Paced Cooling Breath
Calm · Beginner · 12 rounds
Six breaths a minute - the paced breathing studied for hot flushes.
Slow paced respiration at around six breaths per minute is the best-supported non-hormonal breathing practice for vasomotor symptoms, and the benefit comes from doing it regularly rather than only mid-flush. Fifteen minutes twice a day is the pattern most of the research uses. Used at the first sign of a flush it can also shorten one, but the daily habit is what shifts the frequency.
How to practice
- Inhale for 4 seconds (through the nose)
- Exhale (Extended) for 6 seconds (through the nose)
Benefits
- The pace used in hot-flush research
- Improves heart-rate variability
- Helps with night waking too
- Builds cumulatively over weeks
When to practice
15 minutes, twice daily, for at least six weeks. Also at the first sign of a flush.
Also used for
Breathing Exercises for Period Pain · Breathing Exercises for Menopause and Hot Flushes