Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAbout AuraSign UpUsing AuraPros & ConsFinal Thoughts
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
About Aura
Sign Up
Using Aura
Pros & Cons
Final Thoughts
As a health and wellness writer, I’m familiar with the benefits of meditation and how the practice can help reduce stress, improve sleep, and increase self-awareness.But even with that understanding, I’ve struggled over the years to develop my own meditation practice.
After repeatedly trying and failing to incorporate meditation into my daily life, I had mostly given up on the practice. But then I discovered the world of meditation apps which is when I foundAura.
Available on iOS and Android, Aura is a wellness app designed to help users develop mindfulness practices, improve emotional well-being, and support healthier sleep (another challenge I’ve faced for years). After using the app daily for a month, I am starting to see firsthand how meditation, breathwork, and hypnosis can help me manage stress and feel more grounded.
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What I First Learned About Aura
Launched in 2017, Aura is a wellness app with an expansive library of expert-created “tracks” designed toboost moodandimprove well-being. It uses artificial intelligence to gather data on how you are using the app and provides personalized recommendations based on this information.
Each track offers a particularmindfulnesspractice or experience, like aguided meditation, a lesson ongratitude, or a short story focused on helping you unwind at the end of the day.
Variety of featuresWhen I first started poking around on Aura’s homepage, I was impressed with the amount of variety the app offered. I could choose to listen to half an hour of soothing nature sounds or select a guided meditation based on my mood.
Variety of features
When I first started poking around on Aura’s homepage, I was impressed with the amount of variety the app offered. I could choose to listen to half an hour of soothing nature sounds or select a guided meditation based on my mood.
Here’s a look at some of the different types of tracks Aura provides and what they can help with.
How I Signed Up for Aura
Aura offers a free version of the app that allows users to access one three-minute session a day for a week (but only if you sign up for the annual plan). I was looking for more than that, so I opted for the premium subscription (the monthly plan), which gave me unlimited access to everything the app has to offer, frommeditationand breathwork to coaching, stories, music, hypnosis, and more.
How Much Aura CostsHere’s a look at Aura’s premium subscription plans:Monthly plan for $11.99Annual plan for $59.99 (comes with a 7-day free trial)Lifetime plan for $399.99Family plan for $119.99 (allows you to add more members to one subscription)
How Much Aura Costs
Here’s a look at Aura’s premium subscription plans:Monthly plan for $11.99Annual plan for $59.99 (comes with a 7-day free trial)Lifetime plan for $399.99Family plan for $119.99 (allows you to add more members to one subscription)
Here’s a look at Aura’s premium subscription plans:
After that, I was prompted to select reasons why I wanted to focus on these specific areas. I could select answers such as “to have a healthy response to stress” and “to find more peaceful moments in my day.” Other questions pertained to demographic information like my race, age, and gender identity.
How I Started Using Aura
The recommendations were a great starting point, but I loved that I wasn’t locked into just the tracks recommended to me.
Browsing LibraryI was able to browse the app’s entire library, which included thousands of options, and choose what I wanted to listen to.
Browsing Library
I was able to browse the app’s entire library, which included thousands of options, and choose what I wanted to listen to.
From there I was able to save the tracks I was most interested in and even combine tracks to make playlists. I selected sleep meditations, relaxing sleep stories, and breathwork exercises to listen to at night, as well as energizing tracks to help me set intentions for the morning.
Aura’s tracks vary in length. You can choose from several short three- to 10-minute tracks or longer 30- to 60-minute sessions. This was a huge draw for me as a meditation beginner. Starting with a five-minute session feels a lot less intimidating than trying to meditate for half an hour right off the bat.
When I first started using Aura, I created a few playlists with some short tracks that looked interesting to me, like an introduction tochakras, about which I didn’t know much and was curious to learn more. I also selected some meditations focused on gratitude and sleep stories that looked soothing.
Using AuraAfter familiarizing myself with the content, I decided to use Aura in the morning when I first woke up before getting out of bed.
After familiarizing myself with the content, I decided to use Aura in the morning when I first woke up before getting out of bed.
