Equal breathing (sama vritti)

What is equal breathing?

Equal breathing is the simplest even rhythm: the in-breath and the out-breath take exactly the same time. In yoga it’s called sama vritti. Sama means equal or same in Sanskrit, and vritti, roughly, the movement of the breath. It’s a traditional pranayama practice, often the first one a teacher gives you.

Teachers differ on one detail. Some keep it to an even in and out. Others add holds of the same length after each, which turns it into box breathing. On this page, equal breathing means no holds: just a smooth, even tide.

How do you do sama vritti?

Sit tall, on a chair or cross-legged on the floor. Follow the player above: it rises for 4 seconds and falls for 4.

How long should each breath be?

As long as feels easy, the same both ways. Four seconds is a good start. Each extra second on both sides slows you down, and at 5 and 5 you reach 6 breaths a minute, the pace most breathing research looks at. Want to stay at 4 for a while? Breathform can keep 4 and 4 as your own pattern with Breathform Full.

Is equal breathing the same as box breathing?

Not quite. Equal breathing has two parts, in and out. Box breathing has four: in, hold, out, rest, all the same length. Both are even, but box breathing’s holds make it feel more deliberate, and some people find them tense. If the holds don’t suit you, equal breathing gives you the same steadiness with nothing to hold.

You’ll sometimes see box breathing called sama vritti too, because its four parts are equal. Both names fit.

Equal breathing or coherent breathing: what’s the difference?

Only the count. Coherent breathing is equal breathing at 5 seconds in and 5 out, which works out at 6 breaths a minute. That’s close to the pace at which, for many adults, breathing and heart rhythm fall into step, so it’s the version researchers study most. Try it here:

If 5 seconds feels long, stay at 4 for a week. The habit matters more than the count. Every even pattern, from 4-4 to 6-6, is side by side in breathing patterns by number.

Is equal breathing good for sleep?

It can help you settle. For bedtime, breaths with a longer out-breath, like 4-6, are the more usual choice, but there’s no strong reason to prefer them if an even count feels better to you. Slow breathing before bed in general was linked to better self-reported sleep in a review of 9 studies, although sleep measured by devices didn’t clearly change (Eide et al. 2026).

Lie on your back, breathe 4 in and 4 out, and let the count slow on its own. There are more bedtime breaths in breathing exercises for sleep.

What does the research say about equal breathing?

Sama vritti hasn’t been tested as a named practice, but equal breaths have been compared with longer out-breaths. In a 12-week trial, 100 healthy adults learned slow, yoga-based breathing with either an equal out-breath or a longer one. Anxiety fell in both groups, and the difference between them was small and not significant (Birdee et al. 2023). At 6 breaths a minute, two small lab studies found no difference in heart rate variability between an equal breath and a longer out-breath (Meehan & Shaffer 2024).

Not every study agrees. At a natural, unslowed pace, a longer out-breath raised heart rate variability more than an equal one (Bae et al. 2021). And in a head-to-head lab test, 5-and-5 breathing raised it more than box breathing or 4-7-8 (Marchant et al. 2025).

So: equal breathing calms mostly by slowing you down. Once the pace is slow, an even count seems to work about as well as a longer out-breath.

How well each breath is studied

• Coherent breathingWell studied
• Alternate nostril breathingSome evidence

Every study on this page (5)

• Eide et al., 2026: Across nine studies, slow breathing before bed improved how well people felt they slept, but sleep-lab and tracker results were inconclusive.
• Birdee et al., 2023: In 100 healthy adults, anxiety fell over 12 weeks of slow breathing, with no clear difference between longer and equal out-breaths.
• Meehan & Shaffer, 2024: In two small studies at six breaths a minute, breathing out longer than in made no difference to heart-rhythm measures.
• Bae et al., 2021: In 28 healthy adults, lengthening the out-breath without slowing down raised heart-rhythm signs of calm in a single session.
• Marchant et al., 2025: In 84 students, six breaths a minute raised heart-rhythm signs of calm modestly more than box or 4-7-8 breathing; none changed mood.

Questions people ask

Should I breathe through my nose?

Yes, if it’s comfortable. Sama vritti is traditionally done through the nose, both in and out, and the nose naturally keeps the breath slow and smooth. If your nose is blocked, breathe out through softly parted lips and keep the count. Some yoga teachers add a soft sound at the back of the throat, called ujjayi, but you don’t need it.

How many minutes of equal breathing should I do?

Start with 2 minutes, 15 rounds at a count of 4. Once that feels easy, build to 5 or 10 minutes, or slow the count to 5. Many people like it at the start of a yoga practice or at the end of the working day. A few minutes most days does more than one long session now and then.

Is equal breathing a kind of pranayama?

Yes. In yoga, pranayama means working with the breath, and sama vritti, the even breath, is one of the simplest practices. It’s often taught first because it asks for nothing but a steady count. Our guide to pranayama covers the other traditional breaths, from humming to alternate nostril breathing.

Is alternate nostril breathing a type of equal breathing?

It’s often taught that way. In many versions, you breathe in through one nostril and out through the other for the same count, switching sides as you go. Breathform’s Balance practice uses an even 4 and 4. The full method, with the thumb and ring finger, is in alternate nostril breathing.