Finding your own pace
The five and a half seconds of Coherent Breathing is an average. You can measure the breathing speed that suits you best and have the app run at it.
5 min read
By default Coherent Breathing runs at five and a half seconds in, five and a half seconds out. That is an average.
The match between breathing speed and the heart's rhythm doesn't peak at the same speed for everyone: for some it is five breaths a minute, for others six and a half. The app can measure this for you.
The measurement settings
When you pick Coherent Breathing in the technique list, a Find my pace row appears underneath. Before it starts, two things are asked.
Length of the measurement. Full measurement tries five paces for two minutes each — the route the scientific method takes, and the most reliable result. Quick try tries three paces for a minute and a half each; it is over faster, and the result is a little rougher.
How to measure. With mic works the result out from how evenly your breath follows the rhythm. No mic doesn't measure at all: you try the paces in turn and decide yourself which one feels comfortable. If you have an Apple Watch with Soluklan installed on it, a third option appears: Shared. This one looks at how your heart swings with your breath, and the result is more precise.
How the measurement works
The measurement tries several different speeds in turn. Each pace runs like a short Coherent Breathing session: you follow the circle, and the app measures how evenly your breath holds that speed. There is a short break between paces. When you're ready, tap Next pace.
If you tap Stop during a pace, Restart the measurement starts that pace over. End the measurement abandons the whole measurement, and a half-finished measurement gives no result.
The result
After the last pace you are asked which one felt most comfortable. If you couldn't tell, you can move on without choosing. Then the pace it found is shown: tap Use this pace and Coherent Breathing runs at that speed from then on. Tap Not now and your old pace stays.
The pace in use appears in Settings on the Coherent Breathing pace row, with a note saying where it came from: Found by measurement or Set manually. You can also change it by hand there. The app asks you to confirm first, because a measured value is more accurate than one picked by hand.
When to measure again
Your resonance pace isn't something that changes quickly. Measuring again after a few months, or after a stretch of regular practice, can make sense.
Don't measure on a day when you are ill, very tired, or have just exercised — the result will reflect that day's state.
It isn't required
Coherent Breathing works without the measurement. Five and a half seconds is a reasonable value for most people. This measurement is for anyone who wants a little more from their breathing.
While measuring
Do it somewhere quiet with the microphone on. The measurement relies on hearing your breath; if it can't be heard, the result won't be reliable.
Depending on the length you pick, the measurement takes between four and a half and ten minutes. Choose a time when you won't be interrupted: a measurement left halfway gives no result.