Free practice tool
Breath Trainer
A free slow-breathing pacer — useful on its own, and as a foundation for qigong and Tai Chi. Four patterns, a visual guide, no sign-up.
Ready
0 cycles
Ready to begin
No hold — suitable for continuous movement.
Double-click the circle for full screen. Your last pattern is remembered on this device.
How to use it
Four steps, five minutes
- Sit or stand upright. Spine tall, shoulders soft, jaw loose. A chair is fine; so is standing.
- Start with Settle (4-0-6). It has no hold, so it can sit alongside a continuous form. Use Pacer (4-2-6) when you are seated or standing still.
- Follow the circle. It grows on the inhale, holds at the top, and settles on the exhale. Let the circle set the pace instead of counting in your head.
- Stop at five minutes. Build to ten or twenty over weeks, not days.
What the evidence supports
A meta-analysis of 15 randomised trials found that slow breathing lowered systolic blood pressure by about 7 mmHg and diastolic by about 3 mmHg — modest but significant. Heart-rate variability and mood improvements are also supported.
The widely repeated figures — HRV +40% in a week, cortisol −25%, deep sleep doubled — are not supported by reliable studies. Treat them as marketing, not evidence.
Slow breathing is a low-risk self-help practice, not a treatment. It does not replace medication or a doctor's advice.
How this fits traditional practice
Traditional Taiji and Qigong coordinate breath with movement: open-inhale, close-exhale (开吸合呼); rise-inhale, fall-exhale (起吸落呼); store-inhale, release-exhale (蓄吸发呼). Beginners are usually taught to let the breath stay natural; reverse abdominal breathing is advanced. None of these traditions prescribes a fixed 4-2-6 ratio.
That is why the default here is Settle (no hold). Use the pacer as a background guide for pace and steadiness, not as a metronome to hit on every movement.
Natural or reverse abdominal breathing?
The rhythm tells you when to breathe. This tells you how. The two methods are not interchangeable, and beginners usually start with the first.
| Aspect | Natural (顺腹式) | Reverse (逆腹式) |
|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Beginner-friendly | Advanced |
| On the inhale | Belly expands | Belly draws in |
| On the exhale | Belly contracts | Belly expands |
| Effect | Calming | Energising, structural |
| Best for | Sleep, stress, seated practice | Tai Chi forms, standing practice |
Start natural. Reverse breathing is taught after the natural pattern is stable — traditionally after years, not weeks — and this tool does not teach it. If you have high blood pressure, glaucoma, are pregnant, or have a panic or respiratory condition, do not practise reverse breathing without guidance.
Which pattern, and when
Settle 4-0-6
No hold. The default, and the one to use alongside continuous forms, before sleep, or when you are stressed.
Modern slow-breathing rhythm.
Pacer 4-2-6
A 2-second pause at the top. About five breaths a minute; use it seated or standing still.
Modern HRV rhythm, near the ~6/min resonance frequency.
Energize 6-2-4
A longer inhale and a 2-second pause. Use it in the morning, or before standing practice.
Modern slow-breathing rhythm.
Focus 4-4-4
Even phases with one 4-second hold. Pre-practice only — not for continuous forms.
A simplified even rhythm, not the tactical 4-4-4-4 box.
Read it with
- Dantian breathing
The concept behind the rhythm, and how it is developed in stillness.
- Tai Chi breathing
How the breath fits the form, and where beginners get the order wrong.
- Ba Duan Jin breathing
Coordinating the breath with movement in the eight-section set.
- Qigong or Tai Chi?
Which practice to start with, and what the two actually share.
- The Tai Chi learning path
Where breathing sits in the wider sequence of practice.
Common questions
Is 4-2-6 a traditional Taiji or Qigong breathing method?
No. 4-2-6 is a modern slow-breathing rhythm, about five breaths a minute, close to the resonance frequency used in HRV training. Traditional Taiji and Qigong teach breath-to-movement principles — open-inhale, close-exhale, rise-inhale, fall-exhale — not fixed seconds.
Is box breathing traditional?
No. The 4-4-4-4 box comes from military tactical training, not from Taiji or Qigong. This tool uses a simplified Focus pattern (4-4-4, one hold), which is not the tactical box and is not meant for continuous forms.
How long should I practise?
Five minutes is enough to begin. Build to ten or twenty minutes over weeks, not days. The benefit comes from regularity rather than length.
Can I use it before sleep?
Yes. Use Settle (4-0-6), which has no hold, with natural abdominal breathing. The longer exhale is the calming part; removing the hold keeps the rhythm from feeling alerting.
Should I use natural or reverse abdominal breathing?
Start with natural breathing (顺腹式), where the belly expands on the inhale. Reverse breathing (逆腹式) is an advanced technique taught after the natural pattern is stable — traditionally after years of practice, not weeks. This tool does not teach it.
Is it safe if I have high blood pressure or another condition?
Slow breathing is generally gentle, but breath holds raise blood pressure and lower oxygen. Avoid the hold patterns if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, glaucoma, are pregnant, or have panic disorder. Stop if you feel dizzy, numb, or short of breath.
More practice tools
Taiji Thirteen Postures
The eight gates and five steps, with their trigram, direction and five-element correspondences — use it to place a movement you have been taught against the framework behind every form.
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Stream the practice sets, or download them for offline use.
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