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EnglishHow to Use Breath Ball for a Breathing Session
Updated
Breath Ball is a free breathing app that guides your inhale, hold, and exhale with an expanding and shrinking ball. To complete a session, set aside a few minutes, sit comfortably, and follow the ball's rhythm: inhale deeply into your belly as the ball grows, hold as it stays the same size, and exhale as it shrinks. The site states that after three minutes you will notice deep relaxation and inner calm.
The three-step session
- Take a few minutes of time. The exercises are designed to fit into short breaks, and each one comes with a short tutorial that gets you started in less than three minutes.
- Sit down comfortably. No special equipment or posture beyond a comfortable seated position is described.
- Breathe in the rhythm of the Breath Ball:
- Inhale deeply into your belly while the ball gets bigger.
- Hold your breath while the ball keeps its size.
- Exhale while the ball gets smaller.
The ball is the pacing cue: you don't count seconds yourself, you match the visual expansion and contraction. After three minutes, the site says, you will notice a deep relaxation and inner calm — a state of mindfulness.
What each exercise is for
Breath Ball groups its guided techniques by the outcome you want:
| Goal | Technique described on the site |
|---|---|
| Relieve stress | Slow paced breathing to help cope with high-stress situations |
| Catch a breath | The U.S. COPD Foundation's recommended breathing technique |
| Relax | Heart coherence breathing, described as leading through a meditative trance into deep relaxation |
| Overcome sleeplessness | Dr. Andrew Weil's 4:7:8 breathing technique, to help you fall asleep and wake up better recovered |
| Stay mindful | Breathing exercises for a mindful state |
Each exercise includes a short tutorial, and you can also add your own breathing exercises.
The technique behind the app
The app grew out of a specific practice. Gernot E. went to rehab after radiation therapy for a brain tumor, where he met Dr. Wolfhard Klein, an expert in cardiac coherence and bio-feedback training. The technique Dr. Klein teaches clients:
- Inhale deeply into your belly for five seconds.
- Exhale completely for another five seconds.
- Repeat for three to five minutes.
The site describes this as simple but very effective, and says it has helped thousands cope with difficult situations — but that learning it can be challenging, which is why the app was built to guide the exercise.
HRV insights
Breath Ball also includes built-in heart rate variability (HRV) analytics. The site lists metrics such as RMSSD, SDNN, pNN50, and LF/HF Ratio, presented as a way to see your body's stress and recovery and to optimize each breathing session. This is an optional layer on top of the guided breathing, not a requirement for a basic session.
Getting started
The site's call to action is "Download Breath Ball For Free Now," and the app is described as free of charge. The page does not list platform requirements or login details, so check your app store listing for compatibility before you begin.
If you are new to paced breathing, start with the five-second in / five-second out heart coherence pattern for three to five minutes, then try the 4:7:8 technique when you want help falling asleep.