Tonight I could not meditate properly because of some throat disturbance. As soon as I started my breath rate was 5 to 6, not decreasing after a few minutes. I could not do kryia because of a strange throat constriction, probably mucus. It is maybe natural that breath rate decreases after kryia and joty since such techniques oxygenate the body.
Thinking of you! Maybe you could practice the om technique since it does not require anything from the throat but just listening and chanting om internally.
Interesting sequence, Steve, I'll have to try that out
Actually it was inspired by your idea of using the clock. Just realized using the om board would cause more activity.... Not good for slowing breath. I'll use it another time. This idea of stillness and slowing the breath and all body functions to have a similar effect on the brain activities requires quite a bit of awareness. The body and mind go on and on in their restless activity and chattering if unchecked. Saddling the breath to a clock is also somewhat helpful since it seems our consciousness is like the wild horses that Krishna had to control. This whole thing is quite an art and science mccoy. It is easy to be undisciplined about it and careless. Because there is really no Zen master to hit us with a stick. There is really no policeman to tell us what the laws are. If we do not track our own behavior and progress during meditation who will? Sometimes I do not feel like doing anything but that is inertia and it takes an act of will or inspiration from those around us to get to our practice otherwise we will waste this incarnation away. Enervation sneaks up on us in a moment of stasis.