Lengthened Exhale

How to do it

Sit comfortably — cross-legged, in a chair, or against a wall. Spine tall, shoulders soft. Inhale through the nose for a count of four. Exhale through the nose for a count of six. The exhale should feel slightly slower than the inhale, but not strained. After a few rounds, if it's easy, work the exhale up to seven, then eight. The discipline is the count, not the depth of the breath.

Why it's good for runners

The exhale activates the parasympathetic nervous system — the body's recovery mode. A longer exhale than inhale, repeated for several minutes, is one of the fastest ways to shift out of training stress into recovery. For runners, this matters two specific times: the night before a key session (to bank sleep and reduce nervous-system load) and after hard training when downshifting into recovery would otherwise take hours.

Common mistakes

Don't strain to extend the exhale — if you're gasping at the end of the count, you went too far. Drop back a beat. Don't hold the breath at the top or bottom of either side; the breath flows continuously. And start with 4:6, not 4:8 — the count earns its own length as the practice eases.