Box breathing gets its name from this four-sided pattern (inhale, hold, exhale, hold). While some breaths are suitable for an everyday practice, researcher of pulmonary medicine and author of Breath Taking Michael J. Stephen, M.D., says this isn’t one of them. “There’s a reason Marines and athletes embrace the box breath,” he tells mbg. “All of the ratios are 1-1-1-1, and that’s very unusual for breathwork. It’s not a circle; it’s a sharp angle.” For this reason, he says to save it for moments when you need a quick hit of calm, like right before a big presentation, and reserve your daily practice for gentler sequences like alternate nostril breathing or extended exhale breathing. Stephens likens taking deep, controlled breaths to pumping the breaks on overwhelm, stress, and anxiousness. “We don’t have access to the accelerator, and sometimes that goes off the handle,” he says, “but we do have access to the brake.” Emma received her B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy with a specialty in environmental communications from Duke University. In addition to penning over 1,000 mbg articles on topics from the water crisis in California to the rise of urban beekeeping, her work has appeared on Grist, Bloomberg News, Bustle, and Forbes. She’s spoken about the intersection of self-care and sustainability on podcasts and live events alongside environmental thought leaders like Marci Zaroff, Gay Browne, and Summer Rayne Oakes.
