Expert+ Progressive Box-Breathing

Forged out of a necessity to help bring people to an expert level of box breathing, the Expert+ progressive Box-Breathing starts with a 4 second box and rises incrementally to a 14 second box. Very rewarding contribution by former Navy SEAL Robert Sweetman.

Transcript

This is my progressive box breathing exercise.

It is an expert level box breathing where we will start with a beginner level box and progressively increase to expert level and beyond.

In our first breath,

We will take a four second breath in,

Hold for four seconds,

Breathe out for four seconds,

And hold for four seconds.

We'll do that twice before moving on to six seconds,

Then eight seconds,

Then 10 seconds,

Then 12 seconds,

Then 14 seconds.

Don't feel like you need to go all the way to the end,

Only go as far as you're comfortable with.

As you breathe in,

You want to raise the tongue to the roof of the mouth,

Breathing in through the nostrils,

Deeply into the belly.

The belly should come out while the shoulders are relaxed.

You should be in a comfortable position with your head erect and your eyes gazing off into the distance slightly downward.

You can close your eyes if you'd like.

As you breathe out,

You'll make a sound as all of the air is coming out of your stomach and into the air.

Your stomach will go to the back of your spine as you breathe out through the diaphragm.

While we breathe,

We'll want to encompass the entire amount of time for each side of the box.

This is a progressive exercise that will build your strength within your lungs,

Both for breathing every day as well as increasing your ability to do breath holds.

Let's begin.

Get into your posture.

Breathe out all your air.

Breathe in for four.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in for six.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in for eight.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in for ten.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Hold it.

Breathe in.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in for twelve.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in for fourteen.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Breathe in.

Hold it.

Breathe out.

Hold it.

Hold it.

Now breathe normally.

That concludes the practice.

Thank you for breathing with me.

Be well.

Reviews

Thank you for this breathing practice. I have built up to 12 now after starting at 8 and will keep going. I find the holding out of the breathe the hardest part of the four components, my chest does not feel relaxed. Have you any suggestions how to help with this?
Thanks again 🌸

I wrote this message two years ago when I was building up my breathing practice. Thank you for your encouragement, I can now do the full practice and know my lung capacity has grown so much 🙏🌸

great box breathing track. learning the subtlety of breath has helped me deepen my meditation practice and bring awareness with me into more areas of my waking life.

deeply grateful for this practice. my next goal is a 16 second box!

Thanks Robert, I’ve incorporated this into my morning, afternoon and evening practices.

Very supportive voice✨ I’d like to hear about the benefits of this type of breathing.

My last two boxes weren’t pretty, but I feel happy to have tried and gotten through most of this one. It’s a great practice and I look doing these exercises and continuing to improve 😊🙏

Beyond my level but it was nice to push myself. 10 seconds is about my max right now. Something to keep working on. Many thanks