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It is called the victorious breath, and the victory meant is over the noise in your own head rather than over anybody else. The vibration in the throat gives you a second thing to track alongside the sound. People often describe it as settling and slightly enlivening at the same time, which is unusual and part of why it is worth having.
it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace (Quran 13:28). An anchor for a busy mind is a real help, and this names where the steadiest one is.
الرعد
ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَتَطۡمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِۗ أَلَا بِذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطۡمَئِنُّ ٱلۡقُلُوبُ
those who have faith and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of God- truly it is in the remembrance of God that hearts find peace
Qur’an 13:28read it in the library
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.
In a randomised comparison of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and loving kindness meditation, only mindful breathing produced greater decentering, meaning the sense of standing back from your own thoughts rather than sitting inside them. That is the effect this practice is reaching for, although the study used plain mindful breathing rather than an audible one. Whether the sound adds anything on top has not been tested.
Feldman G, Greeson J, Senville J. (2010). Differential effects of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and negative reactions to repetitive thoughts.. Behaviour research and therapy doi
Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.
Attention holds far better to something it can hear and feel than to a thought about breathing.
Holding your breath for a moment makes the next one deeper, which sounds backwards until you know why. The urge to breathe is driven by carbon dioxide, not by a shortage of air.
Breathe in for about five and out for about ten, and do not hold at the top. Go straight from the in breath into the out breath, five to ten times over.
Start with a count of four in and four out, then drop the count. Once the rhythm is there your body will choose its own length: six and six, eight and eight, whatever settles you.