In this thread, they mentioned a slightly different method where they added -vmargs between -launcher.XXMaxPermSize256m and -Xms256mĪnd I assume you've installed Intel Hardware Accelerated Execution Manager, as this is a requirement for the Android Emulator.
In eclipse.ini I used the following values: -launcher.XXMaxPermSize256m I increased the heap space used by Eclipse, and haven't experienced this problem since. If you scroll down past all of the 'Me Too's,' you'll actually find useful information there appears to be a workaround involving /Applications/Eclipse.app/Contents/MacOS/eclipse.ini for some. Some users have filed an issue on Google Code.
It appears to be, as you suspected, the Android emulator that is causing the issue.