How to do box breathing here
Press Start. After a three-second “Get ready”, a light starts at the bottom-left corner of the square and climbs the left side: breathe in through your nose for four seconds. It crosses the top: hold. It comes down the right side: breathe out slowly for four. It runs along the bottom: hold with empty lungs. Then it starts the next box. The label under the square names each step, and a soft tone rises while you breathe in and falls while you breathe out, so you can also follow with your eyes closed.
This page opens with the Box path animation, because it matches the technique so literally, but the orb, the wave and the bloom all follow the same 4-4-4-4 rhythm if you prefer one of them.
Getting the rhythm right
Box breathing is about evenness, not about big breaths. Breathe in only as much as fits comfortably into four seconds, and let the out-breath take the full four too, instead of emptying in one go. The holds should feel like a pause at the top and bottom of a swing, with no strain. If a hold feels long, shorten every count with the Pace slider instead of dropping the holds; the square keeps its shape.
When people use it
The pattern is easy to remember and to do anywhere, which is why it turns up in so many places: sports, public speaking, the minutes before an exam, or winding down at the end of the day. Because every step is the same length, it also works with no app at all once you know it: count four on each side of an imaginary square.
Box breathing, step by step
| Step | Seconds |
|---|---|
| 1. Breathe in | 4 |
| 2. Hold | 4 |
| 3. Breathe out | 4 |
| 4. Hold | 4 |
| One breath | 16 |
That is 3.8 breaths a minute at the default pace. The Pace slider stretches or shortens every step by the same amount, so the rhythm stays the same. For other patterns, or your own counts, open the full breathing exercise.