Box Breathing
What is Box Breathing?
A.K.A. Square Breathing
This is a balancing breathwork, popularised by the Navy Seals as a means of staying calm under high pressure situations - and for good reason, it works!
It’s super simple, there are four phases to the breath, and each phase is of equal length. It doesn’t matter how long these phases are, as long as they are all equal! It’s that simple!
This technique is fantastic for instilling a state of balance, by matching the length of the inhale to the exhale; and by spending an equal duration breathing vs. holding the breath.
Step by step instructions (link to guided audio at the bottom):
Inhale from nose - 4 seconds
Hold breath - 4 seconds
Exhale from mouth - 4 seconds
Hold breath - 4 seconds
Repeat x30 rounds
Tip: Four seconds, is a great starting point, but as you get better you can increase the duration to 6, 8, 10, even 20 seconds. Just make sure that each phase of the breath is of equal length.
