Five gentle breathing exercises to learn first, where slowing down does most of the work

Key takeaways

• In a 12-week trial of 100 adults, people who made each breath out longer than the breath in did only slightly better on a stress score than people who breathed in even counts, a gap small enough to be chance¹.
• The American Lung Association suggests 5 to 10 minutes a day of belly and pursed-lip breathing, learned while you feel fine, before you lean on them when you’re short of breath⁴.
• Navy SEAL Mark Divine promoted box breathing in a 2016 essay, but tests are few; in a 2026 trial of 62 cadets, one session raised a heart signal linked to calm more than ordinary breathing did⁷⁸.
• Alternate-nostril breathing, a yogic practice called nadi shodhana, lowered systolic blood pressure by about 7 points in a 2024 pooled analysis of six trials, though results varied widely¹⁰¹¹.
• If any exercise leaves you dizzy, out of breath or nervous, slow down or go back to normal breathing, and never do fast breathing or long breath holds in the water⁹¹³.

In 2023, a research team led by Gurjeet Birdee reported a 12-week test of slow, yoga-based breathing in 100 healthy adults¹.

Half the group learned to make each breath out longer than the breath in. That’s a familiar tip in calming guides. The other half breathed in and out for equal counts. To make sure people followed their assigned pattern, the researchers had them wear smart garments that tracked their breathing¹.

Both groups ended with lower scores on a standard stress and anxiety questionnaire. The long-exhale group improved a bit more, but the difference was small and could have been chance¹. Because both groups practiced slow breathing, the study can’t show how much of the drop came from the breathing itself.

Still, it points to a useful lesson for a beginner. Breathing slowly and easily, and doing it often, seems to matter more than the fine print of any count.

This guide teaches five gentle exercises, what each one is for and who should take care. Our article on breath awareness covers the research on stress and the real dangers of forceful breathwork. This one is about the basics.

Slow and easy seems to matter more than the exact count

The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of the National Institutes of Health, describes breathing exercises as slow, deep breaths, also called diaphragmatic breathing². A 2019 review of three studies with 880 people found early signs that this kind of breathing may ease stress².

People in the 12-week trial kept at it. On average they came to 10.7 of 12 scheduled sessions and practiced at home about five times a week¹. Regular practice like that is the part most of us skip.

“Gentle” has a specific meaning here. You don’t force air in, breathe fast or hold your breath for long. NCCIH’s yoga guidance tells beginners to avoid forceful breathing³.

Two habits make any exercise easier to learn:

• Practice when you’re calm. The American Lung Association advises learning these skills while you’re breathing comfortably, then using them when you’re short of breath⁴.
• Start small. Cleveland Clinic suggests 5 to 10 minutes, about three or four times a day, for belly breathing, building up over time⁵.

Exercise 1: Belly breathing is the foundation

Belly breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing, puts the diaphragm to work. That’s the dome-shaped muscle under your lungs. When it pulls down, your belly moves out and air flows in.

The American Lung Association explains why this matters for lung disease. In asthma and COPD, air can get trapped in the lungs. That leaves less room for the diaphragm, so the neck, back and chest muscles take on more of the work⁴.

Step card: belly breathing

1. Lie on your back with knees bent and your head supported, or sit with your shoulders loose. A pillow under your knees can help⁵. If you’re pregnant, sit up, since NCCIH advises against long stretches lying on your back³.
2. Rest one hand on your upper chest and the other just below your ribs.
3. Breathe in slowly through your nose. Let your belly push your lower hand out while your chest hand stays almost still.
4. Breathe out gently through slightly pursed lips, letting your belly sink. Aim for an out-breath two to three times as long as the in-breath⁴.
5. Keep going for 5 to 10 minutes. To feel the rise and fall, the lung association suggests setting a tissue box on your belly⁴⁵.

Cleveland Clinic notes the technique can feel tiring at first and take practice to learn⁵. If you have COPD, asthma or anxiety, it advises asking your provider whether it’s right for you, and it says belly breathing shouldn’t be your only treatment⁵.

