Guide
How to use the app step by step, what every feature does and how each technique is performed.
- 24 articlesStep by stepFrom your first session to programs, from reading the report to reminders — every step.
- 3 articlesPhone, tablet and watchHow Soluklan works on the phone, on a tablet and on Apple Watch, and what changes on each device.
- 15 articlesEvery technique, one by oneEach of the sixteen techniques: what it is good for, how to do it, what to watch out for.
- 1 articlesEvery program, one by oneWhat each program is, how a day goes, who it suits and what it is based on.
- 10 articlesWhat the app does insideHow the score is worked out, how the microphone listens and where the evidence stands.
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The three most useful articles
Getting the most out of the app
Two people use the same app and get very different results from it. The ten things that make the difference, and how to do each of them.
How to do a breathing exercise
A breathing exercise is simply slowing your breath on purpose for a few minutes. The five things you need to start, the first rhythm, and the mistakes almost everyone makes.
How long should a breathing exercise be
The short answer: three to five minutes a day. The long answer is about where length helps and where it stops paying off.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Short answers
Under every answer there is a link to the article that covers it in full.
Do I need the microphone, can I turn it off?
You don't need it. With the microphone on, the app hears your breath, measures how closely you follow the rhythm and gives you a score. With it off, the circle, the rhythm, the haptics, your streak, milestones and programs all work exactly the same — only the score isn't worked out. You can tap "Continue without the microphone" when a session starts, or turn it off completely in Settings.
Is audio recorded?
No. The microphone runs only during a session and only the instant sound level is worked out from it — no audio file is written to disk. The one exception is the audio sample sharing you give separate permission for. If you haven't turned that on, audio is never recorded in any session.
My breath isn't being heard, what should I do?
In order: hold the device 20-30 cm from your mouth, don't cover the microphone, pick a quiet place, and don't move while it says "Measuring the room" at the start of a session. Don't force your breath to make it louder — that doesn't fix the measurement, it spoils it.
How is the score worked out?
Several separate measurements are combined: rhythm match, exhales heard, exhale length, inhale, breath volume, how smooth the exhale was, and whether you completed the session. They don't all carry the same weight; the largest share goes to rhythm match.
What are the short lines that appear during a session?
Notes that show up under the circle and fade after a few seconds: "A little late", "Your breath is hard to hear", "Air escaped during the hold" and so on. They point at things you can still fix before the session ends, and well-timed cycles get praise too. They come rarely, so they don't distract you.
What does the chart inside the report show?
On the Advanced interface there is a line showing the sound level measured through the session: the room's noise floor, the threshold a breath has to cross to count as an exhale, and the peaks of your breaths. The bands behind it mark the exhales and the inhale windows, so you can see with your eyes which cycle you were late on. The line isn't a recording, only the measured levels. They stay on your device too.
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I got a low score, am I doing it wrong?
A low score doesn't mean you are breathing wrong. The score only measures how closely you followed the pace on screen — not whether the breathing did you good. And the measurement relies on the microphone: sitting far from the device, or a noisy room, can make a perfectly good session look low. Tap "Detailed report" and you'll see which measurement dropped and what to fix.
How many minutes should a session be?
Even two minutes helps. The lit band on the length slider is the range suggested for you: it shifts with your experience, your recent sessions, the time of day and your streak. A short session you finish beats a long one you abandon, by every measure.
Why are techniques locked, and how do they open?
The path runs from easy to hard: you start with techniques that have no hold, move on to holds, then to the advanced ones. Tap a locked card and it tells you what is needed and the shortest way there. If you marked your experience level high in the intake, most locks are open from the start.
Which technique should I do when?
4-7-8 or Extended Exhale before sleep, Box or Triangle during a work break, Physiological Sigh for sudden tension, Energizing Breath or Right Nostril when you feel dull. If you can't decide, take the suggestion at the top of the list: it is chosen from your goal, the time of day and your recent sessions.
