How do you calm your heartbeat?

[lporzio4]

I have been doing really well with my WILD attempts. Sometimes I can get SP but other times I cant though. When I try to WILD sometimes my heart beats really fast right as SP is about to hit.(when the wave of numbness swarms your body). How can I stop my heart from beating so fast? I tried to calmy breathe but SP stops and only my feet and hands remain numb. any tips/ideas on keeping my heartbeat relaxed?

[Abra]

Hm. I say use patience. How long have you been trying to WILD? If you keep it up for a few months, this initial physical excitement will die down on its own (habituation). You could try meditation before a WILD attempt. I highly recommend it. It will make it easier for the body to fall asleep, and, depending on the meditation you use, could serve as preparation for a DILD in case your WILD attempt fails.

[OAR Raider]

I have been having this same problem. I haven't been specifically trying to WILD but as im drifting off to sleep my body starts to slip away but I can feel my pulse throughout my whole body. any help?

[Naturally Lucid]

Slow breathing or holding your breath (but not for too long) calms your breath. I tried different breathing techniques with what I think is called a stethoscope. Even when you breath in, but slow, your heart is fast, stopping your breathing for a few seconds calms the heart rate.

[Ishi]

I have a small ticking clock that I put on my chest and I feel like my heart syncs up with it. Well maybe it's in my head but it always calms me

[pond weed]

i get that EXACT feeling. numbness, heaviness, tinglies, racing heart. i think i might actucaly be a phsycological thing. because i didnt so much feel my heart rate speed up (i think it did a bit though). i feels more like the heartbeats a really strong, bam bam....bam bam.....bam bam.....smasing against the inside of my rib cage. but i think this is part of the senses acting funny eg hearing sounds, feeling vibrations

[BigFan]

I think I've had something similar with my attempts to get to SP and hopefully jump into a LD after. I wasn't really excited but knew that once SP passes, I'll have a LD. I would take Naturally Lucid's advice and either breath slowly or stop your breathing for a couple of seconds

[ptmb]

This is exactly what happened to me! I actually looked for this thread that i had seen before to avoid having to do this post but didn't found it. Anyway, I made exactly the same, I tried calming down the heart beat by controlling my breathing, but then the hallucinations stopped. Anyway, if most people were getting close to SP at this point, I can understand that I maybe was too. Now I really need to get time to try to WILD

[qurut]

Practice until you master it.

[legonut4]

focus on breathing

[ouija]

Slow shallow breathing helps. That, and focusing on your heartbeat itself and willing it to slow.

[pond weed]

also, i remember once when this was happening. i got the excited hearbeat etc. nothjing hapened. so i was jsut laying there, and my legs + arms felt slightly numb. then it happened again, but this time i got a lot further, and the third time i was soooooooooo close. each time the heart beat became less and less of a problem. if you fail a wild attempt, dont give up for that night, if the SP did not come, stay still and in a couple of mins it will come again, but this time it will be more likely that it will work

[Quark]

It's activation of the sympathetic nervous system, an automatic response to a perceived threat. Trying to cirumvent the effect confirms to your system that it is undesirable, and thus emphasises it. You need to habituate to it: continue to induce SP, and when such sympathetic activation occurs, do not react. If you continue to do so, you'll eventually habituate to it.

[Jozeh]

With your hands across your abdomen, using your stomach(diaphragm) to inhale/exhale and try the 7 11 breathing technique: inhale for 7 seconds exhale for 11 seconds if thats too long try 5 & 9 seconds and eventually work your way up to it and go higher if you can but dontstrain yourself. works by using your para-sympaphetic nervous system to slow your heart, and by placing your hands on your diaphragm just helps to focus on your breathing.