Box breathing assistant 1.22

The Box breathing technique is a commonly practiced breathing exercise in meditation and yoga due to its well-known anti-stress benefits. Box breathing aids in anxiety reduction by voluntarily controlling the breathing frequency, type (abdominal or costal), and engaging specific muscles involved in the breathing process (such as the diaphragm and intercostals).

By improving blood oxygenation and neuro-vegetative reflexes, conscious control of one's breathing can enhance vigilance. A longer expiration time (three times the duration of inhalation) is commonly associated with relaxation, while an increase in inspiratory amplitude with a brief expiration (three times on inhalation for each exhale) provides a more challenging experience.

Box breathing benefits include:

• 4 to 10 cycles: finding calmness during moments of nervousness, gaining a boost of energy, and quickly refocusing on the present.
• 20 cycles or more: experiencing deeper relaxation, discreet relaxation anytime and anywhere (sitting, standing, or lying), anti-stress effects, improved concentration alongside relaxation, and gradual diaphragm awareness and relaxation with regular practice.

Considering these benefits, it is encouraged to incorporate this breathing practice into our daily lives by learning and understanding its various effects.

Starting with understanding abdominal breathing, you can then progress to learning and mastering square breathing.

Here's how to perform the box breathing exercise:

1. Straighten your upper body, lengthening your spine and expanding your chest.
2. For square breathing, breathe through your nose while keeping your lower jaw relaxed.
3. Allow your abdomen to create a gentle movement with each inhalation and exhalation—this is abdominal breathing:
   • Inhale: the abdomen expands smoothly.
   • Exhale: the abdomen deflates with the same fluidity.
4. Once you have established abdominal breathing, begin square breathing, where each phase of the breath has an equal duration:
   • Inhale (3/4/5/6/... seconds).
   • Hold full lungs (3/4/5/6/... seconds).
   • Exhale (3/4/5/6/... seconds).
   • Hold empty lungs (3/4/5/6/... seconds).