Coherent breathing is about five to six slow breaths a minute with the inhale and exhale roughly equal.
A common starting cadence is five in and five out. In 📝Breathwork it is a downshift pattern for regulation, not a medical HRV protocol and not a diagnosis of incoherence. If five seconds is too long, the cycle shortens. The nose is the default.
Clients feel a slow even wave. Dizziness, tingling, or panic means the cycle is too slow or too big — smaller, or back to 📝breath awareness. Chest pain is a stop.