Cyclic Sighing: The Long Out-Breath Tested At Stanford

Cyclic sighing: the short answer

Cyclic sighing is a breathing exercise with two sips of air in through the nose, one on top of the other, followed by one long, slow breath out. In a Stanford trial, five minutes a day for a month lifted mood more than mindfulness meditation. Yoga students have done a close relative of it, called viloma (the staircase breath), for generations.

• What it is: a double in-breath, then a long, slow out-breath.
• Also called: the physiological sigh, or long exhale breathing.
• The trial: five minutes a day for one month, compared with mindfulness meditation.
• What it found: breathwork, especially cyclic sighing, lifted mood more and slowed breathing more.
• Yoga relative: viloma, the staircase breath.
• How to learn it: lying down first, in a Darwin studio or LIVE online class.
• New students: 12 classes for $59.50 in Darwin or LIVE online.

Last updated: 25 October 2026

Could five minutes of breathing beat meditation?

That was the question a team at Stanford University in California set out to test. They asked people to spend five minutes a day on one of four practices for a month, and then they measured how people felt.

The answer surprised many people. The practice that stood out was not a fancy one. It was a long out-breath.

This post explains what cyclic sighing is, what the Stanford trial found, how it connects to a breath yoga has taught for a long time, and how to learn it safely.

What is cyclic sighing?

You have probably sighed today without noticing. A sigh is a deeper breath in, a little on top of a normal one, and then a long, loose breath out. It is the body’s own reset.

Cyclic sighing does that on purpose, again and again. You take two in-breaths through the nose, one right after the other. The second is a small top-up. Then you let a long, slow breath out, usually through the mouth, until you feel empty.

You may also see it called the physiological sigh, or long exhale breathing. The name changes, but the idea is the same: a double sip in and a long breath out.

What did the Stanford trial find?

The trial was published in 2023 in Cell Reports Medicine. It was a randomised controlled trial, which means people were put into groups by chance. According to PubMed, it compared three daily five-minute breathing exercises with five minutes of mindfulness meditation over one month.

• Cyclic sighing, which stresses a long out-breath.
• Box breathing, where the in-breath, the hold and the out-breath all take the same count.
• Cyclic hyperventilation with retention, with longer in-breaths and shorter out-breaths.

The researchers measured mood and anxiety, and also breathing rate, heart rate and heart rate variability (how much the gap between heartbeats changes, a sign of a flexible nervous system).

The result: breathwork, and especially the out-breath-focused cyclic sighing, gave a greater lift in mood and a bigger drop in breathing rate than mindfulness meditation. The authors wrote that daily five-minute cyclic sighing has promise as an effective stress management exercise. DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100895

That is the trial in a nutshell. It is a promising result from a well-designed trial, and more research will show how far it goes.

Why would a long out-breath calm you down?

Here is a simple way to picture it. The out-breath is the part of the breath that tells the body to slow down. When you lengthen it, you lean on that signal.

Research on slow breathing points the same way. A 2022 review pooled 223 studies of voluntary slow breathing and found that heart rate variability rose during the practice, right after it, and after weeks of practice. The authors said slow breathing could be advised as a low-cost technique with few adverse effects expected. DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104711

A wider 2023 review looked at breathwork for stress and mental health. It pooled 12 trials with 785 adults and found a small to medium drop in stress. It also found similar drops in anxiety and low mood, and the authors asked for careful, well-designed trials to keep the hype in check. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-27247-y

Our own teaching experience says the same thing. A calm, long out-breath is the doorway to rest.

Is cyclic sighing the same as viloma?

It is very close. Viloma means “against the grain”. In Viloma 1, the in-breath comes in two or three sips with short pauses, then there is one long out-breath. Mr Iyengar compared the whole practice to climbing a tall ladder with a pause at each step.

Mr BKS Iyengar was the twentieth-century teacher who collected and passed on traditional Indian yoga. His style, sometimes called modern classical yoga, is the style Flametree teaches.

So the Stanford breath and the yoga breath share a shape: a stepped breath in, then a long breath out. Yoga has practised that shape for generations. Stanford tested a version of it in 2023. Viloma has not yet been studied on its own, so we do not claim the trial proves it works.

How do you do cyclic sighing?

Start the way yoga starts: lying down. Lie on your back on a mat or a bed, with a folded blanket under your head, so your head tilts slightly forward. The body is held, so the breath is free to move.

1. Settle. Watch your normal breath for a minute.
2. Sip in. Breathe in through the nose, softly.
3. Sip again. Take a second small sip on top, to fill the top of the chest.
4. Breathe out long. Let the air go slowly, as if you were fogging a cold window, until it is gone.
5. Repeat. A few rounds, then rest and breathe normally.

