Breathing Pal Novels & Stories

“Rosalee, try to breathe with me, okay?” I shake my head violently, my hands gripping the fabric of my shirt as if that will somehow help me pull in air. My lungs feel like they’re collapsing. “Big breath in,” Jensen instructs, his voice calm but unwavering. He takes a deep inhale, exaggerating the movement so I can see. “And out.” I try, but my body refuses to listen. “Again,” he coaxes. “In… and out.” I shake my head again, panic still gripping me like a vice. I can’t do it. I can’t breathe.

She tried to breathe calmly, but her chest was compressed as if held by a vice grip. She tried to picture a lotus flower as Dr. Williams advised, but it wasn't working. "Whoah, what's going on here?" Teddy said, looking over with concern. "Try to breathe to the count of four." "I can't..." Emily gasped. "You can do it. Just breathe in for four counts, then hold for four counts, and breathe out for four... There you go." Emily felt a bit better when she counted out her breaths. Teddy ran off somewhere, but he quickly came back with a bottle of water for her.

I don't want to fall asleep again. I breathe my life in and try to stop my breathing before exhaling. This is helpful in regulating the pain. The ache in my head starts to subside as I run out of air inside my body. Adam was furrowing his brows at me, wondering what I am doing but I signaled him to wait by my palm and he reluctantly obeyed. I can't breathe now. I continued breathing and gasps a lot of air as I stop with what I am doing. Who is that man I saw?

I could feel my heat starting to boil out from my abdomen. “Calming breaths, Mia cara. Close your lips and inhale through your nose for a count of four. Hold your breath for a count of seven. Then exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound for a count of eight.” Alec’s calming and patient voice whispered against my ear. My eyes closed as I tried to maintain control. This would be so much easier if he wasn’t right there. If his scent wasn’t engulfing my senses, making me lightheaded. Everything about him makes concentrating on anything else impossible

she stuttered with sobs, once again trying to reach out to me. Almost immediately after her last attempt, I quickly moved one of my hands to meet Aryana's shaking fingers, holding on tightly. With gentle movements, I brought her hand to my chest, palm resting over the fabric draped over my body. I let her feel the steady rhythm of my breaths, the distinguishable up and down of my thorax, and the muscles all moving to show Aryana that she could breathe successfully. Each intake of air was distinct and exaggerated to help Aryana focus.

His face was changing colors from pale to red and quickly it became almost blue. I released him and he caught a few times in catching the air which seemed to be burning his lungs, his gaze was directed to the floor and his back was bowed, with one hand he was holding his knee in letting his body stay still. Soon he managed to calm his breathing into normal. He stood up in straightening his back but his head was still bowed.

he whispers. "I know," I soothe him, and I begin to rub my hand up and down his side in a slow, rhythmic motion. "Focus on my breathing. Take a breath when I do, and let it out when I do. We are going to pace through the pain." I exaggerate my breathing so he can feel my chest rise and fall against his back. Beau tries to match my rhythm. His first few breaths are jagged and uneven, but he slowly falls into sync with me.

I make it halfway down the mountain before I have to stop. Not because I'm tired, but because my hands won't stop shaking and my breath is coming in short, painful gasps that have nothing to do with exertion. I sink onto a fallen log beside the trail, head between my knees, trying to remember the breathing exercises Dr. Chen taught me for moments exactly like this. Four counts in. Hold for seven. Eight counts out. It doesn't work. Nothing works except the anger burning through my chest like acid.

His breath on my mouth before my feet even remember the floor exists. I’m pressed against him with my palms flat on his chest and his face right there, flour on his jaw, grey eyes wide, close enough that his exhale lands on my lips. My fingers curl into his shirt. Under my right hand, his heart kicks. Once. Again. Harder. I can feel each one, a steady, hard drumming that doesn’t match his face. His jaw is set. His eyes are steady. But his chest is hammering against my palm like something trying to get out and his breathing has gone shallow and controlled, each inhale measured through his nose, the kind of breathing you do when the natural thing would be worse.

After they had crossed the mountain, the boy suddenly asked, "What type of breathing method is best for the Elixir of Life?" The old man laughed and said, "There are five elements in breathing, and the Elixir of Life belongs to the wood element, so you must use a wood element breathing method. Wood element methods emphasize deep inhalation and exhalation, with each breath taken with full effort. It's like a towering tree trying to root itself in the rocks while vigorously growing its branches and leaves toward the sky!"