4-Minute Alchemy™ Round Two
The 4-Minute Alchemy™ series

Round Two

Thirty-three days begins a habit. A second round gives it time to settle. Here is how to run Days 34 to 66, and how to share the practice with someone else.

Why go round again

In the habit research behind reference [5] in the book (Gardner, Lally and Wardle, 2012), a new daily behaviour took about 66 days on average to feel automatic, and people differed widely. You can read the paper free: Gardner, Lally and Wardle (2012).

That figure is an average across many people and habits. It is not a promise for you. It is a good reason not to stop at Day 33, and a second round gives you a clear way to keep going.

How Round Two works

  1. Start on Day 34.Begin the morning after Day 33. Round Two is the same 33 days run a second time, so it ends on Day 66. If you miss a day, do not restart: do today's practice and write one honest line about what got in the way.
  2. Choose your lens.The breaths, the days and the journal are the same in every edition. Only the words around them change. Stay with your edition, or pick another from the list below for the second round.
  3. Keep the same journal.Open the 33-Day Breath Journal™ and fill in a fresh baseline on Day 34, so you can compare Round Two with Round One. The form's last review says Day 33; in Round Two, read that as Day 66.
  4. Keep your streak.Log each session in the Huff app, as in Round One. The free passes in Appendix B of the book are there for anyone who needs one.
  5. Review on Day 66.Compare your three baselines honestly. If you track blood pressure, cholesterol or other markers, share your numbers with your doctor and let them guide any change in treatment.

Pick a lens for Round Two

Each edition follows the same 33 days with a different source of wisdom beside the science. The editions are listed alphabetically, and each title opens that edition's page, with its Kindle link once it is on sale.

The 4-Minute Breath of Awareness™Buddhist edition, the Dhammapada
The 4-Minute Breath of Grace™Catholic and Orthodox edition, the Douay-Rheims Bible
The 4-Minute Breath of Life™Christian edition, King James Version
The 4-Minute Breath of Constancy™Confucian edition, the Analects
The 4-Minute Breath of Praise™Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo edition, Psalms, 1 Enoch and Jubilees
The 4-Minute Alchemy™General edition, for everyone
The 4-Minute Breath of Mind™Hermetic edition, The Kybalion
The 4-Minute Breath of Prana™Hindu edition, the Bhagavad Gita
The 4-Minute Breath of Ẹ̀mí™Ifá edition, the sixteen principal Odù
The 4-Minute Breath of Care™Jain edition, the Jain sutras
The 4-Minute Breath of the Soul™Jewish edition, the Tanakh
The 4-Minute Breath of Peace™Muslim edition, Pickthall's Qur'an
The 4-Minute Breath of Önd™Norse edition, the Hávamál and Völuspá
The 4-Minute Breath of the Morning Mist™Shinto edition, the Kojiki and the Nihongi
The 4-Minute Breath of Remembrance™Sikh edition, the words of the Gurus
The 4-Minute Breath of the Way™Taoist edition, the Tao Te Ching
The 4-Minute Breath of Light™Zoroastrian edition, the Avesta

Practise beside someone

A practice is easier to keep when someone is breathing beside you. Gift a copy to a friend, or to someone you are working to make peace with (Day 14 of the book is for exactly that), and start Day 0 together.

How to gift a Kindle copy

  • Open the book's page in the Kindle Store and choose Buy for others.
  • Enter your friend's email address and, if you like, a short message.
  • Pick the day the gift email should be sent, then confirm your order.

The General edition is on sale now: open its Kindle page and choose Buy for others. Every other edition has its own Kindle link on its page in the list above, as soon as it is on sale.

Tell me how it goes

I would like to know what the second round does for you, and what it does not. Share your story in the short story form, or suggest changes for the next edition in this form. You choose whether I may quote you.