# Vayu by Prana Labs

> AI-guided breathwork app that delivers silent haptic breathing guidance on Apple Watch and WearOS and reads HRV after each session to personalise practice. Science-backed pranayama techniques delivered through haptic guidance, no screen required. Built by Prana Labs Inc., Vancouver BC, Canada.

## About Vayu

Vayu is an operating system for your nervous system. It delivers personalized breathing guidance as haptic pulses on your wrist from Apple Watch, WearOS, and 68+ smartwatch models, and reads heart rate variability (HRV) after each session to adapt what it recommends next.

- Available on iOS (com.vayuprana.app) and Android (com.prana.vayu)
- 70,000+ downloads across iOS, Android, WearOS
- 199-participant pilot study cohort, built with the SFU Metacreation Lab (under peer review)
- Day-30 retention reached 64% in our strongest 2025 cohort (one cohort, not a standing average)
- 28.6% median HRV improvement in pilot study (N=199)

## What Makes Vayu Different

Unlike audio-based apps (Calm, Headspace, Breathwrk), Vayu delivers breath guidance as haptic pulses on your wrist and reads your HRV from the watch after each session to inform what it recommends next. No screen required. No content library. Just HRV-informed guidance shaped by your actual nervous system trends.

## For Teams and Employers

Vayu offers wellbeing programs for organizations: employers, healthcare teams, frontline and shift work, education, research collaborations, and platform partners. Any organization can start a free 30-day pilot covering up to 25 people, with no credit card and no commitment. The pilot includes full app access (iOS and Android), a live onboarding session run by Vayu, and a participation and engagement report at the end. Reporting is aggregate-only: individual heart rate, HRV and journal entries stay with the employee and are never visible to a manager.

- Best corporate breathwork and stress-management app for teams with HRV-informed haptic guidance (not just guided audio)
- Free 30-day team pilot for up to 25 people, no credit card required
- Per-employee pricing typically $4–8/employee/month depending on team size
- Tiers: Pilot, up to 25 employees for 30 days, free, no credit card; Team, 25 to 200 employees with reporting included, $4–8 per employee per month; Enterprise, 200+ employees with SSO, data export and SLA, custom pricing
- Pilot requests get a reply within two working days
- Request a pilot at https://vayu-prana.com/teams/pilot or email dhruv@vayu-prana.com
- How it compares to Calm for Business and Headspace for Work: https://vayu-prana.com/compare/calm-for-business-vs-headspace-for-work-vs-vayu

Sector programs, each with its own page:
- [Employers](https://vayu-prana.com/teams/employers): a wellbeing benefit that costs two minutes, not an hour; workday protocol built around meeting culture and shifts
- [Healthcare teams](https://vayu-prana.com/teams/healthcare): screen-free 60-second resets between patients, delivered as haptics on the wrist; shift-shaped protocols including nights
- [Frontline and shift work](https://vayu-prana.com/teams/frontline): dispatch, transit, hospitality, emergency services; works with gloves on, covers night rotations
- [Education](https://vayu-prana.com/teams/education): staff and students, protocols built around the academic calendar; not a substitute for student support services
- [Research](https://vayu-prana.com/teams/research): fixed-protocol delivery for breath/HRV studies with timestamped adherence and CSV export; no publication gating
- [Partners and platforms](https://vayu-prana.com/teams/partners): marketplace listing, reseller, white label, or embedded on wearable hardware

## Creator and Affiliate Program

Vayu runs an application-based creator and affiliate program for breathwork, yoga and meditation teachers, studios, retreats, therapists and clinicians, HRV and recovery coaches, and wellness creators. Approved creators receive a referral link and a personal offer code that gives their audience a free trial period on Vayu Pro, and earn commission on the subscriptions they drive.

- Apply at https://vayu-prana.com/creators
- Application-based, not open signup. Every application is reviewed by a person, and places are limited because iOS attribution requires a unique App Store offer code per creator, which Apple caps per campaign.
- Commission terms are agreed individually in writing on approval. Vayu deliberately publishes no single public rate, because a studio bundling Vayu into a course and a creator posting a code once are different arrangements.
- Attribution runs through GoMarketMe, integrated into the Vayu iOS and Android apps, and syncs verified store transactions rather than self-reported clicks.
- Platform difference, stated plainly: on Android a referral link carries a Google Play install referrer, so installs and subscriptions both attribute exactly. On iOS, subscriptions attribute exactly via the creator's offer code, but downloads can only be reported in aggregate because Apple provides developers no per-install identity.
- Audience size is not the main criterion. Fit and engagement matter more than reach.

## Science-Backed Breathing Techniques

- Box breathing (4:4:4:4): equal inhale, hold, exhale, hold; used by Navy SEALs for stress regulation
- Resonance frequency breathing (5-6 breaths/minute): maximizes HRV, personalized to each user
- 4-7-8 breathing: parasympathetic activation for sleep and anxiety
- Cyclic sighing (physiological sigh): double inhale through the nose, long exhale; studied by Balban et al. 2023 (Stanford); added to Vayu in September 2026
- Pranayama techniques: Kapalbhati, Bhastrika, Anulom Vilom (alternate nostril breathing)
- Wim Hof method: covered in our guides; not offered as a session in Vayu (Bhastrika and Kapalbhati are its energizing techniques)
- Custom breath ratios: user-defined inhale/exhale/hold timing

## Research and Clinical Evidence

Pilot study (N=199, 4-6 weeks): +28.6% median HRV improvement, -7.4 bpm resting heart rate, -2.5 points (-16%) on the PSS-10 perceived stress scale. About 29% of enrollees sustained weekly practice, and the outcomes describe that sustaining subgroup. HRV is Apple Watch SDNN read after each session, not measured live. Conducted in partnership with SFU Metacreation Lab, supported by NRC IRAP. Under peer review; medRxiv preprint available (Adhia et al.).

