Voice guidance
A voice guides you
A calm voice calls every inhale, hold and exhale, in your language. Two voices, or off.
New in 1.3Voice guidance · Live Activity · Widgets · Siri
Calm is three breaths away
When your mind races or sleep won’t come, Braele’s living orb guides you through box, 4-7-8, and coherent breathing, with gentle haptics you can follow eyes-closed. No account, no ads, and box breathing is free forever.
You've got this. No account, nothing to set up.
New in Braele 1.3
Made for breathing with your eyes closed
Live Activity
Lives on your Lock Screen
Lock the phone, turn it face down. The Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island keep the count.
Widgets · Siri
Breathe from anywhere
A widget, a long-press on the icon or “Hey Siri, start breathing in Braele” starts your pattern in one tap.
Six patterns
One orb, six rhythms
Box, 4-7-8, coherent, calming, energizing, and the physiological sigh. Build your own with Pro.
Progress
A streak with a rest day
Milestones, mindful minutes, and sessions saved to Apple Health. No guilt mechanics.
Privacy
Private by design
No account, no ads, works offline. Light, dark or system appearance.
Live Activity
Now put the phone down
Lock it, turn it face down. The Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island keep the count for you, with a ring for every phase, while haptics and the voice keep going.
Free breathing timer, no download
A breathing animation that keeps time with you
Looking for a box breathing gif or video to follow along with? A loop plays at its own speed and never waits for you. This one is a real timer: the bubble grows while you breathe in, holds while you hold, and counts you through every round. Pick a pattern and start.
Tap a pattern and breathe along right here. Free, no download needed.
In the app: the physiological sigh for quick relief, your own custom pattern with Braele Pro, and six languages: English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Nederlands, Dansk.
Box breathing and the physiological sigh were both tested in a Stanford trial of five-minute daily breathwork (Balban et al., Cell Reports Medicine, 2023). Proven patterns, gently guided.
How each one works
Six patterns, and when to use them
Box breathing
4 · 4 · 4 · 4Inhale for 4, hold for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4. That is one square. The even count gives a racing mind something simple to track, which is why it is taught for staying steady under pressure. Best before something hard: a meeting, a difficult call, a start line. Four to six rounds is enough.
4-7-8 breathing
4 · 7 · 8Inhale through the nose for 4, hold for 7, exhale through the mouth for 8. The long exhale is the active ingredient. At roughly twice the inhale, it tips the body toward rest. Best in bed with the lights out. Start with four rounds; pushing further can make you lightheaded.
Coherent breathing
5 · 5Five seconds in, five seconds out, about six breaths a minute. That is the pace where heart rate and breath fall into step. Known in France as cohérence cardiaque. Nothing to hold, nothing to count past five. Best as a daily ten-minute practice rather than a rescue.
Calming breath
4 · 6Inhale for 4, exhale for 6. The gentlest way to make the exhale longer than the inhale without holding your breath at all. Best when anxiety is already high and holding feels like too much to ask.
Energizing breath
2 · 2Two in, two out, through the nose, for about a minute. Short and even, it lifts alertness without the jolt of caffeine. Best mid-afternoon or before a workout, not before bed.
Physiological sigh
Two in, one long outTwo inhales through the nose (a full one, then a short top-up), followed by a long exhale through the mouth. In the Stanford trial above, five minutes a day of this beat mindfulness meditation for mood and anxiety. Best for immediate relief: one to three rounds, right when it hits.
Why Braele
Calm, by design
A living orb
Your breath gets a shape to follow. The orb swells and settles, and your body copies it. No counting required.
Breathe eyes-closed
Haptics tap out every inhale, hold, and exhale. Put the phone on your chest and close your eyes.
Ambient sound
Brown, pink, and white noise, plus rain and ocean, to help you settle.
Streaks & stats
A gentle day-streak with a built-in rest day. Progress you can feel, without guilt mechanics.
Apple Health
Saves sessions as mindful minutes, on-device. Nothing leaves your phone.
Private & offline
No account, no ads, no tracking. Sessions work in airplane mode. Privacy is the architecture, not a setting.
Ambient sound
Set the mood
Brown
Pink
White
Rain
Ocean
Pricing
Free to breathe. Pay once for everything.
Free
0
Forever, no account, no ads
- Box breathing and the physiological sigh
- Voice guidance, Live Activity, widgets and Siri
- One ambient sound, streaks and Apple Health
Pay once
Braele Pro
$6.99once
or $1.99 a month, cancel anytime
- Every pattern: 4-7-8, coherent, calming, energizing
- Build your own pattern, second by second
- Every ambient sound: rain, ocean, brown, pink, white
Questions
Before you download
- Is Braele free?
- Yes. Box breathing is free forever, with no account and no ads. Braele Pro unlocks the other patterns, custom patterns you build yourself, and the full ambient sound library.
- Is there a free app to practice box breathing on iPhone?
- Braele is one. Download it, open it, and the box pattern is there. No signup, no trial countdown, no card. You can also try box breathing in your browser on this page before you install anything.
- Which is better, box breathing or 4-7-8?
- They do different jobs. Box breathing (4·4·4·4) keeps inhale and exhale even, which steadies you while staying alert, so it suits the moments before something stressful. In 4-7-8 the exhale is nearly twice the inhale, which pushes you further toward rest, so it suits winding down and sleep. Braele has both, so you can feel the difference yourself.
- How long should I breathe for?
- Five minutes a day is the length used in the research, and it is enough. A single round takes well under a minute if that is all you have. Braele defaults to short sessions on purpose, because the habit matters more than the duration.
- Does box breathing help with anxiety?
- Slow, exhale-weighted breathing is one of the better-studied ways to bring your body down from a stress response, and a Stanford trial found five minutes of daily breathwork improved mood and lowered resting breathing rate. It is a tool, not a treatment. If anxiety is affecting your daily life, talk to a doctor.
- Is there a box breathing gif or video I can follow?
- There is a better option on this page: a live breathing animation that counts with you. A gif or video loops at a fixed speed and cannot pause, hold or track which round you are on. The animation here does, it is free, and there is nothing to download.
- Does it work offline?
- Completely. Every pattern, sound and animation ships inside the app. It works on a plane, on the underground, and in a basement with no signal.
- Do I need an account?
- No. There is no signup and no login. Your sessions stay on your device, because Braele has no server to send them to.
- What languages does Braele speak?
- English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Nederlands and Dansk. The app follows your phone's language automatically.
- Does Braele talk me through it?
- Yes. Voice guidance calls every inhale, hold and exhale in your language, with two voices to choose from, or off. It works with the screen off, so you can breathe with your eyes closed.
- Does it work with the phone locked?
- Yes. A session runs as a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with a countdown for every phase. Haptics and the voice keep going with the phone face down.
A few slow breaths are enough
Free to download. Box breathing is free forever. Your first calm session is three minutes away.