Spoiler alert: These are the colors of the six levels.

What if a meditation app didnt ask you to focus on your breathing? What if you didnt have to listen to someones voice telling you what to think about? A new meditation app, Sway, takes a different approach.

Instead, Sway (iOS, $2.99) connects your mind and body by asking you to move your phone slowly and continuously. When you do, it plays soothing sounds and undulates a colorful landscape on your screen. If you move too fast or too slow, it chimes and asks if youre ready to end the session.

Ive tried a lot of meditation apps, and Sway is the most beautiful Ive seen. The aesthetic comes from UsTwo, the same people who designed the achingly gorgeous Monument Valley game. And I love that it doesnt ask me to focus on my breathing, because when I do that my nose always starts to feel weird.

To keep you coming back, Sway has six levels, and you can only unlock one each day. If you miss a day, you backtrack a level. On the first day, you meet your goal (announced with a gentle chime) after just three minutes. The next day, it takes four. Then six, then 10, and finally 20 minutes. The apps makers hope you build a 20-minute-a-day habit.

The levels have different colors and, I think, different soundscapes. Each level introduces a different idea, too. At first, you just move your phone. In the second level, youre encouraged to look away from the screen (pretty as it is) and use sound from your headphones as your feedback. My favorite was the level called Balance, where you walk as slowly as possible, challenging yourself to stay steady even while youre on one foot. Youre just walking, but mindfully.

You may feel a little self conscious Swaying while waiting for the bus, although happily it works just fine to have the phone in your pocket while youre walking from place to place. In any case, this app is a novel way to meditate that is easy on the eyes and the ears.

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Sway Is a Beautiful Meditation App That Doesn't Tell You What to Think - Lifehacker Australia