03:57

Stress Relief Breathing Practice

by Barbara Faison

Rated
4.8
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
4.9k

Enjoy this 4-4-8 breathing practice to help reduce your stress. You can do this practice anytime you want to reduce your stress response and calm your nervous system. Feel free to practice longer if you need to! I'd love you to leave a comment to let me know how you felt after listening.

StressBreathingBody ScanRelaxationNervous System4 8 BreathingStress ReductionBreath Counting

Transcript

Greetings.

I'm Barbara DeFason,

And welcome to this breathing practice.

Today,

We're going to do a breathing practice that will help you reduce your stress.

It's called 4-4-8 breathing.

Four breaths in through the nose,

Hold for a count of four,

And eight breaths out through your mouth with pursed lips.

So it will sound like breathe in,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

So if you're able to join me,

Settle in,

And let's begin.

Connect your hands to your body,

And I'll do the counting,

And you do the breathing.

So again,

We're doing four breaths in through the nose,

Hold for a count of four,

And eight breaths out through your mouth with pursed lips.

So let's begin.

Breathe in,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Final one.

In,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Hold,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Out.

Seven,

Six,

Five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One.

Now check in with your body.

Just do a scan.

Notice how you feel.

Just check in from your head all the way to your toes.

How are you feeling in your body right now?

This four,

Four,

Eight breath is a great practice to do anytime you feel yourself stressed and you want to calm your body down.

Thank you so much for listening.

You can follow me online at Barbara Faison.

And remember,

It starts with you.

It starts with me.

One breath,

One thought,

One deed.

Until next time,

Take care and be well.

Meet your Teacher

Barbara FaisonGeorgia, United States

4.8 (450)

Recent Reviews

Emily

January 15, 2026

Great short practice for the nervous system or beginner to breathe work. 💚

Jen

January 4, 2026

Clar and simple instructions, and good audio quality.

Kham

November 24, 2025

So good, really helpful, and easy to follow along! Thank you 💖

Yanick

November 19, 2025

Straight forward, easy instructions and I feel amazing after. Thank you Barbara.

Linda

July 15, 2024

Straight to the point! I like that :) good for feeling better and less stressed but not as a sleep meditation!

Madeline

November 11, 2023

This breathing session made me smile 😊 thank you 🙏

Sueanne

November 5, 2023

I enjoy breathing practices. They have made a difference for me. Thank you for this nice simple exercise 😀.

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© 2026 Barbara Faison. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

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