Regulation / Body Clinical consensus

Breath Pacer

Animated breath pacer with box breathing, 4-7-8, and coherent breathing patterns. For closure, grounding, and home use.

This is a reference tool, not a replacement for EMDR therapy. EMDR must be delivered by a trained clinician. If you are using these tools outside of therapy and become distressed, stop, ground yourself, and contact a mental health professional.

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Clinical sources

Elliott, S. (2008). Coherent Breathing: The Definitive Method — Theory and Practice. COHERENCE.
Weil, A. (2000). Breathing: The Master Key to Self Healing. Sounds True. (4-7-8 technique popularized via this audio program and drweil.com; no standalone peer-reviewed RCT.)
Box (tactical) breathing: widely taught in military and clinical stress-management settings. Slow-paced breathing evidence: Zaccaro et al. (2018). How Breath-Control Can Change Your Life. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353. No single authoritative 'Navy SEAL' citation.

What this is

An animated visual pacer for three evidence-based breathing patterns:

Box breathing (4-4-4-4): inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4. Used in tactical/combat contexts and clinically for acute anxiety regulation.
4-7-8: inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8. Andrew Weil’s teaching, draws on pranayama traditions.
Coherent breathing (5-5): inhale 5, exhale 5. Associated with HRV coherence and parasympathetic activation.

When to use it

Closure (Phase 7) — help clients return to baseline.
Between sets if a client is very activated.
Home use — a calm-down tool that fits in a pocket.

Clinical notes

The circle expands during inhalation and contracts during exhalation. Holds pause the animation. Duration presets (1, 3, 5, 10 minutes) give a natural stop so the user doesn’t have to watch the clock.