Spoon

Breathing

Custom Breathing (Build Your Own Pattern)

Pick your own seconds to breathe in, hold, breathe out and pause, and let the timer keep the count.

Also called: Breathing pattern builder, Breathing ratio, Custom breath timer

Custom breathing is a breathing pattern you design yourself: you choose how many seconds to breathe in, hold, breathe out and pause with empty lungs, and a timer paces you through it. Use it to rebuild a pattern a teacher gave you, a ratio from a study, or one you are still tuning.

The calming patterns share one shape: slow, with an exhale longer than the inhale. Build that and you'll feel calmer within a few breaths.

Pattern
Inhale, hold, exhale, hold, each set in seconds (0 skips a hold)
Session
5 minutes by default
Good for
Rebuilding a pattern you were taught, or tuning a ratio over weeks
Level
Beginner to Advanced, depending on your holds
Origin
Ratios from pranayama and slow-breathing research
Needs
iPhone or Apple Watch

How to do it

  1. Sit upright or lie down where no one will interrupt you. Relax your shoulders.
  2. Take a few natural breaths. Check that your belly and lower ribs move, not your collarbones.
  3. Choose four numbers: inhale, hold, exhale, and the pause after the exhale. Set a hold to 0 to leave it out.
  4. Start simple: 4 seconds in and 6 out with no holds, or 5 in and 5 out.
  5. Breathe with the timer for 5 minutes. If a phase feels rushed or strained, change its seconds, not your effort.
  6. Change one phase at a time, by a few seconds, and keep each change for several sessions.
  7. Add holds last, and lengthen them a little at a time.
  8. Let the last exhale finish. Breathe normally for a few breaths before you stand up.

Benefits

  • Calmer within a few breaths

    Make your exhale longer than your inhale. In a lab study, that one change left people more relaxed than the reverse ratio[1].

  • Your teacher's exact count

    Rebuild a pattern from a class, a book or a study, second by second. The timer keeps the count, so your mind stays on the breath.

  • A pattern that fits your lungs

    Stretch or shorten any phase until it feels easy. Keep the shape, change the seconds.

  • Progress you can repeat

    Save a pattern under its own name and adjust it over weeks, instead of guessing the numbers from memory.

What the research says

Custom is a timer, not a technique, so it has never been studied as such. Its ingredients have. A 2018 systematic review looked at 15 studies of slow breathing, under 10 breaths a minute. It linked slow breathing to higher heart rate variability and to more comfort, relaxation and alertness, with less anxiety, anger and confusion[3]. That covers slow breathing in general, not any one ratio.

The exhale has the most direct evidence. Van Diest and colleagues had 30 people breathe at 6 or 12 breaths a minute, with either a long exhale or a long inhale. The long exhale brought more relaxation, stress reduction and mindfulness. It also raised high-frequency heart rate variability, a marker of rest-and-digest activity, but only when breathing was slow too[1]. A 2021 study of 64 athletes at six breaths a minute found the same direction: a longer exhale went with higher vagally driven heart rate variability[2].

The two holds are the least studied. What each one does is described by tradition, not tested in trials. In pranayama, holds are built up slowly over many sessions, toward ratios such as 1:4:2 (inhale, hold, exhale)[6][7].

Six patterns worth building

  • Start here, 4-0-6-0: in 4, out 6. A 10-second cycle, 6 breaths a minute, with a longer exhale and no holds.
  • Even breathing, 5-0-5-0: in 5, out 5. Also 6 breaths a minute: the steady, slow pace behind coherent and resonance breathing.
  • Long exhale, 4-0-8-0: in 4, out 8. A 12-second cycle, 5 breaths a minute. The simplest 1:2 calming ratio.
  • Box, 4-4-4-4: four equal sides of 4 seconds. A 16-second cycle, 3.75 breaths a minute. Made popular by former Navy SEAL commander Mark Divine[5].
  • 4-7-8, set as 4-7-8-0: in 4, hold 7, out 8. A 19-second cycle, about 3 breaths a minute. Dr. Andrew Weil's Relaxing Breath, adapted from pranayama[4].
  • Uneven ratio, 4-8-6-4: in 4, hold 8, out 6, hold 4. A 22-second cycle with both holds, a gentle step toward classical Vishama Vritti ratios such as 1:4:2[6]. For experienced breathers.

