This article is excepted from Shannon Kaiser’s original featured in mindbodygreen. Read the original full content here.

When I first wrote my book, The Self-Love Experiment, I knew self-love was about self-acceptance and compassion. But almost six years (and an emergency room visit, fibromyalgia diagnosis, multiple rock bottoms, and a spiritual awakening) later, I’ve learned self-love is really about self-respect and knowing your worth, and this is something we must show up for daily.

I thought I loved myself, but after decades of people-pleasing behavior, neglecting my own needs, and unconscious patterning, my body broke down and so did my mental health. Diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety, and bedridden for days with chronic pain, I knew something needed to change. With a broken heart, body, and spirit, I started to see how this way of living attracted a lot of unhealthy dynamics, creating a tone of rejection, betrayal, and abandonment in my life. Wondering why my unconditional love for others was never being received or appreciated in the same manner, I learned that hiding my feelings and sacrificing myself for others was at the root of my problems.

This all led me to Costa Rica, where I did my first breathwork class. It was the first time I saw my unconscious patterns so clearly and further, how my beliefs about my unworthiness were wreaking havoc on my personal relationships. Needless to say, breathwork became my new favorite self-care ritual.

What are the benefits of breathwork?

As certified breathwork teacher and trainer (and my go-to healer in Mexico) Xavier Olazabal says, breathwork is a method of deep self-exploration and a form of spiritual development. The purpose of breathwork is to use breathing as medicine, healing, and cultivating self-knowledge in a safe, respectful, and therapeutic context.

Breathwork is also a form of active meditation.

And if you’re worried about doing it wrong, you can’t. As Xavier says, the medicine will always give us exactly what we need at the right time. By quieting the mind, we are able to connect to our true essence and the body, then operate and do exactly what the body knows best in order to heal.

There are so many types of breathwork, and each has its own purpose. If you’ve done a yoga or meditation class. You’ve most likely done some type of breath work.

How to create your own at-home breathwork session for self-love

The following style of breathwork is my personal favorite, as it helps you to move out of your (overthinking) mind to drop more fully into your (ever-knowing) heart.

This is an active breathing ritual that combines an ancient two-step breath technique with contemporary, high-vibrational music. It creates a healing experience that allows you to tune inward, move past conscious awareness into an altered state, and understand your own needs, abilities, blocks, and deepest desires.

See this as an invitation to meet yourself where you are today and get to know yourself on a deeper, more loving level.

What you’ll need:

• Set aside 20-45 minutes
• A yoga mat, bed, couch, or comfortable place to lie down
• A blanket (in case you get cold)
• A pen and journal for reflection
• Soft, uplifting music that inspires you (try this playlist for inspiration)
• Optional: Crystals (if you’re into crystal healing)

The Ritual:

1. Start by playing your music and placing the crystals on or around you. Get yourself into a comfortable position and lie on the ground, a mat, a couch, or your bed. You’ll be in this position for an extended period of time, so make sure you feel comfortable.
2. Take a deep breath in, and with a breath out, consciously let go of thoughts and worries that do not serve you. Focus on releasing tension in your body, including any strain on your forehead, eyes, and throat. Inhale slowly, first bringing some air into your stomach, then the lungs, and last into your throat before exhaling all the breath out.
3. To begin the breathing, gently place one hand on your stomach and the other on your heart. Fill your body with breath as you inhale. Imagine that you are filling your stomach with breath, causing your belly and hands to rise. Then exhale, imagining all negativity, fear, and worry leaving your body.
4. Next, take more air in, inhaling for three counts and exhaling for six counts. Try to transition seamlessly between the two so that the breath is continuous. Do this for at least 3-5 minutes.
5. Next, move into the heightened stage by placing your hands at your side and beginning to breathe faster and deeper. One to 2 seconds in and 1-3 seconds out, focusing on exhaling air from your belly and lungs, rapidly and evenly as the rhythmic music plays in the background. There should be no time between inhales and exhales.
6. Continue the rapid breathing. This can last 10 minutes to an hour. Go as long as you can.
7. The steps here may seem long, but the actual exercises are quicker. You are breathing in deeply to the stomach, lungs, and throat, then exhaling from the throat to the lungs to the stomach.
8. Finally, exhale all the air out, imagining it leaving your throat, then the lungs, and last out of your belly. When you feel complete, come back to reality and close the session by moving your limbs and gently opening your eyes.
9. Reflect, journal, draw a mantra card, or simply sit for a few moments to integrate and reflect on your new awareness.