Techniques on processing pain

Breath & other techniques for processing pain & expanding pain limits.

Here are some techniques.
BELLY BREATH
1. Breathe naturally for a few breaths, then notice which first fills up when you breathe in, your chest or your belly?
Which goes up and down when you breathe?
Most fill up only their chest, which means the lungs don't get cleaned out.
You want to fill both belly and chest, belly first, and to do so, you need a strong exhale.
2. Become aware of your belly, and on the exhale breathe out like you're blowing out a stubborn candle, and tighten your belly squeezing it back towards your spine, blowing out all the air.
No more air to blow out? Let your belly pop out away from your spine, and fill it w/ air letting your belly fill up, then letting your chest. Bring in less air in than you blew out.
3. Now blow out again, belly back towards spine.
4. Breathe in, filling belly 1st.
5. Do this, gently, for several breaths till you feel you've got the hang of it.
4/8 COUNT BREATH
1. On the inhale, count to 4
2. On the exhale, count to 8.
3. In on 4, out on 8
4. In out in out...
If 4/8 is too much try 3/6 at first. Always double the exhale for this particular breath. Also, the longer the exhale the more mileage, 4/8, 5/10, 6/12, etc.
If struck on the exhale, the lower half especially, it's usually easier for the bottom to receive it.
If struck on the inhale, it's usually more painful.
If something really hurts, breathe out, breathe out. breathe out, blow it away.

Other pain processing tips.
Imagine surfing, riding on the sensation, the sensation following your exhale and you riding that sensation.
Imagine pain as a sensation to surrender/relax into, rather than something to endure. Consciously relax all your muscles, especially on the exhale. Breathe into where you're relaxed and out thru where you're tight.
Imagine pain as a color, and then spread that color out from it's locus to over your body.

And please, don't think that because you will be more relaxed you won't have as much fun, or be as excited. Relaxation and Excitement together is called Euphoria in the essential oil world, and I think they're on to something.

 

One that I might add, in the limit-stretching department: When topping in this mode, I give a long warmup, including the sort of breath coaching you describe. If it goes well, toward the end of the scene, I have them pull in a really deep breath, and hold it for my slow count of three. They'll exhale all the way, of course--and the top strikes hard just as the exhale _ends_.

As a top, it's sadistically amusing to watch someone try to scream with empty lungs. For the bottom, it's like getting a whole new screen on a video game! At least it's been that way for me, the times I've bottomed for it. And when I top it, when they finally do remember how to fill up their lungs, they're about as likely to say "Oh, WOW!" as to make that scream that was their initial plan for the air.

By SybilHoliday

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Thank you Sybil Holiday for sharing your knowledge on processing pain.