Neuroatelier The studio
Breathwork

Handcrafted breathwork

Patterns written by hand, not generated. Free, unlimited, and the same every time — which is the point, because the thing that works is the returning.

The practices

Cyclic sighing
Two inhales through the nose, the second one small, then a long slow exhale through the mouth. The pattern your body already runs when it sighs.
5 min nothing held Balban et al.
Longer out than in
In for four, out for six. Nothing held, nothing forced. The simplest thing that works.
5 min nothing held
Coherent breathing
Five and a half seconds in, five and a half out. About five and a half breaths a minute, held for as long as you like.
10 min nothing held
Breathing down to sleep
Starts at four and six and lets the exhale stretch as you go. It is meant to be abandoned — if you fall asleep partway through, it worked.
10 min nothing held
Box breathing
Four in, four held, four out, four empty. Square, deliberate, something to do with your attention.
5 min holds the breath Balban et al.
4-7-8
In for four through the nose, held for seven, out for eight through the mouth. A long hold and a very long exhale.
4 min holds the breath
Wim Hof style rounds
Thirty full breaths, then let everything out and stay empty for as long as it stays comfortable. One deep breath held for fifteen seconds closes the round. Three rounds.
3 rounds holds the breath Read this first

Paths

A path names what you do on each day before you start it. Same for everyone, so there is nothing to decide once you are in.

Your first week
Five minutes a day, one practice, seven days.
7 days nothing held
Day 1Cyclic sighing · 5 min
Day 2Cyclic sighing · 5 min
Day 3Cyclic sighing · 5 min
Day 4Cyclic sighing · 5 min
…3 more days
Wind down
Fourteen evenings, ending longer than they start.
14 days nothing held
Day 1Longer out than in · 5 min
Day 2Longer out than in · 5 min
Day 3Coherent breathing · 5 min
Day 4Coherent breathing · 5 min
…10 more days
Before the thing
Ten days of practising being nervous on purpose.
10 days holds the breath
Day 1Longer out than in · 5 min
Day 2Box breathing · 5 min
Day 3Box breathing · 5 min
Day 4Cyclic sighing · 5 min
…6 more days

Why this side of the atelier is free

A meditation here is composed and rendered for one person and costs real money to make, so it is priced. A breathwork is a schedule — a list of phases with durations — so it costs nothing to run and can be practised every day for the rest of your life. That is why the daily habit is built on this side: reminders, commitments, paths and a calendar, on the half of the studio that can afford to be unlimited.

Safety

Never practise any of these in or near water, or while driving. If a pattern makes you light-headed, stop — that is the pattern, not a failure of yours, and there is one on this page that does not hold the breath at all.

The practices that hold the breath are not for everyone. Skip them if:

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