How to Breathe Better… Box Breathing
- Ryan Costello
- April 29, 2022
- 7:21 am
Before you say “I know how to breathe, I’ve been doing it all my life” please hear us out. Breathing techniques have been used for hundreds of years to affect the body and mind, and they continue to be one of the most effective methods for bringing the body into balance.
This post is the first in a new series where we invite you to try an established breathing technique to see whether it can work for you. And we are starting off with a doozy, box breathing, also known as square breathing, which is even used by US Navy Seals. It is said to help balance the nervous system and improve mental focus.
The idea of box breathing is that by synchronising the inhale and exhale (with the introduction of a breath-hold) the body can reset itself into a neutral state and find focus. This is why this method can also be used as part of mindfulness practices.
Before we jump straight into the how-to, let’s take a quick moment to think about how you want to approach trying any new breathing technique. We would go over the obvious – such as don’t try this when in water, or operating heavy machinery, and the ubiquitous warning to check with your doctors first – but we’ll assume you are sensible folk and know this already. Anyway, we would advise setting yourself a regular time of day to experiment with a new breathing technique, finding a comfortable spot where you won’t be interrupted.
There is also no set period you should practice box breathing for. For us, it took a bit of getting used to so we started off by practicing for five minutes in a morning and five minutes in an evening for a couple of weeks. Once we’d got the hang of it, and began to feel the difference it could make, we then switched to using it as needed when trying to focus on a task or calm down. Now it is another tool in our breathing toolbox.
How to practice box breathing.
1 – Inhale for a count of four.
2 – Hold your breath for a count of four.
3 – Exhale for a count of four.
4 – Hold your breath for a count of four.
5 – Repeat.
Notes on box breathing.
The length of your inhale, hold and exhale do not need to be measured in seconds, the important thing here is that they are balanced. That said, we like the four-count to take four seconds as this will result in a breathing rate of around four breaths per minute. This rate is often considered to offer additional benefits.
The period of holding your breath should also be thought of more as an absence of inhaling or exhaling rather than a action in itself. You are not looking to make this an effort, it should feel more like a gentle pause. We like to imagine that moment a ball thrown upwards stops going up, but before it starts coming down.
How did you find it?
We’d love to hear how you get on with box breathing, what impact can you feel in your body and mind? Let us know on our social media profiles. @exhalenutrition
