MY BREATHWORK ROUTINE — ANTHONY | FOUNDER
The foundation of how I sleep, train and recover.
Hinoki and breathwork are the foundation of my
entire wellness routine.
The two combined have helped me feel responsive throughout the day instead of reactive. That shift changes everything downstream. I sleep better. I feel sharper mentally, which loops back into better sleep, which loops back into how I show up physically. It lets me keep pushing in training and recover faster from it. It keeps me from stacking stress on top of stress as the day goes on. In short, it helps me keep my peace.
I've tried plenty of tools and routines. Nothing else has come close. Just hinoki and breathwork, used together throughout the day, is the most effective routine I've found for staying responsive instead of reactive. Below: the science of why it works, the two breathing methods I use, and the exact routine I follow every day.
the science of breathwork
The evidence behind the practice.
The calm feeling came first. The science came when I went looking for why. These are three studies that explained the feeling. None were conducted on our products specifically. They're the broader research on slow breathing and on the compounds in hinoki oil.
Slow breathing and stress
BREATHWORK META-ANALYSIS
A 2023 meta-analysis of 12 randomized controlled trials in Scientific Reports found that breathwork interventions were associated with significantly reduced self-reported stress compared to non-breathwork controls.
Fincham et al., Sci Rep, 20234-7-8 breathing and HRV
CONTROLLED STUDY
A controlled study in Physiological Reports tested three rounds of 4-7-8 breathing in healthy adults. Heart rate variability shifted toward parasympathetic activity within minutes.
Vierra et al., Physiol Rep, 2022Nervous system activity
CONTROLLED STUDY
A study in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology had subjects inhale hinoki cypress oil. Parasympathetic activity increased and signs of cognitive arousal decreased.
Ikei et al., J Physiol Anthropol, 2015what the numbers actually mean
A closer look at what the research shows.
Most people breathe between 12 and 20 times a minute without thinking about it. Slow breathwork brings that down to around 6 breaths per minute, which is the rate where heart rhythm and breathing rhythm sync up. That's the state researchers call resonance. At that pace, vagal tone goes up, heart rate variability goes up, and the body can shift more easily into parasympathetic mode. It's not mystical. It's a mechanical effect of slowing the diaphragm down.
Cortisol is the body's main stress hormone. It's useful in short bursts and harder on the body when it stays elevated over time, which is part of why modern life feels so taxing. Slow breathing has been studied as one tool that may influence stress hormone levels. The reason it interests me is simple: I'd rather give my body a daily cue toward rest than try to push through a day on willpower alone.
A longer exhale than inhale is the part of breathwork that does the heavy lifting. When you exhale slowly, you stimulate the vagus nerve, the main wire of the parasympathetic system. That's why 4-7-8 (four in, seven hold, eight out) works well as a wind-down practice. The long exhale carries the cue that the day is done. Box breathing (four counts on each side) is more balanced, which is why it works better for daytime use without making you sleepy.
Slow breathing works mechanically through the diaphragm and the vagus nerve. Alpha-pinene works chemically through the olfactory bulb into the limbic system. Two different pathways, used at the same time. The body responds to physical cues, and stacking two cues at once is part of why this routine has held for me where others haven't. Same idea as habit-stacking anywhere else: small inputs, layered, repeated.
the routine
If you're new to it, pay attention to how each method feels. Your body learns pretty quickly which one it needs.
Four seconds in, hold for four, four seconds out, hold for four. I do five minutes of this every couple of hours throughout the day. It keeps me from stacking stress on top of stress. It's balanced enough that it doesn't make me sleepy, which is the whole point of using it during the day. Smell hinoki on every inhale and you're layering the two cues together.
Four seconds in, hold for seven, eight seconds out. The long exhale is what makes this one land for sleep. I do it 30 minutes before bed, paired with hinoki on each inhale. The combo has been the most reliable wind-down I've found. Doing it at the same time every night makes it even more effective.
why hinoki specifically
A scent built for slowing down.
Hinoki oil doesn't smell like a candle store. It smells like the inside of a wooden bathhouse after a long rain. Quiet, woody, faintly sweet, with the cool, mineral edge you get from a forest after the sun goes down. It doesn't sit on top of a room the way most essential oils do. It settles into it. The first inhale lands different than other essential oils. Quieter, deeper, more like air than perfume.
α-Pinene
The dominant compound
The most-studied compound in hinoki oil. Research has looked at α-pinene's role in calm and recovery, particularly through inhalation.
Hinokitiol
Largely unique to hinoki
Largely unique to hinoki. A compound studied for centuries because of how it gives hinoki wood its characteristic durability and scent.
Limonene
The bright note
Research has looked at limonene's effect on mood, and you can smell what it brings to hinoki. A subtle lift that keeps the scent grounded without ever feeling heavy.
A practice this small deserves tools that move with you. The bottle slips into your bag for class, where a couple drops go a long way without taking over the room. The wood block stays light enough to hold through a full session.
