How to breathe along
Press Start. After the three-second “Get ready”, a wave scrolls across the screen: the curve climbs while you breathe in and falls while you breathe out, with the bright point marking now. Breathe through your nose, low into the belly, and let each breath fill the whole 5.5 seconds rather than filling up fast and waiting. At the top, turn around smoothly into the out-breath, with no pause.
This page is set up for 10 minutes, a common length for this practice. That is about 55 breaths. A soft chord swells and settles with the breath if you would rather close your eyes, or switch the cue to Breath sound for a quiet airy whoosh instead.
Why the wave
Coherent breathing has no holds and no counts to remember, just one even rhythm. The wave shows the next breath before it comes, so there is nothing to guess: you can see how far away the turn is. If you prefer an image that grows and shrinks, the orb and the bloom follow the same rhythm.
Adjusting the pace
The practice is often described as five to six breaths a minute. The default here is 5.5. If it feels too slow at first, move Pace left a little; once it feels easy, bring it back. The number of breaths a minute is shown next to the pattern as you change it.
Coherent breathing, step by step
| Step | Seconds |
|---|---|
| 1. Breathe in | 5.5 |
| 2. Breathe out | 5.5 |
| One breath | 11 |
That is 5.5 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.