Coherent Breathing: Your Stress-Busting Solution Is Two Bells Away

If you've been following us for a few years now, you may recall my not-so-secret love affair with breathwork and the power of harnessing the breath to manage stress. Having recently dived back into workshops and an upcoming teacher training, I wanted to share a simple technique I've been reacquainted with — coherent breathing.

Also called equal part breathing or resonant breathing, in essence you are breathing in a relaxed manner for the same count on the inhale and the exhale. Sounds simple enough, right?

But when you're stressed, overwhelmed, with muddled thoughts, or new to breathwork, it can be hard to find an anchor to focus your attention. Having a prompt to focus on can help, so in the era of "all things audio", there's a music track that you can add to your listening library. 

It's called "2 Bells" and it's quite literally the sound of two Tibetan meditation bells striking at an equal interval of six-seconds. The sound of the high bell tells you to inhale, and the sound of the low bell reminds you to exhale. That's it. 

If you subscribe to Apple Music or Spotify, you can add it to your streaming playlist, or download the audio for a small fee from the Coherence website HERE. Apps such as Calm or Headspace also have some version of this track.

This breath technique has been used in clinical settings for decades and is scientifically proven to help settle your mind, slow your heart rate, and balance stress-response systems. And your nervous system will thank you.

Start with one, or two minutes, and see how it feels. The breath should not feel forced or arduous, so if you are finding it stressful or hard to keep the pace, shorten your breath cycles, or try diaphragmatic breathing, instead.

You don't need a meditation cushion, or any fancy accessories beyond your phone and some earbuds. It can be played anywhere - in the morning while making coffee, on the subway, walking on the way to an appointment, or a few minutes before that big meeting.

There are thousands of articles on the power of this practice, and if you want to really dive into breathwork, I highly recommend The Healing Power of the Breath for its clear explanations, and practical technique examples, and "Breath" by James Nestor is a more contemporary read. 

You can read more about the COHERENCE Two Bells track, and the science behind it,  HERE.
Happy breathing!
Love,
Beck