Keep each breath soft and quiet, not big. If five counts feels like a stretch, use four for both. If you feel lightheaded, tingly, or short of breath, stop counting and breathe normally until it passes. If paying attention to your breathing makes you more anxious, or brings on a feeling of panic, let the count go and breathe however is comfortable, or try a different exercise. If you have asthma, COPD, or a heart condition, stay at a pace that feels easy. If you’re pregnant, after the first few months, sit propped up or lie on your side rather than flat on your back.

Narration

Female voiceMale voice

Read along

1. Sit or lie down, whichever is easier right now. Let your jaw loosen and your hands rest where they are.
2. Breathe through your nose if you can. For a few breaths, don’t change anything. Feel the air come in and go out.
3. Now let the breath slow to an even count, five in and five out. Keep each breath soft, about the size of an ordinary one.
4. Keep going at this pace, in for roughly five counts and out for the same, for about four minutes. If your mind wanders, come back to the next breath.
5. Let the count go, and breathe however your body wants to. Notice how you feel now, without needing it to be any particular way.
6. That’s the whole practice. You can come back to the even count any time, wherever you are.

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Everyday Insight’s tools are for education and personal reflection. They are not therapy or medical care, and they are not for emergencies. In an emergency, call 911. If you are in crisis in the United States, call or text 988.