Vol. IV
Breathe a book.
Page by page.
A breathing app that isn't a circle. Open the paperback. The right page lifts on your inhale, suspends on the hold, settles on the exhale. Every third breath turns a page. The pages contain the actual text of a real public-domain book — Thoreau's Walden by default, or Laozi's Tao Te Ching if you'd prefer. A few minutes, a few pages, a calmer day.
i.What it does
- Open the app. A paperback sits on screen, opened to where you left off.
- Tap the cover. It opens. A soft haptic, a small amber circle, the word inhale — and you begin to breathe.
- Every third breath turns a page. Real corner-curl, timed to the inhale.
- Pick your pattern (box 4-4-4-4 or relaxation 4-7-8) and the number of breaths (5, 10, 15, or 20).
- Switch between Walden and the Tao Te Ching in Settings; each book keeps its own place.
- Progress syncs across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac via iCloud.
ii.Quiet mode
If the text is too much, switch to Quiet mode in Settings. A small paperback sits in the middle of the screen — two blank pages with abstract line-patterns that read as prose from a distance. Same breath pacing. Same page-turn on every third breath. No text to chase. Just you and the book, breathing together.
iii.What it doesn't do
- No voice, no chime, no "well done."
- No mindfulness course, no coach, no subscription.
- No streak, no graphs, no "days since you meditated."
- No account, no tracking, no ads.
- No push notifications.
iv.About the books
Both texts are fully in the public domain and sourced from Project Gutenberg. They are embedded in the app; nothing is downloaded.
- Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854) — the default. Eighteen long essays from the cabin by the pond. At a few pages per session, a year of daily practice carries you through the whole book.
- Laozi, Tao Te Ching, translated by James Legge (1891) — the shorter alternative. Eighty-one short verse-like chapters. A week or two of daily sessions reads the entire classic — and then again, because it rewards a second and third pass.
v.Get it
$2.99. Requires iOS 17 or later.
Made quietly by sthreelabs.