Breathing exercise · 5 · 5 · 5 · 5
Slow box breathing: 4 rounds for heavy days, when nothing else has worked today
A 5 · 5 · 5 · 5 rhythm — a wider square, once four feels comfortable.
Follow the circle. It counts for you.
How it works
The pattern is a square — 5, 5, 5, 5 — and you trace it with your breath. Nothing else has worked today. That is not a reason to skip this. Simple things first: contact, weight, temperature.
Why it can help
Equal breathing tends to even out the differences between your in-breath and out-breath over a few minutes.
The pattern, in seconds
| Phase | Length | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| Inhale | 5s | 0s |
| Hold | 5s | 5s |
| Exhale | 5s | 10s |
| Hold again | 5s | 15s |
One round is 20 seconds. At the default 4 rounds this practice runs 80 seconds — about 1 minute — plus a breath or two of ordinary breathing between rounds.
Good for
- at the kitchen table, with a cup of tea going cold
- after a long drive, to shake off the alertness
- before you open the email you have been avoiding
Tips
- Practising when you are calm makes it available when you are not.
- Set a timer for the rounds you want, so you are not watching the clock.
- If holding for the full count feels tight, drop every number by one. The shape matters more than the size.
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 4-8 breathing — 4 · 8 — for Monday morning, when you have woken up too early, Gentle box breathing: 5 rounds for a grey day, after a long day or Soft 4-7-8 breathing for a stolen moment of caregiving, on a low-energy afternoon.