Box Breathing Techniques and Benefits

Let’s understand Box Breathing

It is a type of deep breathing method which is majorly used by US Navy seals. It is also called square breathing.

It is a simple and a very effective method to relax an individual and reduce stress levels.

Deep breathing helps in relaxation of the mental as well as physical health.

Benefits of Box Breathing

• Helps to calm the mind.

• It reduces anxiety, stress, and depression. After 20 sessions shows a significant reduction in the stress hormone (cortisol).

• Helps in establishing a better emotional balance

• The slow breathing (6 breaths/minute) helps in the activation of the relaxation system (parasympathetic nervous system ) by reducing the heart rate and respiratory rate.

• Beneficial to control blood pressure.

• It helps in increasing mental attention and focus.

How to start doing Box Breathing?

Find a quiet and calm place to perform your breathing exercise. A place free of all the hustling helps in better focusing on yourself.

Sit in a comfortable position, keep your legs crossed on a mat, or you can sit straight on a chair with your palms kept on your thighs facing upwards.

Once you are ready, start by emptying your lung, breathe out completely and then follow the steps mentioned below.

Steps

1. Breathe in slowly through your nostrils, counting slowly, starting from 1 to 5 in your head.

2. Then hold your breath for another slow count of 5.

3. Now slowly breathe out while again counting slowly till 5.

4. At last, hold your breath for another slow count of 5.

These four steps complete a single cycle of box breathing, which is referred as a box. Repeat the same cycle following the above steps.

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Few tips

• If you are new to practicing box breathing, start with a slow count of 3. Inhale while counting till 3, hold for another count of 3, exhale slowly at the count of 3, and hold again for another slow count of 3.

• As you gain experience, you can increase the counts from 3-3-3-3 to 4-4-4- and then to 5-5-5-5 or more.

• Start practicing box breathing for a minimum of 5 minutes daily, and slowly you can do it for 10 minutes or more.

• Include Box breathing practice in your waking up routine.

• Practice box breathing when you feel anxious or are under stressful conditions.