I can follow the guiding tones with good precision for the 15 min most of the time, but I tend to get a BPM lower than 5. When I try to keep my BPM in the 6 range the voice nags me to breath in and out. This is real irritating and not relaxing. I have used it 15 min per day now for several weeks with no effect on my BP. Sometimes it puts me to sleep, because it is relaxing. I think I will try to do the lowered berating rate by taking off the head phones and watching my breath rate and focus on keeping it about 6 BPM. I would like to see if simply focusing on breath rate makes a difference. I think I will also experiment with how low I can get my breath rate and not get dizzy.

Also in the period of time since I got this device I have lost more than 10lbs with no effect on BP. Not suggesting acorrelation, just noting that losing weight has not lowered my BP either.

Dear Billybob,
A few key words jump out at me that make me a bit nervous.
"When I try...", "...nags me...", "...real irritating and not relaxing...". These shouldn't be words used to describe your RESPeRATE experience. There should be no effort involved. I would much rather you do a 15 minute session, with your eyes closed, almost falling asleep without looking at the screen. If the man's voice irritates you, you probably should mute him (left hand side of device) I wouldn't make it an "effort" to see how low you can go...you should do what feels comfortable, though.
Also, losing 10 lbs is not something that you shouldn't be proud of. With anything, your body needs to adjust to it's changes...both internally and externally.
Keep up the good work!
Breathe Easy!
Marguerite (IMG:http://forum.resperate.com/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

I didn't notice I could turn the voice off. But the last session I did I took my blood pressure before and immediately after and for the first time saw a difference.

So here is one more question, if I just follow the tones without any excess effort, eyes closed in a relaxed position and my BPM goes below 5 for the last few minutes of the session, should I be concerned that I am going below the optimal therapeutic zone? I am not trying to see how low I can go but this is where the tones take me naturally. What I was trying to do was to make sure I did not go below 5 not to see how low I could go.

Dear BillyBoy920,
THAT'S GREAT!!! So, if you saw a reduction after the session, it means you did the session properly and your body responded positvely to it. If you are feeling comfortable below the 5BPM, then don't even bother trying to fight it. The only other advice I can give you is to try changing your session to a 10 minute session. Often times we find that by doing so, you lessen your chances of getting down to a lower breathing rate.
Keep us updated with your progress!
Breathe Easy!
Marguerite (IMG:http://forum.resperate.com/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)