FlyingSquirrel
Lurker

"When it comes to sleep paralysis, WILDing, lucid dreams, hypnagogia, etc. etc. here's a good rule of thumb that I've learned after years of experience: EVERYTHING IS TOTALLY NORMAL. No matter how bizarre or frightening things get, just remind yourself that it's all completely natural, your body does it every single night except you're usually never aware of it, and absolutely nothing can harm you.

The reason you were feeling suffocated is because during sleep paralysis, the muscles of the chest become paralyzed with the rest of your body. So your breathing is more restricted, it may feel like their is pressure on the chest, or that your throat is tight. When you are asleep your breathing becomes much more slower and more shallow that what you are used to, so it can often feel as though you are suffocating, when really you are completely fine and have nothing to worry about. If you allow yourself to become scared or anxious, then you will wake your body up and ruin your chances of entering a lucid dream. Rather than thinking, "oh shit I can't breathe what's happening!" tell yourself something like, "ok my breathing is shallow, that's normal, I must be about to enter REM, cool, let's do this" (then focus your attention on something else like the hypnagogic imagery). Always try to direct your mind away from your body and any physiological changes, no matter how weird or alarming they might seem at the time. Good luck!"

http://www.dreamviews.com/wake-initi...hoking-me.html