Weird tingling/electrified feeling when relaxing

[EthanD]

I've had this ability as long as I can remember. When I relax and..."do it" it feels like my entire body warms up and gets extremely tingly. I can do it at will, and it does not elevate my heart rate. I take deeper breaths though. I can hold it for as long as I want, but it becomes difficult after 15 seconds. No one has ever been able to explain it and these answers help a lot. The feeling is akin to having an ENORMOUS adrenaline surge, so it makes sense that I would be squeezing my adrenal glands. If anyone has a true explanation, please respond, because I dont know if the adrenal explanation is true.

Edit: I can't necessarily retain the euphoric feeling after about 8 seconds, but a remnant of it is there at 10+ seconds. It fades and becomes impossible to hold. Also, my fingers, toes and eyes twitch randomly. My hands also sometimes jerk randomly. It's weird. 

 

Edited February 25, 2019 by EthanD

[Bovaiveu]

Jumping in on this thread, I've been able to do this since childhood and I've found no explanation.

As mentioned before I can just keep it going for a little while before I have to "reset" of sorts.
How I induce it is vague at best, but I'll try to describe it as best I can.
It's like I am trying to move my body, being at the very edge of committing to motion, like my muscles are just about to contract, that's when it occurs.
The feeling is best described as a warm rush that comes from the base of the spine and then flushes into the rest of the body. My head will feel like it's floating and after I will feel incredibly relaxed.
Other physical effects I experience is very shallow breath and like the heart is slowing down, but not in an uncomfortable manner.
I will also feel a very strong urge to move and deep focus. It also seems to affect my ability to explosively activate muscles.

I don't know if this is the case for others, but I exhibit traits of muscle control like being able to rumble the ears (tensor tympani) and a variety of other things.

I truly wish for a scientific explanation for this...

*edit (going to try using an EEG to observe whether it produces any alterations in brainwaves, but the device will take a while to deliver.)

Edited February 26, 2019 by Bovaiveu

[Dpg]

Like other on this topic I too have unwittingly started this electric excitement cycle that is kinda addictive. Triggered by some muscle in my eyes. But it's happening more and more ferociously instant rush of something nice but very difficult to describe tingle to the point of a shiver with pressure in head high frequency whistle in side with a wave of something...

[Zeropr0xy]

I am very late to this discussion but found this thread seemingly the same way others have. I would like to give my experience, and I will start off by saying that this odd sensation has been explained very well within this thread. I have been able to reach this "state" from a young age... I am now 34 years old. I first noticed this sensation after reading an article about monks who could slow their heartbeats after years of meditation. I was quite fascinated by this idea and decided to try it myself. While laying in bed I concentrated specifically on my heartbeat and nothing else other than my heartbeat, then slowly tried to imagine my heart beating slower. After some time (15 to 20 minutes) I started to notice the tingling feeling, a few minutes later I noticed I could control this by what I call releasing. By "releasing" I mean letting go of all muscular control and focusing on nothing.. the same feeling came over my body starting from my hips flowing up to my head.. at this point, I became very afraid as I felt I was slipping away and I might not return. Ever since that day I periodically find myself reaching this state but I am unable to hold the sensation for more than a few seconds. It tends to be easier to reach this state when I am very tired. Those I have spoken to about this write it off as nothing, but for those who have experienced this, it is definitely far from nothing.  I am not an expert on meditation but I believe these two things are closely tied. If anyone would like to share their experiences I can be reached by email at Mwphillips84@gmail.com as this topic is very interesting and needs further research. 

 

[Sanjoey]

I just recently have had this happen to me while I would lay down and relax for bed and often when i wake up from sleeping. It doesnt take time or start anywhere in particular. It's instantly everywhere in my body and i can maintain it as long as I stay relaxed. It feels odd but feels very good. The thing is i have mixed feelings about it, it scares me but i didn't want the sensation to end. 

