Guides
How breathing works, what helps with anxiety and sleep, and how to start meditating. Plain guides with diagrams and sources.
How breathing works
What your lungs, diaphragm and nervous system do with every breath.
More techniques
Ways to breathe beyond the six in the app, step by step.
- Alternate nostril breathing: how to do itHow to do alternate nostril breathing (nadi shodhana) step by step, when to practise it, and what studies on blood pressure, focus and anxiety show.
- Belly breathing: how to do diaphragmatic breathingHow to breathe with your diaphragm, step by step, lying down or sitting, how often to practise, what it may help with and what the research shows.
- Pursed-lip breathing: how and when to use itHow to do pursed-lip breathing, in for two and out for four through gently pursed lips, when it helps with breathlessness and what the research shows.
- Wim Hof breathing: what it is and how to stay safeWhat Wim Hof style breathing involves, what happens in your body during the breath holds, what the research shows, and why it must never be done in water.
Anxiety, sleep and stress
What to do with your breath when a moment gets hard.
- Breathing and stress at work: what helpsHow short breathing breaks help you recover during a stressful workday, which exercises to use when, and why work stress needs more than breathing.
- Breathing for anxiety and panic attacksWhat happens to your breathing in a panic attack, why slowing down helps, three exercises to try, and when to get medical help instead.
- Breathing to fall asleep: what helps and what's hypeHow slow breathing, 4-7-8 and a body scan can help you wind down at night, what the research really shows, and when sleepless nights need a doctor.
Meditation
Simple ways to start and keep going, without the mystique.
- Body scan meditation: a step-by-step guideHow to do a body scan, moving your attention slowly from your feet to your head, how long it takes, when it fits best and what research says about it.
- Loving-kindness meditation: how to practise mettaHow to do loving-kindness meditation, the phrases and the order of people, what to do when it feels hard, and what research says about its effects.
- Meditation for beginners: how to startWhat meditation is, how to do a first five-minute session, what to do when your mind wanders, and what research says it can and cannot do.
- Walking meditation: how to meditate on the moveHow to do walking meditation step by step, where and for how long, why it suits a busy mind, and what the research on mindful walking shows.
These guides explain, they do not diagnose or treat. If your symptoms are new, severe or worrying, talk to a doctor. In an emergency, call your local emergency number (112 anywhere in the EU).