Breathing exercise · 5 · 7
5-7 breath (5 · 7) for a grey day, before you go back to something hard
Simple counts — 5 · 7 — and a circle that keeps time.
Follow the circle. It counts for you.
How it works
In for 5, out for 7. The exhale is longer than the inhale — that is the entire instruction. Five minutes here is cheaper than an hour of grinding. The body is the most reliable place to begin.
Why it can help
Long exhales give the diaphragm a slow, full range of movement, which is why the shoulders often drop on their own.
The pattern, in seconds
| Phase | Length | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| Inhale | 5s | 0s |
| Exhale | 7s | 5s |
One round is 12 seconds. At the default 12 rounds this practice runs 144 seconds — about 2 minutes — plus a breath or two of ordinary breathing between rounds.
Good for
- when your hands are cold and your chest is tight
- before you walk into a room full of people
- after a long drive, to shake off the alertness
Tips
- Keep your feet flat on the floor. It helps more than it sounds like it should.
- Sit upright. Your lungs work better when you are not folded in half.
- There are no holds in this one, which makes it a good choice if breath-holding makes you anxious.
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.
If this rhythm does not suit you, try 4-6 breathing exercise for physical discomfort — if you have done this a hundred times, How to use 3-5-7 breathing for physical discomfort, when you are not sure this will work or 4-8 breathing: 12 rounds for a cold morning, if you are new to this.