[Pmitc22]

I have CRPS/RSD and all the trillions of nerves of my skin (deep into the layers & tissue) are damaged so it is like I'm burning from the inside out or carpet burn all over my body. So I was doing some research about the vagus nerve & "reset" it through a few different recommended techniques. About 5 mins later an area in my left foot was dead & I felt waves of electric tingling that was intense through my entire body but mostly (most intense) in my legs & up to my chest. I could tell that it was connected to all the trillions of damaged nerves bc the burning like carpet burn stopped. Yes, it was a warm sensation but of like happy tickling electrical rolling relaxation of waves. I am pretty sure I reset this vagus nerve. It lasted for about 10mins & though there are still areas that are burning, it is mostly my upper half. My lower extremities still do not feel "normal" (my normal is in hella pain from the damaged nervous symptoms having all the nerves turned on high.. deep pain that makes my legs feel like they have been ran over & set to fire) 100% but it was something I never experienced until now & surely it cant be a consequence from the vagus nerve. I even read you can reset it with slowing your breathing down. I am fairly certain that this is what goure doing.

[DrP]

How does this thing compare to the feelings people get when they do Tai Chi?

 

[Keenan Ross]

It’s very comforting to know other people have had similar experiences with this, and that no one has had the exact same feelings. 

March 26th, at 3:04 I checked my phone to see what time it was before I tried this meditiative state we all have experienced. Like many of us, the first time I noticed this “tingly, warm” form of sensational relaxation was around 8 or 9 and the best way I can explain the feeling at that time was a wave of “energy” flowing from my head all the way down to my feet. It’s like I consciously  trigger a feeling in my head the triggers a warm feeling in my heart that triggers an energy pulse through my body as I explained before. Like many of us, this feeling only lasted a few seconds and it feels like it has to regenerate for me to be able to trigger this feeling again. Over the years, i randomly “practiced” this feeling ad if something was beyond this feeling and that it would lead me to something farther than a peal relaxation. I am now 20 years old and tonight I experienced this again. But... it was very different.

I started of laying on my back, legs spread apart, arms out to my side. I was listening to 852hz frequency, and was focusing on that sound. I started to relax the parts of my body one at a time until my chest felt this warm feeling and I knew i could trigger that “electric, warm” pulse feeling throughout my body. Many times it takes a few seconds to regenerate for me to be sble to trigger it again, but tonight as I kept repeating this pulse of energy, it was as if my body had taken control over it and automaticly triggered this feeling or me and I didnt have to concsiously trigger it. As this goes on my body relaxes to a point where I don’t feel the blankets on top of me and I don’t feel the bed beneath me. I started focusing on the “energy” instead of the 853hz frequency and for the first time that “warm, electric” feeling stayed put all throughout my body. It was no pulse feeling but instead it was as if a sink was being filled with warm water. And when i felt the energy fill all the way up it was as if  I was out of my own body. I felt as my body was being lifted and was rising up. I felt my body start to sway back and forth then start spinning. At this moment i was thinking i must be falling asleep but at the same time I was wondering why I was so vividly able to listen to my thoughts and feeling of my body spin upwards. My eyes closed this whole time started to look deeper into the darkness which caused my thoughts to empty out. It was as if my eyes were searching for something or were looking for an opening of some sort. I then caught train of my thoughts again and was thinking that I might be having a seizure at any moment. But it was as if my body was telling me not to move because this sensation was so pleasureful I felt as if I was traveling somewhere. So as my body feels it is increasingly spinning faster and faster, and my eyes closed but still searching or looking for something, i noticed i was having a hard time breathing. I couldnt control my breathing but iness taking enormous deep breaths in then letting it out fast. At this same moment, my thoughts went silent , the frequency i was listening to went silent and I heard my heart beat in my head for a few seconds and that was all there was to me. My body had stopped spinning and I felt as if i was floating in darkness with this “warm” feeling. I still felt out of my body as if i was detached. No thoughts no feelings nothing for a few seconds. Then it was as if I slowly started to return to my body and I started to sense this world again and i just continued to lay there. I finally opened my eyes and felt nothing st all but then felt peace and curiousty to what just happend. 

 

Just for some more input on my last post. I don’t believe that solfeggio frequencies  like 852hz truly do anything like open up the third eye or anything like that. I listen to these frequencies to help relax and tune out any other noises. Much like how people use white noise to help fall asleep. 

[Louis De Nys]

I have exactly the same thing, I can make it go in my shoulders and arms too and that makes them spasm out a bit.

