Unlock the next level of Brain Candy with Breathwork, a collection of over two dozen science-backed, brain-boosting breathing experiences that combine breathing pacers with dynamic oscillatory pattern entrainment to help you relax, focus, and achieve altered states. Each style works differently on your nervous system and brainwaves, and you can use the techniques you learn anytime.
Breathing is the most fundamental rhythm of life, and it's also the most powerful tool you have for changing your state of consciousness. Unlike your heartbeat or digestion, breathing operates in both automatic and conscious modes - making it a unique bridge between your voluntary and involuntary nervous systems.
The Brain Candy Breathing DLC Pack combines ancient breathing wisdom with cutting-edge neuroscience, creating immersive visual experiences that guide you through transformative breathing practices. Each "candy" in our collection synchronizes your breath with carefully crafted visual patterns, helping you achieve specific states of consciousness.
Our breathing pack includes 30+ carefully crafted experiences across five distinct categories, each designed to guide you into specific states of consciousness:
Inhale, hold, exhale, hold—each for the same count. Simple, square, and surprisingly powerful. Box breathing balances oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, stabilizes heart rhythms, and creates a steady state of alert calm. Practiced by Navy SEALs, yogis, and high performers alike, it's like mental push-ups for resilience and focus.
These slow, rhythmic breathing guides are like a reset button for your nervous system. By extending the exhale, they activate the parasympathetic branch—your body's natural "rest and digest" mode. The result: lowered cortisol, a calmer heartbeat, and a brain that shifts from scattered to centered. Perfect for winding down after overstimulation.
No need to keep time—your headset does it for you. With detected breathing, Brain Candy listens to your inhale and exhale in real time and transforms it into light and sound. Your breath becomes the conductor, and your brain syncs to patterns that feel intuitive, embodied, and deeply immersive.
This is the wild ride. By breathing in fast, deep cycles, you flood the brain with oxygen, tilt your chemistry toward altered states, and often spark vivid imagery or deep emotional release. Used in therapeutic and psychedelic research, it's a safe way to open doors to creativity, self-discovery, and transcendent experiences—all powered by your own lungs.
New to these techniques? Our friendly guides talk you through each style, giving context and coaching along the way. It's like having a meditation teacher in your ear, helping you relax into the experience and get the most from every breath.
Your autonomic nervous system has two main branches: the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and parasympathetic (rest-and-digest). Your breathing pattern is the fastest way to shift between these states:
Your heart doesn't beat like a metronome - it naturally varies its rhythm in response to your breathing. This heart rate variability is a key indicator of nervous system health and resilience. Specific breathing patterns can dramatically improve your HRV, leading to:
Regular breathing practices literally rewire your brain through neuroplasticity. Studies show that consistent breath work can increase gray matter in areas associated with attention, emotional regulation, and self-awareness while reducing activity in the amygdala (your brain's alarm center).
Minimum Effective Dose: 5-10 minutes daily
Optimal Practice: 15-20 minutes, 1-2 times daily
Deep Exploration: 30-60 minutes, 2-3 times weekly
Start your day with energizing breath work to activate your sympathetic nervous system and enhance focus. Try our Box Breathing or Holotropic patterns.
Wind down with calming breath work to activate your parasympathetic nervous system. Our Diaphragm and Mindful patterns are perfect for this.
Controlled hyperventilation, as practiced in Holotropic Breathwork, temporarily alters your blood chemistry by reducing CO2 levels. This creates a unique neurochemical state that can lead to:
Deliberately slowing your breathing and practicing breath holds increases CO2 tolerance, leading to remarkable physiological adaptations:
Our immersive visual patterns serve as external breathing pacemakers, helping you maintain consistent rhythms without mental effort. The synchronized visuals:
The combination of rhythmic breathing with synchronized visual stimulation creates ideal conditions for neuroplasticity - your brain's ability to form new neural connections. This combination:
Our breathing experiences are designed to facilitate flow states - those optimal performance zones where action and awareness merge. The carefully crafted visual-breathing synchronization helps you:
Experience the power of conscious breathing with our immersive DLC pack.
The Breathing DLC Pack is available as part of Brain Candy VR. Experience requires VR headset.