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Do I need to use every feature?

No. Sway is meant to be flexible. You can use Reflection Notes, insights, Intentional Practices, and Apple Health, or you can turn most of that off and just come here to breathe.

Why is Sway designed to feel so light?

Because Sway is meant to support your life, not compete with it for attention. It is intentionally built to ask for as little time, friction, and mental overhead as possible while still being useful.

Sway is not built to steal your attention every time you open it. A short Breathing Practice, a quick check-in, a brief Reflection Note, or returning to one Intentional Practice is often enough. The goal is to help you notice what is happening, reconnect with yourself, and get back to your actual life.

Can I rearrange the Home cards?

Yes. You can reorder the Home cards in Settings so Sway matches the way you want to use it.

What happens if I turn features off?

Sway gets simpler. Turning features off removes extra prompts and sections so the app can stay focused on the parts you actually want.

Why does Breathing Practice matter so much in Sway?

Breathing Practice is the foundation of Sway because it is one of the clearest ways you can influence your state on purpose. A slower, steadier breath can help you feel safer, more grounded, and more present.

How many breathing patterns are there?

Sway currently includes five breathing patterns. You can choose the one that feels best for you and set a timer that matches what you need.

What do the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems have to do with breathing?

When you feel stressed or activated, the sympathetic nervous system helps your body mobilize. Slower breathing, especially with a longer exhale, can help support the parasympathetic nervous system, which is associated with settling, recovery, and rest. Sway is designed to help you return to that calmer mode more often.

Are Reflection Notes private?

Yes. Reflection Notes stay on this device unless you export them in a backup. The note analysis Sway uses to help make sense of them stays on-device too.

What are Reflection Notes?

Reflection Notes are a private place to capture what you are noticing in your inner life. They can hold a thought, a win, a struggle, a reaction, or anything else that feels worth naming.

Sway starts with feelings because emotional vocabulary can make reflection more honest and more specific. You do not need to write something polished. The point is to notice what is real, give it words, and build a clearer picture of how life has been feeling.

Over time, Sway can also help you make sense of your saved notes by noticing repeated themes, feelings, and patterns across what you have already written.

How does Sway make sense of Reflection Notes?

Sway looks for repeated themes, feelings, and patterns in the Reflection Notes you have already saved. It is meant to help you notice what keeps coming up, not to judge you or diagnose you.

That analysis stays private and on-device. Sway is reading only what is already saved on your iPhone unless you choose to export a backup yourself.

Why does Sway start Reflection Notes with feelings?

Because having more words for what you feel can deepen self-awareness. Many of us start with broad feelings like sad, mad, anxious, or happy. Sway helps you get more specific so you can better understand what is really present, reflect more honestly, and notice how you have been living lately.

What is Sway State?

Sway State is a gentle picture of how life has been feeling lately. It reflects recent patterns, not just one moment. It is not a grade.

What affects Sway State?

Sway State blends your Breathing Practice, Reflection Notes, Intentional Practices, optional Sway Check-Ins, and, if enabled, sleep and activity from Apple Health.

Why does Sway State change?

Sway State is designed to fluctuate. It is meant to sway. The goal is not to perfect it, but to notice what supports you and what may be weighing on you over time.

What do the Sway State words mean?

Sway uses one set of words for where things seem to be overall right now and another set for how that picture has been changing across the selected date range.

Current Sway labels: Beginning, Strained, Mixed, Steady, Improving, and Strong.

Drift labels: Falling clearly, Slipping a little, Holding steady, Rising gently, and Rising clearly.

Can I make Sway State more reflective?

Yes. You can leave Sway State on while turning Sway State scoring off. That keeps Sway State more reflective by hiding score numbers, contribution values, and charts.

How is Sway State scored?

Sway State is not a grade. It is a gentle scoring model built from the features you have turned on. It is designed to fluctuate, not to be perfected.

Breathing Practice, Reflection Notes, Intentional Practices, and Sway Check-Ins use a rolling 7-day window. Sleep uses the most recent available nights, up to 3. Activity uses today’s progress only.

If a feature is turned off, it does not contribute to Sway State. The highest score is 6.5, but that is not the goal.

What are Sway Check-Ins for?

Sway Check-Ins are optional midday pauses that help you stop, notice how you are doing, and keep a lightweight sense of your day in the middle of real life. They are quick by design, and they are off by default because not everyone wants that kind of prompt.

What does Apple Health sync do?

If you turn it on, Sway can save completed Breathing Practice sessions to Apple Health as Mindfulness minutes and read supported Health data for sleep- and activity-related insights.

What are Intentional Practices?

Intentional Practices are the small things that help you feel more alive, more grounded, or more like yourself. They are not meant to become another pressure system. They are simply the practices you want to return to more consistently because they support the kind of life you want to live.

A good Intentional Practice is usually simple, personal, and realistic. It might be reading, meditating, lifting, walking outside, playing piano, calling a friend, cooking, journaling, or anything else that genuinely supports you.

The goal is not to build a perfect streak or turn these into chores. The goal is to notice what helps, name it clearly, and make it easier to come back to it.

How should I choose an Intentional Practice?

Choose something that actually matters to you, not something that only sounds impressive. The best Intentional Practices are specific enough to recognize, small enough to return to, and meaningful enough that you miss them when they are absent.

If you are unsure where to start, pick one or two practices that consistently help you feel steadier, clearer, more connected, or more alive. Sway works best when these practices feel supportive, not performative.

How do Intentional Practices get revisited?

If an Intentional Practice goes about 14 days without being completed, updated, or checked in on, Sway will flag it in the app and ask whether it is still important. Sway does not automatically remove or deactivate it.

What does Breathwork History show?

Breathwork History helps you look back on your Breathing Practice over time. It shows streaks, total sessions, support ratings, pattern usage, and comparisons that can help you notice what kinds of sessions tend to support you most.

It is meant to be reflective, not competitive. The point is not to chase numbers for their own sake, but to make patterns easier to see so you can understand what actually helps you return to yourself.

Does Sway require an account?

No. Sway keeps your information on your device unless you choose to export a backup.

What if I only want a timer?

That works well in Sway. You can turn off prompts, Reflection Notes, insights, and extra sections, then just choose a breathing pattern, set a timer, and breathe.

Is Sway medical advice?

No. Sway is a breathing practice app, not a medical or mental health provider.