
Box Breathing - mkempe
http://quietkit.com/box-breathing/
======
visarga
It's been known for thousands of years in yoga as "samavritti pranayama", or
"square breath". The advice is to count on the finger of one hand. Inhale
while stepping 1 2 3 4, Hold 1 2 3 4, Exhale 1 2 3 4 and Hold 1 2 3 4. All of
this without mentally counting, just use your fingers to do the steps. It is
recommended before meditation for calming the agitated mind.

Another method is to count breaths in increasing cycles: 1; 1 2; 1 2 3; ...; 1
2 3 4 5 6 7;... Each number corresponds to one inhalation and exhalation. See
how high you can count before making a mistake. This comes from Buddhism.

~~~
pbowyer
> All of this without mentally counting

Wait, some people can count on their fingers without in their head going "One,
Two, Three, Four"?

I can't. Suggestions for how to gain this skill first?

~~~
pzxc
Instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, in your head say "left, middle, middle, right." Repeat
until natural, then change it to be "this one, this one, this one, this one."
Repeat until natural, then repeat some more until you can do it by the pattern
alone without verbalizing anything internally.

Or don't think of it as counting, just think of it as a drumbeat. Bah-bah-bah-
BAH. Bah-bah-bah-BAH. Make sure to go slow enough that it's actually four
seconds and not two (whole beats, not half-beats). But the end goal is to not
have to think about it at all. It may require thousands of repetitions.

~~~
ZephyrP
that's cheating! we want the power to instinctively tell how many seconds have
elapsed. maybe even what time it is.

------
sunkencity
OK I got calmer, but then I got stressed out! the blue circle is not in the
center of the black ring.

~~~
dfabulich
I'm just learning CSS animations and thought I'd do one that way.

    
    
        <body><style>.circle{border-radius:50%;width:30vw;height:30vw;margin: auto}.breathe{animation:8s linear 0s infinite alternate breathe;}.inner{background-color:teal;}.border{border:10px solid black;}@keyframes breathe{0%{transform:scale(1);}25%{transform:scale(1);}75%{transform:scale(0.5);}100%{transform:scale(0.5);}}</style><div class="circle border"><div class="inner circle breathe">
    

Or, as a data URI:

    
    
        data:text/html;charset=utf-8;base64,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
    

(Be sure to triple-click to select all.)

~~~
746F7475
I would leave a slight gap between the outer edge, it just feels
claustrophobic when the blue and black parts touch. Also it needs some fancy
speed up/slow down parts at the end of the exhale/inhale parts, it stops and
starts too abruptly.

Otherwise it's pretty bang on.

~~~
dingensundso
> <body><style>.circle{border-radius:50%;width:30vw;height:30vw;margin:
> auto}.breathe{animation:8s ease-in-out 0s infinite alternate
> breathe;}.inner{background-color:#07a;}.border{border:10px solid
> black;padding:10px;}@keyframes breathe{ 0%{transform:scale(1);}
> 25%{transform:scale(1);} 75%{transform:scale(0.25);}
> 100%{transform:scale(0.25);}}</style><div class="circle border"> <div
> class="inner circle breathe"></div></div></body>

------
bkanber
There's growing evidence that breathing is linked to brain activity in
interesting ways [1]. There's also the "4-7-8" breathing technique that is
supposed to help you fall asleep faster. [2]

On top of that, concentrating on breathing takes your focus away from other
inner monologue and intrusive thoughts; meditation programs typically start
you off on that path.

[1] [https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2016/12/rhythm-of-
brea...](https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2016/12/rhythm-of-breathing-
affects-memory-and-fear/)

[2] [http://www.medicaldaily.com/life-hack-
sleep-4-7-8-breathing-...](http://www.medicaldaily.com/life-hack-
sleep-4-7-8-breathing-exercise-will-supposedly-put-you-sleep-just-60-332122)

~~~
malingo
Here are a couple relevant studies:

Resonant breathing biofeedback training for stress reduction among
manufacturing operators
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23294659](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23294659)

Effect of Fast and Slow Pranayama Practice on Cognitive Functions In Healthy
Volunteers
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3939514/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3939514/)

Both citations from
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/25kfkf/breath_o...](https://www.reddit.com/r/Nootropics/comments/25kfkf/breath_of_fire)

~~~
agumonkey
I remember reading a long walk technique from middle east, where they would
hold their breath a few seconds on each cycle. Supposed to augment your range
significantly.

