00:30

50 Best Breaths

by Douglas Robson

Rated
4.8
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
625

James Nestor author of "Breathe" explains that the ideal breath is 5.5 seconds long, taking in 5.5 liters of air, 5.5 times a minute. In this easy-to-follow meditation, I show you how to breathe like this and how great it feels. Simply follow along with me and enjoy the benefits that follow it.

BreathingMeditationBenefitsFlowMindfulnessFive Second BreathingBreath CountingFlow State360 Degree BreathingBreathing AwarenessMantrasMantra RepetitionsMind Wandering

Transcript

Hey,

Welcome.

This is The Dalman Doug,

Back with another meditation for you.

This one is fairly simple,

But I just want to explain the background first.

Author James Nesta wrote a book called Breathe.

In it he explains that the ideal breath should be 5.

5 seconds in,

5.

5 seconds out,

And this will lead to 5.

5 breaths a minute and bring in about 5.

5 litres of air.

Now for simplicity of maths,

I'm going to change this slightly and say that we should do 5 seconds in,

5 seconds out,

And 1 second between each breath.

And this will give us 5 breaths a minute,

A total of 50 breaths for this session.

So all you've got to do is breathe well 50 times.

Now this type of breathing is ideal for giving you that sweet spot between concentration and relaxation.

It's also known as flow state.

Let's do it together.

Now to help you out,

I'm going to give you the exact rhythm.

Wherever you are in your breath cycle,

Breathe out now.

Alright,

Let's breathe together.

In,

2,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

5,

Hold,

In,

2,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

5,

Hold,

In,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

5,

Hold,

In,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

3,

In,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

4,

Hold,

In,

2,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

Hold,

In,

2,

5,

Hold,

Out,

Hold,

In,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

In,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

In,

2,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

Hold,

In,

2,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

Hold,

In,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

Hold,

In,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

4,

5,

Hold,

In,

2,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

Hold,

In,

2,

4,

5,

Hold,

Out,

2,

3,

5.

Continue now with that breathing pattern,

But counting on your own.

Turning these numbers into a mantra,

Becoming easier each round,

Becoming more relaxed each cycle of breath.

Just paying attention to those numbers,

Matching your breath with the sound of the breath in the background.

Still counting those numbers though,

Allowing your mind to latch on to this repetitive sound,

This comforting breath cycle.

Listen to that breath and simply count your breath in and your breath out.

With the quantity of breath now sorted,

Focus now on the quality of each breath.

Aiming to get maximum air on the way in and maximum relaxation on the way out.

Expand your belly on the way in,

Relax on the way out.

Expand your ribs out to the side on the way in,

Allow them to relax on the way out.

Expand even your lower back out on the way in,

And let it relax on the way out.

Breathe in a 360 degree fashion on the way in,

And as you exhale,

Let it all relax and contract to the middle on the way out.

Your mind is calm,

Resting on the numbers,

Resting on your breath.

If something else comes up,

That's okay.

We notice it,

And then we discard it as we come back.

So five breaths in,

And a five breaths out.

Our only interest is those big,

Beautiful breaths.

Be aware if you've drifted off,

And come back to my voice.

Come back to your counting.

Come back to your beautiful breaths.

Last round.

Enjoy this moment.

Take as long as you need,

Or as long as you want.

But you've completed now.

Your 50 best breaths.

I'll see you in another meditation soon.

Namaste.

Meet your Teacher

Douglas RobsonLondon, UK

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© 2026 Douglas Robson. 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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