Until recently, I’d never really clicked with breathwork and meditation. I’ve often used breathing techniques during guided yoga flows and Pilates classes, but I was never tempted to do it as a standalone practice.
That was until I came across yoga instructor Emma Eglinton's five-minute session, which focuses on just one type of breathwork: box breathing. It seemed instantly accessible and easy to me, thanks to its step-by-step structure.
The short routine is part of the yogi’s 14-day January yoga challenge, and it’s the second of six calming breathwork practices in total. While I haven’t yet completed the full challenge, I have found myself coming back to this particular breathwork session throughout January—here’s why.
How to do box-breathing
Box breathing gets its name because you’re encouraged to think about drawing an imaginary box while completing the exercise. It’s also sometimes called square breathing or four-square breathing. To do it, you simply:
- Inhale for four seconds.
- Hold your breath for four seconds.
- Exhale for four seconds.
- Hold your breath for four seconds.
If you have trouble emptying your mind, it can help you learn how to meditate.
"Box breathing works to relax the nervous system by slowing down our breathing," Eglinton says at the start of her session. "This technique helps improve focus and calm the nervous system."
How box breathing helps me
The best thing about box breathing is that it works quickly. After doing this session, my back felt less tight, my stress levels were lower and my shoulders were no longer hunched up by my ears.
Unlike some types of breathwork, it’s also discrete and can be done anywhere—at your desk, taking the subway or when lying in bed. Nobody will know you’re doing it, if you keep your eyes open.
I find the process of inhaling for four, holding for four, exhaling for four and holding again for four an easy-to-follow exercise, too. And visualizing a box being drawn while ticking off these four steps makes it even easier to complete without my mind wandering. It's now one of my go-to self-care practices.
