I bought a RespeRate a couple of years ago, and used it for a time, as well as improving my diet and exercise, and my blood pressure went down to good levels--though it wasn't all that elevated.

Recently my blood pressure jumped way up, and I'm now on meds. I started using the RespeRate about two weeks ago, and now it seems that I've been doing it all wrong.

The problem is, I can't figure out how to do it correctly.

I'm experienced with yogic breathing, so when I first settled down with the RespeRate, I calmed myself, and then began slow, easy breathing. This usually meant that by the end of the recognition phase, I was starting at 5 BPM or less. My sessions ended up at around 3 BPM. It is hard to say whether I've been getting major benefits, as I started meds and exercise and diet and RespeRate all at once.

But when I came to this forum, it appears that the new wisdom--not mentioned in my instruction manual--is that below 5 BPM is too slow. And maybe it is--my BP certainly doesn't decrease after use. I believe that the product works--the clinical results are undenialble--but I don't think it's working for me right now.

Here's what I think is being recommended:

1) You should breathe without conscious effort or thought.

2) You should 'follow the tones.'

3) You shouldn't allow your mind to be distracted, and when it is, you should return your attention to the breath.

I dont seem to be able to follow tones without conscious effort or thought, or pay attention to my breath without conscious thought, or, indeed, pay any attention to my breath at all without thinking about (and interfering with) my breathing. For my mind, it seems to be a big Catch-22.

Can anyone give me some tips on how to get out of this mess?

Thank you, David. I also do yoga and find when I am completely relaxed my breathing goes into level 3. When the session is over and I check the rate, I am stunned. Now I find myself watching the rate instead of relaxing. Or I intentionally breathe differently at the beginning to slow the drop rate. This places stress on me while using a device to reduce stress. It seems counter-productive.