Breathing exercise · 5 · 5 · 5 · 5
Slow box breathing — 5 · 5 · 5 · 5 — for Sunday evening, when you are too tired to try hard
A 5 · 5 · 5 · 5 rhythm — a wider square, once four feels comfortable.
Follow the circle. It counts for you.
How it works
Count to 5 on the way in, 5 at the top, 5 on the way out, 5 at the bottom. Repeat. Too tired to try hard is exactly the right amount of tired for this. Stay with what you can actually feel.
Why it can help
The rhythm is deliberately unremarkable. Unremarkable is easier to keep up when your hands are shaking.
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 8 rounds this practice runs 160 seconds — about 2 minutes — plus a breath or two of ordinary breathing between rounds.
Good for
- on a train or a bus, with your bag on your lap
- at the kitchen table, with a cup of tea going cold
- when you are tired but cannot afford to be
Tips
- If your mind wanders to counting the rounds left, that is normal. Come back to the numbers.
- Keep the effort mild. If you can hear yourself breathing hard, slow it down.
- 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 Gentle box breath (3 · 3 · 3 · 3) for the morning, before something difficult, Gentle box breathing: 10 rounds for heated moments, when you have been putting it off or 3-5-7 breathing — 3 · 5 · 7 — for the end of the working day, when you feel restless rather than tired.