How Stillee works
How Stillee's breathing works
Stillee's breathing is four Shapes, named for what they do: the Circuit Breaker, the Daily Practice, the Wind-Down and the Activator. Cyclic sighing is the default, the same breath you meet in the panic flow, and the one with a randomized trial behind it.
Four Shapes, named for what they do
Yoga-manual names tell you nothing when you're tense, so each Shape is named for the job. You choose from Today, where the breathing row offers calm, sleep, focus and just breathe, in the order that fits the hour. After 9 PM, sleep comes first.
| Shape | You find it under | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Breaker | Calm, sixty seconds | An acute downshift. Cyclic sighing, with the exhale as the long part. |
| Daily Practice | Calm, five minutes | The daily one. Five minutes of cyclic sighing, as the Stanford trial tested it. |
| Wind-Down | Sleep, before bed or the middle of the night | A slow extended exhale, with the screen dimming as you go. |
| Activator | Focus, activate | Energy for a flat afternoon. A short, brisk breath, behind a safety screen. |
Just breathe, the fourth tile, is one tap and no questions. It runs the Circuit Breaker's cyclic sighing.
Why cyclic sighing is the default
The default is the technique with the best evidence, so you learn one breath and use it everywhere. Cyclic sighing is two short inhales through the nose and one long exhale. In a Stanford study, 108 adults practiced one of three breathing exercises or mindfulness meditation for five minutes a day over a month. The sighing group improved most on mood and lowered their breathing rate more than the meditation group did.
The limits matter. The study was remote, so the authors had little control over how long or how well people practiced. It tested a daily practice, not use during a panic attack or at night. The authors say daily cyclic sighing "has promise" as a stress management exercise.
The other Shapes each have their own job: a long exhale to wind down before bed, a brisker rhythm when you need to focus.
The full account of the Stanford trial is in Cyclic sighing, explained.
What a session looks like
A session is a slow orb, a pulse in your hand and almost no words. The orb grows with the inhale and shrinks with the exhale. Your phone buzzes in a different rhythm for each Shape, so you can follow it with your eyes closed or the phone face-down. A caption changes every few breaths: "two in. one long out." "Nothing to fix." The voice is optional, and so are the haptics.
If the breath isn't helping, the "this isn't helping" link is always on screen. It offers other doors: name what you see, cold water, a slow walk, or call a person you trust. We think "this isn't working" is information, not failure.
Endings are plain. The Circuit Breaker says "that was the whole thing." The Activator says "drink water before your next thing."
The safety layer
Breathwork isn't uniformly safe, so we built a screen for it. Fast, energizing breathing can bring on light-headedness, and breath-holds can set off panic in people prone to it.
- The Activator comes with rules. The first time you open it, a screen asks you to sit down, not to do it while driving, to stop if you feel dizzy, and to skip it with a heart condition, a pregnancy, or panic attacks that come easily. "Not for me today" is one tap.
- A way out in the middle. The Activator keeps a "not feeling right? tap here" line on screen.
- Defaults that adjust. If you've told us about panic, we don't hand you a breath-hold. Pregnancy gets gentler defaults. When we swap a breath, a short note says so. There is no mouth-taping content anywhere in the app.
At 3 AM
Breathing has a 3 AM mode of its own: a pitch-black screen, pacing you feel in your hand, no clock, and it stops on its own. It is covered on the 3 AM mode page.
What it won't do
- It isn't a treatment. Breathing can slow you down in the moment. It doesn't treat panic disorder, anxiety, insomnia or any other condition, and Stillee is not therapy, a diagnosis, a medical device or a crisis service.
- If attacks are frequent, or breathing makes you feel worse, see a clinician.
- If panic is happening now, the panic flow is free and one tap away.
What's free
Every breathing exercise is free, whichever Shape you pick.
- Free, forever
- The panic flow · The 3 AM mode and the 3 AM tracks · The breathing Shapes · Your journal · After the Wave, from the Sound Bath shelf
- Premium
- $3.33 a month, billed $39.90 a year, or $6.99 month to month. Free trial on the yearly plan in the App Store. Cancel anytime. Adds: Every program, including the full 8-week MBSR course · The sleep library and the Sound Bath shelf · The deeper insights.
- Where it runs
- iPhone today. Android is planned.
FAQ
Are Stillee's breathing exercises free?
Yes. Every breathing exercise is free, whichever Shape you pick, and so are the panic flow and the 3 AM mode. Nothing about breathing sits behind a paywall. The full library of guided tracks and the programs are part of Premium.
What is cyclic sighing?
Two short inhales through the nose, then one long exhale. In a Stanford trial, five minutes a day for a month improved mood and lowered breathing rate more than mindfulness meditation. It tested a daily practice in adults who signed up remotely, not use during panic.
Is breathwork safe for everyone?
No. Fast breathing can cause dizziness, and breath-holds can trigger panic in some people. That's why the Activator opens with a safety screen and skips breath-holds for anyone who has told us about panic. If you have a heart condition or are pregnant, skip the Activator.
Can I do it without looking at the screen?
Yes. Each Shape has its own buzz pattern, so you can follow the breath by feel with your eyes closed or the phone face-down. The orb and captions are there if you want them. Haptics can be switched off, and the voice is optional.
References
- [1] Balban MY et al. Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal. Cell Reports Medicine 2023;4(1):100895. Link