🌬️ Soham

1. Not sure where to start? Tap a goal — Calm, Sleep, Focus, or Energy — to jump to a recommended breath. Or pick any pranayama from the dropdown; the note below it says what it's for, and many add a tip on how to do it.
2. Choose a level — Beginner, Medium, or Advanced. Higher levels run more cycles and/or longer breaths.
3. Press Start. Follow the circle: it grows as you inhale, holds while you hold, and shrinks as you exhale. The number counts down each phase, and the screen stays awake.
4. Choose your cues in ⚙️ Settings: 🔊 voice speaks each phase, 🎵 pacing tones give a wordless rise/fall, 🔔 chimes each cycle, 🌊 ambient sound (ocean/rain/drone) plays underneath, and 📳 vibration buzzes each phase (where supported). By default only voice is on — turn them all off for a silent, visual-only session. Reset starts over.
5. Make it yours: choose Custom to set your own inhale/hold/exhale/sustain and save it as a named pattern. Use the 🌗 button (top-right) for light/dark. Your streak and totals show under the controls — kept privately on your device.
6. 🧘 Meditate tab: switch tabs at the top for guided sessions — play a recording (like the Aum chant) or follow a spoken meditation. Tap any item to start, and Stop to end it.
7. ❤️ Heart Rate tab (optional): in Chrome or Edge on desktop/Android you can connect a Bluetooth heart-rate monitor — a chest strap or ring, or an Amazfit / Mi Band with its auth key (setup guide). Once connected, your live pulse appears on the Breathe and Meditate tabs so you can watch it settle as you slow down. (Not available on iPhone/iPad or Firefox.)

Tip: keep the breath gentle and never strain — ease off if you feel light-headed. Free, private (no account), and works offline once loaded.

Curious why these counts work? See the research behind them ↓

These patterns aren't arbitrary — most map onto breathing techniques studied for their effects on the nervous system, heart rate variability (HRV), mood, and sleep. The recurring finding: slow breathing with a longer exhale shifts you toward "rest and digest."

• Cyclic Sighing — a double inhale then long exhale; in a randomised trial, 5 min/day beat box breathing and mindfulness for improving mood and lowering arousal. Balban 2023
• Coherent (5-5, ~6 breaths/min) — the most-studied "resonance" rate for raising HRV. Steffen 2017, Noble & Hochman 2019
• Extended exhale (Clear Mind, Relax 1–3) — a longer out-breath raises vagal HRV on its own. Bae 2021
• 4-7-8 (Relax 2) — popular sleep aid; improves sleep quality with daily practice. Mualifah 2026
• Box (4-4-4-4) & Triangle — "tactical breathing" for focus and composure under pressure. Jones 2026
• Bhramari (humming) — humming breath raises HRV and parasympathetic tone. Latha 2022
• Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril) — improves parasympathetic/autonomic balance. Sinha 2013
• Ujjayi, Dirga & Sitali — slow yogic breathing that shifts the balance toward the parasympathetic "rest and digest" state; Sitali also has a cooling effect. Zaccaro 2018

Read more: the full research write-up · all references

This is wellness guidance, not medical advice. If you're pregnant or have a heart or breathing condition, check with a clinician before long breath-holds.