? Anyone have tips for preventing this in the future? Thanks.

SaraTherase · #2 23-10-2016, 04:42 PM

I feel this may have been caused by sleep paralysis, it's fairly common in sleep, astral projection and lucid dreaming. Although a little alarming at the time once you fully wake yourself up you are fine.

astralwanderer · #3 23-10-2016, 04:54 PM

I'm familiar with sleep paralysis, and I was definitely in the SP state, but I've never had it manifest as a suffocating feeling.

My main issue with this experience was that I didn't feel safe leaving my body with it not breathing.

Was hoping someone may have had a similar experience.

Tobi · #4 23-10-2016, 10:54 PM

No, I haven't had that experience, but it is possible it could be related to 'sleep paralysis'....I don't know.

But what I have had occasionally -is a strange effect where as I am starting to exit the body, I find myself taking the deepest breaths imaginable! This seems sort of 'autonomic' and beyond my ordinary control, as if it's a reflex for some reason. So I began to wonder if a certain kind of breathing is related in some way to out of body experiences. But it hasn't happened often enough for me to be able to study it more deeply, or experiment.

I wonder if a general 'breathing meditation' done daily might help you over-ride this ?

And if ever you don't feel safe or content to leave the body, that is okay. Don't leave. Come back. There will always be another time for an attempt.

astralwanderer · #5 24-10-2016, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobi

I wonder if a general 'breathing meditation' done daily might help you over-ride this ?

And if ever you don't feel safe or content to leave the body, that is okay. Don't leave. Come back. There will always be another time for an attempt.

I agree breathing exercises might help and I will definitely start doing some!

Those were my thoughts, too...I was a bit disappointed about having to "babysit" my body, though. ;) As though it were being a stubborn child. This has never happened before. I think the breathing exercises will be helpful in aspects of my waking life, as well.

Thank you both for the input!

dryad · #6 24-10-2016, 04:22 PM

Do you know where your astral self was? Could it have been from it being somewhere it was having trouble breathing and it was crossing over to you? Sometimes the higher self won't let you take control of it if it's in a place your not able to handle. I saw that once with someone whose astral self was caught in an astral forest fire

astralwanderer · #7 24-10-2016, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dryad

Do you know where your astral self was? Could it have been from it being somewhere it was having trouble breathing and it was crossing over to you? Sometimes the higher self won't let you take control of it if it's in a place your not able to handle. I saw that once with someone whose astral self was caught in an astral forest fire

That's very interesting. I suppose that's a possibility.