Meredith Baker
How to do box breathing in about three minutes
Meredith Baker, leadership coach and speaker. Not to be confused with Meredith Attwell Baker of CTIA.
Box breathing is a counted breath in four equal parts: inhale, hold, exhale, hold, usually to a count of four. Eleven rounds is just under three minutes. I’m Meredith Baker, a facilitator and ICF certified coach in Los Angeles. I use a gentler breath practice in the rooms I facilitate, without holds. This page is the counted pattern you can try on your own. It is a way to arrive. It is not medical care, and it will not fix a hard week.
Meredith Baker, facilitator and ICF certified coach. Last reviewed Nov 11, 2026.
How to do box breathing
Sit if a chair is there. Feet on the floor if that is comfortable. Hands wherever they already are. Eyes open is fine. You do not need to lie down, close your eyes, or make it visible to anyone else.
- Inhale through your nose for a count of four.
- Hold, gently, for a count of four. Don’t clamp.
- Exhale for a count of four. Nose or mouth, whichever is easier.
- Hold, empty, for a count of four.
- That is one round. For about three minutes, do eleven rounds, then stop.
If a hold feels wrong, drop both holds. Breathe in for four and out for six, and skip the rests. If you feel lightheaded, stop and breathe normally. If you are pregnant, or you have a heart or breathing condition, breathe normally instead of holding. This is not a treatment, and it is not something to push through.
The timer below does not start until you press it. If it does not run, count the four parts yourself. Nothing about your breathing is recorded.
Ready. Nothing starts until you press start.
How to use it before a meeting
One or two rounds is enough. You are not trying to become calm for the whole quarter. You are giving the next minute a count, so you walk in having finished one small thing.
Do it before you join the call if you would rather not be watched. Camera off is fine. You don’t need to announce it. If the meeting is already tense, a private round will not resolve the tension. It can keep the first few minutes from being spent catching up to yourself.
I would not ask a tired room to hold their breath as a performance of wellness. If the only point is to look mindful, skip it.
How to open a session with it
If you are the person running the meeting, make it an invitation, not a requirement.
Say what it is, in one or two sentences. “We’re going to take about three minutes. It’s a counted breath. It’s optional. If a hold feels wrong, breathe normally. I’ll go first.” Then do a short round, not eleven, unless the group asked for the longer one. Then start the agenda you actually came for.
Anyone can sit and breathe at their own pace. Nobody has to close their eyes. Nobody has to report how it felt. The next item on the agenda is the point. The breath is a door, not the meeting.
What is 4-7-8 breathing?
4-7-8 is a different count. Inhale for four, hold for seven, exhale for eight. There is no second hold. The exhale is the long part. The hold is long enough that I would not use it to open a work session.
Four rounds is plenty if you want to try it at the end of the day. Stop sooner if you feel lightheaded or if the hold is unpleasant. It is not a sleep treatment, and it is not a treatment for anxiety. It is another counted pattern. If holds are wrong for you, stay with a slow inhale and a longer exhale, or breathe normally.
Ready. Nothing starts until you press start.
How this differs from breathwork I facilitate
Breathwork means choosing a breathing pattern on purpose. Box breathing is one pattern. 4-7-8 is another. There are many more, and this page is not a catalog.
In a workplace session I lead, the practice is short, seated, and optional. It is exhale-focused. There are no breath holds and no rapid breathing. Anyone who’d rather sit it out is welcome to breathe normally. The point is the conversation or the decision the group came for, not the breath itself. That work is corporate breathwork in Los Angeles.
If you came here because the week is too much, a count is not a recovery plan. The difference between a hard season and burnout is on burned out or just busy. A separate check-in, still not a medical screen, is the burnout self-assessment.
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I write about short practices a team can use before a hard conversation.
Questions
How do you do box breathing?
Sit if you can, with your eyes open or closed. Inhale for a count of four, hold for four, exhale for four, and hold for four. That is one round. Eleven rounds is just under three minutes. If a hold feels wrong, drop both holds and breathe in for four and out for six. Stop if you feel lightheaded, and breathe normally.
How long should box breathing take?
One round of four equal counts of four is about 16 seconds. Eleven rounds is just under three minutes, which is long enough to arrive and short enough to do before a meeting. There is no required length. One or two rounds is plenty when you only need to settle before you speak.
What is 4-7-8 breathing?
It is a different counted pattern: inhale for four, hold for seven, exhale for eight. The exhale is the long part, and the hold is longer than in box breathing. Four rounds is enough to try. It is not a treatment for sleep or anxiety. Skip it if holds feel wrong, and breathe normally if you feel lightheaded.
Is box breathing a medical treatment?
No. It is a counted breath some people use to arrive before a conversation. It does not treat a condition, and it is not a promise about stress, sleep, or health. Anyone who is pregnant, has a heart or breathing condition, or feels lightheaded should breathe normally. A doctor or a licensed clinician handles health concerns.
Can a team use box breathing before a meeting?
Yes, if it stays short, seated, and optional. One or two rounds is enough before a normal meeting. To open a longer session, invite people, go first, and let anyone breathe normally instead. Meredith Baker does not use breath holds in the sessions she facilitates. That gentler practice is on her corporate breathwork page.
Who is Meredith Baker?
Meredith Baker is a facilitator and ICF certified coach in Los Angeles. She also facilitates short, optional, seated breathwork for teams. She has 10,000+ coaching hours. She is not a clinician, and she is not Meredith Attwell Baker, the former FCC commissioner and CTIA president.