Mind & Body
Breathwork
Deliberately slow the exhale, and your heart rate follows within minutes
No equipment, sitting or lying down, five to ten minutes at a time. What separates it from meditation is having something concrete to operate: seconds in, seconds held, seconds out, counted, with no attention paid to your thoughts. The long exhale has a real physiological basis rather than a mystical one, and with practice you can reach for it deliberately when you are tense.
First stepSit and breathe in for four, hold for four, out for six, for five minutes, and notice afterwards whether your heart rate has slowed.
Barriers
Cost to start
Free
Alone or with people
On your own
Effort
Light
Without a teacher?
Self-taught
One session takes
Under 30 min
Where
At home
Why people take it up
Skills
BuildsBreath control