The benefits of regular meditation practice, including stress relief and clearer thinking, appeal to many people. However, not everyone has access to a meditation teacher, and teaching yourself can feel daunting. That's where meditation apps come into play.
What Is Breethe?
With over 10 million downloads, Breethe is one of the top meditation apps available now. Featuring a vast library of tracks, as well as a lighthearted approach to meditation, Breethe is a robust app that works well for many people. Here's a look at all the components that make it so popular, including meditations, sleep stories, and even hypnotherapy.
Download: Breethe for iOS | Android (Free, in-app purchases available)
Getting Started With the Breethe App
When you first open the app, you'll navigate through a few screens, selecting your reasons for using Breethe. For instance, you may want to calm your nerves, or reduce feelings of overwhelm. You'll also select from a collection of goals, such as managing anxiety or becoming healthier overall.
Note that you can access the app for free during a 14-day trial, but it requires a monthly subscription afterward.
Once you're signed up, navigating the Breethe app is simple. On your home screen, called Today in the app, you'll find immediate access to meditations, breathing exercises, and even calming videos.
A selection of quizzes to learn more about yourself, as well as a collection of featured meditations and more content, also appear on the Today screen. You can also access the achievements screen from here, which keeps track of milestones such as completing 25 tracks or using the app for 3 days in a row.
The next section of the app, Therapy, offers access to a bot for sharing your feelings. Text with the bot for a bit, and you can get access to a few minutes of audio advice on the topic that's bothering you.
If you like this feature, then consider trying out more therapy and counseling apps that can benefit your mental health.
Next, the Goals section concerns the goals that you selected when first starting the app. (You can change or add to the goals any time.) In the Deal with Anxiety section, for instance, you can access meditations meant to address panic attacks. There's also a 7-day program focused on easing anxiety.
Each individual goal features its own relevant content. For example, the Get Healthier goal includes an Inner Wellness Talk on The Mind-Body Connection, as well as a program focused on healthy eating.
A Library feature lets you access the app's many meditations, sleep aids, masterclass discussions, and alternative therapies in one screen. You can browse each section or search the library for anything in particular.
Lastly, the Profile screen provides access to your account, Apple Health tracking, shortcuts, and alarms. You can also adjust the background music from here. A running total of your mindful time, as well as the number of days in a row you've used the app, also appears here.
Exploring Meditations on Breethe
There's a rich variety of meditation options on the Breethe app, including singles, series, and meditation programs.
As the name suggests, single meditations are one-off exercises that address a specific topic. This includes meditations that address everything from financial anxiety to sleepless nights. One mediation, charmingly titled My Family Drives Me Nuts, offers some perspective on those familial ties.
Some of these meditations last for a few minutes, whereas others go over 30 minutes or so. You can scroll for quite a while to see all the different approaches to meditation, because the app has an impressive library. In fact, you could listen to a different single meditation each day for quite a while before encountering any repeats.
The meditation series on Breethe, meanwhile, offer a variety of meditations centered around one topic. For 7 days, you can listen to a different meditation focused on stress reduction, anger management, or even social media.
For a few minutes each day, you'll get to think about your topic of choice in the course of mediation.
Finally, the meditation programs help you learn how to meditate as a total beginner, or expand upon your existing practice.
The 12-week Learn to Meditate series teaches you more about the practice over the course of several daily meditations. Helpful instruction, tips, and general reassurances help turn meditation into a habit.
How to Use Breethe's Sleep Content
Can an app help you sleep better? Breethe offers many resources designed to help you enjoy a great night's rest.
Like similar meditation apps, Breethe also offers a variety of sleep stories you can listen to while winding down for the night. How about a story titled The Kingdom in the Clouds, or a whispered rendition of The Wind in the Willows?
The bedtime hypnotherapy section of Breethe is a unique feature. Designed to help you modify behaviors, the hypnotherapy sessions have titles such as Stop Waking Up in the Night, Have More Patience, and Negative Thought Release.
The Breethe app does not overreach when it comes to these tracks—a disclaimer reminds you that hypnotherapy is not a substitute for counseling or medical care—and you can use them similarly to the meditations. If you're curious about hypnotherapy, then the app offers a simple way to give it a try.
Accessing Alternative Therapies on Breethe
In addition to more hypnotherapy tracks, the Breethe app offers alternative therapies. The tracks that feature tapping, also known as Emotional Freedom Technique, involves lightly tapping your face and body while meditating.
Under the Music Therapy section, you'll find a series of engaging playlists called Bio Music One, designed to help reduce stress. You can listen to them while meditating or simply going about your day for a musical boost.
Using Talks and Masterclasses on Breethe
The Breethe app also features a wealth of talks and classes on a whole range of topics. These are great to listen to when you're commuting or out and about.
Quick discussions that generally last about 10-15 minutes, the Talks cover topics such as motivation, living with pain, and financial difficulties. A therapist, teacher, or other professional will chat with you about the topic for a few minutes.
For an even quicker moment, the Wisdom Bites offer up ideas about getting better sleep or occupying the many roles you play each day. These last about 2 minutes or so each.
Finally, the Masterclasses offer content for several days on topics such as Tools for Self-Growth and How to Unwind Your Anxious Mind. You can dive deep into the concepts with advice from the app's team of teachers.
Chill With Breethe's Content for Well-Being
Lastly, the Breethe app has plenty of options if you want to relax and chill out for a bit. There's a range of different breathing meditations such as the Energizer Breath and the Calming Breath.
A Mindful Movement section invites you to reconnect and ground yourself in your body with help from some videos. In addition, audio tracks walk you through the process of dancing to music to get out of your head.
Finally, a section of calming videos invites you to stare at some jellyfish, a fireplace, or cool shapes to relax for a bit.
How Is Breethe Different From Other Meditation Apps?
There's no shortage of well-made meditation apps available now. The Headspace meditation app, with its distinctive and inviting animations, is a longtime favorite, and meditating with the Calm app is a daily habit for plenty of people.
While other apps have similar guided meditations, Breethe offers a notably extensive library, as well as meditations for specific life experiences. If you're looking for a meditation that addresses mindful hiking, nervousness at the doctor's office, or tax season, then Breethe is on it.
One of the other features that sets the Breethe app apart is its selection of hypnotherapy meditations, as well as its additional alternative therapy content. This content may not appeal to everyone, and that's OK, because there's still far more to explore in the rest of the app.
Go Deep With the Breethe App
If you want a huge selection of meditation content, as well as hypnotherapy, playlists, and masterclasses, then consider the Breethe app. Whether you're starting out with meditation, or you're looking to expand your practice in new directions, then the Breethe app has something for just about everybody.