The Five-Minute Reset: Breathwork for Anxious Moments
Have you ever noticed what your breath does when you’re anxious?
Next time you’re rushing for a train, reading a difficult email or lying awake at 3am replaying a conversation, take a moment to notice. More often than not, the breath becomes shallow, quick and high up in the chest. Sometimes we stop breathing altogether for a moment without even realising.
World Mental Health Day is on 10 October, so it feels like the right moment to talk about one of the simplest tools we all carry with us, every minute of every day. In more than 15 years of teaching breathwork, on retreats and in my courses, I’ve seen again and again how quickly a few slow breaths can change the feel of a room, and the feel of a person.
Your breath is a two-way street
Most of the time, breathing happens without us. Our body adjusts it automatically in response to how we feel. When we sense a threat, our breathing speeds up to prepare us for action.
But here’s the wonderful part. Unlike your heart rate or digestion, you can also take charge of your breath whenever you choose. And when you change the way you breathe, you send a message back to your nervous system.
In particular, a slow, long out-breath is one of the clearest signals of safety we can give ourselves. You can’t always change what’s happening around you, but you can change what your breath is telling your body.
What the research says
In 2023, a team at Stanford University published a study comparing three different five-minute breathing practices with five minutes of mindfulness meditation, practised daily for a month.
The practice that stood out was cyclic sighing, which puts the emphasis on long exhales. Compared with mindfulness meditation, it produced a greater improvement in mood and a greater reduction in breathing rate. The researchers concluded that daily five-minute cyclic sighing shows promise as an effective way to manage stress.
I love this study because of how doable it is. Five minutes. No equipment. No special setting. Just you and your breath.
Practice 1: The cyclic sigh
- Breathe in through your nose until your lungs feel comfortably full.
- Take a second, shorter sip of air through your nose to top up.
- Breathe out slowly and fully through your mouth, letting the exhale be long and unhurried.
- Repeat for up to five minutes, or just two or three rounds when you need a quick reset.
Let it be gentle. You’re not trying to force air in or out, simply to let the out-breath take its time.
Practice 2: The NHS five-count breath
If the sigh doesn’t feel right for you, the NHS suggests a simple alternative:
- Stand, sit with your back supported, or lie down, with your feet roughly hip-width apart.
- Breathe in gently through your nose, letting the breath flow into your belly. Count from one to five if it helps.
- Let it flow out through your mouth, again counting from one to five.
- Keep going for at least five minutes.
Don’t worry if you can’t reach five at first. As with anything, regular practice makes the difference.
A gentle word of care
Breathwork should always feel comfortable. If you feel dizzy or light-headed, return to your natural breath. If anxiety is affecting your daily life, please speak with your GP. These practices are a wonderful support, not a replacement for professional care.
Coach’s Corner
When a client arrives in a session flustered or tearful, the most helpful thing you can offer may not be a question at all. Inviting them to take three long out-breaths with you gives their nervous system a chance to settle before you go any further. Try it on yourself first, so you can guide it with confidence.
A question to sit with
When do you most often notice your breath change during the day, and what might happen if you met that moment with one long exhale?
Your next step
If you’d like to go beyond a quick fix and build a steady daily practice, our Meditation, Mindfulness & Breathwork for Coaches course takes you step by step from simple breath awareness to a deeply embodied practice. Each week brings short guided practices, reflection questions and Coach’s Corner prompts to help you share breathwork safely with others. Complete it and you’ll earn a certificate for 25 CPD hours from the Association for Coaching. Your breath is already with you; this is simply an invitation to get to know it better.
