Blow Away the Clouds

What is Blow Away the Clouds?

Breathe out slowly toward your phone. The clouds drift away, dandelion seeds fly, and the sun comes out. It is one of 23 small, calm places in Pocket Meadow, a relaxation app for iPhone and iPad.

What it looks and feels like

A grey, cloudy sky sits over green hills, with two tall dandelions waiting in the foreground. When you breathe out, the clouds begin to drift aside, the dandelion seeds lift off and float away, and the sun slowly appears. A small bar shows how clear the sky is, so you can see your calm breaths add up.

Why it can help you slow down

Slow breathing, especially a long, gentle out-breath, is a simple technique many people use to feel calmer. The hard part is remembering to slow down.

Blow Away the Clouds makes your breath visible: every slow out-breath clears a little more of the sky. Gentle and long works better than hard, which naturally guides you toward a calm, steady rhythm.

How to use Blow Away the Clouds

1. Open Blow Away the Clouds. A cloudy sky hides the sun.
2. Breathe out slowly toward the microphone: at the bottom of an iPhone, or the top of an iPad.
3. Watch the clouds drift away and dandelion seeds fly.
4. Keep breathing gently until the sky is clear.
5. Notice how your shoulders feel.

When to use it

• When you feel tense or rushed
• Before a meeting, exam or difficult call
• When you want a breathing exercise that feels like play
• With children, to practise slow breathing

Tips for a calmer moment

• Long and gentle works better than hard.
• Breathe in through your nose, out slowly through your mouth.
• No microphone? Hold the round button instead.
• The microphone only listens for breath. Nothing is recorded.

Try it without the app

Breathe in gently through your nose, then breathe out slowly through your mouth, as if blowing on a dandelion. Make the out-breath a little longer than the in-breath. Repeat a few times.

Good to know

Blow Away the Clouds is one of the free places in Pocket Meadow, so you can try it straight after downloading the app. It belongs to the Breathe group. You can change how fast every place moves with the pace button on the home screen (slow, normal or lively), and turn sounds and gentle vibration on or off. Pocket Meadow has no ads and no account, and collects no data: what you write, draw or photograph stays on your iPhone or iPad.

Questions

Pocket Meadow is a relaxation app, not a medical treatment. If you are struggling, please reach out to a doctor or someone you trust.