Got told my 'relaxed' breathing was actually hyperventilating

A friend watched me do my usual 5 minute wind down routine and said I was breathing way too fast. She counted my breaths and I was at like 20 per minute just sitting there. Turns out I was basically panic breathing during what I thought was a calm exercise. Now I actually count to 4 on the inhale and 6 on the exhale and it feels weird but way better. Has anyone else had someone call them out on something they thought they were doing right?

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ninamartin2mo ago

I mean I used to think the whole breath counting thing was kind of overhyped until I tried a 4-7-8 pattern and realized how tense I actually was. So yeah, completely changed my mind on that one.

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emmasmith2mo ago

Realized I was doing the exact same thing during yoga last year. Felt so silly that my "calm" breathing was actually making me lightheaded. Focusing on those longer exhales really does make a huge difference though.

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