In the mornings, I’d open the app and log how I was feeling in the mood tracker on the home screen. Then I’d turn on the recommended meditation based on my mood. These morning meditations were usually pretty short and an easy way for me to set positive intentions for the day.
I’ve found meditating in the morning helped me feel more grounded and calmer than what I was doing before—scrolling social media or reading the news as soon as I opened my eyes.
Using Aura to Help Me Sleep
At night I have always struggled withsleep. I have ananxiety disorder, which can sometimes make falling asleep difficult, especially when I’m stressed. Given this history, I was skeptical the app would change anything for me. But, to my surprise, many ofAura’s sleep storiesand guided meditations really did help quiet the anxious thoughts that often keep me tossing and turning at night.
Aura
One 17-minute track in particular, called “Sleep Meditation With Mantra,” did the trick one evening after a chaotic day.
Surprise SleepI remember turning it on and thinking there was no way I’d actually fall asleep, only to wake up the next morning wondering what happened at the end of the meditation.
Surprise Sleep
I remember turning it on and thinking there was no way I’d actually fall asleep, only to wake up the next morning wondering what happened at the end of the meditation.
All the tracks, especially the ones focused on sleep, are remarkably soothing. The teachers and coaches talk slowly against a background of nature sounds that really do make you feel like you’re somewhere else. Whenever I turn on a track, whether it’s a story, meditation, or soothing nature sounds, I can physically feel my body relax.
Not every track I listened to was a hit. A few of the short stories weren’t engaging for me and some of the coaching tracks didn’t seem particularly applicable to my life. But there are plenty of tracks to choose from and for every track that didn’t seem up my alley, I was able to find a different one that works for me.
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Pros and Cons
My month-long experience with Aura was positive and there are a lot of things I liked about the app. But no app is perfect. Here’s a look at some pros and cons.
ProsPersonalized recommendationsProvides daily notifications to remind you to meditateThousands of meditations to choose fromVisually appealing and calmingMeditation narrators have soothing voicesTracks vary in length with a good mix of both short and long meditationsConsDoesn’t offer much in the free versionFree trial only available if you purchase the annual premium subscriptionThe amount of content can feel overwhelmingLifetime plan is priceyNo tutorials or guides on how to get the most out of the app
ProsPersonalized recommendationsProvides daily notifications to remind you to meditateThousands of meditations to choose fromVisually appealing and calmingMeditation narrators have soothing voicesTracks vary in length with a good mix of both short and long meditations
Personalized recommendations
Provides daily notifications to remind you to meditate
Thousands of meditations to choose from
Visually appealing and calming
Meditation narrators have soothing voices
Tracks vary in length with a good mix of both short and long meditations
ConsDoesn’t offer much in the free versionFree trial only available if you purchase the annual premium subscriptionThe amount of content can feel overwhelmingLifetime plan is priceyNo tutorials or guides on how to get the most out of the app
Doesn’t offer much in the free version
Free trial only available if you purchase the annual premium subscription
The amount of content can feel overwhelming
Lifetime plan is pricey
No tutorials or guides on how to get the most out of the app
I’ll admit I was skeptical when I first downloaded Aura, but the experience was better than I’d anticipated. With thousands of tracks to choose from, I found there was always something new to learn. And, as a beginner, I was happy to see shorter meditations alongside longer ones.
Personalized RecommendationsBefore using Aura, I often felt overwhelmed trying to create my own meditation practice, never really knowing where to start or what kinds of meditations made the most sense for me. But Aura’s personalized recommendations made the process easy.
Personalized Recommendations
Before using Aura, I often felt overwhelmed trying to create my own meditation practice, never really knowing where to start or what kinds of meditations made the most sense for me. But Aura’s personalized recommendations made the process easy.
The more I used the app, the better my recommendations became, and after a couple weeks, I felt like the app knew just what I needed to unwind after a long day. Overall, Aura has helped me experience some of the benefits of meditation I hadn’t been able to reach before. If you’re new to meditation like I was, Aura is a great place to start.
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1 SourceVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know.
1 Source
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.Meditation and mindfulness: What you need to know.
Hannah Owens, LMSW
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