Sway Is a Beautiful Meditation App That Doesn’t Tell You What to Think About
What if the meditation app didn’t ask you to focus on your breathing? What if you didn’t have to listen to someone’s voice telling you what to think about? The new Sway meditation app takes a different approach.
Instead, Sway (iOS, $ 2.99) connects your mind and body, inviting you to move your phone slowly and continuously. When you do this, it plays soothing sounds and displays a colorful landscape on your screen. If you are moving too fast or too slow, it beeps and asks if you are ready to end your session.
I’ve tried many meditation apps and Sway is the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Aesthetics comes from ustvo , the same people who developed painfully great game Monument then Valley . And I love that he doesn’t ask me to focus on breathing, because when I do that, my nose always starts to seem strange.
So that you don’t stop coming back, Sway has six levels and you can only open one every day. If you miss a day, you will be taken back one level. On the first day, you will reach your goal (announced by a soft beep) in just three minutes. The next day you need four. Then six, then 10 and finally 20 minutes. The creators of the app hope that you will get into the habit of exercising for 20 minutes a day.
The levels have different colors and, it seems to me, different soundscapes. Each level also has its own idea. At first, you just move your phone. At the second level, you are asked to look away from the screen (no matter how beautiful it is) and use the sound from the headphones as feedback. My favorite level is called Equilibrium, where you walk as slowly as possible, forcing yourself to remain balanced even when standing on one leg. You just go, but consciously.
You may feel a little uncomfortable waiting for the bus, although luckily the phone will be in your pocket as you go from place to place. In any case, this application is a new way of meditation, pleasing to the eyes and ears.