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Breathing exercise
Slowing your breathing helps your body calm down. Sit somewhere comfortable and let your shoulders drop. Breathe in through your nose as the circle grows and breathe out slowly as it shrinks. When the edge of the circle turns gold, hold your breath.
Breathe in for 4 seconds and out for 6. No holding. Keep going for as long as you like.
One round takes 10 seconds. 6 rounds take about 1 minute.
Do the holds without straining. If you feel dizzy or short of breath, switch to the Calm pace or return to your normal breathing. If you have serious heart or lung disease, ask your doctor before using techniques with breath holds.
Music
A calm, classical start to the week
To turn inward over a cup of coffee: a Spotify playlist of Ludovico Einaudi’s Nuvole Bianche and similar calm piano pieces. You can play it in the background before or after the breathing exercise.
Five skills
Small tools for hard moments
These skills are not meant to make stress disappear completely. The aim is to stay grounded even when difficult feelings are there, and to be able to turn back to what matters to you.
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1
Ground yourself
When emotions come like a storm, it is like dropping anchor until the storm passes.
- NoticeQuietly notice what you are thinking and feeling right now.
- Your bodyPress your feet into the floor, straighten your back, breathe out slowly and stretch your shoulders.
- Look aroundNotice, one by one, the things you can see, hear and touch around you. Then go back to what you were doing.
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2
Unhook from difficult thoughts
Difficult thoughts can catch us like a fishing hook and pull us away from the life we are living right now.
- NoticeNotice that a thought has hooked you.
- Name itSay to yourself: “I’m noticing a difficult thought.”
- RefocusBring your attention back to what you are doing and to the people around you.
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3
Act on your values
We cannot always change our circumstances, but we can choose the kind of person we want to be. What matters to you: being patient, kind, helpful?
- This weekChoose a small, doable step that shows this value, such as calling a friend or helping a neighbour.
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4
Be kind to yourself
Treat yourself the way you would treat a friend who is going through a hard time.
- TouchGently place a hand on your chest and feel its warmth.
- Say“This is really hard. I am not alone in feeling this way.”
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5
Make room for feelings
Fighting a difficult feeling often makes it bigger. Try carrying it with you for a while instead.
- Be curiousWhere in your body do you feel the emotion? If it were an object, what would its shape, colour and temperature be?
- Breathe outBreathe out slowly around that area and make room for it. Feelings come and go.
Frequently asked questions
How do you do a breathing exercise when you are stressed?
Sit somewhere comfortable and let your shoulders drop. Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds and out slowly over 6 seconds. One round takes 10 seconds; 6 rounds take about 1 minute. Slowing your breathing helps your body calm down.
How do you do box breathing and 4-7-8 breathing?
For box breathing, breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4, breathe out for 4 and hold for 4. For the 4-7-8 technique, breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds, hold for 7, then breathe out through slightly parted lips over 8 seconds. Do the holds without straining; if you have serious heart or lung disease, ask your doctor before using techniques with breath holds.
What are the five skills in the World Health Organization’s stress guide?
Grounding yourself, unhooking from difficult thoughts, acting on your values, being kind to yourself and making room for feelings. The aim is not to make stress disappear completely, but to be able to turn back to what matters to you even when difficult feelings are there.
Free resources
Illustrated guide and audio exercises
You can get the full guide and its audio exercises free of charge from the World Health Organization. The audio recordings are available in more than 20 languages, including English.
Sources
- Cleveland Clinic. How To Do the 4-7-8 Breathing Exercise. Health Essentials.
- Cleveland Clinic. How Box Breathing Can Help You Destress. Health Essentials.
- World Health Organization. Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide. Geneva: WHO; 2020. Turkish edition: Stresli Anlarda Ne Yapmalı?: Resimli Rehber. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
This page is a short summary of the guide’s skills in our own words. The World Health Organization did not prepare or endorse this page. The breathing exercises are not part of the guide; they are general relaxation techniques.