Belly Breathing
The foundation. Four seconds in, six seconds out.
Start guided sessionThe pattern
- Breathe in4 seconds
- Breathe out6 seconds
What it is
Belly breathing means letting the diaphragm — the sheet of muscle under your lungs — do the work, instead of hauling air in with your neck and shoulders. When you are stressed, breathing tends to move upward into the chest and get faster and shallower. Belly breathing puts it back where it belongs.
It is the first thing taught in cardiac rehab, pulmonary rehab, and most clinical anxiety programmes, because it is almost impossible to do wrong and requires nothing except a few minutes.
Why the exhale is longer
Your heart speeds up slightly as you breathe in and slows down as you breathe out. That is a normal reflex called respiratory sinus arrhythmia. By making the out-breath longer than the in-breath, you spend more of each cycle in the slowing-down half, which is the mechanism behind almost every calming breath pattern on this site.
Four in and six out is a comfortable starting ratio. If six feels long, use four in and five out and build up.
When to use it
Any time. It is the safest technique here — there is no breath-holding and no fast breathing — so it is the right default if you are pregnant, have a heart or lung condition, or simply do not know where to start.
How to do it without the app
- Sit upright or lie down, shoulders loose.
- Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly.
- Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, letting the lower hand rise while the upper hand stays still.
- Breathe out slowly for 6 seconds, letting the belly fall.
- Repeat for 3 to 5 minutes.
Safety
- Safe for almost everyone, including during pregnancy.
- If lying flat makes you breathless, prop yourself up on pillows or sit in a chair.
What the evidence says
Slow diaphragmatic breathing at around six breaths per minute is the most studied pattern in the field. Trials consistently show short-term reductions in self-reported stress and rises in heart rate variability, though effects on longer-term outcomes are smaller and less certain.
A plain-English summary for a general audience, not a systematic review. See the medical disclaimer.