Which breathing exercise calms you down fastest?

Techniques with a long exhale are the simplest: 4-6 belly breathing, humming bee breath (bhramari) or 4-7-8. Three to five minutes is often enough to feel steadier. Pick 'Calm down' in the tool: it suggests bhramari, or another technique if that one does not suit you.

How do you do alternate nostril breathing?

Sit up straight. Fold the index and middle fingers of your right hand, place the thumb on the right nostril and breathe in through the left. Close the left with your ring finger, open the right and breathe out. Breathe in on the right, close it, breathe out on the left: that is one cycle. The tool's animation shows which nostril is closed at every moment.

Which breathing technique helps you fall asleep?

Slow breathing with an exhale longer than the inhale, such as 4-8 belly breathing or 4-7-8, done in bed for five to ten minutes. It is not a treatment for insomnia: if you have been sleeping badly for several weeks, see a doctor.

Is kapalabhati dangerous?

It is intense and not for everyone. Ministry of AYUSH guidance advises against it with heart disease or high blood pressure, vertigo, epilepsy, migraine, a history of stroke, hernia or ulcers, and tradition rules it out during pregnancy. Start with 3 rounds of 10 exhales on an empty stomach and stop at the first sign of dizziness.

How long should you practise each day?

Five minutes a day is a good start; many people later build up to ten or fifteen. Regularity matters more than length. The tool keeps a small log of your last seven days on your device, without sending anything to a server.

What is bhramari (humming bee) breathing?

You breathe in through the nose, then breathe out with your mouth closed while making a low sound, like a bee. The index fingers often rest on the cartilage in front of the ears to feel the vibration better. With an ear infection, practise without closing the ears. Do not practise lying down.

Should you breathe through the nose or the mouth?

For all five techniques in the tool you breathe in through the nose, and out through the nose too unless your teacher says otherwise. If your nose is blocked, alternate nostril breathing is not possible: choose belly breathing instead.

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Guided breathing exercises

Tell the tool what you are after (calming down, falling asleep, focusing or getting some energy) and it suggests a technique that fits, taking your situation into account. Every session is guided by an animation that shows what to do (which nostril to close, when to fill the belly, when to hum), a soft sound so you can practise with your eyes closed, and an accurate timer. Everything runs in your browser, with no account and no app.

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How it works

The guide follows a timeline worked out in advance: each step (breathe in, hold, breathe out, hum) has a fixed length and the tool reads the phone's clock several times per second. Your place in the session is always derived from the time elapsed since you started, so the rhythm never drifts, even after fifteen minutes or if the phone slows down. A session always ends on a full exhale, never halfway through a breath.
Alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana, นาฑีโศธนะ) follows its most common form, the one in the Common Yoga Protocol published by India's Ministry of AYUSH: right hand raised, thumb on the right nostril, ring finger on the left; breathe in on the left, out on the right, in on the right, out on the left. Schools differ on the starting nostril and the ratios; the tool starts on the left, offers equal counts first, then a longer exhale, and keeps breath retention for people without heart problems or pregnancy.
For belly breathing, the animation shows one hand on the belly and one on the chest: only the belly should move. The calming rhythm (4 s in, 6 s out) gives 6 breaths per minute, the slow rate studied in heart rate variability research. For falling asleep the exhale stretches to 8 s. Bhramari, the humming bee breath (ภรามรี), is done sitting with eyes closed: breathe in through the nose, then breathe out with a low, steady 'mmmm'. The guide sound is a hum synthesised on your phone that you can match with your voice.
Ujjayi (อุชชายี) is nose breathing with a slight narrowing at the back of the throat, which makes a soft ocean sound; the guide sound imitates it. Kapalabhati (กปาลภาติ) is a series of short, active exhales, the belly snapping in while the inhale happens on its own. It is the most intense: the tool keeps it locked until you have read the warnings, removes it if you report pregnancy, heart disease or high blood pressure, epilepsy, recent abdominal surgery or dizziness, and starts with 3 rounds of 10 exhales, as the AYUSH protocol suggests for beginners.
What research says, with caution: a systematic review (Zaccaro et al., Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018) links slow breathing, around 6 breaths per minute, with greater relaxation and higher heart rate variability, though the studies are small. A trial of diaphragmatic breathing (Ma et al., Frontiers in Psychology, 2017) found fewer negative emotions and lower cortisol after eight weeks. A study by Telles et al. (Medical Science Monitor Basic Research, 2014) measured lower blood pressure during alternate nostril breathing. For bhramari, a systematic review rates the evidence as very low quality. Ujjayi and kapalabhati have been studied far less; their effects are described here as yoga tradition presents them, nothing more.
Sources: Common Yoga Protocol (Ministry of AYUSH, India) and Vikaspedia fact sheets for the techniques and contraindications; the reviews and trials above for the effects. The 4-7-8 and box (4-4-4-4) rhythms already have their own tool on this site, which this one links to. These exercises support wellbeing; they do not replace treatment or a doctor's advice. If you have a heart or lung condition, are pregnant or have severe panic attacks, talk to a health professional before you start.

These tools give general information. They do not replace the advice of a doctor or a qualified professional.

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Frequently asked questions

Which breathing exercise calms you down fastest?: Techniques with a long exhale are the simplest: 4-6 belly breathing, humming bee breath (bhramari) or 4-7-8. Three to five minutes is often enough to feel steadier. Pick 'Calm down' in the tool: it suggests bhramari, or another technique if that one does not suit you.
How do you do alternate nostril breathing?: Sit up straight. Fold the index and middle fingers of your right hand, place the thumb on the right nostril and breathe in through the left. Close the left with your ring finger, open the right and breathe out. Breathe in on the right, close it, breathe out on the left: that is one cycle. The tool's animation shows which nostril is closed at every moment.
Which breathing technique helps you fall asleep?: Slow breathing with an exhale longer than the inhale, such as 4-8 belly breathing or 4-7-8, done in bed for five to ten minutes. It is not a treatment for insomnia: if you have been sleeping badly for several weeks, see a doctor.
Is kapalabhati dangerous?: It is intense and not for everyone. Ministry of AYUSH guidance advises against it with heart disease or high blood pressure, vertigo, epilepsy, migraine, a history of stroke, hernia or ulcers, and tradition rules it out during pregnancy. Start with 3 rounds of 10 exhales on an empty stomach and stop at the first sign of dizziness.
How long should you practise each day?: Five minutes a day is a good start; many people later build up to ten or fifteen. Regularity matters more than length. The tool keeps a small log of your last seven days on your device, without sending anything to a server.
What is bhramari (humming bee) breathing?: You breathe in through the nose, then breathe out with your mouth closed while making a low sound, like a bee. The index fingers often rest on the cartilage in front of the ears to feel the vibration better. With an ear infection, practise without closing the ears. Do not practise lying down.
Should you breathe through the nose or the mouth?: For all five techniques in the tool you breathe in through the nose, and out through the nose too unless your teacher says otherwise. If your nose is blocked, alternate nostril breathing is not possible: choose belly breathing instead.

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