“People often ask me what I use on my skin, and the answer is nothing—it’s simply a product of the breath work,” said Ashley Neese, a self-care practitioner in an article on Vogue. In the article Neese talks about how breathwork can be incorporated into one’s skin-care routine every morning and night.

I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on alternative therapies and gaining knowledge into some unique concepts that I was completely unaware of, but am totally fascinated by. One of the most recent concepts I was reading about is the link between breathing and skin’s appearance, and it actually didn’t originate from the Vogue article. There are numerous studies on the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits, but it just hasn’t gone mainstream yet.

Deep belly breathing apparently has major benefits such as improving oxygen, resulting in rosy, healthy skin; eliminating toxins to keep outbreaks at bay; stimulating cellular regeneration to improve skin’s texture; reducing inflammation, and promoting better sleep, which does wonders for skin’s healthy appearance. Neese’s recipe on how you can breathe for beauty benefits is below.

Morning Rotuine
• Sit up in a comfortable position
• Inhale through the nose deeply
• Exhale through the mouth quickly
• Repeat five times.

Evening Routine (the goal is to soothe the nervous system and prepare the body for deep restorative sleep, because “beauty sleep” is a real thing)
• Lie down
• Inhale and exhale through the nose only
• The exhale should last two counts longer than the inhale
• Repeat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until you feel relaxed.

Follow this consistent practice of consciously breathing slow and rhythmically and you’ll not just reap skin benefits, but health ones, too.

Click here to read the full Vogue article.