# holotropic breathing #IWantToTry #IWantToLearn There is not a “proper” way to do holotropic breathing other than the instruction to “breathe deeper and faster than normal"... best position? ## Apprehension - The lack of an exact way to do this has had me apprehensive to do and and has had me feel like [[I want a guide]] ## History - 3 minutes on 2023-04-10 - Definitely changes #Self/StateOfBeing - Tried again for a minute 2023-04-09 - Tried it once or twice in 2017 / 2018 - Mentioned in [[How to Change Your Mind - Book]] ## The Guide #Pasted There is not a “proper” way to do holotropic breathing other than the instruction to “breathe deeper and faster than normal” so this is not a “guided” breathwork experience except in a very general sense. The important thing is to move more air through your system than you normally do.  After 15 or 20 minutes, your body will normally find its own rhythm and you will generally no longer have to think about it. However, for people who want additional guidance, prior participants have found the following suggestions helpful when they start the holotropic breathing session. 1)     Full deep breaths – make each breath full and deep, breathing into the “bottom” of your lungs so that when you breathe in, your belly should move out a bit (i.e. “diaphragm breathing”). 2)     Continuous, “circular” breathing – the breathing in such a way where there is no gaps in the breath..i.e.  not  holding your breath at any point.  When your lungs are almost full, you turn the breath around and start exhaling.  When your lungs are empty, you immediately turn the breath around and start inhaling.  This creates a breath pattern whereby you are always breathing in or breathing out, creating a circle of breath. 3)     Faster than normal – You also want to breathe a bit faster than you normally would.  However, you do not want to breathe so fast that you create tension in your body…your body, and especially your lungs, should be relaxed, without straining, so that the breath can be maintained for a long period of time without tiring yourself out. 4)     Mouth vs Nose Breathing – It is easier to move air quickly through the mouth and mouth breathing tends to be more supportive of emotional release so most people find that breathing in and out through the mouth supports their process better than nose breathing.  However, some people find that mouth breathing is uncomfortable for them in which case nose breathing is fine also. But, again, after 15 or 20 minutes, everyone’s body will generally find their own rhythm and way of breathing.  There are as many breathing styles as there are breathers. ## Related - [[Breathe|breath work]] - [[my nose]]