Which practice can calm the mind more effectively

The key difference between the effectiveness of both these practices lies mainly in the timescale over which the benefits appear.

Cyclic breathing provides rapid and short-term calming effects as it primarily targets the body’s autonomic nervous system, helping to lower heart rate, reduce respiratory rate, and trigger the parasympathetic response. This makes cyclic breathing particularly useful for moments of acute stress, anxiety spikes.

Meditation, on the other hand, operates mainly through changes in brain networks involved in attention, emotional regulation, and memory. While the calming effects may be noticeable even in a single session, most of the benefits, such as improved emotional resilience, accumulate gradually over weeks or months of consistent practice. This makes meditation especially effective for long-term mental well-being