I’m not a cold person, but I want to be. That’s why I keep experimenting with different meditation techniques, breathing in and out as abstract graphics and disembodied voices guide me to higher states. Or that’s what would happen if most meditation technologies worked for me. So believe me when I say I had low expectations for Headspace XR.
When the pandemic hit, meditation and mindfulness apps like Headspace were everywhere. It makes perfect sense. Are you still meditating in VR? That sounds ridiculous. Why should I breathe when I can breathe with the headset on? But you never know! Something surprising may happen! That’s why, as a meditation skeptic, I agreed to try Headspace XR’s demo. When I walked into Meta’s New York office, I thought I’d put on my headset and nod politely while strangers watched me put on my Quest 3 and take deep breaths.Technically, it is teeth What happened, however, was that I was actually enjoying what I was seeing inside the headset.
Headspace XR is what you get when you turn your Headspace app into a virtual playground. You can walk around as an abstract gender-neutral avatar and go to different locations to play. There are many “fountains” where you can pick up colorful orbs and throw them at the wall, or blow on them to absorb the colors into your avatar. There’s a place called Energy Dome, where you trace shapes while waving your arms. The best I can describe it is, beat saber And Tai Chi had a baby. It may have looked stupid from the outside, but inside the Energy Dome we had a lot of fun.
You can also view a small map to see all areas within this mental health playground. A huge mood stream awaits you with 6 balloons with faces representing different emotions. When you touch it, your experience will be tailored to your emotions, including happiness, sadness, boredom, anxiety, anger, and loneliness. Slingshots are lined up in front of the mural, and when you throw a virtual paint ball, a message will eventually appear. (In my demo it was “Be present”.)
Actually, there are a lot of slingshots. At one point we were encouraged to shoot a ball into a giant shape in the sky. Inhale as you pull back and exhale as you tear. You can also invite friends to play together in various “public” spaces and clubhouses. The most traditional experience I tried was visiting a boxy treehouse. This is a virtual treehouse at sunset where you can see a visualization of box breathing, a deep breathing technique that calms the nervous system.
The whole thing felt like a medicine cabinet for meditation. But instead of hiding drugs in your pet’s treats, you’re learning meditation skills through games. That’s by design.
“There are five pillars of mindfulness that we specifically talked about at Headspace: Meditate, move, eat, sleep, and play. For me, play is something that was difficult to access in a 2D world. is something that is actually accessible in the world of VR,” says Sarah Cohen, VP of Content Creation at Headspace.
Another feature launching with Headspace XR is a more mixed reality experience. I wasn’t able to try this in the demo, but I’ve heard it’s designed to allow you to interact with real environments. For example, if you draw a window in a room, guided visualization will help you see bubbles of positive energy flying through that window into your space.
“The idea is to incorporate this habit into your daily life, because it’s not so much about the technique or the practice. Mindfulness is really a lifestyle,” says one of Headspace’s mindfulness and meditation instructors. says Kesonga Giscom. “It’s the same with the XR experience.”
This is a good sentiment, but I’m still skeptical about meditating in VR overall. Last week, I tried out the Apple Vision Pro’s mindfulness app, and the typical “look at these shapes and breathe with gratitude” experience didn’t resonate with me at all. So, as a meditation skeptic, I find Headspace XR’s approach refreshing. I’ll try it again. Even though I know somewhere in my heart that I’m being given something good in the name of a game. But if it’s good for me and I enjoy it, does it really matter how I get there?