Evidence label: promising but early for easing stress².

Exercise 2: A longer breath out may help you stay sharp, but its calming edge is unproven

Many teachers suggest letting the out-breath run longer than the in-breath. The idea is that a long, slow exhale signals the body to settle.

The 12-week trial found no clear extra benefit from the longer exhale¹. But a lab study hints at a different use. In 2020, Stefan Röttger and colleagues had 30 healthy adults do a hard, timed word-and-color task while noise blared at up to 89 decibels⁶.

People used either “tactical breathing,” a method taught to soldiers and police, or prolonged exhalation. They felt about equally stressed either way. Tactical breathing calmed their bodies more, but the long exhale left them performing the task better⁶.

One small lab test is thin support. Still, it makes the long exhale worth trying when you need to stay sharp, like before a test or a tough talk.

Step card: long-exhale breathing

1. Sit upright with your feet flat and shoulders relaxed.
2. Breathe in through your nose for a slow count of three or four.
3. Breathe out softly through your nose or mouth for a count of five or six, like a long, quiet sigh.
4. Don’t push the last bit of air out. The exhale should feel easy.
5. Repeat for two to five minutes.

Evidence label: promising but early for slow breathing in general¹². Not enough evidence that the longer exhale adds much on its own¹.

Exercise 3: A Navy SEAL champions box breathing, but the research is thin

Box breathing has four equal sides: breathe in, hold, breathe out, hold. Mark Divine, a Navy SEAL and founder of the SEALFIT training program, described it in a 2016 essay for TIME. He wrote that he first learned breath control during SEAL training and urged daily practice⁷.

His case rested on personal experience, not studies⁷. Militaries do teach breathing skills for stress, and Röttger’s team noted that evidence for tactical breathing is limited⁶.

One newer study adds a little. In a 2026 trial published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 62 cadets took an all-out fitness test, then did box breathing, cyclic sighing or ordinary breathing⁸. Both breathing groups showed a bigger rise in high-frequency heart rate variability than the ordinary-breathing group. That’s a heart-rhythm signal linked to the body’s calming branch⁸.

That was one session in young, fit adults, and it measured a heart signal, not how stressed people felt⁸. It’s a hint, not proof that box breathing eases everyday stress.

Step card: gentle box breathing

1. Sit upright and let your breath settle.
2. Breathe in through your nose for a count of four.
3. Pause for a count of four. Keep your throat and shoulders soft, as if resting at the top of a hill.
4. Breathe out for a count of four.
5. Pause again for four, then repeat for two to five minutes.

If four feels long, use three. If the pauses make you uneasy, drop them and simply breathe in and out for even counts.

The pauses here are short and relaxed. That’s different from long breath holds. In a 2022 joint statement, the American Red Cross, USA Swimming and the YMCA of the USA warned that fast breathing before swimming underwater, or long breath holds in the water, can lead to loss of consciousness and death⁹.

Evidence label: not enough evidence⁶⁸.

Exercise 4: Alternate-nostril breathing comes from yoga’s breath practices

Yoga is rooted in Indian philosophy and began as a spiritual practice, according to NCCIH. As practiced in the U.S., it usually combines postures, meditation and breathing techniques called pranayama³.

Alternate-nostril breathing is one of them. Its Sanskrit name, nadi shodhana, is often translated as “channel cleaning.” In yoga teaching, nadis are channels that carry the body’s energy, and shodhana means purifying¹⁰. Practitioners use it to clear those channels and find a sense of balance¹⁰.

Step card: alternate-nostril breathing

1. Sit tall on a chair or the floor.
2. Rest your right thumb by your right nostril and your index finger by your left.
3. Close the right nostril and breathe in slowly through the left.
4. Close both nostrils for a beat, then open the right and breathe out.
5. Breathe in through the right, close both for a beat, then breathe out through the left.
6. That’s one round. Continue for about five minutes¹⁰.

