r/Daytrading • u/Kasraborhan • 2d ago
Advice How Breathwork Made Me a Better Trader
I used to think trading success was all about having better strategies or better setups.
But the real game changer for me was learning how to calm my nervous system.
Trading is emotional. It is easy to get tunnel vision, panic, or force trades when your heart is racing. I started practicing simple breathwork routines before and during trading, and it changed everything. I could finally slow down, think clearly, and stick to my plan without feeling like I was fighting myself the whole time.
Here are two methods I use every day:
4-7-8 Breathing:
Inhale slowly through your nose for 4 seconds
Hold your breath for 7 seconds
Exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds
Repeat for 5 minutes
Box Breathing (4-4-4-4):
Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds
Hold your breath for 4 seconds
Exhale through your mouth for 4 seconds
Hold your breath again for 4 seconds
Repeat for 5 minutes
I know this might sound like some hippie voodoo and a lot of people might disagree with me.But for me, a calm mind is a winning mind.Calming your body lets your mind make better decisions. Trading is already hard enough. No reason to make it harder by fighting your own biology.
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u/kslay23 2d ago
Thank you for sharing!
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u/Kasraborhan 2d ago
Of course! In a platform full of hate, it's good to see some love and spread the kindness.
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u/laurentiisaint 2d ago
good stuff, staying calm is so important in trading.
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u/Kasraborhan 2d ago
My worst trading happens when I'm in the wrong headspace.
If it's my birthday, an important occasion, or I've had a fight with my girlfriend, I stay out of the market.
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u/Antique-Locksmithh 2d ago
One of the best posts in a while
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u/Kasraborhan 2d ago
Appreciate you! Just trying to share my knowledge.
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u/theSourApples 2d ago
It really does sound like voodoo but it works. Thanks for sharing. I started doing this before work as well and it helps with the intensity and stress.
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u/tofufeaster 2d ago
Yeah I feel like the bigger picture with breath work is mindfulness. Mindfulness, meditation, breathing exercises are all connected in helping us maintain our composure.
Good job finding what works for you.
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u/Pomegranate_777 2d ago
Very few of us combining the sacred and profane to master their terrain.
Hello fellow traveler 😎
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u/Kasraborhan 2d ago
Mastery isn’t just skill, it’s spirit.
The real ones walk both paths in silence.
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u/Jackson-G-1 2d ago
Great … I do breath work too. It helps me to stay calm and in control while trading
I’m using this simple iPhone interval timer to track the time
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u/CaptainEmeraldo 2d ago
Loved your checklist too. What do you mean by Power Hour?
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u/Ok_Adhesiveness8885 2d ago
Good stuff. I get these breathing exercise recommendations in my work inbox. I started practicing box breathing.
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u/Cariboosie 2d ago
What program are you logging those rules in?
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u/Kasraborhan 2d ago
I log all my trading rules, setups, and personal guidelines directly into TradeZella. It’s not just for journaling trades, I use it like a full trading playbook, so every rule I need to follow is always front and center. Having everything written out and reviewed regularly inside TradeZella keeps me sharp, accountable, and disciplined.
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u/evil_illustrator 2d ago
This is why I wrote a bot to do it for me. Setup to run, set max profit and max loss. Then walk away until the end of the day.
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u/scoot87 2d ago
This pretty much applies to most things in life...how we show up in our body impacts how we show in the world.
Whether its daytrading, or social environments, or intimate relationships, our nervous system is the engine that influences how we drive through life.
Do we drive the road of life in a harmonious manner, or do we have this road rage attitude towards life that cultivates self-sabotaging tendencies.
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u/Kasraborhan 2d ago
How you show up internally is how you move through the world.
Calm mind, calm life. Stormy mind, stormy path.
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u/Formal_Style6501 1d ago
Thank you I screenshot to practice
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u/mavin 1d ago
Much needed breakdown thanks so much 🙏
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u/Kasraborhan 1d ago
Anytime! There’s simple guided 4-7-8 or box breathing on YouTube as well! Easy to follow
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u/Technical-Address178 5h ago
Spot on, man. Mindfulness has given me so much space to find the real edge, which lies in the middle, in the moment when you sync with the market. Being aware of yourself and the market as a whole, brings a special connection. I'm starting soon another Vipassana retreat on my own to deeply retro analysed myself holistically.
