Support
Ungasp is made by one person. If something's broken or you can't work out how to do something, email hello@ungasp.com and you'll get a reply.
1. Follow the orb
The orb grows as you breathe in and shrinks as you breathe out. The arc around its edge fills as each phase runs, so you can see how much of the inhale, hold or exhale is left without reading a number.
2. Tap the orb
Tap it to start. Tap it again to pause, and once more to carry on. You don't need to reach for a button, which matters when your eyes are closed.
3. The practice screen
The pill below the orb shows your current practice. Tap the ⓘ info button to see full phase timings and the science behind it, or tap the repeat badge (like ⟳ ×4) to adjust your rounds. To switch to a different practice, scroll down to the list below and tap any pattern or set. When you're ready, tap Start or tap the orb.
4. Build your own patterns
On the Practice tab, tap + in the bottom-right corner to create a new pattern.
A pattern is a list of phases and you can have as many as you like. Each one is an inhale, an exhale, a hold, a recovery, or a slow exhale you finish with a tap. Set any length from a tenth of a second up to three and a half minutes, give it your own phase name, and set the rounds. Cycle time and total practice time calculate automatically while you build.
5. Chain patterns into sets
A set is a run of patterns, one after another, repeated up to twenty times.
That's how you build a practice that changes as it goes. A gentle warm-up into the hard part. Holds that get longer round by round. Ungasp moves between them and cues every change, so you're breathing instead of watching a clock. If a pattern only makes sense inside a set, turn on Set Only and it stays out of your main list.
6. More options
Tap a practice to select it, then tap ⋯ beside it to get more options. Anything you made yourself can be edited, renamed, duplicated or deleted. With Ungasp Pro you can edit the built-in practices too. They're marked Edited, and Restore Original puts them back. Use Sort to drag your list into the order you want.
7. The CO2 Tolerance Test
This one behaves differently from everything else.
You breathe in, then let the air out as slowly as you can while the screen counts up. When you can't exhale any further, tap the orb. Ungasp records how long you lasted and tells you what that score means. Nothing forces the end of it. The test only stops when you tap.
8. Sound and vibration
Check your phone isn't on silent, or you'll hear nothing.
Every phase has its own sound. Holds open with a low struck bowl tone, and on a hold of thirty seconds or more a soft wood block marks the halfway point so you can pace it without looking. The wood block is deliberately absent from the CO2 test, where it would give the game away. Turn on Vibrations and every phase change has its own feel, which is enough to run a whole session with the screen off. The sound keeps playing when the screen locks, so you can put the phone down and carry on with your practice.
9. Make it yours
Seven colour themes, and the app icon on your home screen changes to match the one you pick.
Under Display and Orb you can set the glow intensity, the background effect and how quickly colours shift between phases. You can also keep the screen awake for a whole session and hide the status bar, so there's nothing on screen but the orb.
10. Back up your practices
Everything you build stays on your phone. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, which is why a backup is worth taking.
Export Practices writes your patterns and sets to a single file you can keep or send to someone. Import Practices reads one back, which is also how you move your practices to a new phone.
11. Daily reminders
In Settings, open Reminders and add up to three, each with its own time and practice. When one arrives, tap it and Ungasp opens with that practice ready to start. If you use a Focus and a reminder doesn't show, check that Focus's notification settings.
Breath holds aren't for everyone. Skip them if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you have epilepsy or uncontrolled high blood pressure. Never practise them in or near water.
Ungasp is a training and wellbeing app. It doesn't diagnose or treat anything. If you have a heart or lung condition, ask your doctor first.
Still stuck? Email hello@ungasp.com