A Deep Breath

For the press A Deep Breath — press kit

A Deep Breath is a breathing app that isn't a circle. The right page of a paperback lifts on your inhale, suspends on the hold, settles on the exhale. Every third breath turns a page — of Thoreau's Walden or Laozi's Tao Te Ching, embedded in the app from Project Gutenberg. Made quietly by sthreelabs.

All materials on this page are free to use in editorial coverage of A Deep Breath. Please credit sthreelabs.

i.Quick facts

ii.One-paragraph description

A Deep Breath visualizes breathing as the page of a real paperback lifting and settling. Open the app; tap the cover; choose a pattern (4-4-4-4 box or 4-7-8 relaxation) and a session length (5, 10, 15, or 20 breaths). Every third breath turns a page of Thoreau's Walden or Laozi's Tao Te Ching — both embedded in the app from Project Gutenberg, picking up where you left off across iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

iii.Longer description (for editorial use)

Most breathing apps animate a circle, dot, or expanding ball — abstractions of breath. A Deep Breath uses a metaphor more familiar than that: a paperback book opened on the screen, with the right page rising and falling in time with your breath.

Tap the closed cover. It opens. A small amber circle and the word inhale appear, and the right page begins to lift. Hold at the top. The page settles on the exhale. Every third breath, the corner curls and the page actually turns — revealing the next passage of the book you're breathing through.

The pattern is yours: 4-4-4-4 box breathing or 4-7-8 relaxation. The length is yours: 5, 10, 15, or 20 breaths. The book is yours: Walden by default for long-form essay reading, or the Tao Te Ching for short verses that reward repetition. Both are embedded in the app — nothing is downloaded — and each keeps its own bookmark.

For sessions where the text is too much, Quiet mode replaces it with abstract line patterns that read as prose from a distance. Same paperback. Same page-turn cadence. Just no words to chase.

It's part of the small paperback family of apps under the sthreelabs label, alongside Tallies (habit counter), A Spell of Work (focus timer), and One Line in Time (one-line journal).

iv.What's distinctive

1. The metaphor. Breath as a page of a real book lifting and settling — not a generic circle or expanding dot. It maps a familiar physical motion onto the breath, which is the entire UX win.
2. Embedded literature. Two full public-domain texts (Thoreau's Walden and Laozi's Tao Te Ching) are part of the app, not downloads. A few minutes of daily practice gets you through real books over weeks or months.
3. Quiet mode. A text-free version with abstract line patterns, for sessions where you want the breathing rhythm without reading. Often the journalist's lead angle — it's the most photographable feature.

v.Features (positive list)

• Paperback page rises on inhale, holds, and settles on exhale
• Every third breath turns a page with a real corner-curl animation
• Two breathing patterns: 4-4-4-4 (box) and 4-7-8 (relaxation)
• Session lengths: 5, 10, 15, or 20 breaths
• Two embedded books from Project Gutenberg: Thoreau's Walden (1854) and Laozi's Tao Te Ching (Legge translation, 1891)
• Each book keeps its own bookmark
• Quiet mode — abstract line patterns instead of text
• iCloud sync of reading progress across iPhone, iPad, Mac
• Light, dark, and follow-system appearance

vi.What it deliberately doesn't do

• No voice, no chime, no "well done."
• No mindfulness course, no coach, no curriculum.
• No streaks, no graphs, no "days since you meditated."
• No subscription, no in-app purchases — paid once, yours forever.
• No account, no analytics, no third-party SDKs, no ads, no push notifications.

vii.Screenshots

High-resolution PNGs. Free to use in editorial coverage. Click any thumbnail to download.

viii.App icon

1024 × 1024 PNG. Two variants — light (default) and dark.

ix.Brand reference

A Deep Breath (and all sthreelabs marketing) uses the paperback design language. If you'd like to color-match in editorial graphics:

Typography: Crimson Pro (300–600 weights, italics) for body and headings. JetBrains Mono 400 for numerals and small caps.

x.Pull-quotes (use freely)

Lines from the listing copy that are designed to drop cleanly into editorial.

xi.About sthreelabs

sthreelabs is a one-person studio making small, quiet iOS apps. Every app is paid once, has no notifications, collects no data, and is deliberately scoped to do one thing well. A Deep Breath is part of the paperback collection — alongside Tallies (habit counter), A Spell of Work (focus timer), and One Line in Time (one-line journal).

Made quietly by Christopher Doherty.

xii.Press contact

Christopher Doherty — [email protected]

Press inquiries usually answered within 24 hours. Promo codes available on request for review purposes.

Made quietly by sthreelabs.