Deep Retention Breathing
Best for: Advanced rounds with self-paced retention — only when seated or lying down and feeling steady.
1
Use extra care with this practice
If you are pregnant, have cardiovascular or respiratory concerns, epilepsy, or recent panic or trauma, check with a qualified professional before trying intense breathwork. Practise seated or lying down, and stop if anything feels off.
Prefer something gentler?
Extended Exhale keeps the rhythm softer and is a better fallback when holds or faster breathing feel like too much.
Open Extended ExhaleIn Breath Tempo
This is the actual timer setup used by the app. Change the preset if you want a softer or longer version before starting.
- Selected preset
- Slow · Relaxed breath pace
- Rhythm
- Deep breaths · Hold your breath · self-paced · Recovery breath 4 sec · Hold 15 sec · ...
- Breath holds
- Tracked self-paced retention
- Safety level
- Safety note
Open the safety notes before starting; this practice needs a steadier setting and more care.
How to practice
Deep retention breathing pairs rounds of full, rhythmic breaths with a self-paced breath hold. For each round, breathe deeply in and let each breath fall out passively — no force on the way out — following the timer for the set number of breaths. After the final breath, hold only for as long as feels genuinely comfortable, then take a recovery breath and rest. Always practise seated or lying down, somewhere you can stop at any time.
This is an advanced, stimulating practice rather than a calming one, so treat it with care. The repeated deep breathing can lower carbon dioxide and cause dizziness, tingling, or even fainting — never practise it while driving, standing, or in or near water. Keep the hold well within your comfort; there is no reward for a longer time. If you feel light-headed, numb, or uneasy, stop and breathe normally. Read the safety note before you begin.
- 1Deep breaths
- 2Hold your breath
- 3Recovery breath· 4s
- 4Hold· 15s
- 5Breathe Out· 3s
Articles about this exercise
A little background reading, before or after your session.