Slower Breathing and a Pause in the Day: B1 English Lesson
This B1 English lesson on slow breathing examines several timed methods used in books and research, including a longer out-breath and diaphragmatic breathing. It builds vocabulary for breath, rhythm, and muscle movement, and practices by + -ing to describe a method and without + -ing to name an action that does not happen.
Vocabulary
KEY WORDS
pause (noun)
A short stop in an activity before it continues.
She took a short pause between calls to drink some water and check her notes.
Synonyms: break, rest
rhythm (noun)
A regular pattern of movement or sound.
The drummer kept a steady rhythm, and the dancers followed each beat.
Synonyms: pattern, beat
muscle (noun)
A part of the body that tightens and relaxes to produce movement.
His shoulder muscles ached after he carried the heavy boxes upstairs.
Synonyms: muscular tissue, body tissue
steady (adjective)
Regular and not changing suddenly.
The nurse waited until his breathing was steady before asking him to stand.
Synonyms: even, stable
shallow (adjective)
Not deep; staying near the surface.
The stream looked shallow, but the water still reached her knees.
Synonyms: not deep, slight
gentle (adjective)
Soft and careful rather than forceful.
She gave the door a gentle push so it would not wake the baby.
Synonyms: soft, mild
to slow down (verb)
To reduce speed or pace.
The driver slowed down when she saw children crossing near the school.
Synonyms: to decelerate, to ease off
IDIOMS
to take a breather (idiom)
To stop an activity briefly in order to rest.
After carrying the chairs upstairs, the team took a breather before setting the tables.
Synonyms: to take a break, to pause
to recharge your batteries (idiom)
To rest in order to recover energy.
She spent a quiet weekend away to recharge her batteries before the busy season began.
Synonyms: to recover, to restore energy
READ · LISTEN · NOTICE
Slower Breathing and a Pause in the Day
Read at your own pace, or play the audio and follow the passage. Listen again without reading for additional practice.
A short pause may slow down the rhythm, but slow breathing sounds simple until a researcher has to test it. The study needs a set length for each breath, a way to guide participants, and something to measure. A shallow, uneven breath and a steady, gentle one are not the same method.
A breath with a clock
A 2018 review defined slow breathing as fewer than ten breaths per minute. Many experiments used a rate near six. When breathing at a rate of six breaths per minute, each full cycle takes ten seconds. By following a light, sound, or moving image, participants can keep the rhythm steady without watching a clock.
James Nestor made a nearby pattern familiar in his book Breath. It uses roughly five and a half seconds in and five and a half seconds out, or about five and a half breaths a minute. It is not a six-second breath. The full cycle lasts about eleven seconds.
Four seconds in, six seconds out
Some experiments give the out-breath more time. In one small study, ten healthy men breathed in for four seconds and out for six seconds during a ten-minute session. A heart monitor showed an increase in a measure linked to the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps the body settle after activity.
Heart rate normally rises slightly during inhalation and falls during exhalation. A longer out-breath gives the slower phase more time, which may explain the immediate change. However, this study was small and compared the timed method with ordinary breathing, so it could not prove that the longer exhale caused the difference on its own.
Breathing with the diaphragm
Another study taught forty adults diaphragmatic breathing. Their abdomens expanded during inhalation and moved back during the slow exhale. A coach guided twenty sessions over eight weeks, while a device showed each breath as a wave. The group averaged about four breaths a minute.
All three patterns slow the breath, but their details differ. One divides the cycle equally, one lengthens the out-breath, and one focuses on a muscle below the lungs. The count, body movement, cue, and practice length all matter when a study is repeated. “Slow breathing” is a category, not one universal technique.
GRAMMAR FOCUS
By and without with -ing
by + [verb]-ing — the method · without + [verb]-ing — the action that does not happen
By + -ing answers the question how? and names the means by which a result is achieved. Without + -ing names an action that is absent while something else happens. Both are followed by the -ing form, never by the infinitive.
- By + -ing: the method used
“She lowered her heart rate by breathing more slowly.”
“They cut costs by ordering in larger quantities.”
- Without + -ing: an action that does not happen
“He left the meeting without saying anything.”
“The pause can be taken without leaving the room.”
- The two together: how something is done and what is avoided
“You can rest by sitting quietly without closing your eyes.”
“She learned the route by walking it without using a map.”
Discuss the ideas
Work through the discussion questions on your own, or with a teacher or partner.
- What details make a paced-breathing experiment possible to repeat?
- How does the five-and-a-half-second pattern differ from the four-in, six-out pattern?
- Why might a study use a moving image or a breath shown as a wave?
- What might be gained by giving the out-breath more time than the in-breath?
- Which method in the article would be most interesting to investigate further, and why?
What this relaxation English lesson developed
This B1 English lesson compared equal breathing, a longer out-breath, and diaphragmatic breathing. It explained how researchers guide and measure each method, built vocabulary for breath, rhythm, muscle, and pace, and practiced by + -ing for a method and without + -ing for an action that does not happen.
Next lesson: Finding Shade on a Hotter Day
CONTINUE PRACTICING
Continue with the slide collection
Turn this lesson into a class-ready sequence with a warm-up, two vocabulary activities, a five-question reading check, original listening practice, controlled and spoken practice of by and without with -ing, and a structured discussion task with model answers.
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