[Nickf15682929]

Hello I was searching this Bc I am dealing with the same thing. I’m 17 and for as long as I remember I’ve had this. It don’t happen when I’m relaxing normally; I have to focus on relaxing deeper and then my legs and feet get this almost like tingly feeling and it’s only my legs and feet and like you I can’t hold it for longer than 10 seconds. I feel like if I do it often it could lead to something and maybe master some crazy mental ability. Everyone I’ve talked to about this thinks I’m dumb crazy or just have no idea what I’m talking about.   I’ve never checked my eyes while doing it but I need to know what this is called or means because it’s been a topic I’ve wondered my entire life that I could never relate with anyone else till now. And sometimes when I am doing it for a little I can make my upper body mainly shoulders almost like shake a little.

Edited May 14, 2019 by Nickf15682929

[ratschkopf]

Hello, I also just created an account to reply to this post. Here are my thoughts on the matter:

My decription of what it feels like:

The sensation makes me feel like I‘m being pulled down towards the ground. It feels like I‘m dragging myself about an inch down. As if you were sinking into your own body. It‘s almost like extreme relaxation but feels more exhausting than usual relaxing. When it starts, it starts rather quickly, with almost no delay. I would guess it‘s only about 200ms max from not feeling it to feeling it. But the intensity of the effect can vary depending on how concentrated I am in this (exact) moment which only lasts a few seconds. I feel it in my muscle areas, at my limbs (arms, legs the most)

How to invoke the feeling:

1. Lie down (If I were to hold my arm up for example, it doesn‘t really work)

2. Get relaxed

3. Stop breathing (I don‘t hold my breath but rather exhale everything and then stop with inhaling for the duration of the feeling)

4. Try to let go of your muscles / body as much as you can.

If it doesn‘t work directly don‘t be discouraged. I think it may be similar to controlling crying or something similar which you usually don‘t control.

Also interesting to note:

There is a clear difference between just relaxing and doing this „feeling“ / having this sensation. I can more or less control wether I do it or not. But only for a few seconds, after which I feel like I have to wait a little bit before I can go again. Also: It becomes continously harder to hold the feeling whilst doing it. The longer the duration the more I have to stop with it.

My history / story:

I‘m 17 and did this „extreme relaxing“ of the muscles at a few points in my life. I think my first time was when I was about 13-14. At the time I didn‘t really care about it and forgot about the feeling. Since then I did it a few times up until now, when I‘ve finally decided that I want to do some research and I‘m very happy to find this thread.

My thesis of what it might be / how it can be explained:

I‘m pretty sure this isn‘t some imaginary thing that only exists because I think it exists. I think there are many placebo effects in everyday life but this feeling is almost as clear as moving my body or rotating and twisting my tongue for example.

After reading this thread and seeing the comment from thaar and his example of a dude who measured his body during the process, I‘m leaning towards the theory that when doing it, you control your adrenaline / some other (similar) hormone levels. This would explain the supposed increase in heart rate and the „electric“ feeling many were talking about. It’s also supported by the fact that I have to stop with it after a short period of time. Releasing some hormone couldn‘t continue forever non stop, could it?

Still, I‘m sure there is a way to come up with a much more precise explanation of this phenomenon. That‘s why I don‘t plan on stopping with the „investigation“ of this

My Plan going forward:

I want to measure my heart beat / heart rate while doing it and then compare it to when I don‘t do it. When I try to „measure“ my heart rate by resting one of my hands on my chest to feel the heart beats, I‘m pretty certain that the rate increases.

And finally to wrap this up:

I believe that many if not everybody can do this. It may be a thing like crying / burping on demand, where not everybody can do it but it‘s possible once you got the hang of it.That‘s why I encourage you to try it and also reply to this thread with your own findings.

[DrP]

Dozens signing in to say that they get it too....  WE KNOW - everyone can do it.

 

Please answer:

HOW IS IT ANY DIFFERENT FROM TAI CHI??    

 

[Strange]

8 minutes ago, DrP said:

Dozens signing in to say that they get it too....  WE KNOW - everyone can do it.

Leave it.

It is a good "honey pot" to stop them all starting a new thread! It is just a shame that the forum doesn't let you ignore threads like you can ignore users.

[DrP]

32 minutes ago, Strange said:

Leave it.

OK.   I do think it's the same as people feel when they do Tai Chi though.  I'd like to know how these people think it is any different.

[Strange]

54 minutes ago, DrP said:

OK.   I do think it's the same as people feel when they do Tai Chi though.  I'd like to know how these people think it is any different.

I'm sure it is similar. Although I might say Qi Gong, rather than Tai Chi.