Which breathing exercise should I do before an exam or a presentation?
Take two or three minutes, ten to fifteen minutes beforehand. Before a written exam, Box Breathing. Before a moment when you will speak, such as a presentation or an oral exam, a rhythm with a long exhale works well: Extended Exhale or Coherent Breathing. While you wait for your turn, two or three physiological sighs or a few long exhales are enough. Don't try a new technique on the day.
How do I take a breathing break at my desk?
You don't need to get up. Sit up straight, look away from the screen, let your shoulders drop and do two or three minutes of Box or Triangle Breathing. If you keep forgetting the break, you can set a reminder for a fixed time of day.
How do I do diaphragmatic breathing, and is it in the app?
Put one hand on your chest and the other on your belly, and breathe in slowly through your nose. The hand on your belly should rise while the one on your chest barely moves. Then breathe out a little longer than you breathed in. There is no separate diaphragmatic breathing session in the app, because it is not a technique but the ground the slow techniques share. Coherent Breathing or Deep and Slow are good choices for practising it.
Can children do breathing exercises?
Yes, together with an adult, short and playful: a minute or two, with a slow rhythm and no holds. If you choose "I'm under 13" as the age in the intake quiz, the suggested durations get shorter, and techniques with fast breathing or long holds show a warning.
How does the streak work, and what if I miss a day?
Your streak counts the days in a row with a session, and if you miss one, a streak shield keeps it on its own. You can hold up to three shields at a time and earn new ones as you do sessions. Doing several sessions in one day doesn't speed the streak up: it counts days, not sessions.
My streak broke — can I get it back?
Yes, for a while. On one of the days of the repair period, do 3 sessions or 20 minutes in total in a single day and your streak carries on from where it was. If it doesn't happen in one day, you can try again the next. The repair period gets longer with the length of the broken streak and the effort you put into it, up to two weeks. Each streak can be repaired once.
I'm taking a break for a while — is my streak safe?
Your shields keep the days you miss, one by one, up to three days. If the break lasts longer and the streak breaks, you can repair it when you come back, as long as the repair period hasn't run out. For a long streak you've put effort into, that period can be up to two weeks.
What is a program, and how is it different from a streak?
A streak asks "did you do something today"; a program asks "how many days have you done the same technique for the same length". The measured effects come from the second one. The first program is twenty-eight days, five minutes a day — that is the length used in the study the program is based on.
What if I miss a day in a program?
Missing one day doesn't break the program. If you start missing days in a row the app warns you, and after a certain number the program ends. An ended program isn't deleted: it goes to your history, and how far you got stays there.
Where is my data, and will it show on my other device?
Your session history is kept on your device, and if iCloud is on it syncs in your own iCloud account — so when you sign in on another device your history is there. We have no developer access to that area. Your profile and settings sync too.
On Android your history stays on your device and is backed up to your own Google account by Android's automatic backup; it doesn't sync between devices.
Do I need an internet connection?
No. Sessions, measurement, scoring, programs and notifications all run on the device. The internet is used only for iCloud sync and — if you turned it on — anonymous sharing.
Are there in-app purchases or a subscription?
No. There is nothing sold inside the app and no subscription.
Why do you ask about age and health?
Some techniques involve long holds and fast breathing. If you have a health note, those techniques drop to the bottom of the list and a warning appears next to them. If your age falls in certain ranges, the suggested lengths and round limits change. Both answers are optional and both never leave your device — they are never sent.
What should I do if I feel dizzy during a session?
Stop and go back to your normal breathing. Dizziness, tingling or your vision dimming are not symptoms to push through. If you are in a technique with a long hold, you can skip the hold or shorten it.
Which techniques can I do with asthma, a heart condition or in pregnancy?
If you mark these in the intake, the app moves the riskier techniques to the bottom, shows a warning and lowers some of the limits. Even so, this is not a medical assessment: in these situations, talk to your doctor before starting any exercise.
I'm getting too many notifications, how do I cut them down?
