A practical library of patterns for anxiety, sleep, focus, energy, and respiratory health. Tap one and follow along.
Breathing exercises are structured patterns of inhales, exhales, breath holds, and pauses, practised deliberately to influence the autonomic nervous system, oxygen-CO₂ balance, and respiratory mechanics.
Reviewed by Dr. Lena Marchetti, MD — Respiratory Medicine · 7 min read
If you only learn three breathing exercises in your life, learn one for calm (4-7-8), one for focus (box breathing), and one for daily resilience (coherent 5-5 breathing). Everything else is a refinement.
This page is the complete starter library, organised by what you need.
Use a long exhale and a low rate. Both signal "safety" to the vagus nerve.
4-7-8 — acute anxiety, panic, sleep onset.
Cyclic sighing — daily mood lift (5 minutes/day).
Physiological sigh — 30-second emergency reset before a hard moment.
The fastest sleep-onset technique combines a long exhale with the breath-hold that quickly raises CO₂ (a mild sleep-inducing signal).
• 4 cycles of 4-7-8 in bed.
• Slow 5-5 breathing for 10 minutes during a wind-down.
• Mouth taping (gentle, breathable tape) to enforce nasal breathing through the night.
You want enough arousal to be alert but not enough to be reactive. Equal-count breathing is the sweet spot.
Box breathing (4-4-4-4) — 2–3 minutes before a deep-work block.
Coherent breathing (5-5) — a steady background rhythm during long tasks.
These intentionally raise sympathetic tone (adrenaline). Use them in the morning, never in bed.
Wim Hof breathing — 30 fast breaths, hold, recovery; 1–3 rounds.
Bellows breath (bhastrika) — 30 seconds of fast nasal breathing.
Skip these if you are pregnant, have uncontrolled hypertension, epilepsy, or a heart condition.
Use techniques that slow exhale and prevent airway collapse.
Pursed-lip breathing — keeps airways open longer on the exhale.
Diaphragmatic breathing — reduces accessory-muscle work.
Buteyko reduced breathing — improves CO₂ tolerance in asthma when supervised.
Build CO₂ tolerance and respiratory-muscle endurance.
• **Box breathing during recovery** between intervals.
• **Cadence breathing** on the run (3 steps in, 2 steps out).
• **Inspiratory muscle training** with a resistance device, 30 breaths/day.
1. **Sit upright or lie flat.** Slumping compresses the diaphragm.
2. **Hand on belly.** Make sure that hand is the one moving.
3. **Default to nasal breathing** unless the technique specifies mouth.
4. **Exhale should be at least as long as the inhale.** Longer is calmer.
5. **Stop if you feel dizzy or tingly.** That means too much air, not too little.
• 1 minute — 4 physiological sighs to reset
• 3 minutes — 5-5 coherent breathing (slow, nasal)
• 1 minute — free breathing with attention on the belly
Do it once on waking and once before sleep for two weeks. You will feel and see the change.