Breathing exercise · 4 · 4 · 4 · 4
Box breathing — 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 — for travel days, when nothing else has worked today
A four equal sides, like tracing a square pattern, counted for you on screen.
Follow the circle. It counts for you.
How it works
Breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. Picture tracing the sides of a square. That is the whole exercise. Nothing else has worked today. That is not a reason to skip this. Simple things first: contact, weight, temperature.
Why it can help
Because the counts are the same in and out, your body does not have to decide anything. It just follows.
The pattern, in seconds
| Phase | Length | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| Inhale | 4s | 0s |
| Hold | 4s | 4s |
| Exhale | 4s | 8s |
| Hold again | 4s | 12s |
One round is 16 seconds. At the default 8 rounds this practice runs 128 seconds — about 2 minutes — plus a breath or two of ordinary breathing between rounds.
Good for
- before you open the email you have been avoiding
- before you walk into a room full of people
- in the minutes before an appointment you are dreading
Tips
- Notice which part of the breath feels tight, and reduce that count first.
- If you have a cold or a blocked nose, skip the holds and breathe through your mouth.
- 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.
If this rhythm does not suit you, try How to use Box breathing for a cold morning, when you have been on screens all day, Slow box breathing exercise for a hot day — if you have five quiet minutes or 3-6 breathing for the middle of the night, after eating too much.