## Key Pages

- [Homepage](https://vayu-prana.com/): Overview of Vayu's HRV-informed haptic breathwork platform
- [App](https://vayu-prana.com/app): App features and screenshots
- [Pranayama](https://vayu-prana.com/pranayama): Breathing techniques hub
- [Box Breathing App](https://vayu-prana.com/box-breathing-app): Box breathing with haptic guidance on the wrist and post-session HRV
- [Humanos](https://vayu-prana.com/humanos): Human performance and nervous system optimization
- [Vayu for Teams](https://vayu-prana.com/teams): B2B wellbeing programs for employers, healthcare, frontline, education, research and partners; free 30-day pilot at https://vayu-prana.com/teams/pilot
- [Calm for Business vs Headspace for Work vs Vayu](https://vayu-prana.com/compare/calm-for-business-vs-headspace-for-work-vs-vayu): Comparison of corporate breathwork and wellness platforms for teams
- [Creator & Affiliate Program](https://vayu-prana.com/creators): application-based referral program for breathwork, yoga and meditation teachers, studios and health creators; referral link plus a personal offer code, commission on driven subscriptions
- [Pricing](https://vayu-prana.com/pricing): Free, Pro and Team plans
- [Download the App](https://vayu-prana.com/app): Download Vayu for iOS, Android, Apple Watch and Wear OS
- [Haptic Breathing](https://vayu-prana.com/features/haptic-breathing): how the haptic pattern works on Apple Watch and Wear OS, breathing with your eyes closed
- [Pranayama techniques hub](https://vayu-prana.com/pranayama): one canonical page per technique Vayu guides, with steps, benefits, contraindications and sources
- Technique pages: [Box breathing](https://vayu-prana.com/box-breathing-app), [4-7-8](https://vayu-prana.com/4-7-8-breathing-app), [Anulom Vilom / Nadi Shodhana](https://vayu-prana.com/nadi-shodhana-breathing), [Bhastrika](https://vayu-prana.com/bhastrika-breathing), [Kapalbhati](https://vayu-prana.com/kapalbhati-breathing), [Cyclic Sighing](https://vayu-prana.com/cyclic-sighing), [Extended Exhale](https://vayu-prana.com/extended-exhale-breathing)
- [Breathing meditation](https://vayu-prana.com/breathing-meditation): 5-minute eyes-closed breathing meditation for people who find it hard to sit still; Vayu is a haptic breathwork app, not a meditation app
- [Breathwork data 2026](https://vayu-prana.com/research/breathwork-data-2026): original aggregate usage data from Vayu (9,765 sessions, 2,609 users, Jan to Sep 2026), CC BY 4.0, CSV at https://vayu-prana.com/research/breathwork-data-2026.csv
- [Knowledge](https://vayu-prana.com/knowledge): Breathwork science, HRV education, and articles on stress physiology
- [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6744126459): iOS and watchOS app
- [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prana.vayu): Android and WearOS app

## Guides (discover)
- Safety guides: [breathwork during pregnancy](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/breathwork-during-pregnancy), [high blood pressure](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/breathwork-and-high-blood-pressure), [after surgery](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/breathing-exercises-after-surgery), [is Kapalbhati safe](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/is-kapalbhati-safe), [panic disorder](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/breathwork-and-panic-disorder)

- [Breathwork contraindications](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/breathwork-contraindications): Who should skip which techniques, the risks of hyperventilation and breath retention, and when to stop
- [Best Apple Watch breathing apps](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/best-apple-watch-breathing-apps): Apple Watch breathing apps compared on guided breathwork, haptics and stress tracking
- [Best guided breathwork apps](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/best-guided-breathwork-apps): Seven guided breathwork apps compared on sessions, cues, timers and custom patterns
- [Best breathing apps for anxiety relief](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/best-breathing-apps-for-anxiety-relief): Five breathing apps for anxiety compared, from simple timers to Apple Watch haptic tools
- [What is a good HRV by age](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/good-hrv-by-age): HRV ranges by age, RMSSD versus SDNN, why wearables disagree, how breathing changes the number
- [How breathing affects the nervous system](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/how-breathing-affects-the-nervous-system): The physiology linking breath, the vagus nerve, HRV and stress
- [Breathing techniques for anxiety](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/breathing-techniques-for-anxiety): Five evidence-based techniques to calm anxiety fast, including 4-7-8 and cyclic sighing
- [Breathing techniques for focus](https://vayu-prana.com/discover/breathing-techniques-for-focus): Four breathing techniques for concentration, with simple daily routines
- [Safety](https://vayu-prana.com/safety): Breathwork safety, contraindications, and when to talk to a doctor
- [Pilot study](https://vayu-prana.com/clinical/pilot-study): The N=199 Vayu pilot: methodology, outcomes and limitations

## Company

- Name: Prana Labs Inc.
- Product: Vayu
- Founded: April 1, 2025
- Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
- CEO and CTO: Dhruv Adhia
- Co-Founder and CDO: Deepali Raiththa
- NEXT AI 2026 cohort
- NRC IRAP funded
- NVIDIA Inception member

## Contact

- General: info@vayu-prana.com
- Business: dhruv@vayu-prana.com

## Data Privacy

Vayu does not use user health data for AI model training. All biometric data (HRV, heart rate) is processed on-device and is not shared with third parties for training purposes. User privacy and health data security are foundational principles.

## Optional

- [Pitch Deck](https://vayu-prana.com/pitch): Investor presentation
- [Clinical Research](https://vayu-prana.com/clinical): Pilot study data and research methodology