7 Best Pranayama Breathing Apps for iPhone and iOS

Your entry into the world of pranayama breathing is a smartphone app away. Below, we list our favorite apps for pranayama breathing for iPhone iOS devices.

Practicing pranayama is a great way to improve focus, manage stress, and improve general wellbeing. Studies indicate it can improve autonomic function and reduce stress and anxiety [1]. But those are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to yoga breathing and its benefits.

Regular practice combined with yoga and nasal hygiene has an incredibly long list of physical, spiritual, and mental paybacks. While this sounds exciting in the written word, things are easier 'read' than done. Despite earnest effort, modern life is hectic and scattered.

It can be challenging to cultivate a daily routine, especially if you don’t have easy access to a studio or travel a lot. Enter pranayama apps, technology-based learning resources that make yoga breathing exercises accessible anytime, anywhere.

While there are plenty of guided meditation apps for iPhone, pranayama breathing apps are relatively scarce. However, we've found a handful that can help you learn and incorporate pranayama into your self-care or daily yoga practice.

Summary: Best pranayama apps for iPhone in 2022

1. Pranayama App (Download on iPhone | Read Review)

2. BreatheIn: Calm Breathing App (Download on iPhone | Read Review)

3. Steady: The Breathing App (Download on iPhone | Read Review)

4. Three Minute Mindfulness App (Download on iPhone | Read Review)

5. Breath to Relax Pranayama App (Download on iPhone | Read Review)

6. Insight Timer App (Download on iPhone | Read Review)

7. Universal Breathing Pranayama (Download on iPhone | Read Review)

Here are the best pranayama breathings apps for iPhones with brief reviews.

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1. Pranayama App for iPhone

Pranayama is a great app to learn yoga breathing, improve focus, and calm the nerves. The UI is simple and there are several themes with animations and sounds to choose from. At $1.99, it’s an inexpensive app for iPad and iPhone users (iOS 10.0 or later).

Key Features:

• For iPad, iPhone, and iOS devices

• Basic app for beginners

• Customizable

• No free trial

• Costs $1.99

In a nutshell, there is a list of pranayama exercises with animations for visual guidance and text info describing the practice. You can start with a breathing test to measure your current lung capacity. Based on that, you can set the best time interval for all your breathing exercises.

This pranayama breathing app has a good amount of information regarding yoga poses, hand gestures, and body locks to complement your pranayama practice. As for adjustability, you can toggle vibration, info text, and select music to go along with the breathing exercises.

2. BreatheIn: Calm Breathing App for iPhone

BreatheIn is a basic guided pranayama app for iPhone and iOS devices. Each exercise is accompanied by imagery and calming music. It is easy to use for beginners and those without any knowledge of yoga. However, it's not the best breathing app if you want depth.

Key Features:

• For Android, iPhone, and iOS

• Sleek, minimal GUI

• Motion Animation

• Free trial available

• Monthly and yearly plans

The app includes pranayama breathing exercises like Bhramari and Box Breathing (Sama Vritti Pranayama). It also has non-yoga breathing exercises to ease anxiety like 4-7-8 breathing and coherent breathing. But you only get five exercises – 3 for relaxation and 2 for regeneration.

It's not the best pranayama breathing app out there but it costs less than a dollar, which makes it worth a shot. You can integrate it with Apple Health to get daily reminders and monitor your progress. More importantly, the developer does not collect data from the app.

3. Steady: The Breathing App for iPhone

Steady is an actionable breathing app for iPhone users. It’s our top pick for people who want a clean UI with customizable features. The instructions are not overstuffed with information, nor do they skimp on necessary details. Plus, the free trial lets you decide if it's the best one for you.

Key Features:

• For Android, iPhone, and iOS devices

• User-friendly GUI

• Excellent animation and music

• Easy to navigate

• Free Trial available

• Monthly ($4.99) and Yearly ($20.99) plan

The Steady breathing app has a sleek, clean, and minimalistic user interface. The app is convenient, beautiful, and functional in a desirable way. We particularly love the bite-sized facts, tracking tools, and badges that encourage you to keep going.

You can use four default programs to learn a variety of pranayama breathing exercises. Each exercise is accompanied by an animated pattern for visual guidance and calming music in the background. Besides pranayama, it also includes instructions for several breathing meditations.

The best part is you can customize each program and set daily or monthly goals for yourself. Customizations include themes, voice, and music. If you like what you see in the free trial, you can upgrade to the $4.96 monthly subscription or a $20.99 yearly subscription.

