Breathing pacer: breathing more slowly, step by step
The breathing pacer shows a shape that grows while you breathe in and shrinks while you breathe out. So you don’t need to count: you follow the shape and your breathing adapts.
How to practise with the breathing pacer
- Sit up straight, shoulders relaxed.
- Put a hand on your belly. As you breathe in, your belly moves out and your chest stays still.
- Breathe in through your nose while the bar rises.
- Let the air out slowly while the bar falls. Breathing out may take a little longer than breathing in.
- Start with five minutes and build up.
Which pace?
Most people breathe 12 to 18 times per minute at rest. Breathing biofeedback often practises around six breaths per minute. If that feels too slow, start at 8 or 10 and lower it gradually.
Views of the breathing pacer
Pick the view that is calmest for you to follow. Wave with ball shows what is coming, so you see the next phase approach. Line with plateau shows one full cycle with the pauses as flat sections. Circle and Flower grow as you breathe in and shrink as you breathe out. With Square each side is one phase; you choose whether the ball runs clockwise or anticlockwise. Round column and Bar fill and empty with your breathing.
Reminders
Set a reminder in Settings, for example every hour. The tab title counts down to the next session. Keep the page open in a tab; you can also use the app in a floating window or full screen.
You will find more background on the Exhala home page and in the review by Zaccaro and colleagues (2018) on slow breathing. Also read how we handle privacy and cookies.