Box breathing
Box Breathing, otherwise known as Equal or Square Breath is, as the name suggests, a technique designed to equalise the breath to help balance the nervous system. It comes from the yogic tradition where in sanskrit it is called “sama vritti pranayama”. The word “sama” means “same” or “equal”, and the word “vritti” means “wave-length” or “ripple”.
It’s a beautiful technique you can try at any time, and modify to suit your needs. My recommendation to start of with is count to 4 and complete this for 10 rounds of breath. As you become accustomed to the technique, you can begin to elongate to 5-6 counts, eventually moving to something like 8 counts. Try to do this at least once per day, and see how it makes you feel.
Please note: you should never feel breathless when practicing this technique. If you begin to feel like you are gasping for air, your breath is too long and I recommend reducing your count. I like to think of the retentions as a means of creating a container of energy that you let go of before you move into full discomfort.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions about this box breathing. I would love to speak to you.
