Question 1

What is box breathing?

Accepted Answer

Box breathing is a pattern with four equal parts: breathe in for four seconds, hold for four, breathe out for four, then hold for four before starting again. The four even sides are where the name comes from. Plenty of people use it to slow down for a minute before something, or after something. On this page a calm pet breathes along with you, so there is something to follow instead of counting in your head.

Question 2

Can I change the four seconds or the number of rounds?

Accepted Answer

The four seconds are fixed, because the even 4-4-4-4 count is what makes it box breathing. The number of rounds is yours: anywhere from 1 to 20, and it starts at 4. One round is four seconds in, four holding, four out and four holding, so it takes sixteen seconds. Four rounds run a little over a minute, and twenty rounds a little over five.

Question 3

Is it free, and do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

Free, with no account and no ads. The page works for anyone who lands on it, signed in or not. A Yappie account is for the focus side of things: your focus time is saved and your pet grows as you use it. Breathing is not counted as focus time, so a session here does not add to a streak either way.

Question 4

Is anything I do here saved or sent anywhere?

Accepted Answer

No. The exercise runs entirely in your browser, and your rounds and timings are not sent to us or kept on your device. Closing the tab or reloading the page ends the session, and the next one starts fresh at round one. Like every page on this site, the visit itself is counted by a cookieless analytics tool that records page views and nothing personal.

Question 5

Is there sound, or a voice telling me when to breathe?

Accepted Answer

There is no sound at all: no chime, no music and no voice counting you in. The pace is shown instead, with the current phase written out, a countdown of the seconds left in it, and the pet growing on the breath in and shrinking on the breath out. The phase is announced to screen readers as it changes. If your device is set to reduce motion, nothing scales and the phase word and the countdown carry the pace on their own.

Question 6

What if holding my breath feels uncomfortable?

Accepted Answer

Stop, and breathe normally for a while. Four seconds is a long hold for some people, and there is nothing to push through here: breathe at your own pace and let the guide run past you, or stop the round entirely. If you feel light headed or dizzy at any point, stop and let your breathing settle on its own. This is a breathing pattern to follow if it helps you, not medical advice.

Box breathing

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Yappie nudges you to rest before you burn out, not after.