I
am
not
a
chill
person,
but
I
would
like
to
be.
It’s
why
I
keep
trying
various
meditation
tech,
breathing
in
and
out
as
abstract
graphics
or
disembodied
voices
guide
me
to
a
higher
state
of
being.
Or
that’s
what
would
happen
if
most
meditation
tech
worked
for
me.
So
trust
me
when
I
say
I
expected
nothing
from
Headspace
XR.
When
the
pandemic
struck,
meditation
and
mindfulness
apps
like
Headspace
were
everywhere.
Totally
makes
sense.
Yet
meditating
in
VR?
It
sounds
ridiculous.
Why
would
I
breathe
in
a
headset
when
I
could
just...
not.
But
you
never
know!
Things
could
surprise
you!
That’s
why
I,
the
meditation
skeptic,
agreed
to
try
a
demo
of
Headspace
XR.
Walking
into
Meta’s
New
York
office,
I
thought
I’d
stick
on
the
headset
and
nod
politely
while
strangers
mulled
around
watching
me
wear
a
Quest
3
and
breathe
deeply.
Technically,
that
is
what
happened,
but
I
was
surprised
that
I
actually
enjoyed
what
I
was
seeing
inside
the
headset.
Headspace
XR
is
what
you’d
get
if
you
took
the
Headspace
app
and
turned
it
into
a
virtual
playground.
You
walk
around
as
an
abstract,
gender
neutral
avatar
and
there
are
different
locations
you
can
go
to
and...
play.
There’s
a
bunch
of
“fountains”
where
you
pick
up
colorful
orbs
and
throw
them
at
walls
—
or
breathe
and
inhale
the
colors
into
your
avatar.
There’s
a
place
called
the
Energy
Dome
where
you
go
and
wave
your
arms
around
while
tracing
shapes.
The
best
I
can
describe
it
is
if
Beat
Saber
and
tai
chi
had
a
baby.
I’m
sure
I
looked
goofy
from
the
outside,
but
inside
the
Energy
Dome
I
was
having
a
good
time.
It’s
kind
of
like
gamifying
tai
chi.GIF:
Meta
You
can
also
pull
up
a
little
map
to
view
all
the
areas
within
this
mental
health
playground.
A
giant
mood
stream,
where
six
balloons
with
faces
representing
various
emotions
await
you.
Touching
one
will
tailor
the
experience
to
whether
you’re
feeling
happy,
sad,
bored,
anxious,
angry,
or
lonely.
There’s
a
mural
with
slingshots
lined
up
in
front
of
it
that
you
fling
virtual
balls
of
paint
at
that
eventually
uncover
a
message.
(At
my
demo,
it
was
“Be
present.”)
There’s
actually
a
lot
of
slingshots.
At
one
point,
we
were
encouraged
to
just
fling
balls
through
giant
shapes
in
the
sky
—
breathing
in
when
you
pull
back
and
exhaling
when
you
let
’er
rip.
You
can
also
invite
friends
to
come
hang
out
with
you
in
various
“public”
spaces
and
club
houses.
The
most
traditional
experience
I
tried
was
visiting
the
Boxy
Treehouse.
It’s
a
virtual
tree
house
at
sunset
where
you
can
see
a
visualization
of
box
breathing,
a
deep
breathing
technique
to
calm
the
nervous
system.
The
whole
thing
felt
like
a
pill
pocket
for
meditation.
But
instead
of
hiding
medicine
in
a
treat
for
your
pets,
you’re
learning
meditation
skills
through
playing
games.
That’s
by
design.
Headspace
XR
is
built
like
a
virtual
playground
for
meditation
and
mindfulness.Image:
Meta
“There
are
five
pillars
of
mindfulness
that
we
talked
about
specifically
at
Headspace.
There’s
meditate,
move,
eat,
sleep,
and
play.
Play,
to
me,
is
something
that
we
could
really,
really
access
in
the
world
of
VR,
that
was
tough
to
access
in
the
world
of
2D,”
says
Sara
Cohen,
vice
president
of
content
creation
at
Headspace.
Another
feature
launching
in
Headspace
XR
is
more
mixed
reality
experiences.
I
didn’t
get
to
try
this
during
the
demo,
but
I
was
told
that
they’re
designed
to
let
you
interact
with
your
actual
surroundings.
For
example,
one
lets
you
draw
a
window
in
your
room
and
a
guided
visualization
lets
you
see
positive
energy
bubbles
fly
through
that
window
and
into
your
space.
There
are
a
few
mixed
reality
experiences
in
Headspace
XR,
too.
This
one
also
visualizes
box
breathing.GIF:
Meta
“The
idea
is
to
bring
the
practice
into
your
everyday
life.
Because
it’s
not
so
much
about
techniques
and
exercises.
Mindfulness
is
really
a
lifestyle,”
says
Kessonga
Giscombe,
one
of
Headspace’s
mindfulness
and
meditation
teachers.
“It’s
the
same
thing
with
the
XR
experience.”
That’s
a
good
sentiment,
though
I’m
still
skeptical
about
meditating
in
VR
overall.
Last
week,
I
tried
the
Mindfulness
app
in
the
Apple
Vision
Pro
and
that
typical
“Look
at
these
shapes
and
breathe
gratefully”
experience
never
resonated
with
me.
So
as
a
meditation
skeptic,
there’s
something
to
Headspace
XR’s
approach
that
feels
fresh.
I
would
try
it
again.
That’s
even
though
a
part
of
me
knows
I’m
being
fed
something
good
in
the
guise
of
a
game.
But
if
it’s
good
for
me,
and
I
enjoy
it,
does
it
really
matter
how
I
get
there?
Original author: Victoria Song
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