Trainer and Therapist
Maris Zunda:
a path through breath,
cold, and the subconscious
Eleven years ago he stood under a cold shower and had no idea it would change everything. Today, Maris Zunda is one of the leading specialists in breathwork and transformation in the Baltic region.
Over the years of practice and training he moved from IT manager searching for a way to handle chronic stress, to a certified instructor across multiple world-class methodologies. The path was not linear. It was alive.
Where it began
In 2014, Maris encountered the Wim Hof Method for the first time. Not through a book or a video. Through his own body: cold water, breathing, inner stillness after what had seemed impossible.
At the time he was leading projects and teams in IT. From the outside — a stable life. On the inside — chronic tension that didn't go away after holidays or weekends. He wasn't looking for a spiritual path. He was looking for decent sleep and a normal energy level.
The first Wim Hof breathing session showed me that my body is capable of things I had never let it do.
The effect was clear enough that he began practicing daily. Within a few months he was leading his first groups in Riga. People came out of curiosity and left with an experience that was hard to put into words but easy to feel in the body.
The timeline
Cold exposure, intensive breathing, meditation. First results: sleep quality, energy levels, stress response. Maris begins a systematic practice and his first experiments with groups in Riga.
Latvia's school of hardening and conscious development. Regular group work begins: cold immersions, breathing practices, masterclasses. Over ten years, thousands of participants have come through the school.
Maris becomes the first certified Wim Hof Method instructor in the Baltic states. This opens the path to official certified workshops and a long-term training curriculum.
Certification under Patrick McKeown's method. Breathing physiology, CO₂ tolerance, nasal breathing in daily life and sport. Maris integrates the functional approach into his client work, complementing intensive sessions with everyday breathing hygiene.
Certification as an integrative breathing therapist. The method works with emotional layers stored in the body through a guided altered state. Maris begins leading individual and group deep-work sessions through breath.
Certification as a hypnotherapist. Working with subconscious patterns, beliefs, and emotional blocks through altered states of consciousness. Breathwork and hypnosis begin operating together as a single transformation tool.
Maris lives and works between Latvia and Spain. He leads group sessions, individual programmes, retreats, and residential experiences. His audience spans Latvia, Russia, Spain, Norway, and Italy.
10 years in numbers
Why breath became the primary tool
Over the years of practice, Maris arrived at one clear observation: most people live in a chronic state of mild hyperventilation and constant sympathetic activation. The body is stuck in threat mode. The mind knows there is no threat. The nervous system does not.
Conversation cannot reach this. Analysis cannot reach this. But breath works directly with physiology. It changes blood pH, vagal tone, CO₂ levels, and limbic system activity. This is not a metaphor. It is biochemistry.
Three methods. Three levels of work. The Wim Hof Method builds physical and psychological resilience through activation and cold. Oxygen Advantage restores a functional breathing pattern for daily life. Integrative Breathing opens access to emotional layers held in the body for years. Together they form a complete system of working with a person — from the body to the subconscious.
Hypnotherapy added another level. Altered states — whether through breath or trance — give access to parts of the psyche that are not available in ordinary waking consciousness. Maris works with both entry points, choosing the right tool for the person and the situation.
Certifications and qualifications
Over 11 years, Maris has trained and certified with leading international institutions in breathwork, health, coaching, and subconscious work.
Conference organiser and event builder
Alongside his practice work, Maris built an educational environment in Latvia — organising events that brought together practitioners, researchers, and people looking for a new approach to health.
Before breathwork — project and team leadership
Before becoming a trainer, Maris spent over a decade as a professional IT project and team manager across various technology companies. Managing projects, teams, and business processes under pressure. That background gave him a systems-thinking approach and an understanding of how people function under high load — tools he now applies in a very different context.
The transition was gradual. Not a departure from one life to another, but an expansion: to technical skills he added experience working with the body, the psyche, and lasting change. This is visible today in how he builds programmes — structurally, with a clear logic of stages and outcomes.
What participants say
I thought I was going to a breathing workshop. I had no idea I would cry and laugh at the same time, and walk out feeling like something inside had shifted. Three months later that feeling hasn't left.
I've tried many formats over the years. The breathing session with Maris is the only thing that produced a result not through the head, but through the body. And it stayed.
Approach to the work
Maris does not work with symptoms. He works with systems. Breath, nervous system, subconscious patterns, lifestyle — these are parts of one whole. His role is to find the entry point that sets change in motion across the whole system.
Formats vary: group practices, individual sessions, multi-day retreats, and online programmes. Working languages: Latvian, Russian, English.
His audience: people who have already tried many things and are looking for depth. Leaders, entrepreneurs, health practitioners, and people in transitional moments of life.
Upcoming opportunity
Dynamic Breathing Session in Marbella
Group practice led by Maris Zunda. Andalusia, Spain. Places are limited.
See details