Illustration of three womxn sitting cross-legged on yoga mats in a meditative pose. © Recipes for Wellbeing

4-7-8 breathing technique

Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts. Whenever your mind becomes scattered, use your breath as the means to take hold of your mind again. ―Thích Nhất Hạnh

👥 Serves: 1 person, 11-25 people, 2-10 people, 26-40 people, 41+ people

🎚 Difficulty: Easy

⏳ Total time: 1-10 minutes

🥣 Ingredients: A quiet place with no distractions

🤓 Wholebeing Domains: Awareness, Positive Emotion

💪 Wholebeing Skills: Breathing, Calm, Centring, Contentment, Focus, Mindfulness, Presence

Illustration of three womxn sitting cross-legged on yoga mats in a meditative pose. © Recipes for Wellbeing
Illustration of three womxn sitting cross-legged on yoga mats in a meditative pose. © Recipes for Wellbeing

4-7-8 breathing technique

📝 Description

A breathing technique to relax and calm down.

In a world constantly running, one of the wisest things we can do to boost our wellbeing is to stop for a moment. As Thích Nhất Hạnh points out in his book Touching Peace, “Breathing is the best way to stop – to stop unhappiness, agitation, fear, and anger.” Importantly, stopping does not mean we repress what is creating anxiety or fear; but it simply allows us to calm down and gain clarity to figure out our next steps.

The following activity has been taken from issue 21 of Flow magazine. This relaxing yoga-inspired 4-7-8 breath technique has been created by Dr Andrew Weil from Arizona in the USA.

👣 Steps

Step 1 – Preparation

Place the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth, and keep it there through the entire exercise.

Step 2 – Clear

Exhale completely and forcefully through your mouth, making a ‘whoosh’ sound.

Step 3 – Inhale

Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.

Step 4 – Hold

Hold your breath and count to seven.

Step 5 – Exhale

Exhale completely and forcefully through your mouth, making another ‘whoosh’ sound, to a count of eight.

Step 6 – Repeat

Inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths (steps 3-5).

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