In Settings → Notification options every kind can be turned off separately. You can cap how many arrive in a day, set hours when you don't want to be disturbed, or switch them all off. The app works completely without notifications.
The app feels too busy, or too bare
In Settings → Interface you can move between three levels: Simple, Standard and Advanced. No feature is switched off; only how much information you see changes.
How do I add a widget?
Touch and hold an empty spot on your phone's (or tablet's) Home Screen, tap the plus at the top left and pick Soluklan from the list. For the Lock Screen, touch and hold the clock and go into Customize. Tapping the widget takes you straight to choosing a technique.
What is the rating question at the end of a session, and what is sent?
It comes up now and then if you turned anonymous sharing on: a score out of ten, followed by one more question. Both can be skipped, and you can also send just the score without writing anything. Along with the score, the text you write is sent too and we read it, so don't put anything identifying in the box. Your name, email address and health answers are not sent here either.
How do I delete all my data?
At the bottom of the Profile page there is a Delete my data button. If you confirm, your session history, streak, achievements, milestones, programs, heart rate records and intake answers are deleted. It can't be undone. If you want records you shared anonymously deleted as well, writing to the support address is enough.
What is quick start and how do I use it?
It starts a session without the picker, with the technique and length suggested for you right now, or with today's session if you have a running program. Press and hold Start on the home screen for a second, press and hold the app icon and choose Quick start, or say "Start a breathing session in Soluklan" to Siri. If you always want to start this way, turn it on in Settings → Quick start.
Why didn't my session count?
A session counts if you did a certain share of the planned rounds. The part you need is lightly tinted on the ring in the pause menu. If you end the session before reaching it, the session isn't saved.
How do I do a session on Apple Watch?
The watch app comes with the phone app, and you install it from the Watch app on your iPhone. On the watch, tap Start. The suggested technique and length are already selected, and you can change them from the capsule underneath. The rhythm is tapped on your wrist, and the session carries on even if you lower your arm.
My heart rate doesn't show on the watch. What should I do?
The watch needs Health permission for heart rate: to read your heart rate and to open the session as a workout. It is asked on the watch while Soluklan is open. If you turned it off, on your iPhone go to Health → profile → Privacy → Apps → Soluklan and turn on heart rate and workouts. Only mindful minutes are written to Health, and only if you turn that on in Settings.
Can my sessions be added to Health?
Yes. Turn on Write mindful minutes to Health in Settings → Apple Health. Each session that counts is written to Health as mindful minutes, with its start and end time. We also ask about this once.
Can I share a session or my streak?
Yes. A finished session’s report, the streak screen and the milestone celebration each have a small share icon. A card is made, and you send it wherever you like through your device’s share menu. The card carries no name or anything else that identifies you.
How do I use the phone and the watch together?
Turn on Shared session with Apple Watch in the technique picker and tap Start. A short preparation page appears while the watch opens. Tap I'm ready and both start together. Your breath is measured by the phone and your heart by the watch, and the phone runs the session.
The watch won’t join the shared session. What should I do?
Keep the watch on your wrist and unlocked, and Bluetooth on on your iPhone. Open Soluklan on the watch once yourself and allow health access. Even if it doesn’t connect, the session starts on the phone, and the watch joins if it connects later.
How do I pause a session on the watch, and how do I carry on?
Tap the button at the top left and the pause menu opens. When you close the menu with the cross at the top left, the session carries on from the beginning of the cycle you were on, after a 3-2-1 countdown. From the menu you can also restart the cycle or the session, or end the session.
Why is "Always quick start on Apple Watch" faded?
Your watch is paired with the phone, but Soluklan isn't installed on the watch. Install Soluklan on the watch too from the Watch app on your iPhone, and the switch turns on.
How do I change my own milestone?
Your own milestones sit in a separate list on the milestones card of the streak screen. Tap one: you can change its name, number of days, look and colour, or delete it. Even if you delete it, the My Own Path achievement stays earned.