I built a terminal app that paces slow breathing at 6 breaths per minute for vagal tone training. It's a single Python file, stdlib only, no dependencies — just run breathe and follow the bar.
I'm a cardiology patient (HFrEF). Slow breathing at resonance frequency is one of the few non-pharmacological interventions shown to improve cardiac vagal tone and baroreflex sensitivity (Bernardi et al., Circulation 2002; Lancet 1998). I wanted a frictionless daily habit tool — no app store, no account, no subscription, just open terminal and go.
Design constraints, all grounded in the clinical literature:
- No breath retention — Valsalva risk in cardiac patients
- No rapid breathing — minimum 8-second cycles
- Exhale ≤ 2x inhale — no evidence for extreme ratios
- Immediate exit, always — q or Ctrl+C restores the terminal even on crash
The README includes a resonance frequency measurement protocol for anyone with a chest-strap HRV monitor who wants to find their individual optimum instead of using the 6 bpm default.
macOS only (uses afplay for audio cues). MIT licensed.
pip install breathe-cli
or
brew tap marekkowalczyk/breathe && brew install breathe.
samrivera2 hours ago
37 days into quitting smoking and breathing exercises have been a huge help for the craving spikes. a simple terminal tool for paced breathing actually makes a lot of sense - when the craving hits at 3pm and youre staring at a screen anyway, having it right there in the terminal is way less friction than pulling out a phone app. starred.
glaslong32 minutes ago
does it have modes for Hamon or Total Concentration breathing?
iammjm7 hours ago
Very nice. I have no heart issues but have been experimenting with extended breathing/longer exhales to calm down my sympathetic nervous system. I believe intentional breathing is a big, mostly underutilized tool all of us have to be generally more relaxed and healthier and also to calm ourselves down in stressful situations
skeledrew5 hours ago
Looks interesting. And it's pure Python with no 3p packages. Pretty trivial to support other OSes: make that audio player invocation configurable.
mark_l_watson3 hours ago
I love the zero dependency implementation. I do this style of breathing during specific time periods of practicing Qi Gong. I will try your script when I get to my laptop. Thanks.
mpeg4 hours ago
This is cool, I have SVT and usually am able to stop an episode if I do slow breathing like that; although sometimes if that doesn’t work the modified reverse valsalva manoeuvre does it every time.
darcien7 hours ago
This reminds me of another HRV training from few years back shared here.
Ruslan10954 hours ago
Nice work on the zero-dependency approach. I'm building a similar tool for Windows (voice-to-text) and the "no account, just run" philosophy resonates — friction kills daily habits.
mistrial93 hours ago
this book is somewhat useful
https://archive.org/details/etaq_light-on-pranayama-b-k-s-iy...
chrisvenum8 hours ago
Terminally breathing
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AI slop comment
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