A 2024 review in Complementary Medicine Research pooled six randomized trials with 525 people. Compared with control groups, the practice lowered systolic blood pressure by about 7 points and diastolic pressure by about 5¹¹. But results varied widely from study to study, and most trials weren’t double-blinded, so the authors urged caution¹¹.

Cleveland Clinic suggests not doing this one right before bed, since it can make you more alert¹⁰. It’s also hard with a stuffy nose, so switch to belly breathing on those days.

Evidence label: promising but early for blood pressure¹¹. If you take blood pressure medicine, tell your clinician about any new practice².

Exercise 5: Pursed-lip breathing is a tool for breathlessness

Lung rehab programs teach this one to people who get winded from asthma or COPD. According to the American Lung Association, it cuts the number of breaths you take and holds your airways open a little longer, which lets trapped air escape⁴.

Step card: pursed-lip breathing

1. Sit in a chair and let your neck and shoulders go loose.
2. Breathe in through your nose, mouth closed, for a count of two.
3. Pucker your lips into a small opening, the shape you’d make to whistle.
4. Let the air out slowly through that opening for at least twice as long as the breath in, such as a count of four.
5. Repeat until your breathing feels more normal⁴.

The research is real but modest. A 2019 review in Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine pooled 19 studies of breathing exercises with 745 people who had COPD¹⁴. Pursed-lip breathing slowed people’s breathing rate compared with control groups. The authors judged it a reasonable option for easing breathing and quality of life, but rated the evidence low to moderate in quality¹⁴.

The lung association also points people with lung disease to pulmonary rehabilitation, a program of education and exercise classes⁴. If you’re still short of breath after using the technique, it says to call 911⁴.

Evidence label: promising but early for easing breathing in COPD¹⁴.

Kids learn breathing best as a game

For young children, breathing practice works best as play. A handout from CHOC, the children’s health system in Orange County, California, offers several ideas¹²:

• Balloon belly. Your child lies down with a stuffed animal on their tummy and gives it a slow ride up and down.
• Bubbles, pinwheels and feathers. A slow, steady breath out makes more bubbles or keeps a pinwheel turning.
• Five-finger tracing. Your child traces up one finger while breathing in and down while breathing out, across the whole hand.

CHOC suggests about 10 breaths at a time, a few times a day, and says candle games need an adult watching¹². These skills can help in hard moments, too. A 2018 review described by NCCIH found that breathing exercises helped ease children’s pain and distress during needle procedures such as shots².

Which breath when: a chooser and the evidence

Breathing practice fits what many natural-health readers value. It’s free, needs no product and draws on old traditions such as yoga’s pranayama³. You don’t need to master all five. Pick the one that fits the moment.

If you want to…	Try	Why this one
Build a daily calming habit	Belly breathing	The base skill the others build on45
Stay calm but sharp before a test or talk	Long-exhale breathing	Beat tactical breathing on a task in one small stress test6
Steady yourself with a simple count	Box breathing	Easy to remember; drop the pauses if needed7
Feel balanced and alert, earlier in the day	Alternate-nostril breathing	Can raise alertness, so skip it at bedtime10
Ease shortness of breath from lung disease	Pursed-lip breathing	Lets trapped air out4
Help a child calm down	Balloon belly or bubbles	Turns practice into play12

For resonance breathing at about six breaths a minute, see our article on heart rate variability. For cyclic sighing, see our article on breath awareness.

Practice	What studies found	Evidence level
Slow belly breathing for stress	Early signs of less stress in a small review2	Promising but early
Making the exhale longer than the inhale	No clear extra benefit over 12 weeks1	Not enough evidence
Box breathing	One single-session cadet trial; little research on tactical breathing in general68	Not enough evidence
Alternate-nostril breathing for blood pressure	About 7 points lower in six trials, with widely varying results11	Promising but early
Pursed-lip breathing for COPD breathlessness	Slower breathing in small trials of low to moderate quality14	Promising but early
Breath holds or fast breathing in water	Can cause loss of consciousness and death9	Evidence says no, or unsafe

When to get help. Breathing exercises support care; they don’t replace it⁵. See a health care provider if stress, anxiety or low mood is severe or lasts two weeks or more²¹⁵. If shortness of breath doesn’t ease, call 911⁴. If you’re struggling or having thoughts of suicide, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or chat at 988lifeline.org. It’s free, confidential and open 24 hours a day¹⁵.