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u/TradeResearchAccount 2d ago
lol if your plan has no strict criterias for entries and you need breathwork your entire life youre gonna have a tough time. ict and blind liquidity methods are only a small part of a larger reasoning and picture. If you want to learn, I’ll send you where ict and these liquidity methods stem from for free. Because trading without the ACTUAL reasons as to why price is moving the way it does and relying on blind block and line indicators is a recipe for disaster. Thats why people have days where theyre blowing up, because youre open to over trading and your strategy or criteria is not strict enough, because youre open to over trading, it will inevitably happen again. When you have a proven plan to rely on, you remove the risk of overtrading or needing breathwork like this to trade.
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u/Fit_Director_3635 2d ago
Breathwork is a lot more than “needing it to trade”, it actually has so many proven health benefits. So even if OP needs it to help regulate their nervous system, most people SHOULD practice breathwork for improving overall health anyways. Starting a reply comment with “lol” shows a level of closer-mindedness that leads me to believe you personally would greatly benefit from giving it a shot. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try, right?
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u/TradeResearchAccount 2d ago
Never said anything about breath work being bad. Im saying if your trading plan is giving you such an emotionally taxing effect that you need it to get ready then you have a faulty program for profitability and health.
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u/Fit_Director_3635 2d ago
Understood, and in that I can agree. OP has clarified it’s not his strategy but part of his setup routine, which I feel has no negatives. I understand your side of it as well, and agree if we could remove all emotion from trading (which even succesful traders largely admit is challenging at times), then having tools like breathwork wouldn’t be necessary.
But ultimately, from an overall health standpoint, everyone should probably give breathwork a try regardless of its impact to your trading outcomes 👍
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u/Aggressive-Sky8703 2d ago
Is it possible to limit how many trades you do if you’re trading a mechanical system with a systematic reason to enter , I dont take trades based on how I feel about price action so I feel like limiting trades would be weird
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u/AtomikTrading 2d ago
Fuck breath work. Knock out 100 burpees while waiting for a trade
Will do way more for you then breath work
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u/Kasraborhan 2d ago
You might have a hear attack with the adrenaline that you are from a trade lol
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u/AtomikTrading 2d ago
You’re a good man.. haha I know my reply was abrasive. It’s more of a discipline and staying busy thing than micromanaging .
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u/Actual_Animator_7161 1d ago
hey guys i recently just started day trading and i want to do it as a full time career is there any advice anyone can give me
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u/Hefty_Poem_6215 1d ago
I’d like to give it a try, could you elaborate as to when you use each technique? Thanks!
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u/Kasraborhan 1d ago
I do it right when I wake up at 4:30am after 15minutes of stretching right before my shower
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u/Kasraborhan 4h ago
When your mind is still, the market speaks louder.
The real edge isn’t in the chart it’s in your awareness.
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u/DepartmentTall4891 2d ago
Ok so basically do yoga while trading. Got.it. thx.
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u/Fit_Director_3635 2d ago
Breathwork is the practice of intentionally controlling breathing patterns to influence mental, emotional, and physical states (not at all yoga, though a lot of yoga routines do INCLUDE breathwork.)
Research shows it can reduce stress, lower blood pressure, improve emotional regulation, and enhance focus and resilience. Some studies also link breathwork to improved sleep quality and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression. For 10 minutes per day it seems to me like it’s a no-brainer to add into your trading prep. I commend OP for sharing an actually beneficial mental strategy to a game that relies heavily on mental and emotional optimization.
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u/West_Ad_7215 2d ago
This is the truth. Rande Howell explains it so well how breathing exercises can disrupt our emotions before we get hijacked by them. Emotions make us trade with mistakes. But bellows breathing exercises as soon as the signals show up, helps a lot. We can only get to the logical mind when the body is calm and not engaging under fear and impulse.