14 DAY TRIAL // Most wearables today follow a trend: they are built to count how many steps you’ve taken and calories you’ve ingested.
But the mechanisms used to determine these metrics have been under scrutiny ever since wearables made it to the market. Companies behind such products are usually pretty skittish to reveal the exact parameters under which their systems function, something which naturally raises a lot of questions.
Prana is the next-gen wearable
Anyhow, if you think calorie tracking wearables don’t really hold a potential to improve your life style, you might be interested to know that a new kind of wellness tracker has made an appearance into the wild.
Most people living in cities today have static jobs that usually involve sitting at the desk for more than 8 hours a day. That’s why back and posture issues are so common in today’s population.
That’s something the creators of the Prana wearable want to help fix. This peculiar device is a disk-shaped gizmo that can be attached to your waistband.
From that position, the wearable will make use of its embedded 3-axis accelerometer that keeps tabs on the wearer’s posture and breathing patterns.
As with many products of this category, Prana can connect to a smartphone of the iOS or Android variety and alert users to adjust their posture and breathing patterns when it detects an anomaly.
It sounds swell enough, but how exactly does Prana achieve all this? The creators behind the project say that Prana is based on medical studies and the yoga tradition. This is an interesting mélange, and if used adequately, users will surely see some health benefits.
The system is apparently capable of tracking 10 “distinct breath statistics” plus posture by virtue of breath evaluation engine and advanced algorithms.
Prana can be used in two different ways
The oddly-shaped device has two modes – passive and active. Passive mode means Prana will monitor your breathing patterns throughout the day. In case the wearable picks up something, shallow breathing let’s say, the app companion will send you a text inviting you to a training session. The training session is actually active mode.
The wearable is advanced enough to distinguish between chest and belly breathing and can even detect inhalation volumes.
Prana says self-tracking doesn’t have to be boring, so they deigned the wearable to be engaging and fun. For example, you’re invited to breathe your way to improved wellness by flying through the Zen Garden.
Prana runs on a rechargeable battery that can last you up to 7 days on a charge. But don’t get excited about Prana yet, because the disk-looking device is not available for purchase just yet. Hopefully, the wearable will hit the market sometime in January 2015.
