Five breaths that work at your desk

You do not need a mat to use the most portable thing yoga teaches. Five breath practices, each under two minutes, each deployable mid-meeting with nobody the wiser.

The long exhale. Breathe in for four counts, out for six. The extended exhale nudges your nervous system toward its calm setting. Three rounds is usually enough to feel it.

The box. In for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four. Four rounds. Borrowed by everyone from surgeons to snipers because it works under pressure.

The physiological sigh. Two quick inhales through the nose, one long sigh out through the mouth. The fastest reset we know for a spike of stress.

The shoulder drop. Inhale, lift your shoulders to your ears, hold for two, exhale and let them fall. Desk shoulders live two inches higher than they should.

The one-minute count. Set a timer for sixty seconds and simply count your breaths. Most people get six to nine. The counting is the practice.

Want the full toolkit with a teacher walking you through it? That is the Breath workshop, run quarterly in Santa Cruz and online, and Desk Undone in the library covers the same ground at your own pace.