4-7-8 breathing: 5 rounds for a cold morning

How it works

In for 4, hold for 7, out for 8. The exhale is longer than the inhale — that is the entire instruction. You have been meaning to start. This is the least intimidating way in. Simple things first: contact, weight, temperature.

Why it can help

The long exhale is the working part. A slow out-breath is one of the few direct levers you have on your own arousal level.

The pattern, in seconds

One round is 19 seconds. At the default 5 rounds this practice runs 95 seconds — about 1 minute — plus a breath or two of ordinary breathing between rounds.

Good for

• when your hands are cold and your chest is tight
• after an argument, before you decide what to say next
• at your desk, with the screen turned off for a moment

Tips

• You can do this with your eyes open. Nothing here requires privacy.
• Try it lying down with your knees bent if sitting upright feels like effort.
• A hold should feel like a pause, not like running out of air.

Please note

If holding your breath makes you dizzy or uncomfortable, skip the holds entirely and breathe slowly and evenly instead. Never push through lightheadedness. If you are pregnant, or manage a heart, blood pressure or lung condition, check with a doctor before doing breath holds.