An attempt to put a number on how well a meditation session went has emerged in the US. Equa, a meditation app that grew out of a Carnegie Mellon University research lab, said in a press release issued in Pittsburgh on 26 October that it had launched Meditation Performance Insights, a feature that tracks each breath during meditation when users place their phone on their chest. It uses only the phone’s motion sensors, with no need for a separate wearable device on the wrist or chest.
It records every breath, then gives a score from 0 to 100
The process is simple. Start a guided meditation in the app and place your phone on your chest. The sensor reads the movement of your chest as it rises and falls with each inhale and exhale. When the session ends, the app shows how your breathing changed and gives you a score. Equa’s official website describes this as a meditation performance score ranging from 0 to 100, alongside measures such as time spent in the ideal range, breathing rate per minute and consistency of breathing. The app’s App Store listing also explains how to use the phone clipped into a chest strap.
The app is available to download on iPhone and Android. Users choose how much to pay according to what they can afford. In the press release, co-founder and chief executive Matthew Polovitz said that people can now watch the changes taking place in their bodies during meditation.
An app from a 15-year-old lab, named after equanimity
Equa has its roots in Carnegie Mellon University’s Health and Human Performance Lab. The lab is led by Professor David Creswell, a Dietrich II Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University. He has conducted clinical research into mindfulness meditation for more than 15 years and published more than 75 scientific papers. He has also led several mindfulness clinical trials with placebo control groups. He is Equa’s co-founder and chief science officer. Polovitz founded the company while he was a Carnegie Mellon University Innovation Commercialisation Fellow.
The app’s name comes from “equanimity”. In the press release, Professor Creswell described equanimity as the skill of not reacting to whatever arises, stressing that this—not calmness or relaxation—is the real mechanism through which mindfulness works. The feature was developed with support from a US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grant (R44MH134709).
Still being tested: a clinical trial involving 60 people aged 18 to 30 is under way
The breathing-measurement feature is still being tested rather than being a technology whose research has been completed. According to the US clinical trial registry, ClinicalTrials.gov, Equa has been testing the feature in two stages. The first study, which ran from May 2024 to August 2025, aimed to record breathing signals as 80 people aged 18 to 30 experiencing psychological distress completed 14 sessions of guided meditation, in order to develop an algorithm that provides feedback.
The second study is registered as having started in July 2025, with recruitment under way towards a target of 60 participants. Participants are randomly divided into two groups: one group is shown graphs of changes in breathing and scores for mindfulness skills, while the other is not. The study compares satisfaction with the app and changes in mindfulness skills. Results have not yet been made public. The announcement also did not include separate findings on how accurately breathing can be measured using only a phone’s sensors. The effectiveness figures promoted on the company’s website are its own data and are not covered in this article.
95% stop within a month: will a score motivate people or add pressure?
In an interview with the US medical publication The Educated Patient last September, Professor Creswell said that 95% of people who download a meditation app stop using it within a month. He advised people to start small, pair meditation with small rewards, and build a habit using reminders and streaks. The feature that measures breathing and displays a score can also be seen as an attempt to tackle the challenge of sticking with the practice.
In an age of relentless information, it is natural to want visible confirmation that we are doing things properly. For someone new to meditation, a single graph may be a reason to sit down and practise again today. On the other hand, a score could become another report card. The moment you strive to raise it, your breathing tightens again. If equanimity, as Professor Creswell described it, is the ability not to react to whatever arises, then looking at a low score without being unsettled by it is itself part of the practice. It is better to use measurement as a guide and let the sensations in your own body set the standard for meditation.
Your palm can be a sensor, even without an app: a chest-breathing awareness exercise to try today
What makes this feature interesting is that it brings meditation back to its starting point: the breath and the body. Just as a phone reads the rise and fall of your chest, your hands can do the same. If sitting for a long time is difficult, you can start lying down. Lie on your back with one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen. Don’t try to change your breathing; simply feel your body expand and settle beneath your palms. Count your breaths from one to ten, and if you lose track, start again from one. Counting the breath to focus the mind, known as susikgwan, has long been an introductory practice in Korean meditation.
Whether machine-measured meditation or meditation guided by the sensations in your hands is right for you depends on the person. For those who find numbers help them practise regularly, a tracking app can be a useful companion. For anyone who finds looking at a screen tiring, putting the phone down is the first meditation. Either way, you can begin by noticing how your breath is flowing today.
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