Questions readers ask

The bottom line

Gentle breathing is a skill you can learn in a few minutes and practice for free. Belly breathing is the foundation, a longer exhale may help you stay sharp under pressure, box breathing gives you a simple count, alternate-nostril breathing carries yoga’s long tradition, and pursed-lip breathing helps when your lungs struggle.

The evidence is modest and points to one theme: slow, easy, regular practice matters more than the exact pattern. Learn while you’re calm, stop if you feel dizzy, keep breath holds short and out of the water, and keep your clinician in the loop if you have a heart, lung or mental health condition.

Related reading

• Watching your breath eases stress a little, while forceful breathwork near water can kill
• Your HRV is personal and noisy, so read the trend rather than the day
• The viral “military sleep method” hasn’t been tested in trials, unlike older relaxation methods
• Breathing takes care of itself in most workouts, but lifting, side stitches and asthma need a plan
• Yoga builds balance and calm, and the style you choose shapes the risk

Sources

1. Birdee G, Nelson K, Wallston K, et al. “Slow breathing for reducing stress: The effect of extending exhale.” Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2023 (abstract record, Qigong Institute database). qigonginstitute.org
2. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know.” NIH, updated June 2021. nccih.nih.gov
3. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. “Yoga: Effectiveness and Safety.” NIH, updated August 2023. nccih.nih.gov
4. American Lung Association. “Breathing Exercises.” Updated June 22, 2026. lung.org
5. Cleveland Clinic. “Diaphragmatic Breathing.” Medically reviewed March 30, 2022. my.clevelandclinic.org
6. Röttger S, Theobald DA, Abendroth J, Jacobsen T. “The effectiveness of combat tactical breathing as compared with prolonged exhalation.” Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 2021;46(1):19-28, published online August 2020 (Helmut Schmidt University repository record). openhsu.ub.hsu-hh.de
7. Divine M. “The Breathing Technique a Navy SEAL Uses to Stay Calm and Focused.” TIME, May 4, 2016. time.com
8. Jones ME, Smith G, Acevedo A, Melton B. “Effectiveness of Structured Breathwork Interventions on Heart Rate Variability and Heart Rate Recovery Following Maximal Exertion in Tactical Athletes.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2026;58(7):1524-1533 (Georgia Southern University record). scholars.georgiasouthern.edu
9. American Red Cross, USA Swimming and YMCA of the USA. “Joint Statement on Hypoxic Blackout.” November 2022. Hypoxic Blackout – Joint Statement – Red Cross Y USA Swimming 10-31-2022.pdf
10. Cleveland Clinic. “Alternate Nostril Breathing: How & Why To Practice.” Health Essentials, September 7, 2022. health.clevelandclinic.org
11. Nam TG, Jeong HI, Kim KH, Jang I. “Effectiveness of Alternative Nostril Breathing on Blood Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.” Complementary Medicine Research, 2024 (Epistemonikos record). epistemonikos.org
12. CHOC (Children’s Health of Orange County). “Mindfulness and meditation practices for kids.” December 17, 2024. health.choc.org
13. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “Breathing Retraining” (PTSD Coach Online transcript). 2019. ptsd.va.gov
14. Ubolnuar N, Tantisuwat A, Thaveeratitham P, et al. “Effects of Breathing Exercises in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2019;43(4):509-523 (DOAJ record). pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
15. National Institute of Mental Health. “Caring for Your Mental Health.” Last reviewed April 2026. nimh.nih.gov