Breathing Sessions
The "Breathing" tab is a place to gently support the balance of your autonomic nervous system in just a few minutes. It offers 6 kinds of guided breathing techniques you can choose from depending on how you feel — so you can find, at your own pace, "which breathing felt good for me, right now."
You don't need to do it perfectly. Even if you can't breathe deeply, even if your mind wanders partway through, none of that counts as failure. Just let your breath drift softly toward the circle on the screen — that alone is enough.
When to use it
Breathing is most supportive on days when your Balance score leans toward the "unsettled" side. For example:
- You feel keyed up and can't settle down, and your thoughts won't stop
- Before sleep, you want to gently flip the switch on your head and body
- You feel foggy, and want to lift the tempo just a little from here
- Before an important moment, you want to get yourself centered
At times like these, try 1 or 2 sessions matched to your purpose. Even short ones — the more you keep at it, the more clearly "the breathing that works for you" comes into view.
Types of sessions
Breathing broadly divides into a calming direction (winding down) and a centering, switching direction (lifting up). There's no single right answer; just pick what suits you right now.
| Session | Rhythm, and when it suits you |
|---|---|
| 4-7-8 Breathing | Inhale for 4 seconds, hold for 7, exhale for 8. For keyed-up days, and before sleep |
| Box Breathing | Inhale, hold, exhale, hold — all at the same rhythm. For when you want to sharpen your focus |
| Calm Breathing | Slow breathing for relaxation. For when you want to settle down softly |
| Energy Breathing | For when you want to raise the tempo and switch up your rhythm |
| Sigh Breathing | Two quick inhales, then a long, slow exhale. For when you want to settle down quickly |
| Coherent Breathing | Inhale for 5.5 seconds, exhale for 5.5 seconds. The resonance pace at which your heart rate's fluctuations (HRV) become largest |
If you're not sure
When you're keyed up, try "Sigh Breathing" or "4-7-8 Breathing"; when you feel foggy, try "Energy Breathing"; and if you just want to get centered first, start with "Coherent Breathing." With any of them, it's fine to stop partway or switch to a different one.
How to use
- Open the "Breathing" tab and choose the session that suits you right now
- Breathe slowly in time with the circle on screen — inhale as it expands, exhale as it shrinks
- There's no need to count or to breathe too deeply. Just letting your breath "roughly" follow the circle is enough
During a session, your breathing progress also appears on the lock screen (Live Activity). Even if you close the screen, you can keep going just as you are. When you want to close your eyes and focus on your breath, it's fine not to look at the screen at all. Gently turning your attention to your breath like this shares its roots with mindfulness, too — see Mindfulness and HRV.
Try it on the web
When you want to try it before installing the app, you can experience a 30-second breathing demo in your browser too: feelmo.jp/#breathe
The breathing pacer — about the circle on screen
In the center of the screen is the breathing pacer circle. It expands as you inhale and shrinks as you exhale — all you do is let your breath drift along with it, at your own pace. There's no need to count or to push yourself.
The circle is only a guide for the rhythm. You don't have to match it exactly; don't worry if you drift a little, and just gently lean your breath toward where it settles. You don't need to keep staring at it — you can close your eyes and focus on your breath. This is an accompanying guide — not a treatment, and not a promise of any particular effect. You yourself choose a pace you can comfortably keep up.
The circle won't rush you
The circle is a guide for the rhythm. Don't worry if you drift a little; just gently lean your breath toward where it settles, and that's enough. If your chest feels tight or you feel dizzy, don't force it — return to your usual, natural breathing.
Checking "whether it really works for me"
Even when breathing feels good, you may wonder, "Is this just in my head?" Feelmo Premium's habit-impact analysis, Which habits help you — in the Kokoro Report's "This week's insight" — quietly compares how your balance differed the next morning between the days you kept up breathing and the days you didn't, using only your own records. It gently shows whether it's working "for you," without making any hard declarations.
Start by simply keeping it up
You can use breathing without the habit-impact analysis. One session whenever it comes to mind — even just that is plenty for a first step.
Why Breathing? — The only gateway through which you can consciously act on your autonomic nervous system
The autonomic nervous system (the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches) normally cannot be moved by will — just like your heartbeat, digestion, or sweating. Among all of these, the one thing whose speed and depth we can consciously change is breathing. That is exactly why breathing is regarded as one of the few gateways through which we can act on the autonomic nervous system "directly and voluntarily."
Slow breathing in particular (around 6 breaths per minute) increases heart rate variability (HRV) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and—by way of the vagus nerve (parasympathetic) and the baroreflex (baroreceptor reflex)—has been observed across several studies to tilt the autonomic balance toward a calmer state [1][2][3]. Feelmo's coherent breathing (inhale 5.5 seconds, exhale 5.5 seconds) matches this resonance pace. Even brief, structured breathing (for example, "cyclic sighing," with a long exhale) has been observed to settle mood and arousal [4].
What "only" means here
This does not mean that "breathing is the only thing that acts on the autonomic nervous system" (exercise, sleep, and your environment influence it too). What we mean by "only" here is that breathing is the sole autonomic function you can control directly by your own will. Effects vary from person to person, and breathing practices are not intended to treat any condition.
References
- Zaccaro A, Piarulli A, Laurino M, et al. How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life: A Systematic Review on Psycho-Physiological Correlates of Slow Breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2018;12:353. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00353
- Russo MA, Santarelli DM, O'Rourke D. The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human. Breathe (Sheffield). 2017;13(4):298–309. doi:10.1183/20734735.009817
- Lehrer PM, Gevirtz R. Heart rate variability biofeedback: how and why does it work? Frontiers in Psychology. 2014;5:756. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00756
- Balban MY, Neri E, Kogon MM, et al. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine. 2023;4(1):100895. doi:10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895
About the cited literature
The works cited above present general scientific background on slow breathing and the autonomic nervous system; they do not prove the effectiveness of the Feelmo app itself. Feelmo is not a medical device and does not provide diagnosis or treatment.
This is not a medical diagnosis
Feelmo is not a medical device, and is not meant for diagnosis or treatment decisions. Breathing techniques are not meant to cure any symptom. When you have symptoms that concern you, or when you feel strong discomfort during breathing, don't force it — be sure to consult a medical professional.