The Great Music Debate: Why You Can’t Choose Your Own Music
Today I’d like to take some time to address the issue of music in our Health through Breath – Pranayama app. We’ve had more than a few users, and even a couple reviewers mention that they’d like the option to choose their own music to listen to while going through our breathing exercises. Seems harmless right? It’s completely understandable that people want to listen to their favorite music while meditating, breathing, relaxing, etc., and we’re not necessarily saying it’s not going to happen. However, we do want to take a minute to explain why music is so important to the function and effectiveness of our app.
Pranayama relies on two things to be as effective as it is: music and animation. Animation allows our users to see the physical form, function, and flow of deep breathing. It’s used to show you how to breathe deeply using your diaphragm and show you what’s taking place in your body as you breathe. It’s used to show you how to control your breathing and it helps you settle into your breathing rhythm.
Music is the force which drives you through the various stages of breathing and it’s also what we use to help condition your breathing habits. After all, the kind of shallow chest breathing that most of us engage in is nothing more than a bad habit. Our app is designed to help you unlearn your bad breathing habits and encourage the development of new, good habits. We do this largely through our music. The rise and fall of each musical tone clearly illustrates the beginning and end of each part of the breathing cycle. The music conditions your mind and body and directs your advancement through the various breathing patterns. Once you’ve mastered our app, you’re taking 0.97 breaths per minute. The music is what gets you to that level.
Moreover, The distinct musical cues are what allow you to close your eyes and focus on your breathing, relaxation, and meditation. The music allows you to put down your smart phone or iPad, and step away from your computer (ever used the app sprawled out on the floor?). Without the musical cues, the animation would be much less useful. In fact, the musical cues are really what make the app a powerful (and mobile) tool for meditation, relaxation, and so on.
So then, why don’t we allow you to pick your own music? After all, you could certainly argue that having the ability to pick your own music might increase how much you enjoy the app, make it more useful, or make any number of valid points. We don’t necessarily disagree. The thing is, as I’ve just explained, Pranayama‘s music is really what makes it go. Without the distinct musical cues to alert you to changes in the breathing pattern, what use do you have for the app? At that point you’re just listening to your own music and breathing along with it.
Because Pranayama is a guided breathing app, and as such we are hesitant to allow users to pick music which replaces our own. We are afraid that it will result in users not getting as much (or anything) out of the application. We are, however, open to ideas. For instance we have entertained the idea that users might be able to pick music which runs behind ours, but not in place of ours. For example if you enjoy meditating to the soothing sounds of a thunderstorm or a babbling brook, then I think it’s not unreasonable that the two can work together. We want to hear your ideas!
Please feel free to comment below or to contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with any and all comments, questions, concerns, ideas, etc., that you may have. We are committed to making our app the best it can be and we can’t do it without your help and support!
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