Keep it soft. It is a sip, not a gulp. A short, smooth breath is good pranayama (yoga breathing practice). A long, forced one is not. Mr Iyengar wrote that a beginner may reach perfection if the breath is very short but soft and fine.

Stop and breathe normally if you feel dizzy, panicky or get a headache. Geeta Iyengar, Mr Iyengar’s daughter, said do not fight with the breath. Never practise in or near water, in the bath, or while driving.

How does it connect to coherent breathing?

Coherent breathing is another slow practice. Two American psychiatrists, Dr Richard Brown and Dr Patricia Gerbarg, teach it as about five breaths a minute: six seconds in and six seconds out, gently, through the nose. They suggest each person has a resonant rate (the pace where heart rate variability is highest), somewhere between about three and a half and six breaths a minute.

Cyclic sighing and coherent breathing are cousins. Both slow the breath and both give the out-breath time. Many students find the double sip a gentler way in when plain slow counting feels hard.

Who should take care with cyclic sighing?

Slow breathing is very safe for most people. A soft double sip and a long out-breath is gentle. Still, a few points are worth knowing.

• If you feel panicky, or you cannot lengthen the out-breath, do less. Short and smooth is enough.
• Do not stretch the out-breath into a strain. The throat and face stay soft.
• Do not add breath holds or fast breathing. Those come much later, in a class, with a teacher.
• If you have a heart condition, high or low blood pressure, eye trouble, epilepsy, a lung condition, or you are pregnant, you are welcome to tell your teacher so we can look after you.

Viloma 1 can also be a little stimulating for some people, so teachers place it earlier in the day.

How does Flametree teach it?

In class, with a teacher, in the Iyengar order. You learn calm breathing lying down first, then sitting with a chair and belt, then the staircase breath and the other calm breaths. Props are supplied. Our teachers watch your face and adapt the practice to you.

In Darwin, you can learn pranayama in the studio. You can also join LIVE online classes from anywhere, where the teacher can check your set-up on the screen.

Want the wider picture? Read our guide to the benefits of breathwork. If you enjoy a counted breath, try box breathing, another of the Stanford practices. For the strong breaths that come last, read about bhastrika pranayama. Looking for classes? See breathwork classes near me. New to all this? Start with breathwork for beginners, and for bedtime read breathing exercises for sleep.

Learn the calm breaths first

Our free ebook, the Breathworks Original Toolkit, explains the five breaths, the research and the safe order in plain words. It explains yoga. It does not teach it, because breath is best learned with a teacher.

New to Flametree? Get 12 beginner yoga classes for $59.50 (10 at half price plus 2 free). Use them in a Darwin studio or LIVE online. You are eligible if you are new to Flametree, or away for three months or more. Props are supplied, no discount code is needed, and there is a 14-day money-back guarantee. Studio classes are for permanent NT residents, and online is open from anywhere.

See the beginner deal or look at the beginner timetable for your first class.

Cyclic sighing questions

What is cyclic sighing?

It is a breathing exercise with two sips in through the nose, one after the other, followed by one long, slow breath out. It is also called the physiological sigh or long exhale breathing.

Does cyclic sighing work?

In a 2023 Stanford trial, five minutes a day for one month gave a greater lift in mood and a bigger drop in breathing rate than mindfulness meditation. The authors said daily five-minute cyclic sighing has promise as an effective stress management exercise.

How long should you do cyclic sighing?

The Stanford trial used five minutes a day. Start with a few rounds, lying down, and rest between them. Keep it soft and stop if you feel dizzy or panicky.

Is cyclic sighing the same as the physiological sigh?

The names are used for the same idea: a double in-breath through the nose followed by a long out-breath. The Stanford trial used the name cyclic sighing.

Is cyclic sighing the same as viloma?

Viloma 1 is a close relative. In Viloma 1 the in-breath comes in steps with short pauses, then one long out-breath. Viloma has not yet been studied on its own, but it has been taught in yoga for generations.

Can I learn cyclic sighing in a class?

Yes. We teach the staircase breath and the other calm breaths in Darwin and LIVE online, lying down first, with a teacher who can see you.

Sources

• Balban MY, Neri E, Kogon MM, et al. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Rep Med 2023. PubMed, DOI
• Laborde S, et al. Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: a systematic review and a meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022. PubMed, DOI
• Fincham GW, Strauss C, Montero-Marin J, Cavanagh K. Effect of breathwork on stress and mental health: a meta-analysis of randomised-controlled trials. Sci Rep 2023. PubMed, DOI
• Iyengar BKS. Light on Pranayama. Brown RP, Gerbarg PL. The Healing Power of the Breath (2012). Flametree Breathworks ebook, sections 2.3.3, 2.3.5 and 3.4.3.

This post is general information about yoga. Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin, Northern Territory.