I also found out while trying to hold my breath above 2 minutes, that slowly
swinging my shoulders to massage my lungs would delay the feeling of
syncopation. Maybe, mayyyybe, because it would help enforce more gaz movement
thus exchange.

------
ris
Point of note: those of you who also have their animated gifs set to run once
and not loop, you're only supposed to stay exhaled for 4 seconds.

Don't do what I did.

~~~
jjcm
Out of curiosity, why do you have them set to only run once?

~~~
kkoomi
I started doing this after encountering articles that abused this with
annoying looping memes; very distracting.

------
beeswax
Is this what "Breathe" on the Apple Watch tries to help doing?

I never bothered to measure the intervals, so does anyone know if there's more
to it? (the watch has access to heart rate and shows a current rate result
afterwards; maybe it's adjusting heart rate goals over time?)

------
imchillyb
I got a laugh out of this.

You used a _circle_ to depict "box breathing"; when you could just as easily
have utilized a box.

~~~
re
Here's a CSS animation version, then, with illustration of the "box" aspect:
[https://jsfiddle.net/6937jx4L/](https://jsfiddle.net/6937jx4L/)

~~~
JumpCrisscross
Sooo much better in so many ways. OP's had me anxious not to miss the
transitions. The dot navigating the square communicates timing. Could you make
into a GIF?

------
vonnik
Any one interested in how changes in breathing affect their mood and
physiology should check out Wim Hof:
[http://discover.wimhofmethod.com/sq/31699-welcome-to-the-
wim...](http://discover.wimhofmethod.com/sq/31699-welcome-to-the-wim-hof-
method)

~~~
zmb_
A word of caution about him: I spent some time recently researching into his
method, and there were too many red flags coming up.

These included not summiting and having to be evacuated in poor condition from
mountains that he was claimed to have climbed (often the claims are not made
by him directly, but also not contradicted by him). Having run a half-marathon
distance while a full marathon is claimed. And acting evasive in interviews,
while seemingly trying to hide it with excitement.

On the plus side he does hold documented world records in withstanding cold --
although his twin brother that has not trained is also reported to have higher
than normal ability, but I didn't find details about it. He has also
participated in a scientific study about his method, although the results of
it are exaggerated by his followers.

The breathing method/trick itself is hyperventilation followed by long periods
of holding the breath (a trick I suspect most kids will discover at some
point). He claims that this somehow charges the body with oxygen and has
various amazing health effects.

As far as I can tell (without medical training), the actual effect is to
suppress the CO2 level in the blood. This disrupts the automatic breathing
reflex which is driven by the blood CO2 levels, allowing you to hold your
breath for extended periods. This is the same method used by free-divers, and
many people have drowned after passing out due to lack of oxygen (including
people specifically following the Wim Hof method).

~~~
vonnik
I support skepticism about things like this, but I will say: Wim is not
scamming people. He's showing them how to do something that works to lengthen
his breath retention underwater and the regulation of his body heat. What he
does is similar to pranayama, and dissimilar to hyperventilating in that he's
pausing between the inhale and the exhale, a lot like the Navy SEALS.

Wim is not a great public speaker, and English is a second language to him, so
what you see as evasion appears to me as a non-scientist trying to explain his
experience in a language he hasn't mastered.

If you are going to claim that people have drowned by following his methods,
you should link to it. Wim and his website are careful to say that this
breathing technique should only be done in a safe place, sitting down. And if
people go into ice water they should be supervised.

There is some scientific support, published in the Proceedings for the
National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) for a breathing technique that can affect
our autoimmune responses.

