How to Do Box Breathing (Square Breathing) For Less Stress
Feeling all over the place? Breathwork can center you in the present moment, reduce anxiety, and guide you back into focus. Box Breathing, also known as 4x4 Breath, Four-Part Breath, or Equal Ratio Breathing, is an easy-to-remember, grounding practice that you can do anywhere, anytime — even at your desk or on the bus.
There are four phases of breathing: inhaling, holding at the top, exhaling, and holding at the bottom. In Box Breathing, each phase of the breath is held for an equal amount of time. The practice is similar to Sama Vritti, a Pranayama exercise that times inhalations and exhalations equally.
“What I find interesting with Sama Vritti, which is something I’ve noticed with many other Pranayama techniques, is how modern physiology supports the purpose and intention of the claims of the ancient breath practices,” notes Alo Moves instructor Dylan Werner in his book The Illuminated Breath.
In Eastern philosophy, this breath relates to Sattva, a Guna concerning harmony and balance. “From a Western standpoint, we see [this] as the body’s condition of homeostasis, where all systems are in equilibrium,” explains Werner. “Having a high heart rate variability (HRV) shows a healthy and balanced autonomic nervous system, good cardiovascular health, and a high ability to handle stress.”
“Sama Vritti has been shown to increase HRV,” says Werner. “It’s amazing that even a slight variation of our breathing can create noticeable physiological changes.”
how to prepare for box breathing
Get into a comfortable position with a tall, neutral spine. Sitting is best, but you can do this exercise standing or even lying down.
If you’re new to breathwork, take a second to get the hang of diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing: Place one hand on your chest and another on your stomach. Now take a deep breath. You should be feeling it in your stomach, not your chest.
Because box breathing is about achieving a sense of balance, it can be a valuable tool in many situations, whether you need to snap into focus, calm your nerves before a big presentation, or tame restlessness when you’re trying to relax.
how to do box breathing
Inhale through your nose for four counts.
Hold for four counts.
Exhale through your mouth for four counts.
Repeat as many times as you wish. (Werner recommends practicing for 15 minutes.)
box breathing tips for beginners
It can help to use a visual aid for counting your breath, like this guided box breathing visualization from Alo Moves.
You can also use your fingers to count your breath: Make a loose fist, then slowly raise your fingers one at a time as you inhale. When you start to exhale, gather them back in one at a time.
Another helpful visualization is, appropriately, a box: Picture one line of a square being drawn for each phase of breath.
Werner recommends inhaling “only as much as is necessary” to avoid over-breathing: “Ideally, we want to keep the effort of inhalation the same as our normal at-rest breath.”
level up your box breathing
Box breathing is about spending equal time on each phase of the breath, but the count doesn’t have to be four. As you get more comfortable, you can try a longer count — or even a gradually increasing or decreasing count.
“Ramping up or down the breathing ratios allows us to slowly titrate the effects of breath practice and use it to gently increase or decrease energy,” says Werner. “To ramp up, start with a [count] between 1:1 and 5:5 and increase by one with each breath cycle or every few cycles until you reach the upper limit for inhalation. Up to 10:10 is entry level, 10:10 to 15:15 is intermediate, and anything over 15:15 is advanced.”
Want more breathing exercises? Dylan Werner’s The Illuminated Breath is available to purchase now. Try Werner’s The Breath Sequence class series and access a variety of guided breathwork visualizations for free with a 14-day trial to AloMoves.com.