(Trivia: the qi in Qi Gong is not the same as the chi in Tai Chi - I used to think it was)

[ratschkopf]

2 hours ago, DrP said:

Dozens signing in to say that they get it too....  WE KNOW - everyone can do it.

 

Please answer:

HOW IS IT ANY DIFFERENT FROM TAI CHI??    

 

 

2 hours ago, Strange said:

Leave it.

It is a good "honey pot" to stop them all starting a new thread! It is just a shame that the forum doesn't let you ignore threads like you can ignore users.

 

1 hour ago, DrP said:

OK.   I do think it's the same as people feel when they do Tai Chi though.  I'd like to know how these people think it is any different.

Hey guys, I just wanted to clarify:

I am generally not somebody who believes in absurd spiritual things that are unscientific or things like tai chi. I am not religious and (try to) build my opinions on empirical evidence. This sensation is pretty much the the only thing I believe in that sounds so strange and ridiculous. More precisely, I think that tai chi is not much more than a placebo effect which is being held alive by people who believe in all sorts of falsities that are unscientific.

I myself know lots of people who report on things that I think are basically wrong. And I don‘t want to be one of them. Reading through my text again though, I have to admit that it did sound quite unrealistic or that I was trying to be the spiritual guy who finds out that he has a soul and is going crazy about it. This may led you to believe that I am just one of these people who ignores scientific evidence and tries to build his own unsubstanciated theory about the human body and the universe.

When I described the feeling I said it feels like being pulled down. That‘s because it‘s the closest feeling I could associate with it, not because I believe that I will actually escape out of my body and can fly around with some weird soul of me or something similar. I believe that pretty much everything that has to do with our consciousness happens in the brain and that there is no spiritual self that could ever leave the body.

In reality, I think that only a few of the posters in this thread actually had the same sensation like me, Keenan Ross‘s post for example describes a feeling which is far more intense than mine. I can‘t know wether his experience was real or not, but I would also „agree with you“ that his experience sounds unrealistic to me.

I don‘t think this sensation is something similar to tai chi. That‘s because when I do it, it just feels like a usual ability like breathing or moving an arm. The only difference is that it is not as easy to control. It‘s like the ability to curl your tongue or to „breath into your stomach“ to be able to burp.  (I don’t know if that’s what actually happens). Or like moving the muscles in your nose (I thinks it the nasalis muscle) or in your ears, both things which I can control but some I know can‘t. Or like moving only one eye brow only one eye at the time. It‘s difficult because we as humans aren’t usually doing it and don‘t need to anyways. Not everybody trained themselves to do it but it‘s possible.

That‘s also why my original thesis was that it‘s just „squeezing“ (releasing) some hormone into your body. Usually this releasing of hormones happens completely subconciously but in this specific case, it may just be that you can control it if you know how to.

Also, I said that I only created an account to answer this thread. That‘s because I never stumbled upon this site before, not because I‘m usually a spiritual person who does not look through a site like scienceforums.

I would be happy to talk to you about this more, because I really feel like the sensation isn‘t such a big deal after all. It‘s most likely just some weird ability to control some function of your body that primarily makes your body feel different.

Edited May 28, 2019 by ratschkopf

[Strange]

16 minutes ago, ratschkopf said:

I am generally not somebody who believes in absurd spiritual things that are unscientific or things like tai chi.

I believe in tai chi - millions of people do it every day. It definitely exists.

16 minutes ago, ratschkopf said:

This sensation is pretty much the the only thing I believe in that sounds so strange and ridiculous .

It doesn't sound strange or ridiculous at all. That is the problem with this thread (and the other one about "OMG I CAN UNFOCUS MY EYES!!!1!! OOMMGG").

 

[ratschkopf]

2 minutes ago, Strange said:

I believe in tai chi - millions of peopled it every day. It definitely exists.

It doesn't sound strange or ridiculous at all. That is the problem with this thread (and the other one about "OMG I CAN UNFOCUS MY EYES!!!1!! OOMMGG").

 

Well ok, I have to admit that I didn't really look into tai chi at all and I didn't know what it was when I wrote my post. Seeing that it's being practiced tells me that it definetly is a thing and that it does work, wether it's a placebo or not. But still, the difference to tai chi is that this sensation isn't such a huge deal. You don't have to focus for longer periods of time or believe in it and so on. You just have to lay down and relax your muscles so much so that feeling starts to kick in. What I find weird about it that there is so little I find about it online.