[http://www.icemanwimhof.com/files/pnas.pdf](http://www.icemanwimhof.com/files/pnas.pdf)

Briefly, sustained deep breathing mimics and breath retention stimulates the
production of epinephrin/adrenalin and influences the autonomic nervous
system.

When he came to the Bay, Andrew Huberman brought him into his neurobiology lab
at Stanford to run some tests on him. Wim is doing something that deserves
attention, and his breathing exercises can help change your mental and
physical state. You don't take his word for, or mine. Just try it.

~~~
zmb_
>If you are going to claim that people have drowned by following his methods,
you should link to it.

[http://www.parool.nl/binnenland/-iceman-oefening-eist-
opnieu...](http://www.parool.nl/binnenland/-iceman-oefening-eist-opnieuw-
leven~a4332186)

I did not say, nor do I think, that Wim Hof is scamming people. He appears
genuine, although often evasive. And I do not think it has anything to do with
English being his second language.

However, I do get a feeling that _someone_ is using him behind the scenes to
make money, due to the false/exaggerated claims made about the results of his
method and the related publications, and the method getting heavily
commercialised and promoted.

As for the method itself, like I wrote before, it is nothing new. It is
controlled hyperventilation (and cold showers). Like many kids, I discovered
it when competing with friends in who could hold their breath the longest.

It has also been used by free-divers for a long time, and there is evidence
that it may cause brain injury when done repeatedly (in addition to blacking
out and drowning). Which is why I would not recommend anyone to "just try it".

Too many red flags for me personally, and I just wanted to share that since
the topic came up.

~~~
vonnik
Fair enough. Wim Hof and his organization have warnings on every single page
of their tutorials telling people not to do the exercises in a swimming pool,
like the guy did who died. Below is a screenshot of them. Saying that people
die following his method, when they do the exact opposite of what he says, is
inaccurate. Nobody should try it near water, or driving, or anywhere but
sitting in a meditative position.

[http://imgur.com/a/j8F7o](http://imgur.com/a/j8F7o)

Wim's marketing is crap, and frankly, he's not making a lot of money off of
this. No one is.

The method may not be new, but many old things are not known or popularized.
Kids may discover it, but we are still learning about the effects of this
technique on the body.

------
mindfulgeek
Playing with your breath is the ultimate hack of the human mind. There are
seemingly endless combinations of techniques that each have a unique
physiological impact on the body. Use the right one at the right time and life
flows smoothly.

~~~
veli_joza
Can you give more examples or provide a source? The only examples I
encountered are breathing cycles during exercise and stress-relief techniques.

------
brocore
Science is verifying a lot of the value in breathing practices. Check out this
article on a specific technique as a treatment for depression.
[https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-
releases/2016/novembe...](https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-
releases/2016/november/yogic-breathing-helps-fight-ma)

The box breathing works because it slows the breath down and brings it to a
standard rhythm. Think of it this way, every emotion has a specific type of
breath. When a person is experiencing sadness, happiness, anger, etc. there is
specific pattern of breath that can be observed with regards to speed, length
of inhale and exhale, depth, etc.

Emotion and breath are linked, and as the box breathing shows, it is a two way
street. As emotions change, the breath does, but if we change our breath, our
emotions do too. Have you ever been told to count slowly to ten when you're
angry? Same principal.

~~~
mememachine
this is not a solution

------
koolba
If you're ever in a " _hold your breath_ " contest do this right before it
starts.

You'll crush the competition by a wide margin (assuming they're not doing the
same) and be amazed at how many minutes you can go.

~~~
gregschlom
Not sure that that would beat someone doing hyper-ventilation. Hyper-
ventilating easily adds 1:30 - 2 minutes of time holding my breath.

~~~
curun1r
This is only because you're not able to recognize your urge to breathe for
what it is...a buildup of CO2 rather than a need for O2. With practice in
breathing exercises, you learn to recognize the start of contractions (in the
diaphragm) as a stage in the breath hold that's typically around 1/3 of your
maximum. With more practice, you can start to recognize more subtle symptoms
of low O2...tingling in the extremities is the easiest to notice, but there's
a few more.

