How a simple breathwork practice can influence emotional balance, resilience, and overall well-being.
I would like to share with you a technique that I’ve been focusing on for the past several weeks. I must say, it is fascinating and eye-opening that such a simple practice, returning to the basics of breathing, can make such a difference for human well-being. And I certainly hope it will for me, as I am currently watching my average morning HRV (heart rate variability*: all links in the comments) slowly climb, point by point.
Although I already had a general understanding of biofeedback, thanks to a Redditor I came across a book by Leah Lagos (*) describing her HRV training program. I read the book, watched a few of her videos, and, even though she often focuses on (or rather prefers) working with athletes, I decided to give it a try.
What she says (she is a qualified and experienced psychologist) is that if you breathe for 20 minutes twice a day over 10 (or 12) weeks in a specific way, you can increase your HRV. In her opinion (and in the opinion of many other experts) HRV can serve as an indicator of emotional well-being and help achieve many other specific goals. The idea is: the higher your HRV is compared to your own baseline, not someone else’s, the better.
- This breathwork can help improve emotional regulation, stress recovery, and the ability to perform under pressure.
- It can support better cardiovascular efficiency, a lower resting heart rate, and improved resilience.
- In addition, athletes using her program run faster and longer (or shoot farther and more precisely), and managers make better decisions.
I am sceptical by nature, so while giving Leah’s method a try, I also read another book (thank you again, Redditor!) by Inna Khazan (*), also a psychologist and biofeedback expert. Her recommendations were very similar, although her tone is more scientific and reserved.
Here is a quick summary of what to do.
Before you begin, you need to prepare. I think it was very wise of Inna Khazan to start her breathwork chapter with this introduction. You need to make sure you’re able to breathe “low and slow”, as she calls it. Simply try breathing, ideally when you’re not distracted by work or kids, taking slow inhales and slow exhales a few times. It’s better if your exhale is slightly longer than your inhale. At the same time, try to breathe with your belly rather than your chest. To check this, place one hand on your belly and one on your chest and notice which hand rises and falls as you breathe.
Repeat several times over a period of days. If you feel comfortable, relaxed, or content, i.e. any calm or pleasant emotion, that’s a good sign. If not, please see the warning below.
Option 1 — You don’t have and don’t want to buy the equipment for measuring heart rate.
Before you start the practice, please see the warning below.
Find an app that provides pacing cues. There are apps designed exactly for this, pacing your inhales and exhales, ideally with visual cues. If you don’t want to download an app, you can simply use a clock and count aloud, for example. It’s important that the pacing cues are visual (or counted by you), not audio, because this engages a particular part of the brain important to the practice.
Begin with 4 seconds inhale, 6 seconds exhale. Breathe with your nose. If it is difficult, try breathing in through your nose and out through your lips slightly open (as though you are blowing out a candle). Continue for about 5 minutes to start. That’s it! Gradually increase your session length to 20 minutes. Leah says that for optimal results, you need to do this twice per day.
A few comments about posture when doing exercises. In my experience, it’s not always easy to find the position that feels most comfortable. You can do this exercise seated on a chair (with your feet on the ground, knees at 90 degrees, your back supported, and your hands resting comfortably) as recommended. Personally, the most comfortable position is lying down, though I also practice in a seated posture.
Monitor how you feel before, during, and after each session, maybe keep a log. If you do not feel well, see the warning. Compare your overall well-being after 4 weeks, then again 4 weeks later. Pay attention to your emotional background:
- When your child starts their fizzy morning behavior (“I don’t want these socks!”), how do you react? Do you snap? Or is your reaction different?
- When you encounter stress at work or on the road, does your response differ from 4 weeks earlier?
- If you’re a runner, try running 2 km more than usual tomorrow: how does it feel?
- Try to recall how often you felt down, useless, or exhausted a few weeks ago: has that changed?