4. Three Minute Mindfulness App for iPhone

This meditation and pranayama breathing app for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. It features short, easy-to-do three-minute exercises to manage stress, reduce anxiety, and sleep better. The app has great reviews and has been featured in The Telegraph, Mashable, and Gizmodo.

Key Features:

• For Android, iPhone, and iOS

• Customizable, elegant UI

• Short 3-minute breathing exercises

• Free Trial with limited access

• Monthly, Semi-Annual, and Yearly

This iPhone app includes breathing exercises, meditations, and a seven-day mindfulness course. The breathing exercises included making it one of the best pranayama apps for iPhone. Plus, you can adjust the speed, voice, and input the time and type of exercise.

All the basic stuff is free to access but there is a paywall for advanced features. You can download the app for free but cannot customize or create breathing exercises. There are three auto-renewing pricing plans to unlock all the features – monthly, semi-annual, and annual.

5. Breath to Relax Pranayama App for iPhone

Breath to Relax is not a pranayama breathing app per se. However, the aim of this app is to create calm and use the breath as a stress management tool. Expect a variety of breathing exercises you can do in 3-10 minutes categorized by type i.e., clear-mind, anti-stress, relax, etc.

Key Features:

• iPhone, and iOS

• 3-minute breathing and meditation

• Customizable, elegant UI

• Free Trial with limited access

• Monthly, Semi-Annual, and Yearly

How does it work? Select a difficulty level, breath type, and select calming background music. You can further customize the inhalation, breath retention, and exhalation time. Follow along with a breathing ball that pulsates in a rhythm.

The pranayama breathing app is customizable, easy to navigate, and offers a good variety. There is a 7-day free trial option to explore the features. After that, you can opt for a monthly ($4.99) or yearly subscription ($24.99). Pricey, but one of the best feature-rich apps in this category.

6. Insight Timer App for iPhone

Insight Timer stands out because of the large (active) user community and 100k+ free meditations, which is by far the most impressive catalog of free content. You can filter the offerings by time (5 to 30+ minutes), style (sleep, stress, focus), and other parameters.

Key Features:

• Available for iPhone and iOs devices

• Meditation app with breathing exercises

• Dozens of meditation styles

• Customizable

• Free version with in-app purchases

Whether you are looking to quell anxiety, manage stress, or fall asleep quicker, Insight Timer has you covered. Although the app doesn't focus on pranayama, there are a variety of breath meditation and breathing exercises to stay centered and improve your quality of life.

It is a flexible app with a simple user interface and structured breathing exercises. The exercises are simple to follow and there is little to fault in the calming sounds in the background. However, the app isn't the most intuitive and requires a premium subscription to gain complete access.

7. Universal Breathing Pranayama App for iPhone

Universal Breathing, created by doctors and app developers, aims to be the most comprehensive resource to learn pranayama and mindful breathing. The depth, UI, and variety make it one of the best apps we encountered. We also loved the customization options and music.

Key Features:

• For iPhone and iPad

• Elegant design and easy to navigate

• Customizable

• Free trial available

• Monthly and yearly subscription

This is one of the most downloaded pranayama breathing apps for iPhone, and for a good reason. You can choose your settings, customize your sessions, and track your progress. The app uses animated visuals and soothing music to guide you through the breathing exercises.

This app has a module to learn breathing from scratch. More importantly, the stellar animation videos display how to perform exercises like Pratiloma and other less common pranayamas. IMO, despite room for improvement, it’s the best pranayama app currently available.

FAQs

Is there a breathing app for iPhone?

There are many yoga breathing and breath meditation apps to learn pranayama. The apps may be free, limited-access, or paid, offering a varying amount of content and features. Paid apps usually have health tracking tools, customization, and guided exercises with visual animation.

How do pranayama apps work?

What are the benefits of using a pranayama breathing app?

Are yoga pranayama apps worth it?

Methodology

Our editorial team and writers spent hours independently researching the best pranayama breathing apps for iPhone. We download and use them while also taking into account other user reviews. For this roundup, we considered 15+ apps before compiling our top picks for 2022. We don't stand to gain any benefit or commissions from our recommendations. Our only goal is to provide trustworthy recommendations to help you level up your yoga practice.

Sources

1. Sengupta, Pallav. "Health impacts of yoga and pranayama: A state-of-the-art review." International journal of preventive medicine 3.7 (2012): 444.