Choosing a technique and a length
What the marks on the technique list mean, what the lit band on the length slider is for, and the round selector that replaces length in Kapalabhati.
6 min read
The list that opens when you tap Start isn't in a random order. Every mark on it means something.
The marks on the cards
"Suggested for you" and a turning light. The card at the top of the list. It is chosen from your goal, the time of day, your recent sessions and what you have already done today. It doesn't have to be the same every time you open it.
"Program" and an amber light. If you have a program running and haven't done that day's session, the program's technique moves to the top and is marked in a separate colour.
A yellow or red tint. There is a warning on that technique. Yellow is usually about the time of day ("not suitable for the night"); red is about your health notes or your age. The technique isn't hidden, only marked.
A technique with a warning isn't suggested: it doesn't get the "Suggested for you" or "Suggestion" badge. You can still pick it if you want, and its warning stays on the card. At night, both the Energizing Breath and Right Nostril Breathing show with the yellow tint.
A padlock and a number like "0/4". The technique isn't open yet. Tap it and it shows what is needed and the shortest way there.
Cards that look faded. You are on the Simple interface and that technique isn't being suggested to you.
A closed card says briefly what the technique is for. Tap it and a slightly more detailed description takes its place, with the length picker opening underneath.
The length slider
The lit band above the slider is the range suggested for you. It is built from your experience, the scores of your recent sessions, your completion rate for that technique, the time of day and your streak.
You don't have to stay inside the band: it is a suggestion, not a rule.
While the slider is inside the band, a Suggested length badge appears on the card.
Underneath are four preset buttons. How far you can go depends on the technique: twenty minutes on Coherent Breathing. Fifteen minutes on Deep and Slow, Extended Exhale, Ocean Breath, Pursed Lip Breathing and Alternate Nostril Breathing. Ten minutes on Box Breathing, Triangle Breathing, Humming Bee Breath, Cooling Breath, Left Nostril Breathing and, because it has a program, the Physiological Sigh. Five minutes on 4-7-8 and Right Nostril Breathing. On the Energizing Breath the upper limit is one minute.
As the slider enters the suggested range from outside, it settles on the range’s edge with a haptic of its own. Inside the range it moves freely.
On techniques that can go past ten minutes, the part of the track beyond ten minutes is a slightly different colour: that is the long-session zone. When you cross that line in either direction, the slider resists a little and gives a light haptic.
The suggested range only goes past ten minutes once you start finishing long sessions on that technique with a good rhythm.
On the Advanced interface, a line under the slider also tells you why the range is where it is.
When a program takes over the length
If you pick the technique of a program you have running, the length is locked: the program's daily length applies, and a line under the slider says so.
If you start from Do today's session on the Programs screen, the length picker doesn't appear at all — you go straight into the session.
Rounds instead of length in Kapalabhati
In this technique you choose rounds, not length. One round means twenty-five fast breaths followed by half a minute of normal breathing.
The presets are 1, 2, 3 and 5 rounds. You can also pick 4 by dragging the bar.
If you have a health note, or if you are over sixty-five or under thirteen, the upper limit drops to 3 rounds and the reason is written under the round selector.
The first session of the technique is always a single round, twenty breaths, and slower.
Your own pace
When you pick Coherent Breathing a line appears underneath: you can measure your own resonance pace and have Coherent run at it. Once measured, the value you found is used instead of five and a half seconds.
Quick start
Without stopping at the picker, you go straight into a session with the technique and length suggested for you right now. If you have a running program and haven't done today's session, you get the program's technique and length. Before the countdown the screen says what's starting.
A session started with quick start lasts ten minutes at most. For a longer one, choose the length yourself in the picker.
There are several ways to quick start:
- Press and hold Start on the home screen. After a second the session starts.
- Settings → Quick start → Always quick start on the phone. With this on, the circle on the home screen says "Quick start" and quick starts on every tap. When you want to pick the technique yourself, press and hold the circle and the picker opens.
- The app icon. Press and hold the Soluklan icon on the Home Screen and choose Quick start from the menu. In the same menu, Technique picker opens the picker and Set up a program opens Programs. If you have a running program, its card comes up straight away.
- Siri. Say "Start a breathing session in Soluklan".
- Control Center, the Lock Screen and the Action button. On iOS 18 and later you can add Soluklan's Quick start button to Control Center or the Lock Screen, and assign it to the Action button on phones that have one.
- The outer screen of a foldable iPhone. While the phone is folded, the circle on the home screen always quick starts.
- Apple Watch. Always quick start on Apple Watch in the same section turns the watch's Start into quick start too. The watch doesn't need to be connected at that moment for this: it is enough that Soluklan is installed on your paired watch. The details are in Soluklan on Apple Watch.
When you switch to the Simple interface, quick start turns on by itself on the phone and on the watch.
Ignoring the suggestion
All of this is a suggestion. If you want a different technique, pick it; take the length outside the band; you can do any unlocked technique at any time. The app notes your choice and tunes its next suggestions accordingly.