Hi, i have been reading many threads on breathing and now working on many of the tips and advice. One little problem i am encountering when i am practicing breathing (no insitrument) i sometimes go light headed when exhaling. This does not happen all the time, therefore i neeed a little advice on what it causing the issue so i can avoid it. Just a note which may or may not be of relevance, i am relatively fit due to running three to four times a week.

You are running out of air in the blood in your head. It just means you are really pushing your body to its limits. Eventually that should go away, I passed out once before when I did the breathing Gym six times a week but now it is no problem. Your brain will get used to not having blood and you will be fine.

It's common to get lightheaded while doing breathing exercises, especially if you're new at it. It's something your body should get used to. You might want back off a bit on the frequency and intensity of these exercises, to give your body more time to get used to them.

FWIW, lightheadedness can also be the result of something medical. But in a healthy person like yourself (as you pointed out), where the lightheadedness is limited to these breathing exercises, it's likely nothing bad.

Mike

Being well hydrated helps me.

Originally Posted by schleiman

Being well hydrated helps me.

I do lots of water all day and to keep from gagging I put a little lemon juice in it

High notes are like weight lifting. In practice:

1. I put the horn valve casing on my left palm and set the stop watch on 0.00.

2. Ascend from Low C up the open partials to a High E or higher (above High C). turn on stopwatch and

3. Hold at mezzo forte or less volume for 25 seconds.


Several things at work here:

A. Building endurance without excessive arm pressure.

B. Learning at point point my head is about to lose consciousness/increasing that length of time through persistent practice over several months.

C. Increasing the length of time I can stay in the extreme upper register.

D. Developing better high note volume with minimal arm pressure.

I believe you are describing the normal physiological effects of the end phase of ventilation. This is more an effect of increasing carbon dioxide rather than a lack of oxygen. It is nature's way of letting you know it is time to breathe again. Check Rowuk's signature line. It applies here. As long as you aren’t forceful breathing or holding you glottis to increase pressure to induce a valsalva effect, I doubt very much that you are cutting off blood circulation to the brain. So no need to worry, and I think it is a great idea to work on breathing techniques!

THAT is the problem with reading threads. You try what you think that you understood instead of what was meant.

Why are you trying "breathing" exercizes? What are the ones that you are trying supposed to help? What are you doing for exercizes? PLEASE LET ALANT ANSWER THIS!

We are creatures of habit. Habits are built on hundreds to thousands of repetitions. Wrong repetitions mess our playing up for the rest of our lives. You need to get the story straight!

Originally Posted by rowuk

THAT is the problem with reading threads. You try what you think that you understood instead of what was meant.

Why are you trying "breathing" exercizes? What are the ones that you are trying supposed to help? What are you doing for exercizes? PLEASE LET ALANT ANSWER THIS!

We are creatures of habit. Habits are built on hundreds to thousands of repetitions. Wrong repetitions mess our playing up for the rest of our lives. You need to get the story straight!

Great response Rowuk, so let me rephrase my reply: So no need to worry, and I think it is a great idea to work on breathing techniques! BUT THE RIGHT ONES! Do let us know exactly what breathing techniques your are using.

In the grand scheme of things, rowuk and gmonady are correct. They are thinking about the big picture, and want to focus on what the OP is acutually doing, to make sure the OP is doing it correctly. This is, of course, very important.

But just to make sure the original intent of the thread is satisfied, the OP asked a much simpler question, with a very simple answer.

1) Is it normal for an otherwise healthy person to get lightheaded when doing breathing exercises? Yes.

2) And if so, what can be done to avoid this? Back off on the frequency and intensity of these exercises, to give your body more time to get used to them.

Now I'm going to sit back and try to learn a few things about breathing exercises from these guys. :)

Mike