Breathe in for 5 seconds and out for 5, with no holds. Simple, steady and easy to keep up for several minutes.
This pattern is breathing at its plainest: a smooth five-second inhale followed by a smooth five-second exhale. That comes to 6 breaths per minute, roughly half the pace of normal resting breathing. The "HRV" in the name refers to heart rate variability, the natural beat-to-beat changes in heart rate, which tend to become larger and more regular when breathing slows to around this pace.
With no holds to manage, HRV 5 suits almost any moment: at your desk, before sleep, after exercise, or whenever you notice you are breathing fast and shallow. Short sessions spread through the day work well, and it is a natural warm-up for longer coherent breathing sessions. For an even slower pace, the studio also offers HRV 6 (6-6, five breaths a minute).
Breathing at about six breaths per minute is central to heart rate variability biofeedback, an approach studied for decades by researchers such as Paul Lehrer and Richard Gevirtz. In their work, many adults show the largest heart-rate oscillations somewhere between about 4.5 and 6.5 breaths per minute, a "resonance frequency" that differs from person to person. Slow breathing of this kind has been associated with better regulation of stress responses, although results vary between studies.
Practice sitting or lying down; never in water or while driving. Stop if you feel dizzy.
Breathing too deeply at a slow pace can make you light-headed. Keep each breath small and relaxed, and return to normal breathing if you feel dizzy.