Hyperventilation is stigmatized in the apnea community because it doesn't
increase the level of O2 in the blood. This can be measured with an
oximeter...you'll never get above the 94%-98% saturation you achieve at rest
while breathing comfortably. All hyperventilation does is purge CO2. During a
breath hold, CO2 levels rise and O2 levels fall. The body detects the CO2 rise
easily since the PH level becomes more acidic (carbonic acid). But if you've
purged your CO2 from your body, it's entirely possible to run out of O2
without the buildup of CO2 being great enough for the body to register the
change in acidity and trigger the urge to breathe. And running out of O2
underwater leads to black outs, especially in shallow water as water pressure
drops fastest when surfacing those last 10m-20m.

Source: I've practiced apnea/freediving for the past ~7 months and my personal
best is 6:48. My training plan is to hit 8 minutes on my 1-year anniversary of
beginning my training. Hyperventilation is counterproductive for me since I
need to be as relaxed as possible during my holds. My current breathe-up is a
2-1 short to long breath cycle for about a minute then a 3/4 breath, full
exhale and a full breath in. This is a slight over-breathe, but not enough to
purge much CO2.

~~~
Gracana
> And running out of O2 underwater leads to black outs, especially in shallow
> water as water pressure drops fastest when surfacing those last 10m-20m.

Because people swim faster when they're close to the top?

~~~
curun1r
Maaaats' answer is excellent, but I thought I'd add one bit for non divers.

When you learn to dive, the most fundamental fact you learn is that the every
10.5m you descend under water adds 1 atmosphere (bar) of pressure. It's
customary to round that down to 10m to make the calculations both easier and
more conservative. But the important realization from this calculation is that
pressure changes more rapidly near the surface. Descending those first 10m
doubles the pressure. From 10m to 20m only adds 50%. From 20m to 30m adds even
less, 33%.

And it's that percentage change that is most noticeable underwater. You have
to equalize the pressures in your ears and sinuses most in the first 10m under
water. And since pressure effects your body's ability to deliver oxygen to the
brain, that rapid decrease in pressure near the surface when surfacing is
where someone low on oxygen will pass out.

This also explains another part of maaaats' answer. Since a freediver is
wearing a wetsuit that compresses with pressure (and the lungs also compresses
with pressure), their buoyancy will depend on depth. Being neutrally buoyant
at 10m deep is a common practice for all but the most experienced freedivers.
This means for those first 10m, you actually have to kick your fins to go down
or else you'll just float back up to the surface. But beyond 10m, you can just
let gravity take you down. And it works the same way coming up. You actually
have to kick to get back to 10m, but once you pass that point, the buoyant
force starts to help you get to the surface. Experienced freedivers might
actually exert themselves less in those last 10m since they've got that assist
from buoyancy.

~~~
Gracana
> it's that percentage change that is most noticeable underwater

Ahh! I figured I was missing something, because the pressure change is linear,
but yeah... the percentage change is different. Interesting, and thanks for
explaining.

------
yogrish
Nice way to get into focus on breathing. Mind is like a monkey, it keeps
wandering. Keep it busy by asking it to watch or focus on breathing. De-stress
and bringing emotions under control are just starting point of meditation. The
next stage is achieved when we can do "Balancing breath". Our guru calls it
"Gayathri sthithi". In this stage, both of our breaths (left and right
nostrils ) are balanced. In normal conditions, either your left ( Ida or moon
nadi) or right nostril ( pingala or surya) only has the air flow, based on
your body type.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadi_(yoga)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadi_\(yoga\)).
When both the breaths are balanced, your sushumna Nadi is activated. This is
when you could achieve Spiritual state and a fantastic experiences will unfold
before your inner vision. I am yet to experience it.

Our Guru, With his tough practices of Kriya yoga and other meditating
techniques, could achieve this state and He can get into this Gayathri state
at any time. This is THE ultimate state to experience the Universal source of
energy. This is where every soul came from and will get into.

As technologists we are materialistic and we are operating in lower
dimension.The other dimension (spiritual), once opened/experienced, can answer
any question in this universe. This is how RUSHIs and yogis could fathom
universal truths with out any scientific tools, eons before our modern
science.

------
crehn
Shameless mention of a related app that I built:
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/calmly/id998619858?mt=8](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/calmly/id998619858?mt=8)

Struggled with severe stress and IBS during my youth; controlled breathing was
really one of the only things that had an (near-immediate) effect.

