Pause Breathing: How to Use Breath Holds Safely in Breathwork

In our sessions, a two-second gap between breaths calms some people and brings up emotion in others. Hold it much longer and most people get uncomfortable fast.

What Is Pause Breathing?

In Breathwork we use the pause to watch what the body does when air stops moving, without timing it.

You will also hear it called breath retention, breath hold, breathing pause, suspended breath, kumbhaka (in yogic pranayama), or apnea (in physiology or freediving language).

Pause and Breathe: Why the Space Between Breaths Matters

Some people go still in the pause. Others want to gasp three seconds in. How fast you reach for air shows how fast your system jumps to urgency.

How Pause Breathing Works in the Body

During a pause, the urge to breathe usually comes more from rising carbon dioxide than from low oxygen. Carbon dioxide helps regulate blood pH, oxygen delivery, blood vessel tone, and breathing rhythm.

A gentle hold lets carbon dioxide rise a little, and with repetition you can build tolerance to that rise. A forced hold can bring dizziness, panic, tingling, or strain.

Types of Pause Breathing Techniques

1. Inhale Pause

Inhale for 4, pause for 2, exhale for 6. It tends to wake you up. Keep inhale holds short if you have high blood pressure, heart or lung conditions, a panic history, or are pregnant.

2. Exhale Pause

Inhale for 4, exhale for 6, pause for 2. This is the pattern we reach for first when someone needs to calm down.

3. Box Breathing

Inhale for 4, pause for 4, exhale for 4, pause for 4. Military and yoga training both use it. If counting four sides makes you more anxious, shorten the holds to 2.

4. 4-7-8 Breathing

Inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8. People use it for sleep and anxiety. The seven-count hold can be too much for beginners, so try a 3-3-6 pattern first.

5. Coherent Breathing With Natural Pauses

About 5 to 6 breaths per minute, with at most a natural micro-pause at the top or bottom. There are no real holds, so anxious beginners can start here.

6. Yogic Breath Retention

In pranayama, breath retention is called kumbhaka. It is traditionally taught step by step under a teacher.

7. Breath Holds in Somatic Breathwork

A facilitator might call a pause after a round of connected breathing or right after someone cries or shakes. The body gets a few seconds to settle before the next round.

Is Pause Breathing Safe?

Short, guided pauses are fine for most people. Ask a doctor first, or keep holds very short, if you have:

• Cardiovascular disease
• High or low blood pressure concerns
• History of fainting
• Seizure history
• Pregnancy
• Severe asthma or COPD
• Panic disorder
• Recent surgery
• Unstable mental health symptoms
• Trauma history that makes body-based practices overwhelming

Do not practice strong breath holds while driving, in water, standing, or anywhere fainting would be dangerous. That includes cold plunges, pools, bathtubs, saunas, and workouts.

How to Practice Pause Breathing as a Beginner

1. Sit or lie down somewhere safe.
2. Breathe naturally for one minute.
3. Inhale gently through the nose.
4. Pause for 1 to 2 seconds.
5. Exhale slowly.
6. Pause for 1 to 2 seconds.
7. Repeat for 2 to 5 minutes.

Chest pressure, dizziness, or sharp air hunger means stop and breathe normally. If the inhale pause feels like too much, drop it and keep only the exhale pause.

Pause Breathing for Anxiety and Stress

Anxious people often already feel short of air, and a long hold reads as danger. We use short pauses and longer nasal exhales: inhale for 3, exhale for 5, pause for 1. A one-second pause rarely sets off alarm.

Pause Breathing vs Breathwork

Pause breathing is one technique. A Breathwork session adds music, emotional processing, touch support when appropriate, and integration, and the facilitator watches for anyone who dissociates.

Common Mistakes With Pause Breathing

• Holding too long. Once the jaw clenches and the shoulders rise, end the hold.
• Turning it into performance. Counting seconds to beat last week's hold is freediving practice, a different goal.
• Ignoring contraindications. Screen the group against the safety list above first.
• Holding during emotional overwhelm. If someone is flooded, drop the hold and bring them back to natural breath or feet on the floor.
• Skipping integration. Leave a few quiet minutes after the practice.

How Liquid Breathwork Teaches Pause Breathing

We teach pause breathing as one part of facilitation, alongside safety and integration. The training includes:

• 24 in-person hours
• Max 20 students per in-person cohort
• 72 students enrolled
• 12-week online cohort: $1,497 early bird through January 1, 2027, then $1,797
• Guiding Breathwork since 2018

Ryan McBurney, founder of Liquid Breathwork, and Shelby Von Oepen, RN, BSN teach every part of it together. Shelby brings 14 years of nursing to the safety side.

See the full Liquid Breathwork training, or if you are comparing paths, read How to become a Breathwork facilitator.

Who Should Learn Pause Breathing?

Anyone who guides breath for others: yoga and meditation teachers, bodyworkers and massage therapists, sound healers, counselors, nurses, coaches, somatic practitioners, and Breathwork facilitators. The skill is watching the person, not the clock: shoulders, jaw, and whether the next inhale comes in as a gasp.

Breath Retention and the Surrender-Based Approach

Liquid Breathwork is a surrender-based method, so we do not push people to scream or purge. In a pause, you meet the first urge to breathe and soften around it instead of fighting it.

Pause Breathing FAQ