Guided Practice 7: Box Breathing with Retention

Hello all of you beautiful breathers, please enjoy this weeks guided practice - this is a new project that the Ohm team have been working which will also be live on YouTube :)

In this practice, the slow rhythm of Box Breathing and the length of breath retentions demands a lot of diaphragmatic control, so feel free to shorten the segments as and when necessary.

The Box Breath is a staple technique when it comes to advancing your breath control. Primarily we are exploring 4 different phases of the breath cycle:

Inhalation
Breath Retention
Exhalation
Breath Hold after Exhale (apnea; the temporary cessation of breathing)

Each of the 4 phases have elements of strength and physiological efficiency that we can train in isolation.

For example - Exhibit A

In order for your diaphragm to develop more strength and therefore more thoracic and intra-abdominal expansion (bigger more expansive breath) the surrounding muscles and tissues first need to learn how to relax and release tension.

In order for this relaxation to occur, we need to 're-establish' balance in the nervous system, particularly with regards to the parasympathetic pathways that travel from the brain to the organs and peripheral receptors in muscles and skin ect.

In order for us to down-regulate the nervous system and provide the message of calmness, safety and relaxation, we need to improve our carbon dioxide tolerance (CO2). Ect ect ect

The beauty with Box Breathing is that it simultaneously improves all of these elements at the same time.

ENJOY!

Which phase feels the most challenging?

1. Inhalation

2. Breath Retention

3. Exhalation

4. Breath Hold after Exhale (apnea; the temporary cessation of breathing)

4 votes

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