How you breathe matters. People take roughly 20,000 a day, the vast majority completely unconscious. Despite the endlessly complex world of breathwork, I have found that one of the simplest practices, box breathing, works wonders. The process is simple. Choose a “count” (I like 4). Breathe in for the count, hold the inhale for the count, breathe out for the count, hold the exhale for the count, repeat.
Even in the sauna, when physiologically you are actively overheating, I have found that 10 box breaths noticeably lowers my heart rate. It’s also trusted by special forces operators and scuba divers, two groups with strong incentives to manage breath and stress levels.
Despite its simplicity, it might be all I ever need.