Rick Rubin's Breathing Method Coherent Breathing at Six Breaths a Minute
If a podcast clip sent you searching for an app, the honest answer is simpler than the search results suggest.
Rick Rubin's breathing story traces to one podcast appearance
The entire on-the-record source for "Rick Rubin's breathing method" is one podcast appearance: December 2023, the Huberman Lab show. [1]1 Rubin described using slow breathing to raise his heart rate variability (HRV); Huberman Lab's own show notes tag that part of the conversation "Coherence Breathing," timestamped at 6:27 into the episode. No branded program, no protocol, no second interview on the subject since.
Per Huberman Lab's own recap and independent write-ups, Rubin practices eyes closed, roughly six breaths a minute, once or twice a day, five to twenty minutes - and reports a noticeable HRV improvement. [2]2
Rubin has no relationship with Brizzy. He has not endorsed, reviewed, or mentioned this app.
Rubin's practice is coherent breathing, about six breaths a minute
Strip away the celebrity framing and Rubin's habit is a specific, well-documented pattern: an even, unhurried breath at roughly five to six breaths a minute, eyes closed - a pattern with no holds. That is what this Library already calls coherent breathing (also studied as resonance-frequency breathing) - the same practice covered here in full, with the mechanism, the tempo options, and a guided session.
Rubin's numbers sit squarely inside that range. Nothing about his description asks for a different technique, a different pace, or a new name.
The practice predates Rubin's podcast by nearly twenty years
This pace is not a Rubin invention or a Huberman discovery. Cardiovascular research already described how a slow, steady rhythm near this range amplifies heart-rate oscillations, long before Rubin's podcast appearance. [3]3 Nearly twenty years earlier, engineer Stephen Elliott founded Coherence LLC in 2004 and trademarked the consumer term "Coherent Breathing," teaching a nominal five-breaths-a-minute version of the same idea. [4]4
Unconfirmed“Rick Rubin's breathing method is Stephen Elliott's branded Coherent Breathing program”
Elliott, an engineer, founded Coherence LLC in 2004 and trademarked "Coherent Breathing," teaching a nominal five-breaths-a-minute protocol. Huberman and Rubin use "coherence breathing" as a generic label for a similar pace - nothing in the episode's show notes, the published recaps, or Elliott's own material connects them. Treat the popular term as shared vocabulary, not a documented connection. [4]4
The HRV rise holds up; a unique stress benefit doesn't
Rubin's pace matches what a 2022 meta-analysis of 223 studies (Laborde et al.) already links to a reliable rise in vagally mediated HRV, both during and right after a session. [5]5 That is among the better-supported findings in the slow-breathing literature, and it is exactly the pace Rubin describes.
The honest bound: the largest placebo-controlled trial of this rhythm - 400 participants, about 5.5 breaths a minute, ten minutes a day, four weeks - found no advantage over a matched breathing placebo on stress, anxiety, depression, or wellbeing. [6]6 Rubin's own sense of calm may be entirely real for him; it is just not evidence that this exact rhythm outperforms other slow breathing for mood.
How we build confidence →What is NOT proven
- That this exact rhythm beats other slow-paced breathing for stress, anxiety, or mood: not proven - the largest placebo-controlled trial (N=400) found no advantage over a matched breathing placebo. [6]6
- That Rubin's practice is Stephen Elliott's specific trademarked method, rather than the same idea under a shared generic name: not shown - no public source we could check connects them.
- That the benefit holds without regular practice, or generalizes beyond one podcast conversation: not established - this is one account, not a trial.
What holds up is narrower and still real: an even, slow pace near six breaths a minute reliably raises HRV while you are doing it.
Try coherent breathing, the way Rubin describes it
You do not need special equipment or a personal ritual to try this. Brizzy's guided coherent session paces an even five-to-six-breath-a-minute rhythm, eyes open or closed, so you can try the same rhythm Rubin described.
- Get comfortable - Sit or lie down, shoulders relaxed.
- Inhale - Breathe in slowly through your nose for about 5 seconds.
- Exhale - Breathe out slowly for about 5 seconds, through your nose or mouth.
- Keep the rhythm going - No pauses at the top or bottom - let one breath roll into the next, the same pace Rubin described.
For the full dose guidance - session length, how to adjust the pace, when to stop - the coherent breathing article owns those details.
FAQ
What app does Rick Rubin use for breathing?
Rubin has not publicly named an app; Brizzy has no relationship with him, and nothing here is an endorsement. What he described - six breaths a minute, eyes closed - is exactly what Brizzy's guided coherent session paces for you.
Is Rick Rubin's breathing method the same as Wim Hof breathing?
No - they sit closer to opposites. Rubin's pace is slow and even, around six breaths a minute, and the pattern carries no holds. Wim Hof breathing uses fast cycles and long breath-holds, chasing a jolt of activation, not a slow settle.
How many breaths per minute does Rick Rubin breathe?
Around six breaths a minute, per Huberman Lab's own recap - roughly five seconds in, five out. [2]2 The pattern has no holds, and that pace sits at the slower end of the resonance range, which varies a little person to person.
Does Rick Rubin's breathing method lower stress?
No, not demonstrably beyond a matched breathing placebo - the largest trial of this pace (N=400) found no added benefit on stress, anxiety, depression, or wellbeing. [6]6 What IS well supported: the pace reliably raises HRV while you practice it - just not proof this exact rhythm is special for stress.
The full technique - dose guidance, tempo options, and safety notes - lives in coherent breathing. For how Brizzy grades every claim on this page, see the confidence scale; for other techniques matched to calm and anxiety, see the calm hub.
References
- Rick Rubin: Protocols to Access Creative Energy and Process. Huberman Lab (2023)
- Rick Rubin's breathing pace, frequency, and reported HRV change. Huberman Lab (Ask Huberman Lab recap tool)Secondary-sourced across Huberman Lab's own AI recap tool and independent write-ups, not a verbatim transcript quote - the full episode transcript is premium-gated and was not opened for this article.
- Russo MA, Santarelli DM, O'Rourke D. The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human. Breathe. 13(4):298 - 309. (2017)
- Coherent Breathing®: trademark, origin, and protocol overview. coherentbreathing.com
- Laborde S, Allen MS, Borges U, et al. Effects of voluntary slow breathing on heart rate and heart rate variability: a systematic review and a meta-analysis. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 138:104711. (2022)
- Fincham GW, Strauss C, Cavanagh K. Effect of coherent breathing on mental health and wellbeing: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Scientific Reports. 13:22141. (2023)
Foundations
The method behind what you just read.