[Strange]

3 minutes ago, ratschkopf said:

What I find weird about it that there is so little I find about it online.

You won't find much discussion of the fact that you see patterns when you rub your eyes, or that you get dizzy if you spin round in circles, or get bruises if you punch yourself in the face. It just isn't very interesting.

Hey, but kudos for actually discussing it rather than just posting once and then disappearing. Stick around if you are interested in science!

[StringJunky]

14 minutes ago, Strange said:

I believe in tai chi - millions of people do it every day. It definitely exists.

It doesn't sound strange or ridiculous at all. That is the problem with this thread (and the other one about "OMG I CAN UNFOCUS MY EYES!!!1!! OOMMGG").

 

I suppose if ones mind is not anchored in science, these sorts of thoughts arise.

[ratschkopf]

10 minutes ago, Strange said:

You won't find much discussion of the fact that you see patterns when you rub your eyes, or that you get dizzy if you spin round in circles, or get bruises if you punch yourself in the face. It just isn't very interesting.

You are probably right that this is the reason why I don‘t find much about it. But I would like there to be more people interested in this just because it‘s at the edge of our conciousness. I would like to control my body as much as I can and try to find ways of controlling my eye muscles independently for example. Even if it‘s a pretty useless ability, it‘s bothering me that I can‘t do it. Because it makes me realize how little I can use my body and how limited the mind is.

Edited May 28, 2019 by ratschkopf

[DrP]

4 minutes ago, ratschkopf said:

Seeing that it's being practiced tells me that it definetly is a thing and that it does work,

It is definitely a thing... but what do you mean by 'it works'?  They get the 'feeling' that their chi is moving around their body. OK - undisputable that they get they feeling...  but what is disputed is their claim that it is the bodies spiritual energy moving about under the control of the practicing party. They have no way of proving such a claim or substantiating that this energy even exists.

The body if full of nerves that feel and tingle... even more so when the mind focuses on them.  Focus on a specific area and you 'feel' it more. Move that locus of focus around your body and the sensation moves with it. :-)  

 

 

[ratschkopf]

1 minute ago, DrP said:

but what do you mean by 'it works'?

I mean that it works for them, that they can say they are feeling healthier or what ever. Not that spiritual energy is flowing through their body. That's unfounded and is just one of many ways you could substanciate what's happening to somebody who is practicing tai chi.

Personally I think it has much more to do with how we feel in general. The mind and conciousness can have a great effect on the own state and mental health. Tai chi is most likely working in a similar way like placebo medicine or homeopathy. I think that  humans can "trick" themselves into believing things so that their own mind can have a real and measurable effect on their body. I suggest watching an episode of Michael Stevens (Vsauce) Mind Field Series about it, called "The Power of Suggestion" (Season 2, Episode 6). 

 

[DrP]

3 minutes ago, ratschkopf said:

I mean that it works for them, that they can say they are feeling healthier or what ever. Not that spiritual energy is flowing through their body. That's unfounded and is just one of many ways you could substanciate what's happening to somebody who is practicing tai chi.

I agree - you can make up any old explanation you like - it doesn't make it correct. You could say it is chi moving about, invisible worms, just your locus of focus or whatever you imagination wants to dream up or invent.

I like the phrase - 'locus of focus'... it rolls of the tongue nicely and I reckon it is the best explanation of what is happening during Tai Chi and with what people are describing in this thread imo.

 

 

 

[Riptide29]

I’ve read this thread and can relate very much. I sit in my cube bored af and if I focus on it, I can make my brain have this tickling sensation that feels really good just in my head. This feeling is just in my head and I get no tingling in anywhere else but just my head unlike others in here who have body tingling. Like others have said I can keep the feeling going for a few minutes but then have to stop because I’m afraid of what could happen if I keep the feeling going. It makes me feel good and I do it when I’m bored, sometimes I feel the urge coming on and I can just focus the feeling to make it stronger and make it feel good. Best explanation I have for the feeling is it just feels like I’m tickling my brain which feels like that moment you go over the top of a roller coaster not the good stomach feeling but the good instant feeling you have in your head. Or maybe the start of an LSD trip how your mind feels ticklish but not the amazing stomach feeling. Glad to know I’m not the only one and there are others that share a similar sensation.

Just started messing around with the feeling right now. The good feeling sensation is more in the front of my head like right behind my forehead/frontal lobe.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Riptide29