Tips

  • Start near 4-0-6-0 or 5-0-5-0 for a few sessions before you add any hold.
  • For calm without long holds, lengthen the exhale first. It is the phase most tied to feeling relaxed[1].
  • Mind the order: the hold comes after the inhale, with full lungs; the retention comes after the exhale, with empty lungs.
  • Mistake: maxing out a hold on day one. Fix: add a few seconds every few sessions.
  • Mistake: shallow breaths high in the chest. Fix: let your belly move first, then start the timer.

Safety

  • Spoon runs whatever pattern you build. Keep your holds comfortable and build them up over many sessions.
  • Go slowly with long holds. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika itself warns that rushed breath retention does harm[6].
  • Skip long holds if you are pregnant or have high blood pressure or a heart condition, unless your doctor agrees.
  • Never practice long holds in or near water, or while driving.
  • Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy, tingly, distressingly short of breath, or any chest discomfort.

Custom in Spoon

Custom gives you four phases, set in seconds: inhale, hold, exhale and retention, the pause after the exhale. Set either hold to 0 to skip it. Your pattern repeats until time is up, 5 minutes by default.

An animation leads every phase, your Apple Watch taps your wrist at each change, and you can add breath sounds. With the voice guide on, your iPhone says each phase as it starts ("Inhale", "Hold", "Exhale"). Save a pattern under its own name, or add it to a playlist with its full timing.

  • Four phases in seconds: inhale, hold, exhale, retention. 0 skips a hold.
  • 5-minute sessions by default; your pattern loops until time is up.
  • Wrist taps from your Apple Watch at every phase change; breath sounds optional.
  • Voice guide on iPhone (off by default) names each phase as it starts.
  • Save your patterns under your own names.
  • Works in playlists, with its full timing.
  • With an Apple Watch: live heart rate, then your breath and heart rate on one chart.
Join the betaSee every exercise

Free public beta for iPhone and Apple Watch.

Questions

What is the best breathing ratio?

There is no single best one. For calm, the best-supported shape is slow breathing with an exhale longer than the inhale, such as 4 seconds in and 8 out. For staying steady under pressure, box breathing (4-4-4-4) is the classic. Start there, then adjust the seconds until the pattern feels easy.

How do you work out breaths per minute?

Add up the seconds in one full cycle and divide 60 by that number. 5-0-5-0 is a 10-second cycle, so 6 breaths a minute. 4-0-8-0 is 12 seconds, so 5. 4-7-8 is 19 seconds, about 3. Holds stretch the cycle, so your pace drops quickly once you add them.

What does holding your breath after you exhale do?

It adds a pause with empty lungs, often called retention or hold-out. Traditions see it as the most advanced of the four phases and add it last, and research on it is thin. Start with 1 or 2 seconds, keep it easy, and come out of it early if it feels forced.

How long should a custom breathing session be?

Five minutes is a good start, and it is Spoon's default. Practice a new pattern for several sessions before you change it. Then adjust one phase at a time, by a few seconds.

Is it safe to hold your breath during breathing exercises?

Short holds, like the 7-second hold in 4-7-8, are low risk for healthy adults. Build longer holds slowly, over many sessions. Skip long holds if you are pregnant or have high blood pressure or a heart condition. Never practice them in or near water or while driving, and stop if you feel dizzy.

Can I make 4-7-8 or box breathing with a custom pattern?

Yes. Set 4-7-8-0 for 4-7-8 breathing, or 4-4-4-4 for box breathing. Spoon also has both as ready-made exercises, 4-7-8 Sleep and Box Breathing. Custom is where you change the numbers to fit you.

Sources

  1. Van Diest I, et al. Inhalation/Exhalation Ratio Modulates the Effect of Slow Breathing on Heart Rate Variability and Relaxation. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 2014. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. Laborde S, et al. Slow-Paced Breathing: Influence of Inhalation/Exhalation Ratio and of Respiratory Pauses on Cardiac Vagal Activity. Sustainability, 2021. mdpi.com
  3. Zaccaro A, et al. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. Weil A. Breathing Exercises: Three To Try. DrWeil.com. drweil.com
  5. TIME. A Navy SEAL Breathing Technique to Stay Calm and Focused. TIME. time.com
  6. Giubarelli M. Visamavrtti Pranayama. markgiubarelli.com. markgiubarelli.com
  7. Yoga Journal. Breath Retention (Kumbhaka Pranayama). Yoga Journal. yogajournal.com

Updated October 2026. This page is for education, not medical advice. If you have a heart, lung or blood pressure condition, epilepsy, or you are pregnant, ask your doctor before you start a breathing practice with holds or fast breathing.