Ready when you are

Follow the circle: it grows as you breathe in, shrinks as you breathe out.

For

Before you start. Keep every breath gentle and never strain. The holds are optional: if a hold feels uncomfortable, just breathe normally until the next step. Stop and breathe normally if you feel light-headed, and sit down if you aren't already. Skip the holds if you're pregnant or have asthma, COPD, another lung condition, or a heart condition, and check with your doctor before using breathing exercises. Don't use this while driving or in water. If focusing on your breath makes you more anxious, try the Ground tab instead.

These exercises are general wellness activities, not medical advice or treatment, and they have not been evaluated for you personally. By starting one you confirm you have read this guidance and that you use it voluntarily and entirely at your own risk, as set out in our Terms of Use.

Pick a rhythm

Slow and evenIn for 5, out for 5. The gentlest place to start; about six breaths a minute, which is where heart rhythm and breath fall into step.Box breathingIn 4, hold 4, out 4, hold 4. Used by first responders and athletes to steady nerves before something hard. Holds are optional.4-7-8In 4, hold 7, out 8. The long exhale leans hard on the body's brake pedal. Good for winding down at night. Holds are optional; shorten or skip them if 7 feels long.Physiological sighTwo quick breaths in through the nose, one long breath out through the mouth. The fastest known way to drop a spike of stress; two or three rounds is enough.

5-4-3-2-1

Pick an exercise and press Begin. Go at your own pace; there's no timer.

Grounding exercises

Grounding pulls attention out of your head and into the room. It's for the moments when worry, panic or a memory has taken over.

5-4-3-2-1Use your senses to come back to the room. Take your time with each one.Feet and chairA thirty-second anchor you can do anywhere, including in a meeting or a waiting room.Where am I?When your mind has gone somewhere frightening, this brings it back to facts.Count-downFor a racing mind. Counting gives the thinking brain a job while the body settles.

Background sounds

Made live in your browser, so nothing loads and nothing's tracked. Pick one, set the volume, and leave it running while you breathe, read or work.

Volume

Sound starts when you press a button, never on its own.

60-second release

Pick a reset and press Start. Each step is timed; just follow along.

Short guided resets

For when you've got a minute or two and need to come down a notch. Sit or stand, whatever's available.

60-second release (1 min)Tense, then let go. Muscles can't hold tension and release at the same time.Two-minute body scan (2 min)Move your attention through your body without trying to change anything.Three good things (2 min)Nothing to type. Just think, one at a time.Shake it out (45 sec)Animals shake after a fright. It works for people too. Stand up if you can.

For awareness and entertainment purposes only. This activity is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere. Use is voluntary and at your own risk, and using it does not create a therapist–client relationship; see our Terms of Use. In crisis? Call or text 988, any time.

Calm Zone

Pick a rhythm

Grounding exercises

Background sounds

Short guided resets

More in the Activity Zone

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