~~~
berryg
Relaxation has immensely decreased my IBS symptons. Wished that somebody
advised me years ago that yoga and relaxation could be so beneficial to your
body.

------
init0
[https://breathe.now.sh](https://breathe.now.sh) add to your home screen

------
pmoriarty
I feel short of breath when I try this.

~~~
mckoss
You might want to see a doctor about that.

~~~
f2f
yep. as someone who has suffered sleep apnea for a while once your oxygen
levels get so low that you can't hold your breath for 4 seconds it's time to
get checked.

------
kristofferR
Weird, I was just playing Wolfenstein: The New Order today, where the main
protagonist uses this technique all the time. I'd never heard of this
technique before that.

What's the phenomena called - where you encounter the same new thing multiple
separate times within a short time frame?

~~~
mappu
Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.

~~~
freehunter
Fun fact about that phenomenon: no one really knows why it's called that.
Someone just picked what seems to be a random name and it stuck. It has
nothing to do with the real life Baader-Meinhof group.

~~~
pluma
I thought the reason for that name was that it was the original example:
someone who had never heard of that group learned about it and suddenly
noticed they saw it mentioned or referenced everywhere.

EDIT: Source: [https://psmag.com/there-s-a-name-for-that-the-baader-
meinhof...](https://psmag.com/there-s-a-name-for-that-the-baader-meinhof-
phenomenon-e5bf3ea87cd2)

------
kranner
Many more related techniques in this book:
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/188192.Light_on_Pr_n_y_m...](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/188192.Light_on_Pr_n_y_ma)

------
stephengillie
This is something I started doing in my teenage years, to help measure and
equalize my breathing while running. Count 1-2-3-4 while inhaling, then
1-2-3-4 while exhaling - while running. After some time, I could only count
1-2-3, measuring my fatigue through lack of breath. I thought it was just
something my odd self made up, and never knew this was a significant activity.

------
knezmish
I thought it was more important to have a constant rhythm to your breathing,
not necessarily how long you inhale/exhale.

------
crawfordcomeaux
Listen to "One More Robot / Sympathy 3000-21" by The Flaming Lips and breathe
with the background piano chords. Great for square breathing.

For vortex breathing (in 3, out 5, no pause between either phase), listen to
"Breathe (in the air)" by Pink Floyd.

------
bobnarizes
I found an App which does a great job!

Relapps - [https://appsto.re/us/8PGcfb.i](https://appsto.re/us/8PGcfb.i)

------
flavor8
There's a great app in the Android store that has a variety of breathing based
meditations - Prana Breath.

------
digi_owl
Meh, breathing in or out for 4 seconds is at least 2 seconds too long for me.

------
shripadk
Isn't this Pranayama?

------
simooooo
`That's it! Repeat for as many times as you need to calm down.`

hmm.. you could apply that to anything

~~~
rosstex
Including banging your head against the wall!

~~~
yellowapple
Do that with sufficient gusto and you'll be calm in no time.

------
adictator
I wished this followed the 4-7-8 breathing technique. I have been practicing
this for the last few weeks and it has been a really positive experience for
me.

------
lngnmn
It is nice to see a demonstration of the fundamental principle, described in
the Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, in contrast to the cascades of bullshit of the
Yoga Pradipika.

Humans bullshit everything, painting degrade to the modern colorful Warkshok
inkblots, music - to sophisticated noise, yoga became a method of hipster's
public snowflakery. Philosophy - Hegelian nonsense, politics - vagina marches.

