Brecka's Morning Breathwork
Brecka's actual morning breathing practice: a Wim Hof-style pattern you build up over time, done within 30 minutes of waking, ideally outside in first light. He calls it the one thing you should never skip.
Get outside and set up Sit or lie somewhere quiet, ideally outside whatever the weather, feet on the ground, with skin and eyes exposed to early sunlight.
Morning light regulates circadian rhythm and mood, and grounding is part of Brecka's stated ritual.
Start at 3 rounds of 5 breaths Beginners: three rounds of five deep breaths. Add one breath per round each day, working up over weeks to three rounds of thirty.
Ramping slowly lets you tolerate the breath-holds safely and avoid dizziness.
Big, deep belly breaths Pull your belly button outward, fill the lungs from the bottom up with big deliberate breaths, then relax the exhale. Keep the pace steady through the round.
Full diaphragmatic breaths drive the oxygen and carbon-dioxide shifts the practice is built around.
Exhale and hold at the end of each round After the last breath of a round, exhale fully and hold as long as is comfortable. Rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth and focus on the sounds and sensations around you. When you need to breathe, take one deep inhale, hold briefly, release, and start the next round.
The hold is the core of the practice; focusing outward keeps you calm and naturally extends the hold.
If you only want calm, try cyclic sighing Double inhale through the nose, long slow exhale through the mouth, repeated for about 5 minutes.
In a Stanford trial this exhale-focused pattern beat the activating style for improving mood and lowering arousal.
Do it daily, seven mornings straight Brecka's challenge: do not miss it, and after seven mornings notice the shift in mood, energy and digestion.
Consistency over a week gives a clear read on whether it helps you.
Slow, deliberate deep breathing with holds shifts autonomic balance and, in controlled research, brief daily breathwork improves mood; morning light exposure alongside it anchors your body clock.
View sources
The Power Of Breathing Properly And Sunlight | Gary Brecka
Breathwork | Ultimate Human Short
Gary Brecka's Morning Breathwork Routine
Gary Brecka's morning breathwork (his stated method)
Cyclic sighing can help breathe away anxiety
Not medical advice. This page is for education only and is not a substitute for professional medical care. Consult a qualified clinician before changing your health routine.
Independent curation. YourProtocol is an independent platform. This protocol is based on the publicly available work of Gary Brecka and is not created, reviewed, endorsed by, or affiliated with Gary Brecka or The Ultimate Human.
Is this for you
- People who wake up groggy or flat and want a morning reset
- Anyone drawn to Wim Hof-style breathing
- Those who prefer a calmer, evidence-backed option (cyclic sighing)
Cautions
- Never do breath-holds or deep breathing rounds in or near water, or while driving; the hyperventilation style can cause fainting
- Skip the Wim Hof-style rounds if you are pregnant or have certain cardiac or seizure conditions, and use the gentle cyclic-sighing option instead
- Some lightheadedness is common; if you feel dizzy, stop and breathe normally, and build up more slowly
- Brecka's explanations (raising carbon dioxide to dilate vessels, resetting a 'carbohydrate receptor') are his own framing and go beyond what the evidence establishes; the practical benefit is real, the mechanism claims are not settled