Calm Breathing Exercise
A gentle, guided rhythm to restore calm
This calm breathing exercise uses coherence breathing — a slow, even rhythm of equal inhale and exhale — to gently guide your nervous system into a state of balance. There are no breath holds, no complex counts, and no intensity. Just slow, deep breathing at the pace your body naturally finds calming.
Coherence breathing at 5-6 breaths per minute is the foundation of clinical breathwork. It maximizes heart rate variability (HRV), the gold-standard measure of nervous system health and stress resilience. Higher HRV means your body recovers from stress faster and maintains emotional equilibrium more easily.
Benefits
- Gentle and accessible — no holds, no complex patterns
- Maximizes heart rate variability for optimal stress resilience
- The foundation technique used in clinical breathwork programs
- Safe for anyone, including beginners and pregnant women
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a calm breathing exercise?
A calm breathing exercise uses slow, rhythmic breathing to activate the parasympathetic nervous system. This timer uses coherence breathing — equal inhale and exhale at about 5.5 seconds each — the pace shown to produce optimal autonomic balance.
How is this different from "just breathing slowly"?
Pacing matters. Breathing at a random slow pace helps, but breathing at your body's coherence frequency (about 5-6 breaths per minute) produces significantly stronger vagal activation and HRV improvement. This timer provides the exact pacing.
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