A free guided breathing exercise for box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing. Follow the animated circle to breathe in, hold, and breathe out — with adjustable timing, cycles, and optional sound cues.
Slow, structured breathing is one of the simplest ways to take a short break and settle down. Many people use it to calm down before a stressful moment, reset between tasks, or unwind before sleep. This page guides two popular techniques so you don't have to count in your head — just follow the animation.
Box breathing (also called square breathing) has four equal steps: breathe in, hold, breathe out, and hold again — usually for 4 seconds each. The dot traces one side of the square per step while the circle grows and shrinks with your breath. You can set each step anywhere from 3 to 6 seconds.
The 4-7-8 technique, popularized by Dr. Andrew Weil, is: breathe in quietly through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 7, then breathe out completely through your mouth for 8. It's commonly recommended to start with no more than four cycles at a time, so this exercise defaults to 4 and allows up to 8.
Press Start exercise, choose a technique and the number of cycles in the controls panel, then press Start. Sit or lie down comfortably and follow the prompts. Turn on sound cues if you'd like to close your eyes — a soft tone marks each step. You can pause at any time, or press Space on a keyboard.
Breathe gently and never force a breath hold. If you feel dizzy, lightheaded, or short of breath, stop and breathe normally. Don't practice while driving, in water, or anywhere losing focus could be unsafe. If you are pregnant or have a heart, lung, or other medical condition, check with a healthcare provider first. See the Disclaimer for details.