Your First Breathwork Practice Will Be Eye-Opening — Here Are 5 Tips to Guide the Way

The first time you try breathwork "is often a really eye-opening experience," Snow said. "Some people would even say mystical, spiritual, or psychedelic." You're encourageing your body to go into a deeper state of consciousness, she described, comparing it to the flow state you can get into while you're running.

If you're feeling sceptical already, don't worry. "You don't have to believe in it for it to work," Snow explained. "You just have to be open to trying it." Allow yourself to explore your curiosity. "If I just change the pattern of my breath, what could happen? What is possible?" Snow said. "You'll allow yourself to go from a more resistant, protective, defencive state to a more inviting, open, and receptive state."

Doing breathwork involves accessing deeper parts of your consciousness; Snow described it as guiding you to be more of yourself. When you do that, experiences and emotions that you've been suppressing may rise to the surface: trauma, memories, or even joy or inner bliss. "You can use the breathwork to really move through those things," Snow explained. "Anything that you swallowed down or don't want to face, that's the kind of stuff that comes up within minutes."

Expert facilitation for breathwork isn't strictly necessary. "Everyone should absolutely try breathwork on their own," Snow said. (Ahead is a technique she recommends trying.) That said, it's easy to get distracted or even prevent yourself from confronting difficult things. If that's the case for you, Snow said it can be helpful to have a facilitator in the beginning to help you recognise your habits of distraction or avoidance. You can also use breathwork apps or guided videos.

Snow highly recommends holotropic breathing, a technique developed in the 1970s that she uses as her own approach. Try the practice for yourself with the steps ahead.

• Lie down if possible. (This technique can also be done sitting up.)
• Breathe through your mouth into your lower belly. Your belly should expand.
• Take a second breath into your heart and your chest.
• Exhale.
• Repeat for two-to-five minutes.

After a few minutes of this, Snow said, "you will start to notice an altering of your state of consciousness and your body."