Downshift
Downshift is for winding down completely. The exhale is twice the inhale, which progressively lowers your heart rate and signals safety to your nervous system.
Breath pattern
4 seconds in, 8 seconds out
How to practice it
- Find a comfortable position, seated or standing
- Breathe following the pattern: 4 seconds in, 8 seconds out
- Continue for 2 min, letting each cycle settle your rhythm
- Place one hand on your chest. Feel it rise and fall.
Settle your body
Small physical cues help the breathing land. Use any that work for you:
- Place one hand on your chest. Feel it rise and fall.
- Notice the warmth spreading under your hand. Stay with it.
- Drop your shoulders away from your ears. Stop holding them up.
- Let your whole body get heavy. Sink into whatever's holding you.
- Soften your forehead, your jaw, your eyes. Unclench everything.
When to use it
Use before sleep, after a long day, or when you need to fully switch off.
The science
The 1:2 inhale-to-exhale ratio is the classic parasympathetic breathing pattern. Each extended exhale stimulates the vagus nerve, progressively lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Deep parasympathetic deactivation requires at least 10 full cycles (120 seconds).
Other Shift modes
Pair with movement
Combine breathwork with mobility or bodyweight training.
Shift is built into BaselineBody.
The system picks the right protocol based on your state, then guides you through with binaural beats, haptic feedback, and timed breathing cues.
Free to try