Of course, there are nuances and many details that can make this practice more efficient, for example, breathing at your resonance frequency (*). However, the 4/6-second model works well for many people, according to both authors. If you’re interested, I encourage you to explore their work.
Option 2 — You have a heart rate belt (or other sensor) and want to use it.
First, find an app that can measure your HRV. There are several available across different platforms.
Next, take several HRV measurements with the app and your sensor: Leah recommends doing this multiple times (e.g., on days 1, 3, and 5) to establish your baseline. Do this in the morning, right after waking up, before getting out of bed or thinking about your to-do list. This baseline will ideally become your lowest HRV in the future.
Start the breathing practice (as above) with the pacer and HRV app (some apps do it simultaneously). The only difference now is that you’ll have a daily HRV record. You can look at the average HRV of each session, but the most important indicator is your average morning HRV and how it changes over time. Don’t pay attention to occasional spikes or dips: only to the trend in your average morning HRV. Depending on the app, you may need to log these manually, or the app may track them for you automatically.
With equipment, you have a clear indicator you can track, like a stock price :) You can watch it rise. As the authors advise, compare in chunks: for example, compare your average morning HRV in week 4 to your baseline; then compare again in another 4–5 weeks.
With the app and sensor, you also have the opportunity to determine your personal resonance frequency. The theory (as described by both authors) is that emotional well-being and performance improve faster when you breathe at a pace specific to your physiology. The 4–6 second model works for many people, but your ideal pace may be slightly different. I’ll put a basic description of how to determine your resonance frequency below.
Et voilà! You’re on the right track.
According to Leah Lagos, you need at least 10–12 weeks to see tangible results. She describes this as real training, like preparing for a competition, and afterward, you only need to maintain your “fitness” level. Some people need regular sessions (2–3 per week), while others prefer to repeat the full training cycle.
According to Inna Khazan, this practice should be done consistently and regularly: ideally every day. She believes that once you reach the 20-minute level, doing it once per day is sufficient (not twice).
Warning
I repeat after the respected authors that this practice is well-known and widely used, benefitting people regardless of their education, occupation, or level of emotional imbalance. However, for some individuals, even those without serious diagnoses, it can cause certain side effects. You might feel more anxious or stressed than usual. You might notice unpleasant sensations in your body. If you have regular headaches, this exercise may worsen them. There is a long list of possible reactions.
Therefore, it is strongly recommended to consult your doctor to make sure they’re aware of your intention to start this breathwork, and so that you have full information before you begin.
Comments:
What is Heart Rate Variability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rate_variability
What is Biofeedback https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofeedback
Leah Lagos. Heart Breath Mind https://www.google.ch/books/edition/Heart_Breath_Mind/ZCm7DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Inna Khazan. Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life https://www.google.ch/books/edition/Biofeedback_and_Mindfulness_in_Everyday/-IR1DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
What is Resonance Frequency Breathing https://www.breathyoga.com/what-is-resonance-frequency-breathing
How to determine your resonance frequency:
You will need a pacing app for this (one that allows increments smaller than 1 second). You can follow Inna Khazan’s recommendations. You will test several breathing paces: 7, 6.5, 6, 5.5, 5, and 4.5 breaths per minute. To determine the inhale/exhale duration for each pace, divide 60 seconds by the number of breaths per minute (e.g., 60 ÷ 7 = approx. 8.6 seconds per breath). Then allocate 40% of that time to the inhale (3.4 seconds) and 60% to the exhale (5.2 seconds).
Make these calculations for each variant and create a table to simplify the process. Then breathe for 2 minutes at 7 breaths per minute, followed by 6.5 breaths per minute, and so on. After trying each pace, assess your body’s feedback: Does it feel easy or difficult? Too slow or too fast? The goal is to find the pace that feels most comfortable and pleasant for you.
If you have an app that measures HRV, choose the variant that yields the highest average HRV for the session. However, if the variant with the highest HRV is not the most comfortable (as happened in my case), choose the one that feels best. They will usually be very close anyway.