Breath · Secular practice
Long exhale
In for four. Out for eight.
In for four, out for eight, and no holds. Twice as long going out as coming in.
This text was written for Japa. It is not a traditional formula, and no tradition teaches it as one.
The count shown here is Japa's suggestion, not a rule of the tradition. Follow the form and number you were taught.
Free paced breathing
Breathe along, right here.
4 in, 8 out — the ring grows as you breathe in and settles as you breathe out. It runs in your browser, saves nothing and stops when you leave the tab.
Ready when you are
Opens a preview of this practice, with an option to add it in Japa 1.6 or later. If you install the app, return here and open the link again.
A paced breathing exercise, offered as something to do — not a treatment, and not medical advice. Stop if it makes you lightheaded, and ask a clinician about anything to do with your health or your breathing.
What the words say
One ratio, 1:2, and nothing else to keep track of. Where box breathing asks for four things to be equal, this asks for one thing to be double — which some people find much easier to hold in mind while doing it.
Where it comes from
Lengthened-exhale patterns are common across contemporary breath teaching and in yoga, where extending the exhale is a standard instruction. The specific four-and-eight framing is this app's.
How it is practised
Sit and follow the pacer; slow the exhale rather than forcing the inhale. Not medical advice — stop if you feel lightheaded.
Keep it, and count it every day.
Japa keeps this text beside a large, calm counter on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with a haptic for every bead and an optional bell at the end of each round. Counting is unlimited and free.
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