8O8 · Breath Meditation Guide
Our breath is always with us. It grounds us in distress, stills us in meditation, feeds us in activity. Choose the meditation, press Begin, and follow the guide.
Last minute
In for three seconds, out for six.
Breathe into and out of the selected chakra, for the interval you set.
Breathe into and out of each chakra from root to crown and back down to root, for the intervals and cycles you set.
seconds
seconds
Total 13 min 4 s
minutes
Breathe in for 3 and out for 6, with no pause. Breathe naturally, in and out of the nostrils. That is about 7 slow breaths a minute. At this pace, your breathing and your heartbeat fall into step. In many studies, it lowered blood pressure and helped the heart relax.
Shao, Man and Lee, Mindfulness, 2024: a review of 31 studies.
Breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold, each for 4. Breathe in and out of the nostrils. The four equal sides make a box. Soldiers and first responders use it to stay calm and clear under stress. In one study, people who did it for 5 minutes a day for a month felt better.
Breathe in for 4 and out for 12, with a short pause after each. Inhale through the nose, then slightly narrow the back of your throat and exhale through your mouth slowly. Your heart slows down a little every time you breathe out, so a long out-breath helps your body rest. One study found it made the heart's calming signal stronger.
This is the cyclic sigh. Breathe in through the nostrils, a double inhale: a full breath in, then one more short sip of air on top. Then sigh it all out through the mouth. It is the same double breath your body takes when you sigh on your own. In one study, 5 minutes a day for a month lifted people's mood more than meditation did.
This is a chakra tuning meditation. Select the chakra and the corresponding singing bowl will be played at the interval of your choice. Use ujjayi breathing: breathe in and out through the nose with the back of your throat slightly narrowed, so the breath makes a soft ocean sound. Pause for 3-5 seconds at the top, then exhale slowly. Breathe into and out of the selected chakra.
This meditation cycles the life-force through the spine and accelerates spiritual growth. Use ujjayi breathing: breathe in and out through the nose with the back of your throat slightly narrowed, so the breath makes a soft ocean sound. Pause for 3-5 seconds at the top, then exhale slowly. At the strike of the designated bell, breathe into and out of each chakra, starting at the root chakra. A cycle rises from the root chakra to the crown chakra and returns to the root chakra; after a two-second pause the next cycle starts at the root chakra again. Select the duration of the intervals between chakras and the number of cycles through the chakras.
Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, 1946, chapter 26, The Science of Kriya Yoga