Full Breath Cycles
One long inhale, one long exhale, repeated at a fixed cycle length. Slower than box breathing and without the holds — this is the pacing freedivers use to settle before a session. Follow the circle.
Total seconds for one inhale plus one exhale. Pick a length you can hold for every round without straining.
Cycle 1 of 5
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What a full breath cycle is
Two phases, no holds: fill the lungs slowly, empty them slowly, and let the whole thing take a fixed number of seconds. At 40 seconds per cycle you are taking roughly one and a half breaths a minute, against a resting rate of twelve to sixteen. That slowness is the entire exercise.
Because there is nothing to hold and nothing to count against, it is the gentlest thing on this site. It is also the one most freedivers actually do before a session, while the tables get saved for training days.
Choosing a cycle length
Start at 30 or 35 seconds. If the last two cycles feel rushed at the end of the exhale, the cycle is too long — shorten it rather than pushing through. The levels shown next to the control are the same thresholds the BreathHold app uses: up to 35 seconds is beginner, up to 50 intermediate, up to 70 advanced, beyond that master.
Add five seconds at a time, and only when the current length feels unremarkable. Length is not the goal; a smooth, unforced breath at whatever length you are on is the goal.
Which ratio to use
A 1:2 ratio spends twice as long on the exhale as the inhale. Long exhales are the calming direction, which makes this the right choice before a dive, before sleep, or any time the point is to settle. Even 1:1 is the neutral default and the easiest to follow.
A 2:1 ratio inverts it — a long inhale and a short exhale — and it is noticeably harder. Treat it as training rather than relaxation, and drop back to 1:1 if you feel light-headed.
How it compares to the other exercises
Box breathing gives equal time to inhale, hold, exhale, and hold, so it trains pacing with a mild CO2 load. Rectangular breathing keeps short holds but stretches the breaths. Full breath cycles remove the holds entirely and stretch the breaths further than either.
None of these are breath-hold training. For that, the CO2 table generator and the equanimity table generator build sessions with actual holds in them.